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TheInsiders.com is reporting that SMU has offered a scholarship to Richardson (Berkner) linebacker Karland Bennett (5-11.5, 184, 4.61, 38.4-inch vertical jump).

TheInsiders.com says:
Bennett doesn't possess the ideal height or weight for the linebacker position, but he certainly brings the speed.

The site reports he has medium interest in SMU, Kansas, Illinois State and Wyoming. All four schools have offered a scholarship. He has yet to schedule any visits.

Those were my exact vitals coming out of High School when I signed with SMU...except the vertical leap # had the decimal one space to the left. Actually, vertical was not measured in my days but had it mine would have been a negative number.

<small>[ 12-06-2003, 03:14 PM: Message edited by: mrydel ]</small>

Good god. I know wide receivers and running backs that weigh more than this guy...I seriously hope he plans and is able to add AT LEAST 40 pounds.

Originally posted by Lotus:
TheInsiders.com is reporting that SMU has offered a scholarship to Richardson (Berkner) linebacker Karland Bennett (5-11.5, 184, 4.61, 38.4-inch vertical jump).

The site reports he has medium interest in SMU, Kansas, Illinois State and Wyoming. All four schools have offered a scholarship. He has yet to schedule any visits.

Considering the fact that we have only 18 scholarships to give and have only filled half of them, I must say I am really disappointed that we are now competing against Wyoming, worst school in the MWC and Illinois State, a DI-AA school, for talent.

If this is any barometer of the quality we are now capable of pursuing, it makes much more sense to bring in much-needed OL/DL depth through the JC ranks. Injuries are a fact of life, and tell me what exactly happens when a couple of our linemen go down. We are positioning ourselves beautifully to waste Foy Munlin’s only season on the Hilltop.

I am afraid we are witnessing Stallion’s warning about how losing impacts momentum.

If he is a true 4.6 (which I doubt knowing how HSers are timed) and likes to hit he could make a strong safety or monster back (if he adds some size). A big fast SS with a linebacker mentality would not be a bad thing.

He would still have to add at least 20 pounds to be a strong safety,IMO....The dude is the size of an average size running back.

Ponyte-according to the Insiders those stats are based on his performance at a NIKE Camp and so should be accurate. Again the recruiting services generally have a lot more accurate info now than they did even 5 years ago because of the success of these camps. But my question is assuming its true a 4.61 for a kid essentially with the size of a DB ain't all that great even if accurate. At 184 he would have to put on 30 pounds just to get on the field and probably 50 pounds to be truly effective. Does he then become a short LB that runs a 4.8? How many years we going to get out of him? This is one reason the JC alternative is so attractive to teams-you only use 2 years of a scholarship to get him when he is physically mature enough to play. On the other hand, it would appear likely that SMU might be wasting 3 years of scholarships to get him for his junior and senior years. I wonder if the SMU coaches have info that he really is more of a 4.5 kid and instead can play at SS.

I've seen this kid, and he's extremely slender, so adding a bunch of weight shouldn't be difficult. Of course, whether he can maintain his speed remains to be seen. And while it's not overly exciting to compete against the Illinois State's of the world, he also has been offered by Kansas, which is a rapidly-improving program in a tough conference. KU coach Mark Mangino worked for years under Bob Stoops, who I would say knows a little something about identifying talented players. I don't know whether the coaches see this kid as an LB prospect or a SS prospect.

That's obviously and ATH consideration to play Safety, not LB.

So he's the same size Jarrian James was when he arrived. He turned out OK. And if I remember right, he played a little LB as a freshman, and played well at that size.

Well, if we want to get better and have our record improve, putting a freshmen on the field at that size isn't going to help...

That's true. Very true. Hopefully the day will come soon that we never put ANY freshmen on the field. The best teams in the country try to redshirt as many of their guys as possible. If you have a guy like USC's Reggie Bush, who is just too talented to sit for a year, then you play him. But those players are few and far between. I just hope that Coach Bennett brings in enough guys with talent that in a couple of years, he'll be telling recruits: "Son, you're a terrific player, but Cory Muse/Richuel Massey/Desmond Jones/Caleb Peveto is all-conference at your spot. I want you to come in and learn from him for a year, and get bigger and stronger. Then you'll get your shot."

You're right - as gifted as these guys might be, I look forward to the day when they all have guys with too much talent ahead of them.