Couple of thoughts

[ponyinNC]

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.

Exactly. But unfortunately, we can't rely soley on that "niche" as a lot of events have to come together at just the right time for the transfer kids to work out. Maybe 2-4 any given year.

I'd love to see us rely more on the Juco route if we cannot make inroads with the top HS talent in Texas. If I recall, TT has been filling up their classes with Jucos for a while.

But ultimately, we have to get in on the HS kids in Texas, and make our case. Be aggressive, not passive. Don't wait for kids to come to us!

I have always hated that statement by JJ that he "only wants kids that want to be here."

That is no way to recruit top players. That is like a sales person saying "I only want to sell my products to people who already want them." That is not how it works. And recruiting IS BASICALLY sales. You have to sell your school, your program, everything.

[sbsmith]

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?

Not early on, we don't exactly have an OOC slate conducive to working out kinks. If they hit their stride at all this season it'll be after the Rutgers game when the schedule lightens up a bit and they've gotten several games of experience under their belts.

[gostangs]

exactly - it is going to feel just like every other year until game 5. Thats what happens when you schedule poorly - you stop all momentun before the season even starts, and we get buried on page 10 for the last 2 months of the season.

[jpe747]

I'm not sure we understand how hard it has been to recruit top players to SMU football. I don't think the better players have wanted to play for a small crowd when they can play for a team in the SEC or Big 12. And, there are other benefits to playing for the big state schools. As for TCU, I am happy for them that they turned their program around. Perhaps they should be our model or something. However, for the last 20+ years they have been in a much better situation then we have.

I have to believe we turned the corner from being the worst team in college football to a good team because of JJ. Moreover, we are seeing evidence that the last couple of years have been more successful at recruiting than some alumni thought. And, I think the 2014 class is stronger than any since the DP.

That being said, I too have questions as to how strong an effort has been made in recruiting. Perhaps it is just perception, but it is a major concern for the program. I think the recent coaching additions have brought some excitement to the school and given us a better image that should help in recruiting. Lets hope that we take advantage of the situation.