Recruiting Class Evaluation (so far)

[JasonB]

Coming into this recruiting cycle, SMU had the 6th most talent on its roster in the ACC according to the 247 Total Team Composite. Obviously, we would love to improve on that in our first recruiting cycle since joining the ACC. I am going to walk through position group by position group and discuss where each of the recruits sits on the roster compared to who is there, who is leaving, and what we should expect in the late signing period and/or transfer market.

QB - Hawkins is a 4 star recruit, at the same level as Preston Stone. Stone was slightly higher rated by the recruiting services, but was also more unproven coming out of the private school ranks and there was the spotty track record coming out of those systems. With Stone most likely leaving the program, Hawkins is effectively a replacement at the same level. I wouldn't expect an additional signings unless someone is transferring out.

RB - Green is a good P4 recruit, but is actually the lowest rated RB in the room (out of 6). Brashard Smith is the 4th and graduating; McFall is 6th. With both Rooster and Camar coming back from knee injuries, and LJs health is always up and down, I would not be surprised at all to see SMU pick up an experienced transfer to challenge for a starting spot. If our recruiting ended today, you would consider it a step down.

WR - Right now, we have 13 with the addition of the 4 signees. We lose 4: Moochie (6), Junior (8), Smith (10), and Bailey (14). Singleton and Cooper are both stud recruits who are solid 4 star players and are 3rd and 5th, respectively. Brinson, Hudson, Singleton, Cozart, and Cooper are all 4 star level WR next season. Brown is 7th and is a good P4 recruit. Robertson is 9th and is a solid recruit. Lavender, Carroll, and Reece are the last three on the roster, haven't gotten any playing time, and it will be interesting to see if they stick around. Theoretically, we have upgraded in recruiting talent even though the guys who are leaving are awesome. It will be interesting to see if we bring in an experienced transfer or if we are going to let the young kids play, because Singleton, Cooper and Brown all look ready to play. I bet we only bring a transfer in if someone transfers out.

TE - We don't lose anyone, but we brought in Uter and Martin who are 6th and 7th out of 7 - the lowest rated recruits in the room. I would say that both are going to be expected to redshirt and it builds a base before next year, when we lose RJ, Hibner and maybe Eby. No upgrade or downgrade here, and I don't think we add anyone in the portal. This is a high level P4 group.

OT - Really, the only player we lose at Tackle is Johnson, who is our fourth best recruit but never played. I have our tackles as PJ, Byrd, Odoms, Johnson, Chamblee, Large, Farris, and Gill. Odoms is a big time stud recruit, the highest rated lineman we have ever had out of high school. Not sure if Farris ends up at tackle or guard, but he is a solid P4 recruit. Odoms and Large would replace Johnson in the rotation. We upgraded the room, and this is an area that really needed more depth this year. If we intend on Byrd moving back to guard, I wouldn't be surprised to see SMU go after a tackle in the portal in order to give Odoms and Large another year to develop. But we upgraded this group from a talent perspective.

G/C - Here we graduate Osborne (5), Clark (8) and Sparks (12). We added Hill (6), Hoopii (7), and eventually Maiava (11). This is kind of a wash from a recruiting ranking perspective. Hill is a good P4 recruit. Hoopii is OK and then Maiava is a DITR from a P4 perspective. The problem is that Anderson is the highest rated recruit, and we know that he is probably just a solid backup. Parr is next, and he is a good player. Sapp (3) and Patterson (4) transferred in but haven't impressed yet. Woods and Uter are lower level recruits, but both have shown a bit. My gut feeling is that the coaching staff is not going to be comfortable with Anderson - Parr - Woods going into next season. I would anticipate a transfer tackle so that Byrd can start at one of the guard spots and then we bring in a transfer at guard/center. Uter and Woods have both shown ability, but I think it would be preferrable for them to be reserves next season and fight for a starting spot as redshirt juniors/sophomores. The only exception would be if Patterson/Sapp showed significant improvements over the course of the season.

DT - This is where we are going to see a lot of players come in via transfer. Jefferson, our top rated DT will still be here, but we lose 2-5: JHH, Roberson, Booker, Tank and Lockhart and all were good to very good P4 recruits. Winslow is a higher rated recruit than Burris, Allen, and Sandjo, but while they have potential to impact next season, each of those were DITR or lower P4 level recruits. We need 6 players who can contribute next season, that is the rotation from this season, and big Defensive Tackles almost always require a redshirt. I would expect us to bring in at least two transfers. Maybe more if the staff doesn't think that Burris, Allen, or Sandjo is ready to play second team. It would have been great to pick up a big time stud in HS recruiting.

