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Recruiting fans meet Corley Blackmon. He’s the latest in line of Texas sleeper prospects to make a decision to play Division I football for an up-and-coming team in the state of Texas.

“I committed to SMU,” Blackmon, a 5-foot-10, 175-pound cornerback with 4.46-second speed in the 40-yard dash, said. “I like the coaches, and I like the facilities. We played in a 7-on-7 tournament up there at SMU this summer, and I was in awe with how great their facilities were. So when they offered me a scholarship, I couldn’t turn it down.”

Blackmon, a first-team all-district pick on offense as a receiver and on defense at corner, had 11 rushing touchdowns and three touchdown receptions this year. On defense, he had three interceptions.

He was also recruited by Iowa, but will only visit SMU on January 9.

Blackmon plays for Bay City which lost last week in the Class 4A State Championship to North Crowley. Coming into the game he had 81 rushes for 521 yards and 11 TDs plus 42 catches for 611 yards receiving and 2 more TDs. He had 2 Ints coming into last week-guess he got another in the title game. He split time in the backfield.

This feels like a pretty good week - Stallion - what is your take on this? - Are you feeling better about dodging possible post tough-season drop in recruiting - or are we just getting a head fake?

Blackmon appears to be an athlete but a real sleeper from what I can tell. Romo appears to be about our 5th choice not a great sign. Martin looks like perhaps the best RB prospect we've signed in awhile. In fact, Massey, Henderson and Martin is a solid group the likes of which we haven't seen in 20 years. We still need about 3 more top quality recruits to make this the type of class we need.

<small>[ 12-16-2003, 10:45 PM: Message edited by: Stallion ]</small>

Originally posted by Stallion:
Blackmon appears to be an athlete but a real sleeper from what I can tell. Martin looks like perhaps the best RB prospect we've signed in awhile. In fact, Massey, Henderson and Martin is a solid group the likes of which we haven't seen in 20 years,

That might be the most positive thing you've said in a long, long time! Very encouraging.

Any word whether Blackmon was offered by Iowa, or just drawing interest?

Stallion-- I agree about Romo.. should we have signed them or do you think Bennett backed himself into a corner by insisting that we were signing a JUCO QB?

My concern right now is I don't see us getting top recruits at some of our biggest needs like Safety, DT, DE, a big play WR, and some quality OLM. You could always use a few good LBs as well. Personally, I don't think we can call this year a success if those HUGE weaknesses aren't addressed.

Well, those who are managing the distribution of scholarships see it otherwise.

We lose two OLs in Sterling Harris and the great Steve Reindl. We add Justin Boren, Kenard Burley and Caleb Peveto. Less experience, more bodies (and bigger guys will be on the field.

We lose zero defensive linemen. We add Dominic Pryor and Lucky DeLay, who was doing well enough last year that they were going to start him until he got injured.

I don't think it's fair to say Bobby Chase and/or Devon Lowery aren't big-play WRs unless you've seen them play. I've seen Bobby Chase play, but not Lowery. But there's a reason so many schools wanted Lowery, and why Rhett Bomar wanted him to go to OU with Bomar: Lowery is reportedly really good. Chase is huge (6-4, nearly 200), pretty fast and makes the difficult catches.

I'll give you that idea, that there's still a need for more defensive linemen. They weren't horrible (especially Adami) last year, but they should improve nonetheless.

Sure, I'd like to see more linemen, too. But until the good ones start getting in line, Coach Bennett is right to collect as many "best players available" as he can.

<small>[ 12-16-2003, 11:26 PM: Message edited by: ClassOf81 ]</small>

McClinton has to remain a big key to this year's class. We've got plenty of DEs to compete for playing time next year, but really need another DT immediately.

A-men on that. We need two DT's like McClinton.

I've said it before so I won't now.

Go Coaches
Go BIG MEN

It's important to note that you don't recruit just to fill the positions that you're losing this year, but more for in a couple of years. Sure we aren't losing many linemen on either side of the ball this year, but you wouldn't want new recruits to fill those spots anyways. You need a few quality linemen in each class.

Blackmon is a player who hasn't drawn a lot of attention, until recently, from recruiting experts (including us, I admit), but his stock is soaring among college coaches. I've been told many other college coaches aren't ready to give up on him.

Blackmon has two primary assets going for him as he readies himself for the college game.

(1) - Great athleticism. He's not as fast as Jessie Henderson, for example, but he's pretty close. But more than his raw speed, he has great strength, which allows him to play at top speed almost under complete control. There are some DBs who have the speed to run with WRs, but once the receiver stops, the DB sails by, unable to harness his legs .... not the case with Blackmon. He has very good speed, but plays under control, rarely getting his feet too tangled to stop quickly or go up for a high pass. He also is pretty solid in run support. He's not a crushing hitter, but he's fairly solid tackler, and clearly doesn't fear contact.

(2) - A very short memory. Every DB gets beat once in a while. Once that is accepted, one indicator that a player has a CHANCE to be a very good college DB is if he is able to forget a play on which he got beat, stay confident and aggressive, stay true to his technique and the team's gameplan and not take stupid chances to make up for an earlier mistake. Blackmon doesn't get beat often, but when it does happen, what's most impressive is the way he reacts on the ensuing plays. He maintains his composure. He doesn't show the other team that he's rattled. He covers the next route like he hadn't been thrown at all day: aggressive but smart -- without taking ill-advised risks. Like a pitcher in baseball after serving up a home run, a cornerback who gets beat needs to have a short memory. Blackmon does.

Thanks, Guru! Your input is invaluable to this site. It's great to hear from somone who's seen these guys in action. (I know, not all of them, but it sounds like you've seen a bunch.) Really enjoy reading your stuff.