New Commitment-per Rivals

[Terry Webster]

Commitment #10 on Rivals also.

[PonyDoh]

PonyDoh = mission to beat down JJ in hopes of making Doh look better

Honestly, the recruits JJ is getting this year almost all have BCS offers...This kid doesn't but with DT you have to take your shots sometimes...

Actually, I want Doh gone after this year, unless we win an unprecedented number of games, so don't feed me that. I just know what it takes to rehab the head coaching position at SMU, so we can hire the right candidate. Never have liked Doh personally or professionally. I'll defend the state of the program all day though, mostly b/c the one-sided negative banter kills recruiting.

I'm not beating JJ down, he's just not recruiting as well as you polyannas want to believe. Nick, two commits in two days, no D1 offers between them. That's completely fair, as well as very dissapointing

[PonyDoh]

PonyDoh - I said recruits not recruit - this recruit is very strong and probably has been overlooked due to his size - if the coaches believe he can play then that is good enough for me - why don't you go back to the basketball forum and defend the remarkable basketball program we have or have you run out of bs on that subject?

What I said would happen w/hoops is coming to fruition. We either win big or Doh goes home. Either way, the job/position is being rehabbed through patience, which is smart. The first smart thing Orsini has done w/regards to hoops. Personally I hope Doh goes home, but won't cheer for the team to lose, like you did last year.

As for Wimbley, I love his strength and power, but it's completely legitimate to gripe over two kids in two days, w/no viable offers between them. We aren't recruiting particularly well out of the gate at all. Certainly not as well as last year at the same time. We'll see though, long way to go.

[ClickClack]

ponydoh, while I agree with you (and dont think many disagree) that we would prefer to be getting commits who are offered by other programs..there is a reason JJ and staff offer the players they do...more specifically, there is a reason they offer these guys this early in the recruiting game. I will throw out three names from the 2009 class JJ brought in who did not have another D1A offer...Kyle Padron, Taylor Reed, Sterling Moore...looks like they are all contributing at a high level...

I will admit, when I saw Commintment #10, it was a headscratcher..but I will defer to the coaching staff whose track record speaks for itself...

[NickSMU17]

It has been addressed on here time and time again that Dtackle is the hardest position to find...If they can find a kid who they think can grow into the position I trust the staff...they may greyshirt him, ect...

Either way you cut it, JJ knows what he is doing and we will be a better team each year he is here...record may not show it this year, but we will be a better team...

The last commit seems to be a punter more than a player...just the way I read it...

[PonyDoh]

ponydoh, while I agree with you (and dont think many disagree) that we would prefer to be getting commits who are offered by other programs..there is a reason JJ and staff offer the players they do...more specifically, there is a reason they offer these guys this early in the recruiting game. I will throw out three names from the 2009 class JJ brought in who did not have another D1A offer...Kyle Padron, Taylor Reed, Sterling Moore...looks like they are all contributing at a high level...

I will admit, when I saw Commintment #10, it was a headscratcher..but I will defer to the coaching staff whose track record speaks for itself...

Click Clack, you can't run a program based on the exception to the rule. Ultimately, there will always be diamonds in the rough, and there is a place for them in a class of 25 kids. They just shouldn't make up half the kids in said class. At some point, to really step up into a BCS buster role, we need to stop relying on unearthing prospects, and beat legit competition for impact kids w/real consistency. We're not at that point yet, I get it , it's just slightly dissapointing.

[ClickClack]

ponydoh, while I agree with you (and dont think many disagree) that we would prefer to be getting commits who are offered by other programs..there is a reason JJ and staff offer the players they do...more specifically, there is a reason they offer these guys this early in the recruiting game. I will throw out three names from the 2009 class JJ brought in who did not have another D1A offer...Kyle Padron, Taylor Reed, Sterling Moore...looks like they are all contributing at a high level...

I will admit, when I saw Commintment #10, it was a headscratcher..but I will defer to the coaching staff whose track record speaks for itself...

Click Clack, you can't run a program based on the exception to the rule. Ultimately, there will always be diamonds in the rough, and there is a place for them in a class of 25 kids. They just shouldn't make up half the kids in said class. At some point, to really step up into a BCS buster role, we need to stop relying on unearthing prospects, and beat legit competition for impact kids w/real consistency. We're not at that point yet, I get it , it's just slightly dissapointing.

