No more excuses, SMU should be competive with Baylor

[JasonB]

1) Rebel, if you actually read what I posted, I said next year is going to be a struggle against Baylor. In two years, our younger talent is upperclassmen and that makes a huge difference. As I said in my post, I expect us to struggle against Baylor next year and early in the season, and that we shouldn't be at that point in the program. I don't know what about my post is a "June-suck-up" comment. I am certainly not saying that we will struggle because of youth, and that is a valid excuse for June. There is a gap of quality upper classmen on the team and that comes down to coaching.

Stallion, I fully realize that our classes aren't ranked very highly. I get it. That said, there are a lot of players that came in the last two recruiting classes who look great in practice,; a lot better than the classes before them. The team is going to go through some significant growing pains early next season because of the youth. But there are some really, really good players in there. We just don't have enough good players ahead of them to allow them to grow up a little bit. It is one thing to have a couple of younger players in the starting lineup. But this lineup is really young next year:

QB: Burcham - So, limited experience
RB: Line - So
Outside WR: Taylor, Halverson - So, So
Inside WR: Sanders, DJ - So, Jr
LT: Weeks - So
LG: Rice - So
C: Lasecki - Jr
RG: McCarty - So
RT: Briggs - Jr
LE: Minor - So
RE: Nabusosh - Jri
DT: Hollie - Fr/So
OLB: Seals, Longoria - Jr, So
ILB: Yenga, Horton - Fr, Jr
CB: Montes, JR Richardson - So, So
S: Montgomery, Randolph - So, Jr

The reason our team is going to be so young next year is 1) We couldn't keep some of the "better" players in past classes in school and 2) the players that came in last year and the year before are a lot better than the recruiting rankings show.

Finally, the reason for the Durall recruiting (and he is no where near the level of recruit McNeal was): in the Mumme offense, we move to a split back set at times, with a power back and a scat back. Lagasse played that scat back role this season; Sims and Lancaster were both ahead of him in the depth chart before getting hurt. When all three went down, the formation left the playbook, but it is an integral part of the offense and you will continue to see players recruited for that spot.

[Rebel10]

I guess UCF decided not to give up in spite of what the people were saying but I guess SMU should be expected to not make a game of it. We have not, as Stallion pointed out, lost a "better" player due to academic issues. JasonB says the players are better than the rankings but how does he know one way or the other? JasonB is the same guy the ranted and raved about Robert Seals and predicted a 9-3 season. He has zero credibility other than being a good at posting a bunch of rhetoric. Next thing you know JasonB will say that we will lose to UNT even though UNT will lose more starters than SMU.

[SMU 86]

Losing to UNT would be good for the SMU program.

[skurtn]

I'm wondering at what point some posters get tired of typing the exact same things, but in different ways:

• <Insert something about JJ's game time coaching decisions>
• <Insert something about JJ recruiting, and how bad it sucks>
• <Insert something about JJ not caring about SMU>
• <Insert something about mediocrity>

Did I miss anything? If not, your message is loud and clear. You've been saying it for years now.

Now to wait for the obligatory response: "When the rest of the JJ supporters finally get it."

[SMUer]

What is something positive about SMU football that you'd like to discuss?

[Grant Carter]

What is something positive about SMU football that you'd like to discuss?

Seems like JasonB wanted to discuss what the starting lineup could look like in a couple of years.

[BigT3x]

Seems like JasonB wanted to discuss what the starting lineup could look like in a couple of years.

He made the ridiculous assertion that we're going to have the best lineup since the DP.

The dearth of offers our recruits have says otherwise.

[Silk]

Well look Mr JJ suck up if it is the most competitive team he will have had he should be competitive with Baylor. Baylor has loses as well due to graduation. We have the offseason to develop and get better with the player you say are good recruits. We keep it close with UCF with our backup QB and USF beat Baylor by 10. We say that every year about the team struggling early and playing better late. That shouldn't be that case next year in the 7th year of Jones. No more excuses. No more enabling for another year from the JJ suck ups.

Lighten up. Just because someone's opinion is different or more optimistic than yours doesn't make anyone a suckup. It's a difference of opinion.

With all due respect to Neal Burcham, the fact that a Blake Bortles-led UCF team knocked off Baylor doesn't mean we'll stay with Baylor. They have more talent, speed and depth, although ours is getting better. They'll be on cloud 9 because of their new stadium, and maybe angry because they lost their bowl game. We could hang with them, or we could get blown out. We'll see.

[PerunaPunch]

in one of the worst conferences in the country.

Be sure to ask the Big XII champion how they like playing the AAC champ.

I'm sad that my boss is a UNT grad, however I'm having a lot of fun poking my Bear co-workers today.

In a related note, I'm a little concerned about our match-up with UNT next year. That's a sad, sad thing to admit.

[Stallion]

are we really getting better-I'd say there is solid evidence this program has stair-stepped down for 3 years in talent. Where is all this hidden talent on our roster and why didn't they play this year even though a bunch lost a redshirt year. None of those freshman kids apparently were impressive enough to get more than token playing time. Many of the redshirt freshman/sophmores who many hoped would step up failed to show. The recruiting services don't rate SMU's recent classes any higher-in fact last 2 classes plus the 2014 Class are poor. As for Baylor-I believe our Coach has already signaled to our team that we can't hope to play with Baylor at Home much less on the Road.

[Stallion]

Rivals Blended Average of last 3 Classes (Total Points + Average Points Per Recruit Divided by 2:

No 85 in the Country over period of Class of 2012, 2013 and 2014. Here are the numbers

2012
Total-No. 90
Average-No. 73
Blended-No. 81.5

2013
Total- No. 71
Average- No. 81
Blended-No. 76

2014
Total-No. 84
Average- No. 111*
Blended-No. 97.5

[PerunaPunch]

We have not, as Stallion pointed out, lost a "better" player due to academic issues.

I heard one our our "better" OLs recently joined the Texas Tech squad...

We lost LeReibus for a year due to academic issues (grades were fine, but he got bad advice from his advisor and didn't make adequate progress toward a degree).

The OL from transfer from LSU had to sit because some of his credits wouldn't transfer. There are some a couple of kids on the current team who couldn't play this year for the same reason.

What happened to highly touted LBs Damien Neroes and Lincoln Richard?

Those are a few off the top of my head.

[ebrooks11]

I guess UCF decided not to give up in spite of what the people were saying but I guess SMU should be expected to not make a game of it. We have not, as Stallion pointed out, lost a "better" player due to academic issues. JasonB says the players are better than the rankings but how does he know one way or the other? JasonB is the same guy the ranted and raved about Robert Seals and predicted a 9-3 season. He has zero credibility other than being a good at posting a bunch of rhetoric. Next thing you know JasonB will say that we will lose to UNT even though UNT will lose more starters than SMU.

Did JasonB sleep with your wife?

[skurtn]

What is something positive about SMU football that you'd like to discuss?

Who said anything about "positive" or "negative" discussions?

[Stallion]

We have not, as Stallion pointed out, lost a "better" player due to academic issues.

I heard one our our "better" OLs recently joined the Texas Tech squad...

We lost LeReibus for a year due to academic issues (grades were fine, but he got bad advice from his advisor and didn't make adequate progress toward a degree).

The OL from transfer from LSU had to sit because some of his credits wouldn't transfer. There are some a couple of kids on the current team who couldn't play this year for the same reason.

What happened to highly touted LBs Damien Neroes and Lincoln Richard?

Those are a few off the top of my head.