Verbal Commit #2

[jtstang]

Let's forget active recruiting for a minute and think about what an incidental benefit recruiting would have gotten HAD BENNETT PREPARED THIS TEAM WELL ENOUGH TO BEAT RICE LAST YEAR AND GONE TO A BOWL.

If there's a Bennett failure at work here, I think it is more likely that than him simply ignoring blue chips.

[Ponymon]

I like the fact that coach is trying to get these quick versatile players!! Welcome to SMU!!! GO PONIES!!

well, thats one way to spin it.

Personally, I like the undersized/no other real offers version.

Truth hurts people

I had a friend of mine that was 5-9 when he graduated from high school. When he got out of the Navy 4 years later he was 6-4. Just because he is undersized right now doesn't necessarily mean that he will remain undersized. Of course, the odds are against his showing this type of growth, but at least he is definitely an athlete, which you can plainly see by reviewing the Rivals tape.

The odds of going from 5'9" to 6'4" are pretty slim I'd say. All I've been trying to say is that this early in recruiting, we should be getting more guys close to blue-chip status than sleeper status. Guys that have the measurables. There will be plenty of undersized sleepers to "pounce" on when the well runs dry right before signing day

Right now we need to get some recruiting momentum going. Have you bothered to look at the Rival's videos on these guys or are you just shooting off your mouth to increase your number of posts on this board?

Believe it or not, some kids do grow the last year in high school and in college. You do realize that David Robinson was 6-6 when he joined the Navy. When he left the Navy he was 7-1 so don't tell me it can't happen. Have you met these kids parents? Do you know anything about their geneology. I doubt it. And even if they don't grow, you also realize that Darrell Green was one of the greatest cornerbacks in the NFL and he was the SAME size (5-9) as both of our first recruits. SMU Lance McElhenny was only an inch or two taller and he turned out to be one of SMU's all time great players! Your being pretty judgemental about these recruits with NO knowledge about them at all.

[PonySnob]

[SMU Lance McElhenny was only an inch or two taller and he turned out to be one of SMU's all time great players!

Given that SMU had a "pro" team, probably helped Lance as well...............

[Cadillac]

Your being pretty judgemental about these recruits with NO knowledge about them at all.

I beg to differ.

I have it on good authority that they are both 5'9.

Sheesh, this season needs to start already so that we can talk about something without going after each other within 3 posts of a topic lol.

-CoS

[Ponymon]

Here is another story that shows that sometimes growth happens later not sooner:

Worlds apart: The moment the tallest man met the shortest
By CLAIRE BATES - More by this author »

Last updated at 16:53pm on 13th July 2007


In terms of height they are worlds apart.

The world's tallest man, Bao Xishun today shook hands with He Pingping who claims to be Earth's shortest.

But these two men actually hail from the same region of Inner Mongolia.

Bao Xishun, a herdsman from Chifeng, Inner Mongolia, was recently married in a traditional ceremony to a 28-year-old saleswoman from his hometown. At 5ft 6" Xia Shujian only comes up to his elbow and is half his age.

He claims he was of normal height until he was 16 when he experienced a growth spurt and reached his present height seven years later.

Mr Xishun was confirmed as the tallest person by the Guinness Book of Records last year.

Mr Pingping was born nearby in Wulanchabu city, Inner Mongolia. His father claims he was only the size of an adult's palm at birth.

He is now seeking to be registered as the world's shortest man by the Guinness Book of Recrods. He could be in for a disappointment though. While Mr Pingping is 73cms tall, the current holder of the title Lin Yih-Chih was measured as 67.5cm.

Bao Xishun, a herdsman from Chifeng, Inner Mongolia, was recently married in a traditional ceremony to a 28-year-old saleswoman from his hometown. At 5ft 6" Xia Shujian only comes up to his elbow and is half his age.


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/a ... =1811&ct=5

[Red+BlueDude]

.... And even if they don't grow, you also realize that Darrell Green was one of the greatest cornerbacks in the NFL and he was the SAME size (5-9) as both of our first recruits....

Actually, I think Darrell Green was (and still is) 5-foot-8. Of course, it also helps that he was timed more than once BELOW 4.3 in the 40. Won the NFL Fastest Man title countless times, and finished in the top 10 (or was it the top 5?) as a 47-year-old retiree. The man is an absolute freak.

[Grider]

PingPing was of normal height too until he graduated SMU and was measured at the NFL combine where he shrunk.

[MustangIcon]

Right now we need to get some recruiting momentum going. Have you bothered to look at the Rival's videos on these guys or are you just shooting off your mouth to increase your number of posts on this board?

Believe it or not, some kids do grow the last year in high school and in college. You do realize that David Robinson was 6-6 when he joined the Navy. When he left the Navy he was 7-1 so don't tell me it can't happen. Have you met these kids parents? Do you know anything about their geneology. I doubt it. And even if they don't grow, you also realize that Darrell Green was one of the greatest cornerbacks in the NFL and he was the SAME size (5-9) as both of our first recruits. SMU Lance McElhenny was only an inch or two taller and he turned out to be one of SMU's all time great players! Your being pretty judgemental about these recruits with NO knowledge about them at all.

Not to take a complete dump on some of the stuff you just said but....

-If you are counting on David Robinson type post highschool growth rates, your recruiting methods may be a bit flawed. Yes, you can grow after highschool, and its actually fairly common. But there are lots of other variables too. If this kid grows 2 inches will he be as elusive, shifty, agile, quick as he is now? Maybe, maybe not. Or say then all the 6 ft WR's grow the same 2 inches he does, then he's still short. I'm just saying basing any arguement on his potential growth is very flawed in my opinion.

