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BU bolsters O-line with Hamilton, Buffalo products
By JERRY HILL Tribune-Herald assistant sports editor
Baylor has added some beef to its paper-thin offensive line with commitments from a pair of junior college transfers with Central Texas ties.

After starting one true freshman and using two others in their seven-man rotation, the Bears will inject some age and experience with Yancy Boatner (6-5, 320) from Dixie State College in Utah and Evan Stone (6-4, 285) from Tyler Junior College.

As academic qualifiers coming out of high school, both are eligible to sign Wednesday and enroll in school in January. They are expected to join Blinn quarterback Dane King when commitments turn to signatures for midterm transfers.

"Obviously for a Big 12 school to sign him, he's worked his butt off with his weight and his feet," said coach Chris Wilde at Hamilton High School, where Boatner was a two-time all-state lineman and 2001 Tribune-Herald Super Centex pick before originally signing with Southwest Texas State (now Texas State). "I think it's great, especially for Baylor's sake, that they get to sign a kid from this area. Good for us, too. We can come over and watch him play."

Boatner has taken a circuitous route from Hamilton to Baylor. He signed with Southwest Texas State in February 2002 despite a late push from Texas Tech and was then released from his scholarship at the end of his freshman season when Tech assistant Manny Matsakis was hired as the head coach to replace Bob DeBesse.

Cut loose by SWT, he signed with Dixie College and started at center and guard this season for the Rebels. Dixie finished 10-2 and ranked third in the country, losing to top-ranked Butler Community College (Kan.), 14-10, in last Saturday's national championship game in St. George, Utah.

"He had a real good year for us," Dixie coach Greg Croshaw said. "He hurt his thumb, and we ended up moving him to guard when he couldn't snap it any longer. I don't have to coach against the people that they do, but I know he did a great job for us."

Wilde said Tech "blew the deal" two years ago when "they had no contact with him at all . . . and then came in late." But he said the idea of a "small-town kid" getting a second chance to play in the Big 12 "makes for a great story."

"He was the focal point of our offensive line and did a great job for us the year we were 11-1," Wilde said of Boatner's senior season at Hamilton. "He's had his ups and downs, but he's a kid who worked his tail off to get strong. He went to state two years in a row in powerlifting and still holds our school records."

Boatner's signing could turn into a two-for-one deal. The Bears are also recruiting Thad Boatner, a 6-7, 285-pound junior at Hamilton who came to several Baylor games this fall.

Stone's road to Baylor was not filled with as many twists and turns. He was a three-year starter at Buffalo High School and started every game at Tyler before missing the last half of this season with a knee injury that required surgery.

"He's been a really good player for us, especially good at pulling," said Tyler JC offensive coordinator Scott Clough. "We were just tickled that some of the Division I schools stayed on him. He's a great kid, a farm kid from a small school. He's been walking around, so I think he should be cleared to go through spring training."

The Bears also have offered Tyler JC offensive lineman Jerry Little, a 6-7, 330-pound sophomore from Boerne, but he is still making official visits. Tyler finished 10-2 and defeated Rochester (Minn.), 55-3, in last Saturday's Heart of Texas Bowl in Copperas Cove.

Jerry Hill can be reached at 757-5715 or at [email protected].
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© 2003 Cox Newspapers, Inc. - The Waco Tribune-Herald

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This morning's Dallas Morning News quoted Coach Fran as saying that A&M was going to sign three to five junior college players.

I bet Bobby Chase is our only JUCO signee. And despite the urge for a quick fix, that's a good thing. I still like the idea of going almost exclusively with HS guys.

yes your philosophy has worked out so well over the last 15 years let's not change a thing-maybe we can go another 15 years without going to a bowl game or winning a championship. You must be so proud.

Stallion -

Your response to giacfsp unfairly inferrs that a lack of JUCO's on the Hilltop produced SMU's decade and a half of football futility.

Perhaps some of these were also causes:

DP hangover // home games off-campus in an aged stadium // possibly the toughest (self-imposed)recruiting restrictions in D-1A // possibly the worst (pre-Ford/Loyd) training and practice facilities in D-1A (3,000 square foot weight room beneath Ownby Stadium - windowless coaches offices - practices on intramural fields at times) (this list is endless) // transient scheduling, loss of historical opponents and incompatible geography (SWC to WAC 16 to WAC 8 to CUSA) (this list is also endless) // Coach Malin incident // previously tepid commitment to the football program by SMU's administration // wrong coaches hired...

SMU fans could add dozens of reasons to the list I started.

Cheese,

You are correct in identifying many of the causes that have hindered our football program post-DP. Here is my issue with our administration and defenders of our current policy.

A true Commitment entails excellence at all levels. It is only marginally helpful to fix 6 problems when 10 problems keep you from being competitive.

I was fortunate enough to turn around a company that, if you can believe it, was actually in worse condition than SMU. I did it by addressing problems head-on, not by taking half measures or waiting years to tackle them. The real world doesn’t operate that way and nor should SMU.

We are lucky to have C-USA membership. It could have easily been a doomsday scenario had we not been selected and had MWC gobbled up the WAC crown jewels. We would have been left to die a slow Sun Belt death. I am not happy with the fact that our administration would place us in such a precarious position. That is not the proper stewardship of our athletic department.

