Recruiting is "interesting" this year...

[JasonB]

I find it interesting that when you read up on all of these high school recruits, there is an interesting pattern. They mention that they have been contacted by SMU. And they talk about all these other schools that have come to visit, even schools on our level like Tulsa and UTEP, coming to visit in home. But no mentions of SMU doing that. And usually no mention of an offer from SMU, or maybe, mysteriously, the Database changes at some point with no verbal reference and an offer appears.

All I am saying by this is it sure sounds like we are keeping tabs on some of these guys, but they aren't our primary targets. We talk to them, but don't visit, don't give offers right away. Just talk. And you know our coaches aren't sitting around doing nothing. So they are visiting someone, and it isn't being reported anywhere, and those people are the folks that are our main targets.

Things are really being kept on the "down low" this year. Even more so than last year. I think it is going to be really interesting to see who we end up with when all things are said and done.

In the past, when a recruit committed to us out of nowhere, he was given two stars by default and then there are either no other offers or maybe a Texas State or something like that. This year, Hurst commits and appears out of nowhere, but says he was offered by Baylor, LT, NM. It is just a little bit different than the normal pattern.

We all know that Rivals does most of its coverage on high school recruiting. It doesn't cover JUCOs nearly as in depth. In my eyes, the lack of reporting of SMU coaching visits indicates that while we are keeping tabs on HS players, the vast, vast majority of our recruiting effort right now is going after JUCOs. Figuring out which ones qualify, and visiting them, making a couple of offers. Rivals doesn't keep tabs with JUCO coaches, so nobody is informing them of the visits SMU is making. The only reason Rivals knows about Danna is because his coach started talking to them.

So, the point of all of this gibberish, is that in the next two weeks, we are going to find out what SMU has been up to. We are going to get some committs out of nowhere at the JUCO ranks. And we are going to have some names pop up who commit to other programs but indicate they got an offer from SMU. The list of "other offers" is going to tell the tale of whether we got our first choice at certain positions, or our fifth. If we offered several players at a particular position, but don't get what we want, that is going to tell you who we will be turning our attention towards for HS recruiting. And if HS players start saying they got an offer in the next couple of weeks, it indicates a position that we aren't going after at the JUCO level, such as WR.

[Stallion]

Look we aren't getting our 10th choice at most positions-we have basically bottomed out in high school recruiting. Your right Rivals doesn't do a good job in Texas JUCO recruiting so I'm not surprised with that. But we are struggling to even get on the lists of more than a handful-as in one hand-of the Top 100 players in the Area. ONE HUNDRED PLAYERS in the area and we are no factor. This is not just hyperbole or excessive negatism either. There are approximately 240 players in Texas rated 5.3 or higher by Rivals-and we have yet to get a commitment from even one. What's worse, I'm looking over that list and there are only 1-2 players who I think we would get assuming we offered. Its just fair assessment that SMU is back to scrapping the bottom of the barrell hoping and praying for a sleeper to somehow blossom.

[mrydel]

I agree with Stallion but I also see this as a very unusual year for SMU. When was the last time we sat around waiting for the JUCO signing date. This is the way I am sure a lot of the other schools who rely heavily on JUCOs feel this time of year. I think they are going after several more JUCOs than most of us even think about in an effort to build a short term experienced team. If the chance goes through as hoped, we can field a team next year that will stack up more wins than we have since the DP and hopefully receive a bowl bid. Then with that ammunition begin to again try to compete for some of the higher rated high school kids. I am pretty sure Bennett knows that next year had better be an impressive one or the party may be over. This is strickly an unfounded unauthorized undocumented, unqualified, nonsensical thought on my part, but I am looking forward to the 22nd to see what they come up with.

[JasonB]

Look we aren't getting our 10th choice at most positions-we have basically bottomed out in high school recruiting. Your right Rivals doesn't do a good job in Texas JUCO recruiting so I'm not surprised with that. But we are struggling to even get on the lists of more than a handful-as in one hand-of the Top 100 players in the Area. ONE HUNDRED PLAYERS in the area and we are no factor.

How many lists are you really going to be on with 13 'ships to give this year and I think 7 are going to JUCOs?

Here are some stats on Rivals that I found interesting. Please note that when I say "offer", it is a claimed offer on Rivals, which sometimes isn't verified.

We have 4 commits, 2 JUCO, 2 HS.

We have lost out on 1 JUCO player who committed elsewhere, and he was rated highly.

We have lost out on 12 HS offers. 11 of those ended up going to BCS schools, and the vast majority were 3 star. 1 went to Tulsa. These were all players that we offered very early in the process, and it tells me that the coaches went after very lofty targets to see what they could get early on in the recruiting process. Only have a few scholarships to give, so why not.

Of the current scholarships that we have out, Rivals knows of 4 that we are offering JUCOs. None of them are lightly regarded, even though I think Danno lies. I suspect that we have more offers out there than that.

