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I'm playing the political card with Rivals. The limited materials I have read suggests this DB Clark is firmly committed to SMU.

Rivals posts the commitment on the SMU list but calls it a soft commitment. It lists several other schools but no offers.

Maybe their writers are having a heart attack that SMU actually picked off a 4-star recruit which would run counter to everything else.

he has made it as c lear as any recruit I've seen that he is firmly committed to SMU and with JUCO signing date so close I wouldn't worry. Right now his options are pretty limited from what I've seen. He was pondering a SFA trip.

But do you see what I'm saying about these services and what they deem soft and solid?

Yes, it appears everything looks solid, but I find this very odd that they would list the commitment in this context.

When you are following 5,000 recruits I'm sure there will be some typos-may be a left over from when Tech was backing off. Believe me both services covered Clark extensively this week-with plenty of direct quotes-he's going to SMU if he can graduate from JUCO in the spring.

I'd call this a "win".

Perhaps. Too bad the staff won't be able to get him until the summer -- provided he passes. But getting this kind of kid would appear to reveal the kind of kids SMU is able to pursue as opposed to previous years.

Stallion wrote:he has made it as c lear as any recruit I've seen that he is firmly committed to SMU and with JUCO signing date so close I wouldn't worry. Right now his options are pretty limited from what I've seen. He was pondering a SFA trip.

He is not going to be a mid-year transfer so his signing date will be the regular signing date in Feb. SMU probably will not know whether he qualifies until August.

HFvictory wrote:

Stallion wrote:he has made it as c lear as any recruit I've seen that he is firmly committed to SMU and with JUCO signing date so close I wouldn't worry. Right now his options are pretty limited from what I've seen. He was pondering a SFA trip.

He is not going to be a mid-year transfer so his signing date will be the regular signing date in Feb. SMU probably will not know whether he qualifies until August.

YAY!!! NON/PARTIAL QUALIFIERS!!!! We are actually trying to play football!

Stallion wrote:he has made it as c lear as any recruit I've seen that he is firmly committed to SMU and with JUCO signing date so close I wouldn't worry. Right now his options are pretty limited from what I've seen. He was pondering a SFA trip.

My question: How is this guy a 4 star when he has one offer ? I know he had good offers coming out of HS, but where are those guys now. Did teams just forget about him?

Also, just reviewing the other SMU commitments. How do guys with little or no offers become 3 stars and guys with multiple offers get two stars. I think McDade only has an offer from us and is a 3 star and another guy with an offer from Miami (FL) is a two star. There are more examples, but I'm too lazy to look back. There are many though.

OC Mustang wrote:I'd call this a "win".

Our 2nd of the season... Looks like our Texas State win only cost us $1 million

Because there are 3 and 4 stars everyone wants and 3 or 4 stars that have few options. That's why star rankings are not the best measure.

Part of the answer is that the kid committed to Tech a long long time ago and once they backed off he seemed pretty set on SMU. Why did Tech move on? He certainly had a great Freshman year-but he missed about 3 games in his Sophmore season with ankle injury. They were undefeated in games he started. Ints dropped from 7 to 1 though after he moved to Safety his Sopmore year.

Collin Ashly is another 3 star we haven't even offered-he had some offers from Wake Forrest and other decent teams are looking at him but he's scrambling for options. The Robert Thompson kid we signed last year was a 3 star with few offers. We have one 3 star WR recruit on Scout that almost has as many Stars as Catches his Senior Year(3 Stars-4 catches).

I really wouldn't get too stuck up on 3 stars because sometimes they really are simply preseason guesstimates. The best barometer is still quality offers-but I will concede there are instances where lack of offers may be deceptive because the recruit committed early-and maybe if he decommits late. The vast majority of 3 or 4 stars have the offers to back up their ratings-and that's the best sign a true "bluechipper" because the College Coaches are generally the experts not the recruiting services.

I still also think we should be excited about getting Clark-he had offers from Missouri and K-State out of high school and Tech after his first Juco season-but is he a true 4 star-probably not. He can still probably help SMU at a very weak position.

smupony wrote:My question: How is this guy a 4 star when he has one offer ?

Exactly what I was wondering.

Jim Rome wrote:

smupony wrote:My question: How is this guy a 4 star when he has one offer ?

Exactly what I was wondering.

what coach would waste his time or money on a 4 star that SMU wants? Everyone knows SMU gets who SMU wants...

Stallion wrote:Because there are 3 and 4 stars everyone wants and 3 or 4 stars that have few options. That's why star rankings are not the best measure.

Part of the answer is that the kid committed to Tech a long long time ago and once they backed off he seemed pretty set on SMU. Why did Tech move on? He certainly had a great Freshman year-but he missed about 3 games in his Sophmore season with ankle injury. They were undefeated in games he started. Ints dropped from 7 to 1 though after he moved to Safety his Sopmore year.

Collin Ashly is another 3 star we haven't even offered-he had some offers from Wake Forrest and other decent teams are looking at him but he's scrambling for options. The Robert Thompson kid we signed last year was a 3 star with few offers. We have one 3 star WR recruit on Scout that almost has as many Stars as Catches his Senior Year(3 Stars-4 catches).

I really wouldn't get too stuck up on 3 stars because sometimes they really are simply preseason guesstimates. The best barometer is still quality offers-but I will concede there are instances where lack of offers may be deceptive because the recruit committed early-and maybe if he decommits late. The vast majority of 3 or 4 stars have the offers to back up their ratings-and that's the best sign a true "bluechipper" because the College Coaches are generally the experts not the recruiting services.

I still also think we should be excited about getting Clark-he had offers from Missouri and K-State out of high school and Tech after his first Juco season-but is he a true 4 star-probably not. He can still probably help SMU at a very weak position.

Thanks. It still seems we have players that don't warrent their stars based on their offers (up or down). The inexact science just got more confusing for ponyfans.

I've been a Rivals subsriber for several years and this year's class is IMO marginally better than the last several classes we've put together. I really like what Jones and his staff are doing in terms of the offensive line recruits we have committed. Fontana, Atchison, and Frazier all have quality offers and should be solid players for us.

The Padron kid looks like he has some ability but definitely needs a redshirt year to bulk up. The two players that excite me the most are McDade and Braylon Williams. Williams is going to be the gem of this class when its all said and done. He's 6-4 235 pounds and can really get after it. Also, he is one of the youngest guys we have committed so there is still some growing on the way. McDade is a really good looking athlete in open space. I see him challenging Beasley and Wilkerson for a starting position at one of the inside slot receiver positions.

All things considered, with back to back one win seasons this is a pretty good class. We are in the top half of teams in CUSA in terms of Rivals team rankings and still have a chance at some decent looking prospects. Overall, however, I am a bit disappointed we haven't been able to snag a few topline WR's or QB's yet with this offense. Maybe once we start having some success on the field the quality of these guys will improve.