McClinton Keeps Door Slightly Open

[Stallion]

in a followup story by the Iowa Rivals site today, McClinton confirmed that Iowa and Kansas are his favorites but added-"SMU and Houston are close to home. I might change my mind and want to stay close to home"

[Pony Fan]

It will go down to the wire, but I think we will likely get him.

[Charleston Pony]

I'm sure he's excited about the opportunity to play at higher profile BCS schools, but hopefully in the end he will realize SMU offers him an opportunity to play where his family and friends can watch, not to mention the future business contacts he can make...assuming he likes Dallas and is considering making it his home after school. Of course, any player who aspires to play on Sundays must know that the NFL will find talent no matter where you play in college. SMU also offers him a chance to play earlier in his career.

[Buddha]

Well thank god he's still considering us. Whether we can get him .... I don't know at this point. But I'd think if we can get him to focus on proximity to home, the chance to play early, build a program from the ground up and superior academics, then he should end up here.

[SMUguy]

We can only hope. Adding a guy like this would go a long way toward shoring up the defensive line.

[Ponymon]

Both Rivals and Insiders say it that McClinton has narrowed it down to Iowa and Kansas. :thumbdown:

[Pony Fan]

Note where the posting came from - the KU site. What would you expect him to tell them? I think we still have a shot here, albeit getting to be a longer shot.

[Recruiting Guru]

Originally posted by Peruna:
Is there any chance at all of getting McClinton AND George Paongo? Saw Irving HS play this year, and that kid's a load. Pretty strong, too. He might not make every tackle, but he sure can plug up the middle while he continues to grow and get stronger. Adding both of them to the DT rotation would make us a whole lot better, and give us much better depth - depth that will be around a while.

PonyFans should not be upset if SMU ends up with Paongo. He's not as celebrated as McClinton, but he might well turn out to be just as effective. O have him listed right at 6-1 (same as McClinton) and just a hair lighter, at 285. But they're both extremely strong for high school players, and Paongo is a step or two quicker. He doesn't have the name recognition that McClinton has, but we have them as equal prospects. Paongo might actually have a better shot at contributing early, as his quickness would allow him to play early and rely on instinct to make plays. In the long run, McClinton might turn out to be the better player, but that's not guaranteed. We have both projected as solid prospects, who frankly should be getting recruited by more big-time schools. Both of these guys should be strong college players.