I understand that kids without offers who turn out to be contributors are the exception..not the rule. but a couple things...1. Of that 2009 class there were 5 kids who had no other D1A offers that enrolled at SMU...the three I named all contributed at a HIGH level. The other is Brandon Henderson who is making a position change but from all acounts is lookign good and the other is Hollifield who never really played football in high school and was a COMPLETE chance. so, of the 5 in that class 3 contributed at a high level right away...1 looks promising and one the jury is still out although I admit it doesnt look good.

Another thing to keep in mind for the 2011 class....some of these kids do not have other D1A offers...YET. it is still so early in the recruiting process...lots can happen during their Sr. year...it is not uncommon where JJ offersaguy and weeks later a kid gets other offers...still lots of time..Even in the big scheme of things, its still early, after 1 winning season did you really expect to be recruiting like TCU is? It will take time, but we will get to be in the position to win recruiting battles with the likes of TCU, texas tech, A&M, etc...

[smupony]

Here's how I see it:

Get the low hanging fruit first (guys with potential and little to no offers). Easier to get a commitment and maybe getting ahead of the curve (before they have a senior year and more looks). Then battle for the guys that have opportunities beyond SMU. We will pick up better players along the way (for example Nlemchi).

[Mexmustang]

It seems to me, it is still early in the recruiting year. Yes, many of those most highly ranked recruits have already been taken off the table, but it is still early for the coaches to be taking projects just to fill a class. These coaches know what a Div l player should be and I am still assuming we will have a smaller class this year, they must really see something in these offers. Before these coaches came on board we signed a large number of 3 star players and very few proved to be Div l players.

[crazy horse]

Last year I believe we ended up with recruits receiving a total of 18 BCS offers reported - that's based on the recruiting roundup. By far, Fields was the leader with 7, Guinyard - 4, O'Guin - 3, Parks - 2, Johnson & Gottschalk - 1 each. It was also reported that Kaiser had attention late from USC and Tennesee. I'm sure there might have been others that had some attention, but were solid in their commitment to us.

I would love to see 20+ recruits with an offer list like Fields. But I am also realistic that 20 years of losing takes some time to prove to recruits, media, high school coaches etc that SMU is for real. We took a big step last year and this year will be even more important to show progress.

Having said that, I trust this staff with player evaluations more than any previous staff in recent memory. They continue to turn up hidden gems as mentioned in earlier posts and threads. Now if they can snag a few more like Fields, it will be even better. In the future, I would feel much better beating out Baylor, Iowa State and Kansas than Portland State, Louisiana directionals, South Alabama and Blinn for recruits.

[PonyDoh]

these are measured responses and appreciated. I'm certainly not trying to dog these kids, as I'm happy they've chosen SMU, but it's time to pull some bigger fish.

[panhandle_pony]

Not to de-rail the above banter, but one of our posters mentioned a 10th commitment. Any word/confirmation on this ?

[untitled]

these are measured responses and appreciated. I'm certainly not trying to dog these kids, as I'm happy they've chosen SMU, but it's time to pull some bigger fish.

Considering the extent of your patience with Doh and the basketball program, I'm surprised you don't show the same patience for JJ and the football program. After all, it is JJ's team that is showing significant signs of progress, something that makes patience come easier to many of us. And, yes, I am aware that the SMU basketball job carried with it certain obstacles which necessitated a complete rebuild, but do you really want to compare those obstacles to the ones that faced all of the post-DP football coaches?

[The PonyGrad]

I like one of the comments that describes JJ recruits as hidden gems. That is a lot different than projects. Wait and see what happens with these kids during their senoir years before whining.

Remember that, according to JJ and crew, our last class was better than anything they had at Hawaii and they were top ten, I think, at one point.

[ozfan]

When looking at your recruiting you can only compare your efforts to your conference rivals For the last recruiting class Houston and Tulsa both rated higher than SMU (Houston rated ahead of TCU) and in the other division of CUSA Southern Miss., UCF, Memphis and Marshall all rated higher than SMU.
We will most likely find out in a couple of years who is winning the recruiting war.