SMU lands third commitment

[Mexmustang]

Let's see when he gets here. But, just who were we competing with?

[NickSMU17]

directional Michigans is my guess...

[StallionsModelT]

He didn't have any other offers but heavy interest from several MAC schools.

[ponyboy]

Man's walking through the desert and finds an unbelievable oasis all to himself. He foolishly walks on past because there isn't a line of people waiting to get in.

[leopold]

Seriously, I beginning to not care about the kids creditials anymore. I swear to god June Jones could sign Larry Flint post assasination-attempt and he would play and produce.

June knows what he is looking for. Be happy for the kid that he was given a gift from above when he signed and lets move past it.

[Mitch McConnell]

According to Hollywood folklore, a screen test report on [this particular person] now lost along with the test, is reported to have read: "Can't sing. Can't act. Balding. Can dance a little."















































It was Fred Astaire. Food for thought.

[Stallion]

So if recruiting top recruits doesn't matter why did June Jones win 1 game in his first year, why did he lose 7 in his third year-why will he win a bunch more than 7 in future years when better, more highly recruited players enter the program-assuming he can build off last years' class. Why can't June Jones beat TCU which has outrecruited SMU just about every single year for 23 years-why can't any SMU Coach have consistent success against TCU. I'll tell you-TCU has bigger, better, more highly recruited athletes all over the field and waiting on the bench. Recruiting top recruits most certainly does matter.

[ponyboy]

Is Zach Line a good player, Stallion? And how highly recruited was he?

[Stallion]

I don't play the exception to the rule game 4 years later homey. There are about 15-18 no-name kids from that same class who haven't done much of anything. You are choosing the exception to the rule after the fact to prove your point. I'm not part of the Zack Line debate-I haven't taken a position on new Line kid. To answer your question- no doubt SMU found a diamond in the rough in Line who was All-State on both Offense and Defense in high school. But if June Jones recruited the same mediocre diamond in the rough talent he did in his first class then I'd expect a 2 Million a year Coach to get mediocre results over their career.

[StallionsModelT]

Andy Dalton was a 2 star recruit who only had two offers. TCU and UTEP. Their stud MLB was a 2 star recruit with only 2 offers. Recruiting is important but TCU also got great production out of guys that were not highly recruited.

[Stallion]

Yeah and TCU has had the most consistent, non BCS recruiting of all non-BCS schools over the last 13 years too. TCU outrecruited top BCS programs for 2/3rds of the players on their roster. You don't get to use the TCU example since they are the prime example of how recruiting top BCS level talent directly leads to better football teams.

Also Andy Dalton was a 3 Star Rivals recruit(before grade inflation), who was a Texas Top 100(no. 98) and ranked as the No. 23 QB in the Country

[Mitch McConnell]

Andy Dalton was a 2 star recruit who only had two offers. TCU and UTEP. Their stud MLB was a 2 star recruit with only 2 offers. Recruiting is important but TCU also got great production out of guys that were not highly recruited.

Player development OR "coaching em up.'' is pretty darn important, isn't it?

I agree with what you're saying. I am in that camp. But over time, I think you dismiss the player development element more than you care to admit.

[ponyboy]

I don't play the exception to the rule game 4 years later homey.

I know you don't and neither am I. This is Zach Line's brother we're talking about here, homeslice.

[Peruna 2K5]

What TCU did so well, in my opinion, is they identified kids that had BCS talent but little or no BCS offers. Jerry Hughes' only other offers, according to rivals, were from Iowa State and UNT. As you said, Dalton only had another offer from UTEP. We have had success at this too (Zach Line, Emmanuel Sanders, Kelvin Beachum) but also we had alot of misses. Recruiting big time talent such as Devon Moreland and Dontae Levingston is terrific, but to be successful our coaches simply need to be great at finding "diamonds in the rough" as Stallion so eloquently put it. Thats what it takes for teams at the level of SMU, TCU, Boise State, etc. need to do consistently to be good programs year in and year out. I believe thats how TCU built the program they did. Now that TCU has been very good for about a decade now, they are competing with big programs for big recruits on a consistent basis.

I will also agree with Stallion that its odd we are not offering as many Texas recruits as we maybe should, that has me a little worried. But I'm not going to push the panic button yet.

That's my two cents.