Jeff Reinebold 9-26-9

[ALEX LIFESON]

BYE WEEK SATURDAY......IN NEW ORLEANS RECRUITING...SOUTH LOUISIANA IS LOADED WITH GREAT FOOTBALL PLAYERS....LOUISIANA PRODUCES MORE NFL PLAYERS THAN ANY STATE PER CAPITA....WITH ONLY A FEW SCHOLARSHIPS LEFT FOR THIS CLASS YOU WISH WE HAD MORE....LOTS OF GREAT JUNIORS DOWN HERE ALSO.....

[BleedingRed+Blue]

A few scholarships left? I thought we were supposed to be "done."

I've always been among those who thinks we'll end up signing 22-25 guys. Get us some good ones, Coach.

[Charleston Pony]

can always free up some scholarships if the opportunity presents, but there will be enough natural attrition from those who want to play rather than ride the pine and serve as scout teamers

[smuuth]

I was really hoping this staff would be able to develop a better relationship with the greatest high school coaches and players in the nation which are located within 50 miles of the SMU campus. I wonder if there has been a fallout with the scholarships withdrawn and how some of the local players on the team have been treated.....Any feedback that any of you have heard from the high school coaches in the north Texas area? On the other hand, I have noticed that TCU doesn't seem to get very many recruits from this area either.

[OC Mustang]

I was really hoping this staff would be able to develop a better relationship with the greatest high school coaches and players in the nation which are located within 50 miles of the SMU campus. I wonder if there has been a fallout with the scholarships withdrawn and how some of the local players on the team have been treated.....Any feedback that any of you have heard from the high school coaches in the north Texas area? On the other hand, I have noticed that TCU doesn't seem to get very many recruits from this area either.

As far as the withdrawn scholies, I believe the big one was Tyler Lee's coach...and frankly, he has more to worry about vis-a-vis a goose-egg season than whether or not he is still pissed at Coach Jones. He needs to get over it. The kid weighed too much.

[smuuth]

I was referring to the existing scholarship players whose scholarships were taken away. I have heard that many appealed to the university and retained their scholarships but I didn't know if it was for just the remainder of the year or for the full four years. Not honoring a scholarship offer to a kid would seem to be a negative also although it frequently happens. I wonder how many of our coaches have recruited Texas before joining the staff. On a trip to Hawaii last year I read a quote in the newspaper there and JJ was in the islands and he was quoted as saying the Trinity Trojans were primarily players of Samoan ancestory and the high school state championships were played before crowds of 50-60,000 people. I don't recall any crowds like that in years and although I believe Trinity has a large number of players with Tongan ancestory, I didn't think they made up the majority of the team. I know Texas coaches and players have a tremendous amount of pride in their sport and I sure hope this staff has done their homeowork because these Texas coaches have had plenty of experience with smooth-talking recruiters for years. If you don't know the difference between Cedar Hill and Cedar Ridge or Southlake and Sour Lake, you are in big trouble!

[BUS]

Players are given annual scholarships and retain them by making progress and keeping up with their degree program.

Many last year did not even open their CD rom game study programs. Yes, the coach could find out if they had done their homework for football.

A good guy, going to class and doing his football study had no issue.

If you do not do the work... it's just like the real world... you get let go, ot FIRED.

SMU is serious about sports now and I for one am greatful.

Evan H. is leaving ( sad to see that one ) but ships will open up.

It is reality.

Go Mustangs

[lwedge]

As one that has been in a program for 4 years, you need scholarship players that fit A LOT of different roles. You can't have 85 superstars, it just doesn't work.

You MUST have guys who relish the "order process" of scout team, special teams, part time player, then regular rotation player. The progression of the process usually takes a couple of years and then you end up with a solid team guy.

Look to the freshmen that are there now for your future building blocks. Walk ons in particular. The three and four star recruits will get us where we want to be, but you have to establish the base.

Two years from now will show a HUGE improvement. Maybe 6 wins this year, bowl bids 2010 and counting.