Stallion brings up these shortcomings and inconsistencies and I admire him for his efforts. There is much debate about the ‘Stallion Model’, which I personally find humorous. The ‘Stallion Model’ is simply a roadmap that 115 of the 117 Division I schools follow to some degree, with SMU and Rice as the lone exceptions. As we are painfully aware, SMU and Rice’s records speak for the success of their unique models.

The hardest part for me is that SMU has tremendously more upside potential than most schools. As an example, there is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING tcu has on us except a true commitment by its administration. We have a better school, better facilities, better location, better students, better alumni, a better band, better EVERYTHING and both sides know it. I simply want to see us return to our rightful position in the world. We deserve it.

I would think even the harshest critics of the program (you know who you are) would admit that the quality of the athletes arriving in the last two years -- and apparently on the way again this year -- has gone up dramatically. Using that as a foundation, high schoolers ARE the way to go. If we can continue to recruit better players, there's no reason to prefer two-year stop-gap guys over talented players who will be around four or five years. Maybe this is a little idealism at work, but given the choice of talented players on each side, I'd always take the guys who will be around four or five years. Bobby Chase will be a great addition to the offense. But I like the fact that he's the exception, not the rule. Because by all accounts, he's talented enough to merit being the exception to the rule.

Am I drunk, or is JuCo signing day this week? That will answer a few questions on this board.

First, we've had one decent class not two-the one before this one was below average by all accounts. Second, Bennett's recruiting momentum appears dead in the water after an 0-12. Third, its very likely that Cavan will have signed a better combined group in his 2nd and 3rd years plus the recruits he got committed in his first year than Bennett has during the same period unless Bennett radically turns this recruiting season around this year. Programs aren't turned around with one good recruiting class which is another lesson it appears you are going to have to learn. 3-4 JUCOs a year may have been sufficient for Bennett to plug some holes during the last two years for him to maintain the on-field momentum he needed to maintain some recruiting momentum. Its very possible that SMU's policies have once again squandered an opportunity to raise this program from the dead and has added yet another eventual victim to the Coaches Burial Graveyard on the Hilltop.

<small>[ 12-15-2003, 06:47 AM: Message edited by: Stallion ]</small>

Just as it's also quite possible that you don't know what the hell you are talking about.

Those who are actually involved in recruiting (as opposed to those of us who are observers looking in from the outside) are saying that bennett's class this year might well be better (albeit smaller) than last year's. I agree that a few wins are vital next season to maintain that, but "insiders" who know a lot more than any of us seem to think Coach Bennett will put together an even better class than he had in 2003.

And Stallion's right: we can't really judge Coach Bennett by his first class, since more than half the players in it were Cavan recruits.

The fact is that since our record took a nosedive we are offering a slew of pretty marginal players-that's a fact jack. And i'm pretty confident I know a helluva of lot more about it than you do.

Stallion,

While I appeciate your time and effort in trying to keep up with what all the major recruiting services are saying, I DO NOT believe your opinion is more/less valid than any other opionion on this board. To infer so only discredits your ability to mine the data from the "experts". I seriously doubt you have seen many of the prospects and, therefore, your misguided statements about how this recruiting class is "apparently dead in the water" really shows your lack of credibilty on what is occuring inside the football recruiting offices at SMU.

Originally posted by Stallion:
The fact is that since our record took a nosedive we are offering a slew of pretty marginal players-that's a fact jack. And i'm pretty confident I know a helluva of lot more about it than you do.

If patting yourself on the back makes you feel good, knock yourself out. Don't hurt your shoulder in the process. But Stampede is right - you always have a lot of information, and it's both valuable and interesting. So why do you have to rip the opinions of others? How often do you get out and see the players about whom you share your expertise? You don't, right? As Stampede says, ripping people you don't know only discredits you. Especially in this case. I know Dark Horse, and I know he goes to games. He talks to coaches. He talks to players' friends and families -- not that it always means accurate information, but if a player's dad says that "these three schools have offered", I'd tend to believe him more than Rivals or any other site. Dark Horse has invited me to go with him to games, and I've declined (my interest lies in college and pro sports, so I just can't see spending my Friday nights at a high school game), but this is something he does quite often. To dismiss him as ignorant is .... well .... ignorant. Share your information, and by all means share your opinions -- we all have them. But don't go slamming someone when you simply don't know what information that person has. You're better than that.

<small>[ 12-15-2003, 11:58 AM: Message edited by: giacfsp ]</small>

On this slow day, I went into the Insider database (from SI website link). In looking at the website (which may be more or less correct), I pulled the following about JC recruiting by other programs in 2003.

Some schools do it alot - OK St. had 6 JC, as did Tech. Others (local &/or similar academics) don't OU, USC, Syracuse, BC, ND, UNC, Mia (Fl & Oh), UVA all had less than 2 per year. Most were filling immediate needs and a few were kids needing to qualify (both at Miami signed out of Texas HS's). Looks like you cannot sign in December unless you qualified out of HS (I may be wrong), so most of the signees are in February last year in the JC ranks - don't worry about the numbers just yet.

Finally, while there may be grade inflation on the recruiting services this year, SMU has more 3 star recruits this year than total last and a solid number going into the quiet period. We haven't received as many verbals as last year to date, however with this season's record, we shouldn't expect anything better. We have a long way to go, however the current manner of recruiting isn't the problem...it ain't who we are going after, but who we end up with