Desmond Jones Upgraded

[Stallion]

Rivals has upgraded Desmond Jones to a 3 star and the No. 64 DLM in the country. I heard reports that both Desmond Jones and Zach Hall had solid performances at the DFW All-Star Game. Perhaps that was the basis of the upgrade.

[Hal]

NICE!

[crazy horse]

That gives us 10 3-star players! Huge improvement over last year.

It does seem a little late in the process to be upgrading players. But I'll take it.

What are the chances that any of the other recruits get upgraded? Are Berry, Cleveland, Dorsey, Moss, Warren or either Turner participating in any all star games?

[The PonyGrad]

Do players ever get down-graded due to these all-star games?

[Stallion]

I disagree totally-a player should be upgraded based upon the recruiting attention(offers and visits) or his play in post season games where he is facing the best. Remember the recruiting services really aren't the experts-the coaches are. The recruiting services are getting better about holding camps to identify the players but the coaches are the ones who really evaluate the players. Rarely will these guys rate a player highly unless he gets offers to back it up. There simply are too many players playing too many games for the recruiting coordinators to evaluate completely. Their opinions change as they consult coaches, view film or attend all-star games. More Data means a better evaluation.

[SoCal_Pony]

Isn’t this the third player to commit to SMU as a 2 Star but after the fact get upgraded to 3 Stars. When was the last time that happened around here.

Besides being an excellent recruiter, Bennett is also proving his worth as an evaluator of talent.

[SoCal_Pony]

Isn’t this the third player to commit to SMU as a 2 Star but after the fact get upgraded to 3 Stars. When was the last time that happened around here.

Besides being an excellent recruiter, Bennett is also proving his worth as an evaluator of talent.

[Stallion]

when a kid like Justin Boren has 187 pancake blocks his senior year and makes First Team All-State-he's proven that he deserved to be upgraded. Desmond Jones was the key player on perhaps the state's most dominant run defense. Ervin McGee was also upgraded. It would be absurd not to take that into consideration. Consider Earl Campbell was a respected LB until moved to RB his senior year. He became the most dominate Running back in the state if not the nation. Any service or list that doesn't update is simply not accurate just as a NFL Draft list would not be accurate after a prospect's junior year.

[MUSTANGFOREVER69]

Stallion, go back in your memory and recall that ED played WR during his Junior year at Sealy H.S., and he was damn good. But, in 1977, he was "just too big and fast to waste as a Wideout," so he was moved to RB in his Senior year. Imagine what ED might have accomplished at the WR position with his size, speed and good hands back in 1978-82? Randy Moss, Roy Williams, et. al. would simply be clones of what Eric Dickerson could have created 20 years earlier as the consummate, tall, fast, big WR. He could have set as many records as a WR in the pros as well as college as he did as an RB. And, applying your ratings analysis, all of the ratings services at the time had him rated as one of the best (if not the best) prospects as an RB before his Senior year even though he had spent little time as an RB prior to his Senior year. And, if he had not switched to RB, query how the recruiting services would have rated him as an overly tall, too big, but fast WR coming into his Senior year playing on a team without a strong-armed QB to throw the ball to him?

And, also remember that Craig James was an incredible punter as well as an RB. He was our punter for three years while he was at SMU, and I think he may have been the first team All-SWC Punter some of those years. Following that line, check out what Ricky Joe Meeks did this year as a punter and kicker. All of the questions raised on this Board about signing another kicker might be answered if the posters were aware that Meeks made 1st team All East Texas as a Kicker/Punter and likewise 1st Team Texas 3-A. Even if he doesn't start as our QB next year, he could be the answer to many of our kicking problems. It wasn't a bad move to risk/use Craig James as our punter while he was part of the Pony Express. So, why not use Ricky Joe as our kicker if he's the best one on the team even though we also plan to let him be a QB? I know I'm rambling, but to bring it all together as a reply to your post - do you think that the recruiting services have accurately "graded" Ricky Joe Meeks in light of all of his abilities to contribute to a football team? I don't. I agree with the poster who earlier in the season was trying to persuade all of us just how tremendous an athlete Ricky Joe Meeks really is. I just wish I had had the opportunity to watch him play while he was in high school. And, I'm damn glad I'm going to use my season tickets watching him play for SMU over the next 4-5 years along with all of the other members of this recruiting class. Sorry Rivals, but Ricky Joe Meeks rates far better than three stars in your system. And, he should be rated both as a "Pro-Style QB" and as an "Athlete." And he should be a four or five star under either or both. So much for ratings. We'll see in four years from now.

[Stallion]

I've never seen him play but I agree his ability to punt, kick, golf and play Basketball all at a high level show that he is an extrodinary athlete who probably has the intangibles such as hand/eye coordination, muscle reflex control that probably make him a better prospect. But its still got to translate to the football level at the Division 1 Level not the 3A Level. It ought to be fun watching these guys develop! As for Eric-as Ron Meyer said-he's sure does pass the eye test. This may sound gay(although I am a well-known hetrosexual on the Dallas scene) but I remember just watching Dickerson warm up as a freshman and realizing that there may never have been a prospect with his size, speed, strength and coordination in the history of Football period. You could tell that whether he was a freshman at SMU or a 2A stud at Sealy. And he was the most highly recruited Runningback in the country. He probably rates as perhaps the greatest home-run threats in the history of HS, College and Pro Football which made among the most exciting players to watch.

[Pony Fan]

Stallion, I agree with you 100%. All BS and bias aside, he was the best college back I have ever seen and my father, who was an avid college football fan said the Eric was the best back he had ever seen. I used to argue with the previous coaching regime who was better between Herschel Walker and Eric Dickerson and to me, it was no contest. Of course they thought it was no contest either, just going to the other way. He was the best and I still say if the Cotton Bowl would have had good weather, we would have killed Pitt as there is no way they could have stayed up with [deleted]'s speed on the corners.

[Charleston Pony]

the really scary thing about this discussion is that as good as Eric & Craig were as the "Pony Express", the best of the 3 running backs SMU recruited that year may well have been Charles Waggoner (sp?). He earned playing time before the other two and but for his neck injury, might have been the guy breaking all the rushing records at SMU.

[Recruiting Guru]

FYI:
Desmond Jones has been clocked at 4.8 - and now is a solid 275, and still growing. He's being looked at as a DT, not a DE as previously reported.

[Charleston Pony]

With that size and speed, Desmond might earn some early playing time next year. I had been concerned about our depth at DT, but with Adami back and Jones, Walker, and possibly Darrin Johnson and the other incoming FR Bonds, we might just find a 4 man rotation that can be very competitive next year.

[DallasDiehard]

What's the status on Walker? Is he going to get on the field this year?