Craig James's son

[me@smu]

myrdel, I realize that there is no rule that says he has to stay at TE. He could switch to LB where his close to acceptable speed would make him the 2nd slowest LB prospect that is currently mentioning SMU.

That is beside the point, which is that we have a limited amount of scholarships. I would like to see them used on athletes that we think will win us ballgames, not athletes whose dad can get our name on TV. If that was the goal then lets close up the scouting and just go buy a guide of who's who at ESPN, because it isn't Craig James who is deciding what games to air on TV.

[BigEasyPony]

For us not to recruit Craig James' son is stupid. Politically, it's about the dumbest thing I have ever heard. Offer him a scholarship if only to have Craig James in your court. I understand the argument that SMU should not be giving out charity, but our recruiting over the past 10 years makes me think we've been quite charitable. This is a no brainer. If Gerald J. Ford had a grandson who played football, do you think we would give him a scholarship? Hmmmmmmmmm. Yeah.

Craig James is one of the all time greats at SMU and the reality is we need him to be speaking out positively about SMU. My guess is that his son could be moved to another position as well as special teams.

[Eddie P]

This is a wacky post. Other blue chip players do not CARE where Adam James plays ball. This does not AFFECT our recruiting. And we often offer the best ATHLETES a scholarship and move them around but how many schools draft a high school TE and then switch him to a differennt position because he's an incredible ATHLETE? C'mon.

And I agree...there are some things you just DO in life because it's the right thing to do. This is not one of them. There isn't really any logical explanation for offering a kid a scholarship unless the COACHING STAFF feels that he can contribute to an area of need. TE is hardly an area of weakness on this team. And goodness gracious...how can people speculate that he'll just seamlessly switch to LB or some other positon????!!!! Goodness...

[abezontar]

admittedly I am not that knowledgeable about what other teams do, but it seems to me that other schools would be more than happy to offer a star's kid a very nice scholarship, just not necessarily an atheletic scholarship, why should we give him an atheletic scholarship if he doesn't deserve one, is this standard operating procedure at most universities?

and no offense to Craig James (who was nice enough to me to keep me from being thrown out of a game) since he was part of the problem, it is his responsibility to help SMU clean up the mess, part of which is to help us get back to respectable status without cheating (too much) Same goes for Eric Dickerson

[Eddie P]

One more thing....


There are people who give oodles and oodles of money to the program, whose sons played football at their respective high schools. Don't assume that most parents would make such an arrogant demand to have their kid get a scholarship not because of what the kid can do, but because of what they do. And certainly don't assume that when such asinine demands are made, that SMU complies or should comply.

As you can probably tell, I'm not a big fan of people's sense of entitlement.

[me@smu]

[quote="BigEasyPony"]... I understand the argument that SMU should not be giving out charity, but our recruiting over the past 10 years makes me think we've been quite charitable. This is a no brainer. [/quote]

And look where the 10 years of charity has gotten us. The point is we are trying to change the mindset and perception of SMU football. Lets get the biggest, fastest, best players we can find and get them on the field...no matter who their dad's are. If at the end of the recruiting process, it looks like we have an extra scholarship then by all means give it to daddy's little boy. However, lets exhaust the options before we go after an undersized TE/slow LB/what ever other position we want to discuss him playing.

I have wasted entirely too much time reading interview after interview by rising seniors and have yet to come across some one who wanted to come to SMU because Craig James said to.

Bottom line is that not offering a scholarship to a kid who apparently isn't interested in us is not a horrible political move. It instead sends the message that we don't care who your dad is...if you are good enough you get to play if not, we will find someone who is good enough.

[jtstang]

There isn't really any logical explanation for offering a kid a scholarship unless the COACHING STAFF feels that he can contribute to an area of need.

Well said, Eddie P, and Ryan Hopkins thanks his lucky stars SMU coaches don't read your fine work.

[ALEX LIFESON]

Doak Walker's grandson got a scholorship, and he can't kick the ball over the lineman's heads.

[PonyPower]

Comparing Doak Walker's legacy to that of Craig James is not a comparison that can be made. That's not apples to oranges, that's apples to .... mayonnaise or something.

Two things.
1. Coming back in 2006, we will have the following scholarship TEs:
Ryan Kennedy
Vincent Chase
Jeff Brock
Andrew McKinney
Mario Walker

2. We're not going to have a full class of scholarships next year. We have a small-ish senior class, plus Alexander, Dizer and Hickman counting against the 2006 list. If we're going to sign another TE prospect, he needs to be 6'7" and 260 and run a 4.4 with terrific hands. At this point, we're more than set at TE for the next year or two. To add another, he must be a huge stud.