[Jim Rome]

I was really hoping this staff would be able to develop a better relationship with the greatest high school coaches and players in the nation which are located within 50 miles of the SMU campus. I wonder if there has been a fallout with the scholarships withdrawn and how some of the local players on the team have been treated.....Any feedback that any of you have heard from the high school coaches in the north Texas area? On the other hand, I have noticed that TCU doesn't seem to get very many recruits from this area either.

Exactly. There are good players in a lot of areas, and while there certainly are many in Texas, to call Texas players the "greatest ... in the nation" is silly. California, Louisiana, Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Georgia, Alabama and even Mississippi produce armies of talented players every year. This is not to say Texas players aren't talented. It's fine to be loyal to your home state, but Texas players must be referred to as AMONG the greatest, at best.

[Stallion]

The truth is that SMU's success will live and die with successful Texas recruiting. That's how you build a winning program in Dallas Texas which has more Division 1A players than all but 5 states. Don't look now but June Jones' out of state recruiting hasn't bourne much fruit on the field. There are a big bunch of swings and a miss particularly in the 2008 Class from out of state. I have no problem if he recruits a few within the footprint of CUSA and even with his contacts in California but that's not where we are going to have to get the job done. I do believe June Jones said the same thing earlier this year and said that he will place an even greater emphasis in recruiting Texas. There are no great Texas Football teams that have ever been built with a significant number of out of staters.

[lwedge]

True - in general. You have to get the majority from your home state.

BUT - there are PLENTY of players from Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma and elsewhere that WILL help the Ponies. Particularly in the next few years.

Remember, it is SMU where academics matter. Vandy in the SEC, Duke in the ACC are examples where you have to get kids from other states to go as far as you can.

TCU dipped in to Louisiana to get Kenny Cain who is a backup LB this year as a true freshman. They also wanted Jordan Free in a big way.

It's likely to be 5 years before SMU can recruit the state and get the majority of players they recruit. LEt's roll with it.

From the players I've talked to this year, they love the guys from Louisiana. Particularly the three freshmen, Brown, Fontana and Lloyd. A few of the older guys have said those 3 will be a big part of the base for us in the next two years.

Looking forward to it all.

[George S. Patton]

If you're a Texas school and you don't recruit this state very well, you don't win and you don't stay.

[San Antonio Mustang]

It would be great to be able to get the best players in the State of Texas and as great or greater to get the best players in the city of Dallas, but let's get real about what is possible. For us to compete for these players things have to change. Not only do we have to win, we have to be eligible for a National Championship, and SMU has to be a cool place to go. When we get all three of those in place, then we will be able to compete for the best. Meantime, I want to get the best players we can and frankly I don't care if they come from the Moon, Estonia, or Dallas.

[Alaric]

-I think we've signed or gotten commitments from significantly more local kids (let's say a 75 mile radius) in the last two years than we ever did with Bennett.
-JJ went far and wide in 2008 largely because he only had 3 weeks to recruit.
-Don't worry, the staff sees the benefit in getting kids from the area.
-Shreveport is closer than Austin. Fontana and Brown were from Louisiana last year as are a couple of commitments from LA kids this year. We narrowly missed out on a few others.

[smuuth]

We don't need to sign the top 100 from the state of Texas except for maybe a QB. If you can get those players that would be between say 100-250, you could win conference championships and be in BCS bowls. Sure, Florida has great players as do CA and Florida and several other states but to expect SMU to go into Florida and pick up a player that doesn't want to go to one of the great in-state programs in that state? On top of that, what about the expense involved? You recruit by developing great local and regional relationships and by being sincere and truthful and doing your homework when evaluating talent. They can't all go to Texas or A@M or Tech. We need to get the good ones who want to stay in state close to their families and also those who value the education and want to work and raise their future families in this area. If I am the head coach, I would be constantly bragging about the local talent and coaching(stroke those egos). Texas is an expanding population with more and better talent every year but the number of scholarships a school can offer has been the same for years. It is time for us to get our fair share of TEXAS talent which would help the fan base also. I would much rather watch an SMU team stacked with players from Cedar Hill, DeSoto, Highland Park, Mansfield, Southlake,Aledo, Everman, Skyline, etc. while cherry-picking from out-of-state.