The Board

[Mickey]

Assume that SMU signs all 17 on the board that have committed. Assume they sign Poynter as an invited walk on. Assume the position changes below that are made for depth and balance. Assume we have 6 scholarships available that have not committed. Which players below do we sign or have the best chance to sign?

Position Changes:
Mike Benson OT to DT
Darrin Johnson DE (not a change)
Johnnie Fitzgerald DB to RB
Luke Pappas LB to FB
Clay Glockzin DE to TE (JB Phillips has committed to KSU)
Mike Dineen DE to TE

Players available and interested in SMU

OT's- Tobi Kaiyewu, Kharylake Martin
DT's- Cedric Cofer, Jared Naylor,Ben Mitchell
DE/OLB- Marcus Foreman, Jason Berryman
LB- Darius Ingram, Avery Cleveland
ATH- Joel Armstrong
CB- Gerard Price, Kelon Davis,
S- Joey Sturdivant
TE- Allen Pollard

Of the 14 listed on THE BOARD above, which 6 do you go after?


[This message has been edited by Mickey (edited 12-31-2002).]

[This message has been edited by Mickey (edited 12-31-2002).]

[PonyTales]

Your calculations infer that we'll sign 23 players this year, yet I've heard a lot of rumblings that we might in fact sign 25 and somehow manipulate the totals (get two to graduate early and enroll in January, thereby counting against last year's total?) to get them all in.

However, going by your numbers, I'd think our top 6 should be:
Cedric Cofer
Tobi Kaiyewu
Ben Mitchell
Darius Ingram
Joey Sturdivant
and either Joel Armstrong or Kelon Davis.

If we can manipulate the system a little and take the full 25, then give me Armstrong AND Davis and either Avery Cleveland, Jason Berryman or Kharylake Martin (in that order).

Everything I hear is Kelon Davis has lost interest in SMU, unfortunately. Then again, Coach Bennett has gotten commitments from players I never thought we'd get, so I'm sure not giving up on him. And hasn't Marcus Foreman also tailed off the radar screen?

Curious about your position changes. I heard directly from two coaches that Darrin Johnson will be a tight end (where they think he has an amazing future), but I heard that in November. What makes you think he's staying at defensive end?

Also, as thin as we are at DE, do we really need to move Dineen AND Glockzin to tight end? One, maybe, but not both. Glockzin got a little playing time at DE - shouldn't we leave him there and move Dineen to tight end? We'd have Johnson (if my information is accurate), Kennedy, Hrncir and Dineen at TE - that's enough. Then we'd have Ieremia-Stansbury, MelvinWilliams, Karrington, Glockzin, maybe Benson, maybe Bey/Horton, Desmond Jones, Lucky DeLay and Jordan Newman at DE. A good group, if you ask me.

[This message has been edited by PonyTales (edited 12-31-2002).]

[Pony4Life]

I'll take Cofer, Kaiyewu, Martin, Cleveland, Ingram and Berryman.

Maybe his family ties can get Sturdivant to walk on?

[Mustangs35SMU]

Wait! Joel Armstrong is intersted in going to SMU?! Sweet!!!! He went to Longview High School where I go! Joel is an awesome quarterback expect he needs to learn when to throw the ball and when not to

------------------
Home of the 1935 National Champions! the SMU Mustangs!
DIFFERENT TEAM! SAME SOUL! SAME GOAL! BLEED GREEN AND GOLD! GO LOBOS! WIN 2003-2004 STATE CHAMPIONSHIP!

[50's PONY]

Just as an addendum -- there are many more names than these listed above who are interested in us! What I am saying is we are probably in the position of trying to decide who WE are interested in.

[GrapevineMustang]

A nice change from years past, huh?

Got any names of some of the others who are interested in us?

[Mickey]

Names on Board- The names on the board consist of players at positions we need to fill, players that are interested in SMU, players that SMU is interested in, and the highest rated players. The list does not include all of the players interested in SMU. Some players may be great and are not on THE BOARD because they may play a position that is already filled. The BOARD consists of players that we are really going after.