Rivals shows us as having 9 offers out to HS players. A lot of those offers came early in the process. 6 are to quality recruits, and three are to relative unknowns or players who are not highly recruited.

IF we have 13 scholarships to give, then we have 9 remaining. If Rivals indicates that we have 13 offers still out there, then one could presume that 4 of the current offers we don't think we are going to get, so we offered 4 other people.

So, would you take a class that had 10 JUCO and HS players who are decently well regarded, and 3 HS players who aren't?

In other years, when we had a lot of ships to give, I would be concerned about top 100 lists and all that stuff. But this year I am not. I am only concerned about the other ships players are offered and if they play a position we have a hole to fill.

[Sic_em]

I read somewhere on this board that SMU is going to take a smallish class this year anyway due to limited scholarships available...somewhere around 13-15, maybe?

3 verbals so far. I would look at local talent as much as I possibly could....guys like Cornell Tarrant (great athlete, but disappointing senior year)...Jake Mechler, LB Richardson...big, strong kid that could probably play DE. Carrollton Newman-Smith kids...DL Jesse Funk, RB/DB Sterling Endsley...Endsley could be a stud LB in a couple of years. Offer the Highland Park DE...can't remember his name but he is 6'4" 210 or so and had a great year. Lay some groundwork locally, then fill in any blanks with JUCOs. Just my 2 cents worth.

[Stallion]

oh my my my some of you are naive. SMU would take all 100 players (assuming academics were in order) in the Texas Top 100 and would take at least 70 off the Area Top 100. We are getting shut out BEFORE we even have a chance to offer. No factor whatsoever in high school recruiting.

[giacfsp]

February is still two months away. Maybe things will improve, maybe they won't. Fortunately, today's list means nada.

[Pony Fan]

Come on guys, with stallion, the glass in bone frigging dry, not even half empty. I will be glad when he totally disappears when we actually get some players HE thinks are worth recruiting. The good news is, nobody cares what he thinks, especially the coaching staff.

[JasonB]

oh my my my some of you are naive. SMU would take all 100 players (assuming academics were in order) in the Texas Top 100 and would take at least 70 off the Area Top 100. We are getting shut out BEFORE we even have a chance to offer. No factor whatsoever in high school recruiting.

I thought that you judged players by offers, not rankings? On my list that I gave, almost all of the HS players we have offered have quality offers from other schools. I don't care if they are from Houston or Dallas, offers are what matters, and what area list they are on, the offers they got are what matters. Would you rather have us offer a 5'7 WR who has no other offers but was a finalist for the Houston Touchdown Club offensive player of the year, or do you want a JUCO LB from out of nowhere, but has offers from 4 other programs? In my book, the latter is a higher quality recruit than the former. Not ripping on the other guy, he may end up as a great return specialist, but I think that if Stallion looks at the list I put together objectively, he would figure out that the sky isn't falling.

[gostangs]

I think the HP guy you were thinking of has the last name of Hill - pretty good height - very fast off the ball - caused trouble in the backfield all year but particularly toward the end of the season. Would need to gain 25 lbs in college, but a red shirt would help.

[gostangs]

Also - big surprise on the top 100 bleakness - we started slow this year and most of those guys are gone or almost gone before the year started.

We are focused on HS juniors for next year - nice momentum this year and a favorable schedule next year equals a rising program with some good playing time for a decent athlete.

I bet we take only 4-5 high school guys this year. Fine with me.

[Charleston Pony]

I wouldn't get too uptight about the lack of State Top 100 signees. How many other non-BCS programs have commitments from a bunch of those guys?

Remember Ricky Joe Meeks was on that list and many of us were pretty excited about his being one of Bennett's early commitments. Once here, the coaches decide he's really I-AA material.

We aren't going to get guys high on that Top 100 list but either is our CUSA competition. We need to get in on that "next tier" and what's really important is for SMU to plug some holes at QB and LB so this group can win 6 or more games next year and get some recruiting momentum going for this coaching staff.

Oh...and it wouldn't hurt for more than 5,000 fans to show up at Moody. Our lack of support for our athletic programs remains a HUGE obstacle in recruiting.

[Stallion]

I'm telling you we are a real threat to strike out for the Texas Top 240.

[ThadFilms]

I'm telling you we are a real threat to strike out for the Texas Top 240.

That... would blow

[mrydel]

Stallion is right whether you want to admit or however you want to paint it. The top HS kids are already going elsewhere and I see no reason for them to swing to us unless they are dropped by their commit and other programs are full. That obvious fact should even be noticed by the coaches who for that reason, in my opinion, are going the JUCO route now that apparently our restrictions have been loosened somewhat. What I am hoping for as I previously stated is that groundwork is being laid to be in position next year to get in early on some of the top HS kids while showing improvement in our ability to compete. If this same pattern continues next year, there is trouble. It is already a problem, but I think, with the right positioning and IF we get the JUCOS we need, we can get back on track.