PonyFans.com

There are more and more players reporting interest in playing for the Ponies, including:

- Weatherford (Texas) offensive lineman Brady Hartman (3.48 GPA, 6'6", 300, 5.9, 24-inch vertical, 335 squat. He has not received scholarship offers yet, but he has interest in SMU, Arizona State, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, TCU and Baylor.

- Sachse (Garland High School), Texas wide receiver Jonathan Hughes (3.9 GPA, 1180 SAT, 6'1", 175, 4.6, 205 bench, 275 squat). Hughes has started the last two seasons at WR. His coach calls him a "very intelligent player - a great competitor. He's a tall, thin kid who runs excellent routes, has great hands, and can get separation. Will fit out to be a good-sized possession receiver."
Reports interest in Air Force, Nebraska, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, SMU and TCU.

- Another in the growing crop of Tulsa (Booker T. Washington) players being pursued by SMU: offensive lineman Bryce Nelson (3.7 GPA, 18 ACT, 6'5", 314, 5.6, 350 squat). He has no offers yet, but reports serious interest in Oklahoma State, SMU and Tulsa.

- Waco (University HS) offensive lineman Ryan Young (6'6", 305, 5.1, 350 bench, ranked among nation's top 75 offensive line prospects). He has offers from - and interest in - SMU, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas and Baylor.

[This message has been edited by Lotus (edited 06-28-2003).]

Are you serious? Ryan Young is interested in SMU? Even if it's preliminary interest, we need to go after him hard. He's huge and absolutely dominates games. And he's a pretty lean 300, if there is such a thing. He can easily get bigger and stronger.

I don't follow recruiting too closely, but I have heard the name Ryan Young a bunch - which must mean he's quite a player. Go get him!

Brady Hartman is massive. Absolutely huge. I've actually heard reports that he had gotten up in the 330-340 range, but has since "slimmed down." He's every bit of the 6-6, 300 you have listed there, if not bigger, but unfortunately, that 5.9 in the 40 is probably pretty accurate, too. Remember, Coach Bennett has often said that he would rather have guys who can move than guys who are just big, which means this guy might not be at the top of Coach Bennett's wish list. He's an impressive looking player, to be sure, but how good a prospect he is depends largely on how well he battles his weight. If he could get down to 280 or 290, he might improve his quickness a bit. At the moment, he succeeds at Weatherford by simply mauling undersized opponents. Besides, at that size, he should be able to squat a lot more than 335 pounds. When he gets into a college weight program, that squat total will have to increase a lot in order to give Hartman the explosiveness he'll need.

Jonathan Hughes is a moderate prospect. He has some ability, he runs excellent routes and has very good hands. But he's not big enough to dominate physically, and not fast enough to blaze by a defender. A smaller Kevin Thornal, for those PonyFans who were around a decade back.

Bryce Nelson is a nasty offensive lineman - arguably the best on one of the top lines in Oklahoma. Like Hartman, he needs to hit the gym to shed a few pounds and increase his power, but he moves a little better and has above-average technique. He has a low center of gravity, which allows him to maintain very good balance, which is vital when facing both speed rushes and power rushes. With improved conditioning, he might become a very good college player.

Ryan Young, without question, is the headliner of this group. His 350 bench is more than Hartman squats, which is remarkable. And for a 300-plus pounder, he is amazingly light on his feet. He still can (and does) overpower opponents, but he also can flatten a guy and move on to find another defender to hit as well as any lineman in the state. He bears a striking resemblance in his blocking style to Jorrie Adams, the stellar OT who signed in February with A&M - maybe not quite as polished, but similar in talent and potential. While the other two linemen listed here could stand to shed a few pounds, Young could actually add size, and undoubtedly will. Like Pony Up said, he's about the leanest 300-pounder you'll ever see. With more maturity and work in the weight room (and of course, continued on-field development), this is a guy many think could have an NFL future.

Best analysis out there, and it's on our site - without charging a fee? Did you go to SMU or something?
Whatever the reason, thanks for what you do.