-Darrel Green was perennially the NFL's fastest man. Beasley has been recorded as running a 4.6 as was posted earlier in this thread (unless i have confused him with someone else). You are comparing world class speed at CB to linebacker speed.

- Also, players are faster, bigger, and stronger now than they used to be. 6'2-6'5 WR's running 4.4s-4.5s are a lot more common today than they were in Darrell Green's prime or even in his twilight years. This is especially true for the height of players in comparison to the days of McElhenny whose college career ended 25 years ago.

I think that people are making jokes to keep from focusing on the fact that no matter hard we try to convince ourselves that we are really turning the corner etc, we are still have to target undersized, slow, overacheivers from small schools as our primary recruits. We can sit here and cry about it, pretend that everything is great, or make a joke and look forward to the Blvd. I chose option 3. So I'm an a**hole, thats fine with me.

[MustangIcon]

Here is another story that shows that sometimes growth happens later not sooner:

Worlds apart: The moment the tallest man met the shortest
By CLAIRE BATES - More by this author »

Last updated at 16:53pm on 13th July 2007


In terms of height they are worlds apart.

The world's tallest man, Bao Xishun today shook hands with He Pingping who claims to be Earth's shortest.

But these two men actually hail from the same region of Inner Mongolia.

Bao Xishun, a herdsman from Chifeng, Inner Mongolia, was recently married in a traditional ceremony to a 28-year-old saleswoman from his hometown. At 5ft 6" Xia Shujian only comes up to his elbow and is half his age.

He claims he was of normal height until he was 16 when he experienced a growth spurt and reached his present height seven years later.

Mr Xishun was confirmed as the tallest person by the Guinness Book of Records last year.

Mr Pingping was born nearby in Wulanchabu city, Inner Mongolia. His father claims he was only the size of an adult's palm at birth.

He is now seeking to be registered as the world's shortest man by the Guinness Book of Recrods. He could be in for a disappointment though. While Mr Pingping is 73cms tall, the current holder of the title Lin Yih-Chih was measured as 67.5cm.

Bao Xishun, a herdsman from Chifeng, Inner Mongolia, was recently married in a traditional ceremony to a 28-year-old saleswoman from his hometown. At 5ft 6" Xia Shujian only comes up to his elbow and is half his age.


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/a ... =1811&ct=5

well i didn't have this pingping bao xia data previous to my post. i am wrong and am now convinced that we are headed on the right track. this must have been the article PB read before going on an undersized offering spree.

[mrydel]

I think there is a lot more recruiting going on than perhaps we give credit. I do not think that Bennett has chosen not to recruit the blue chips, but when you contact a kid and he says "coach, I appreciate your call but I am hoping to catch on with one of the BCS teams." He is probably told to let us know if he does not get what he wants or changes his mind. There is just not much more you can do. You pitch them as best you are able but then you have to move on. Does not hurt to check back now and then but you can not spend too much time on someone that has their eyes on someone else. When you get a nibble from a prospect you work him harder. I am sure that these coaches are spending a lot more time than any of us give them credit.

I went through this process as did some others on this board. My high school coach told me that every small school in Arkansas was interested in me. I told him I wanted to go with Div 1A. I never spoke with a single recruiter from any of the smaller schools. My coach screened them. Mid majors today are much the equivalent of the smaller division schools of those days. Most of the top kids want the big boys.

Couple all of that with the dismal displays we have shown on the field for many of the past several years, and it does not set up well. I think, if we can have a good year we can begin to move forward in recruiting and build like TCU has shown can be done. TCU gets some BCS level recruits, but they lose out on some also due to the mid major designation. It is now up to the school and the team to show we are ready to compete with the big boys on the field so we can compete with them in recruiting. When we can say "look, we have beaten some of those BCS guys in the last few years and soon we hope to be one of them", then we can hope to get some of those recruits.

[jtstang]

I think there is a lot more recruiting going on than perhaps we give credit. I do not think that Bennett has chosen not to recruit the blue chips, but when you contact a kid and he says "coach, I appreciate your call but I am hoping to catch on with one of the BCS teams." He is probably told to let us know if he does not get what he wants or changes his mind. There is just not much more you can do.

Save perhaps beat Rice in the biggest game in twenty years.

[perunapower]

Not even sure if this belongs here anymore since the thread derailment, but DMN has finally reported that we picked up Cole.

http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/s ... 49248.html

Says we plan to play him as a WR and KR.

[mrydel]

I think there is a lot more recruiting going on than perhaps we give credit. I do not think that Bennett has chosen not to recruit the blue chips, but when you contact a kid and he says "coach, I appreciate your call but I am hoping to catch on with one of the BCS teams." He is probably told to let us know if he does not get what he wants or changes his mind. There is just not much more you can do.

Save perhaps beat Rice in the biggest game in twenty years.

Sorry. Should have siad There is not much more you can do in regard to recruiting a kid that is dead set on a BCS school at the time of contact.

In line with your remark, I would also apply it to UTEP, Houston, and NTSU, any of whom could have accomplished the same end with a victory.

[jtstang]

In line with your remark, I would also apply it to UTEP, Houston, and NTSU, any of whom could have accomplished the same end with a victory.

Great points all, mrydel, as usual.

[LakeHighlandsPony]

Sounds like this kid may be another Wes Welker-Texas Tech type kid.