Notes from Sonny Dykes' radio show
Posted: Tue Nov 20, 2018 12:52 amFor those who weren't in attendance or tuned in, a few notes of interest:
• Dykes said that he didn't get a good look at the play on which TE Ryan Becker was injured until he saw the video later. He said that Becker has "a fairly significant injury" and that he is "probably out this week." He said the play was turned into the American Athletic Conference office ... by the University of Houston, after someone at UH saw the film.
• Dykes expressed concern about the Mustangs' numerous injuries, citing running back and cornerback as areas of particular concern. Xavier Jones and Ke'Mon Freeman have been dinged up off and on all season, leading Dykes to suggest backups like Merek Pierce could get playing time Saturday at Tulsa, depending on how the trio of Freeman, Jones and Braeden West feels.
Meanwhile, with injuries suffered Saturday by CBs Jordan Wyatt, Rob Hayes and Eric Sutton, Dykes lauded the play of S Cole Sterns, who played some cornerback late in the game.
• Said SMU is redshirting WR C.J. Sanders, who has "never been able to get healthy" this season. Sanders will be one of two graduate transfers — the other being S Patrick Nelson — with eligibility remaining after this season.
• Dykes said SMU now has "about 16" recruits committed. He said they received another commitment Monday from a "big recruit ... local guy." He said the player is not ready to announce it yet, and of course the coaches are prohibited from doing so.
• He talked about how roster management is a huge part of the job. Dykes said he and SMU Director of Player Personnel Jeff Jordan visit "just about every day" to discuss roster management — the depth chart, players who are graduating, recruits, etc.
With the new rules regarding transfers — SMU has seven this season — he said he expects more in the future. He said SMU currently is "inundated with transfers, guys reaching out to us" and said there are similarities to the way things are done in college basketball. He said the Mustangs need to find a junior college offensive lineman and a junior college cornerback "really badly" and would like to add an elite pass rusher, if one can be found. He also spoke of the need for more depth on the offensive line, and said he thinks teams "need to sign five every year," adding that SMU will sign "four or five" this year.
• He also mentioned a company called Championship Analytics, a service to which he thinks "almost every college football team" subscribes. The company "analyzes your team and your opponents, and determine the likelihood that you'll win, based on your running game and their run defense ... things like that." All things factored in, CA then makes recommendations that can be used when building a gameplan each week. Based on the CA analysis, SMU was a big underdog against Memphis, but Dykes said "I didn't feel that way." The analytics contributed to Dykes' aggressive play calling, which included six attempts to convert on fourth down.
• Dykes said that he didn't get a good look at the play on which TE Ryan Becker was injured until he saw the video later. He said that Becker has "a fairly significant injury" and that he is "probably out this week." He said the play was turned into the American Athletic Conference office ... by the University of Houston, after someone at UH saw the film.
• Dykes expressed concern about the Mustangs' numerous injuries, citing running back and cornerback as areas of particular concern. Xavier Jones and Ke'Mon Freeman have been dinged up off and on all season, leading Dykes to suggest backups like Merek Pierce could get playing time Saturday at Tulsa, depending on how the trio of Freeman, Jones and Braeden West feels.
Meanwhile, with injuries suffered Saturday by CBs Jordan Wyatt, Rob Hayes and Eric Sutton, Dykes lauded the play of S Cole Sterns, who played some cornerback late in the game.
• Said SMU is redshirting WR C.J. Sanders, who has "never been able to get healthy" this season. Sanders will be one of two graduate transfers — the other being S Patrick Nelson — with eligibility remaining after this season.
• Dykes said SMU now has "about 16" recruits committed. He said they received another commitment Monday from a "big recruit ... local guy." He said the player is not ready to announce it yet, and of course the coaches are prohibited from doing so.
• He talked about how roster management is a huge part of the job. Dykes said he and SMU Director of Player Personnel Jeff Jordan visit "just about every day" to discuss roster management — the depth chart, players who are graduating, recruits, etc.
With the new rules regarding transfers — SMU has seven this season — he said he expects more in the future. He said SMU currently is "inundated with transfers, guys reaching out to us" and said there are similarities to the way things are done in college basketball. He said the Mustangs need to find a junior college offensive lineman and a junior college cornerback "really badly" and would like to add an elite pass rusher, if one can be found. He also spoke of the need for more depth on the offensive line, and said he thinks teams "need to sign five every year," adding that SMU will sign "four or five" this year.
• He also mentioned a company called Championship Analytics, a service to which he thinks "almost every college football team" subscribes. The company "analyzes your team and your opponents, and determine the likelihood that you'll win, based on your running game and their run defense ... things like that." All things factored in, CA then makes recommendations that can be used when building a gameplan each week. Based on the CA analysis, SMU was a big underdog against Memphis, but Dykes said "I didn't feel that way." The analytics contributed to Dykes' aggressive play calling, which included six attempts to convert on fourth down.