And I don't see the need to cater to Craig James, despite his stature among the great players in SMU history. What does he do for the school? Does he give to the Mustang Club? I don't know. Does he come to games? No, although that must be forgiven since he's in a studio someplace (New York, I assume.) Does he make appearances at or for the school? Not that I know of. Does he talk about his SMU lineage -- mentioning the school by name -- on TV? Never. Not that he should tout the SMU/Tulsa game over Auburn/Alabama, or anything, but you hear Clark Kellogg talk about Ohio State throughout the basketball season, and you hear enough Notre Dame mentions from Rocket Ismail to make me want to puke.

Finally, Craig's complaints that we haven't recruited his son are flat inaccurate. The "they only send me form letters" complaint is not true. SMU has sent personal, hand-written letters to him, and have gotten little to no response. He's 30 minutes away, or so, and to the best of my knowledge has never taken even an unofficial visit. You'd think that even if he had no interest in SMU (which might or might not be the case), he'd be on campus with some frequency just because it's where his dad became a star.

Look, I don't know if he can play or not, and I don't know how much interest he has in SMU .... or vice versa. I do know that the coaches are still evaluating players, and will continue to do so at their camps (which Adam would be well served to attend, if he wants a scholarship to his father's alma mater) and through the season. It's clear to me that Craig is trying to help promote his son. Fine -- I'd do the same thing. But to suggest that SMU hasn't shown enough genuine interest smacks of sour grapes or an ulterior motive. SMU has made an effort to learn more about Adam -- as a player, not as Craig's son -- and now it's his turn to return the interest.

Maybe he's a very talented player, maybe he's just a guy who has a well-connected dad who's trying to get the best possible opportunity for his son (which all of us would do, I might add) -- even if that means sending tapes to schools that normally wouldn't even send him a form letter -- I have no way of knowing. What I do know is that before anyone suggests that he's not getting the deserved love from SMU, they should realize that this guy has gotten every ounce of attention that a guy with OK size and good-but-not-great speed deserves. If he has a huge year, maybe we crank it up a notch. But let's not go criticizing the coaches for not doing what they have, in fact, done.

[Pony Fan]

I know this may be a real revolutionary thought but I think we have to rely on our coaches to determine if players can play for us and help us win or not. Note in the Rivals article he has NO offers yet and I don't think anybody thinks we are going to win with making courtesy offers to former players' children. My understanding also is that he is nowhere near to 6'3" and maybe not as fast as advertised. We are indeed trying to recruit him but I hear that to date he is not being real responsive to our efforts.

[Stallion]

and Doak Walker went literally decades without attending SMU games.

[Corso]

I know this may be a real revolutionary thought but I think we have to rely on our coaches to determine if players can play for us and help us win or not. Note in the Rivals article he has NO offers yet and I don't think anybody thinks we are going to win with making courtesy offers to former players' children. My understanding also is that he is nowhere near to 6'3" and maybe not as fast as advertised. We are indeed trying to recruit him but I hear that to date he is not being real responsive to our efforts.

Well said.

Although I heard he has grown, and the listed size might be legit (as for the speed, I have no idea). But ideally, you want your TEs to be even bigger than that, and we'll have a pack of them when he comes out. If he's a player who can help, I'm sure the coaches will offer him. If not, we can't be wasting scholarships on a guy just because his dad was a stud player for the Ponies. Our coaches can evaluate talent just fine. Let them. If we have a small-ish class in February (and the number of signees will be determined between now and then), then I don't think TE should be our top priority. We have talent at that spot.

[Eddie P]

JT Stang,

You're a real freaking genius. Okay smartguy...which 5 star football recruit will be attending SMU with James?? Which one? Which nationally recruited stud will only attend SMU with the understanding that James comes too?

Please! What a piss-poor comparison. I'll give 2 for 1 scholarships in football all day under that scenario.

Comparing the Adam James saga with the Hopkins brothers is downright silly.

[jtstang]

Comparing the Adam James saga with the Hopkins brothers is downright silly.

Jeez, I compliment you on your sensibilities and this is the thanks I get? Nobody ought to be given any athletic scholarship when it is expressly contemplated that they won't contribute. Frankly, B Hopkins hasn't lived up to his billing and now he's threatening to leave, so my criticism stands.

[EastStang]

First Craig mentions SMU, and when he doesn't someone mentions his SMU lineage referring either to him as the old Mustang or part of the SMU Pony Express. And every time he draws a TCU game, he seems to tick them off big time (which I always call a plus). If we have a small class and can't afford a scholarship, that's a legitimate reason, but if we're going to use a scholarship to sign some unrated quarterback from a 6 man school instead, then I say use it on him. If for no other reason than Craig James would say every now and then on the air that his son is on special teams at SMU. Or would you rather risk one of our good tight ends on wedge breaking duty?