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Guru,
Have you seen, or heard about, the DMN story in the Sunday edition about S.M.U. recruiting and the possibility that it will be a Top 25 class? As usual, I would like to hear your comments as I respect your opinion greatly.
Thanks,
50's PONY

I know that the question isnt directed to me, but I will throw my 2 cents in, anyway. I like the class so far, but I see the chances of it being a top-25 group as being pretty slim, unless half of our remaining commitments are guys the caliber of Richuel Massey, and there just arent very many guys that good who havent committed somewhere already. Some people are speculating that A&M's class could fall apart, and we could land some of their players, or wind up with better players who might have wound up at other schools through a trickle down effect. I suppose that would be possible, but its really speculation at best and wishful thinking at worst. Its nothing anyone should count on.
I'll be happy if we have a top-50 class, or even top-65. We're doing alright, and I dont expect to see magic over night. You have to crawl before you walk, and walk before you can run a marathon.

Question wasn’t directed at me either, but you know I can’t pass up an opportunity to be argumentative.

The paper NEVER mentioned a Top 25 class. According to The Dallas Morning News, right now our class is “ranked” #35 nationally, with somebody from Rivals100 saying it could go as high as #30.

I would be inclined to believe that ACCORDING TO RIVALS100, based on the number of 2 and 3 star players we’ve signed, that we’re sitting pretty at #35 right now (i.e. We have more 1, 2 and 3 star players signed than all but 34 other schools nationally). But as PX points out, you have to take what Rivals says with a grain of salt.

I agree, but contend that it’s still a useful benchmark for those of us who can’t travel all over the country to watch high school football. There are certainly zippo coaches sending me game film to watch, so I think it’s helpful.

And as encouraging as it is, remember that UT, A&M, TCU & Co. are rated quite a bit higher than #35.

And I know that even with a #35 ranked 2003 recruiting class we’ll not be seeing magic overnight. The strength of this class will take several years to manifest on the field. However, I would like to think that maybe, just maybe, we’ve stopped crawling and are well into PX’s walking category with this class.

O.K., I'll bite on this one and weigh in as well. I agree with everyone's comments that Bennett & staff have some commitments from some guys who are rated higher than what we've seen in the post death penalty years, but the real test will be how the coaching staff rounds out the 2003 class (not to mention whether all these "verbals" stick).

I've been on this soap box forever, but the truth is that SMU remains a tough sell in taking the program to the next level and one of the main reasons is our pathetic fan support. I do think we will start improving on the field and certainly a winning program will attract players' attention, but bowl games are awarded to schools who prove they will bring fans and our program has been way down on that list throughout the modern history of SMU football.

Judging by the relative apathy of our students, I'm not sure how we correct that very serious problem. If we have dreams of a better tomorrow for SMU athletics, we better find a way to pack Ford and Moody for each and every game so the TV networks and bowl committees might take notice.

AMEN CP AMEN!!

Winning wouldn't hurt. Like Viloria said, "Nobody wants to see a loser." Winning comes before fans. Fans follow.

Sorry for the delay in responding. As you all might imagine, this is an extremely busy time of the year for our (recruiting) industry, and I also had a brief stay in the hospital. But now I'm back, so ....

The key word in 50's PONY's post is "possibility." The foundation is in place for a tremendous class. The top-ranked classes are those at schools like Texas, Oklahoma, Miami, etc. For all of our (I am an SMU grad, after all) optimism, SMU's class is not in that class. But SMU is recruiting at a level unmatched since the 1980s. Ricky Joe Meeks, Chris Phillips, Richuel Massey and Zach Hall, for example, were recruited by a lot of schools and continue to receive attention from other schools, although each one reportedly is solid in his commitment to SMU.

For SMU to crack the top 25, or even the top 35, the first key will be to retain all of those players who already have committed to the Ponies. Rest assured, there will be numerous schools who come calling for some of SMU's commitments. And while that might be somewhat infuriating to SMU fans who think other schools should "leave our guys alone" .... another way to look at it is exciting, in the fact that we have players other schools are willing to go the extra mile to steal. If you think back 8 or 10 years, how many SMU recruits were high on the wish lists of coaches at other schools? Not many, if any. The fact that the Ponies are earning commitments from players who chose SMU over such schools as Arkansas, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M and TCU is an indication that SMU is now competing for a much higher caliber of player.

For SMU to land a top class, the remaining scholarships are vital. Should the Ponies continue to land superior athletes targeted by other major (Big 12/SEC) programs, they will end up with a class in February that will rank around 30th in the nation. However, if they fill out the rest of their class with also-rans, players who field few competitive offers, the ranking of the class could fall into the 50-70 range.

The key, again, is patience. Signing day is two months away, and it's really impossible to rank a class this early with any accuracy, just as it's impossible to rank the success of a class until the players have been in college for 2 or 3 years. So sit tight, PonyFans, the SMU coaches are off to a terrific start so far.

[This message has been edited by Recruiting Guru (edited 12-04-2002).]

Thanks Guru! Well said and done!

Also, apologies to Peruna Punch -- I accidently put down Top 25 when I should have put down possible Top 30 -- my mistake!