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It's pretty early and this list will change greatly before signing date but according to the 2004 Insiders Top 100 and other info from Rivals it appears SMU is getting at least some consideration as a favorite or as a camp from the following players No. 5 DT Frank Okam, 6. DE Chris Smith, 32. Nic Redwine from Tyler Lee, 62. WR Anthony Jenkins and 68. LB Alvin Newhouse. More than 1/2 to 2/3 of the players haven't been canvassed as to their favorites yet.

[This message has been edited by Stallion (edited 03-18-2003).]

Are those numbers (5-Okam, 6-Smith, 32-Redwine, 62-Jenkins and 68 Newhouse) the Insiders' ranks for the players in the state at their position? Or the overall ranking among all players in the state? Either way, it looks fairly impressive!

Okam seemed clear that he was only camping at SMU and not really considering them. Hopefully we can persaude him otherwise during the camp visit. But Stallion is right these lists right now are so preliminary they're almost laughable. And if Redwine is offered by Texas, he's a Longhorn.

Kurt

Not so fast, my friend!

He might end up at UT in the end, but I've talked to someone who knows him, and says he's still wide-open. I'll give Coach Bennett the benefit of the doubt.

with most of these kids there is no telling where they will end up and unless they make an early commitment the contacts with the coaches, the visits and offers, which generally have not yet occurred, will play a much larger role than these initial first impressions. Right now they are about as reliable as asking a kid which his favorite colors are. Now that might be different if they have a family connection, a high school friend already at a campus or if they have been a real fan of a particular school, but probably many of these kids have never seen a college game in person. I know for a fact most of SMU's big recruits this year didn't even list SMU at this time last year. Of course, I saw one kid I think was Okam or Chris Smith already had 20 offers mostly from nationally recognized programs-and those kind of offers may make it difficult for SMU to get that caliber of kid due to his options. The last factor that nobody can forsee this early is recruiting class momentum-you get a Meeks, Desmond Jones and some others and all of a sudden Massey is interested. You get a James and suddenly Eric Dickerson and hordes of others are interested and see the potential opportunity in a program. It is truly an unpredictable element of a successful recruiting season. For 12 years SMU doomed its own recruiting classes by ignoring this reality. Those that argue that a school like SMU should hide its top commitments really don't understand the dynamics this element can have.

[This message has been edited by Stallion (edited 03-18-2003).]

[This message has been edited by Stallion (edited 03-18-2003).]

I agree with you 100%. Once you get somewhat of a snowball going in recruiting, in is always infectious.

Speaking of James and Dickerson, do they play any part helping in recruiting? What about any other past players?

I haven't heard of them having any involvement with recruits, other than when they shook hands with a few at the 2002 game when their team was honored at halftime. Some of the recruits were pretty excited to meet them, from what I heard.

Has SMU restricted their involvement because of the recruiting "climate" during their playing days? If so, that's a shame. You know they wouldn't do anything to jeopardize the program, and their names still carry some weight, with parents if not the HS players themselves.

under NCAA rules only designated coaches on the football staffs are authorized to make recruiting contacts on behalf of the university. Its not like the old days when you could have alumni and other supporters meet and contact the recruits. Believe me that's a good thing.

That's interesting. I'm sure Bennett is using SMU's tradition the best way possible. I feel like he is doing a good job of marketing with the new attitude, new stadium, new uni's, etc. Kind of similar to what Arthur Blank is doing with the Falcons; he has made everything new and exciting.

I'm guessing that at on-campus events, that some of our living historical football figures have been allowed to drop by and tell recruits about what SMU did for them and giving them a couple of autographs.

I remember when I was in school, my step-dad came to the UNC game ('94 I think)and met Doak there. He kept talking about how impressed he was that Doak still supported the team. I wish ED would do more of the same.
That UNC game was the one where Leon Johnson ran the opening kickoff back for a TD. The Stangs made a great comeback but still lost. Would have been a big win for them- beating a Mack Brown team. Hope we get the chance again.