Scholarships Available- SMU is restricted more by the 85 aggregate limit and not by the initial 25 per year limit. It doesn't matter at this point if a player enrolls next semester or not, the limitation that is restricting us is the 85 maximum limit.

Nuances of Recruiting - Some players may not accept a scholarship when offered. The longer they wait, the more likely that it will be accepterd by somone else. If SMU wants to sign 2 QB's and offer 3, the first 2 that commit will get the scholarships. The one that waits the longest may get put on hold and get onto a numbers game until things unfold.

Position Changes- PonyTales, you are RIGHT, we are thin at DE. That is why Darrin Johnson will end up as a DL. We also need two more TE's that is why, with Johnson on DL, I moved Glockzin and Dineen to TE. Glockzin could stay at DE, and Swofford could move to TE. Swofford has some speed. Ultimately Wallis will be an H-Back/TE, but next year he will be the back up QB. We can't go through another year with an inexperienced QB if Bartel gets injured.

By the way, the staff is really happy with Ryan Kennedy at TE. Benson and Johnson will end up at either/or DT or DE or both. You forgot one BIG name at DE. Justin Rogers, who the coaches think will be great.

Right now, they need some DTs. This could be filled by Johnson or Benson or moving an exisiting OL to DT or one of the new OL recruits to DT.

Kelon Davis/Marcus Foreman- If Davis or Foreman aren't interested in SMU, take them off THE BOARD, There are plenty of players that are interested in us. We are doing well. There is someone else to replace them.

Bey/Horton- I dont know if they will end up at DE or LB. Right now we need some LB's. I undestand that we are in the hunt for Cleveland and Ingram at LB. They are supposed to be great.

MY SIX to sign- Martin, Naylor, Ingram, Cleveland, Armstrong, and Sturdivant. If we sign 25, add Foreman and Berryman. Gerard Price is the first one in line if one of the others drop out.

[Charleston Pony]

getting a big DT who can provide depth at the nose tackle position should be a high priority. I'd also like to see us land another 220 lb linebacker. We apear to be in the running for 2-3 of those guys. I like to have several of those guys both to ensure depth at LB and for special teams.

[PonyTales]

I hope Mickey is right and that Darrin Johnson gets moved to devensive tackle. When he signed last year, I was at the meeting with Coach Bennett and the alumni, and he showed all of us video tape of the kids coming in. Johnson is huge, and incredibly strong (and I hear he got a whole lot stronger this year), but even against the bad teams North Dallas HS played, he didn't look very quick - making me think he'd be best at either defensive tackle or even offensive tackle. His frame is enormous, he's exceptionally strong, and he has very long arms. At DT, he could collapse the pocket and get his arms up to knock down passes. I like the idea, but Mickey, you're the first I've seen suggesting it. I'd love to see it.

Also, you mentioned Justin Rogers - isn't he tiny, like 6-0, 210 or so? If that's the case, he might need another 2-3 years before he can contribute. Melvin Williams played in 2001 at that size, and he worked hard, but was overmatched. He fared much better this year, now that he's up to 235-240. Is Rogers getting a lot bigger? I just figure Jamar Bey and Cole Horton have the frame to add a lot more weight, and the arms to knock down passes.

[Corso]

Remember when Coach Bennett pulled Jamey Harper away from the little froggies at the last minute? Rest assured that has another surprise or two up his sleeve. Can't say who just yet, but he's getting ready to blow some folks away.

[Mickey]

Justin Rogers is listed on the roster as 6-3, 205. I bet he goes into the spring at 225 and reports next fall at 235. Diesel will get him there.

[Mickey]

I am betting on Johnson to be a DL. They will probably play him at DE. However, with Benson moving to DE, it would be better to play Johnson at DT.

[Big Easy Pony]

How's this for scary. I heard a coach who wanted to recruit Johnson last year compared him to John Henderson, the huge DE/DT from Tennessee who just finished his rookie year with the Jacksonville Jags. Don't know if it's true or not, but that's pretty high praise, if it is. And that assumes that he plays DL, of course.







[This message has been edited by Big Easy Pony (edited 01-03-2003).]

[PonyTales]

If he plays on the defensive line and he's anything close to John Henderson, he'll be first-team All-WAC as a redshirt freshman.