DE - We lose Harvey and Roberts, who are awesome players, and awesome recruits - second and third on our roster. Abor returns and is the highest level recruit that we have, and hopefully one more year away from injury will allow him to make a big impact. Chin is a stud recruit and is 4th on the roster. Shivers is an ok P4 recruit and is tied with Cam at 8th, ahead of Flowers and behind Abiara, Walton, and Turbo. Cam and Turbo become starters next year, which is fine. The question is if they think Abor and Walton are ready to play a ton of minutes in the rotation? And are Chin, Shivers, and Flowers ready to contribute if needed in the third string? Cam, Turbo, and Abiara are all seniors next season, so it wouldn't be surprising to see a transfer brought in who can contribute heavily in the rotation and has two years remaining. From a talent level perspective, Chin is on the same level as Roberts, but we probably need another stud like Harvey to come in as a transfer and make an impact.

LB - Big losses in terms of impact with Wilson (6) and Walker (8) graduating. Tarian Lee (9) also graduates, and made an impact on special teams. Iheanachor is a good recruit, second highest on the roster behind Medlock and just ahead of Brandon Booker. Kilgore is clearly ready to start. Miyazono is the lowest rated recruit on the current roster, and our only DITR with this group. He made massive strides this season, but then suffered an injury. Smith and Booker were both solid recruits but haven't played much. Have heard and seen good things from both in fall camp. From a recruiting perspective, we upgraded the roster, but I would expect that we are going to take a transfer from the portal. There is talent in the depth, but it is too raw as a group, and I am sure the staff would love to see Smith, Booker, and Miyazono rotate in with the second team next season rather than promote them to starter after getting zero playing time this season.

Outside Corner - Rogers and Crossley graduate - Rogers was the top recruit, but never panned out. Crossley was 7th, which is a solid P4 recruit, and he has had a good season. Harmon was a big time recruit at A&M and has certainly established himself as a starter next season. Smoke is third on our roster, closely followed by the new recruits Holiday and Gentry, and all of them are very good P4 level recruits. Holiday and Gentry are both the highest rated corners we have recruited out of HS since the death penalty. They are in front of Nettles, who showed that he is going to be a good corner in fall camp and is a good P4 level recruit. Davis and Rogers both close out the group , but both of them would have been considered top corners on our roster before all the transfers came in last season, and they were both ok P4 level recruits. Rogers showed some talent this fall as well. The two recruits certainly upgrade this position. I think all 7 that will be on the roster next season can play, so from a talent perspective, we don't need a transfer. the only concern is Smoke's ability to stay healthy. If that is a concern for the coaches, then you will see them bring in an experienced transfer.

Nickel corner - Symons kind of breaks the group up into a more physical rover (NWO) and then players that can play either free safety or nickel (Moses). But because we always have players that only play nickel corner (Sanders), I am going to break the group up into nickel and safety. Sanders is graduating and did an outstanding job. As a recruit, he is last (4th) in this group and was a borderline, almost DITR, recruit. Chambers is the top recruit in this group and flashes at time but hasn't worked his way onto the field. Spencer is next and was a solid recruit out of HS. JMJ transferred from Colorado and is third, and was a lower level P4 recruit. Spencer was certainly brough in to challenge for the spot immediately. We upgraded the group, and I don't think we will bring in a transfer because Moses can always flip over here if you need to.

Safety - We graduate McGill, who was the highest rated recruit in the group (not sure what happened to Dotson?). We also graduate Celestine who was the lowest rated recruit and was brought in at the last minute to provide depth and never played except special teams. NWO, Reyes, and Polley were all very good P4 recruits, and Pratt is an above average P4 recruit as well. The two Moses come in next and were solid recruits while Muhammad was borderline P4. Muhammad and Jaylen Moses from the last recruiting class both looked good in the spring. There isn't a lot of experience to cover if Moses or NWO get hurt. Tons of talent, though, and both Chambers and JMJ can play at these spots. I think Reyes and Polley in the recruits can probably play quickly, just like NWO and Moses did. I would not be surprised to see the staff see how things play out in the spring and then add a late transfer, unless someone transfers out of the program. We certainly upgraded this group in this class.

Overall, this is a fantastic class. Easily the best since the death penalty. The staff is fantastic at evaluating talent as well, they haven't missed on a lot of players. So I would expect this group to be exceptional.

As we move forward into the second signing window and with transfers, I expect SMU to go and get RB, WR, OT, OG/C (maybe 2 if the talent is there and/or we have transfers out), 1 DE, at least 2 DT, and an LB. We might go grab a S or corner as well. Still some holes to fill with experience, obviously, in order to compete for an ACC championship next season. But this is a great HS recruiting class to replace the 30 seniors we lost on the team.