Couple of thoughts

[JasonB]

- Parks is going to go from starter to potentially behind JR, Horace and Gray. that is crazy improvement.
- At safety last year we were begging for anyone to show up. This year, we have Randolph, Greenbaur, AJ Justice battling it out, a much better situation.
- At OL last year we were hoping not to get killed. This year we have depth, size, and athleticism up and down the line.
- I wonder how much the shoulder surgery forced GG to drill every ball this year. The reports of him having more touch may simply be because his shoulder feels normal.
- It sounds like the frosh four are going to be good receivers for years, and are going to push the starters.
- For what everyone says was a really bad recruiting class, we sure do have a truckload of freshmen pushing their way into the two deep and making plays in camp for a team that is going to be deeper and better than it has been in years past.

[East Coast Mustang]

Strongly agree with your last point.

As for the OL, is Ashcraft really the projected starter at LT, moving Gottshalk to LG? If so, wow. Either way, it sounds like a he's a great addition at a position that needed some extra depth.

[Rebel10]

June has said that Darrion Richardson looks good as well. OL played fine last year but now that we have a better OL coach hopefully they play better. Basically the same people were on the OL last year except Ashcraft whether they started or not. When this many freshmen are in the mix for playing time that usually means you have not recruited well in the past. That does not necessarily mean this is a gangbusters class. We have to see how they do on the field when the real hitting occurs. I hope they do well. The question marks now are on the d line because as Mason indicated that we will not be as big (weight wise) as years past (is that because of recruiting, development or both?). No one said that it was a REALLY bad class but most thought it could have been much better with the team having gone to 3 or 4 consecutive bowl games. Hopefully, things turn out well on the field where it counts. Let's wait until SMU gets past the 6 or 7 regular season win total before we start declaring this as the best team ever. JasonB are you JJ's girlfriend?

[ALEX LIFESON]

Gray is injured and out for the season.

[mrydel]

Without knowing the real talent, could not the fact that so many freshman are pushing for position be due to the previous years of lower level recruiting rather than this past yerar recruiting being so good? It is all relative but there comes a time when you need to be able to refill rather than reload.

[ponyinNC]

If we were recruiting like we should have been, then most freshmen would RS and have the necessary time to get bigger/stronger. There will always be some FR studs that get to see significant playing time (Minor/Gaines), but the majority of the new class should RS.

[JasonB]

From a recruiting rating standpoint, our class three years ago was the best in ages, and it was deemed to drop sharply in quality last year and again this year.

Just saying that last years class obviously was not as bad as people made it out to be.

There is a lot of revisionist history going on because last year there was a ton of conversation about how awful our recruiting was. Jones specifically stated that he liked the class because they were good players and big enough to play at a bcs level. Isn't that, in fact, what we are actually seeing?

Maybe the staff is actually just good talent evaluators?

[ponyinNC]

I think the staff evaluates talent very well, and really coaches up the players to exceed expectations (ZLine, MHunt, SMoore, etc.). That's not my issue.

My issue has always been the lack of effort in recruiting. The unwillingness to compete for the top talent in Texas and nationwide. Too many times I have read on rivals or scout that recruits haven't heard from coaches, the coaches made an offer and never followed up. One recruit stated that SMU was "the weirdest recruiting experience out of any school."

If that was a one-off, I wouldn't be concerned. But it has happened too many times IMHO.

I think the additions of JP and Mumme have really helped on the trail in securing the kind of talent I want to see at SMU.

[Rebel10]

I and others said that lass was a good CUSA class but not necessary a good Big East class (AAC). The top recruits in the class are doing as expected. Gaines, Taylor, Minor, Dickerson, and Shead were expected to compete and they are. We had several 3 star recruits in the class so your use of hyperbole seems to be a redaction as well. When you do what is expected is the an out of the norm thing? Even you (JB) said that the recruiting could be better. Anyway, I just hope we don't burn too many redshirts. June seems to burn them like it is nothing sometimes. JasonB while you continue the poster board brown nosing of JJ let's let these kids play before we say whether it is a top AAC caliber class or not.

[San Antonio Mustang]

In 2012 I vocally was upset with the lack of recruiting effort by our staff. I called for Coach Jones to retire. In fact I wrote him a letter suggesting just that and in the alternative suggested to the President and AD he be fired. From my rather distant view it appears that all of our complaining about the recruiting resulted in an increased effort by the staff. There even were reports of Coach Jones making home visits (he may have made unreported visits in the past - I don't know.) From what I read we were actually in contention for better players, and got some. Time will tell. I certainly hope so and hope that I can write another letter to Coach Jones commending him on his staff's recruiting.

[RyanSMU98]

I think the staff evaluates talent very well, and really coaches up the players to exceed expectations (ZLine, MHunt, SMoore, etc.). That's not my issue.

My issue has always been the lack of effort in recruiting. The unwillingness to compete for the top talent in Texas and nationwide. Too many times I have read on rivals or scout that recruits haven't heard from coaches, the coaches made an offer and never followed up. One recruit stated that SMU was "the weirdest recruiting experience out of any school."

If that was a one-off, I wouldn't be concerned. But it has happened too many times IMHO.

I completely agree with this. The fact that JJ has coached up marginal talent is a credit to his ability, but the lackadaisical approach to recruiting leaves us all wondering what this staff could do with true top-notch players. I don't like doing a lot of JJ vs. LB recruiting comparisons, but there is one notable difference: basketball isn't afraid to go after anyone and puts in the effort to be in the conversation; football gives the impression that they assume the recruiting battle is lost before it even begins. That is what bothers me. Add to that the consistent issue of recruits not hearing back from coaches and it shows a staff willing to settle for a class rather than recruit a class. We got away with it to a certain degree in CUSA, but those days are gone and if this staff isn't up to the task of taking us to the next level it is time to thank them and send them on their way.

[Stallion]

If Traylon Shead, Gilbert and Ashcraft don't fall right in SMU's lap I would be extremely confident picking this team to win 3 games this year. Is that great recruiting? If those 3 play up to their 13 stars SMU might have a chance to exceed expectations. If they were to play at an All-Star level would some of you discount recruiting stars or would you embrace it? That would be an interesting quandry.

[ponyinNC]

If Traylon Shead, Gilbert and Ashcraft don't fall right in SMU's lap I would be extremely confident picking this team to win 3 games this year. Is that great recruiting? If those 3 play up to their 13 stars SMU might have a chance to exceed expectations. If they were to play at an All-Star level would some of you discount recruiting stars or would you embrace it?

Just playing Devils Advocate, but the major reason we secured GG is because of JJ's relationship with Gale Gilbert, GG's dad. Getting GG allowed us to have an "in" with Shead and Ashcraft, which was very serendipitous indeed. But it did start with Coach Jones and his relatonship to Gale.

I agree with you, however, that if those 3 kids do not come to SMU, we are in trouble. Line or Nlemchi starting at RB, Neal Burcham at QB, and likely a FR on the line somewhere. Yes, 3 w's would be the estimate there.

Although I look at recruiting as a combination of both HS, JUCO and Transfer kids. A lot of quality programs go the Juco route, and some amazing players have come from those programs. And being in B12 country, we should be a fantastic landing spot for transfers from local Dallas kids who, for whatever reason, leave UT, TT, Baylor, TCU, TAMU et al.

Many schools will block transfers within conference, so for a Texas kid, if you want to stay in state, yu may be limited to UH, SMU, UNT etc.

[Stallion]

Oh I agree that is our niche advantage (not the fact our graduate schools might attract players). Its just a fact that with so many Texas players leaving home for BCS schools and/or Big 12 schools-SMU and UH have a great chance at those wanting to head back home to Dallas or Houston. UH has been doing that for decades. TCU has done it for decades. SMU finally caught on. These BCS transfers-generally -not always drop down a level so CUSA and now AAC is a great landing spot.

[couch 'em]

Every year at this time we hear about how great the new players are and how they are pushing into the depth chart. Will they show up in the game this time?