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Stallion, the noseguard was Chris Pahula or something like that. Kid was a mini Chris Zorich. Personally, I think Cavan's '97 class was better then this class, although I don't follow like I once did. Almost hit on Tellis Redmon as well

yeah I added Alex Pahulu in and the second WR was named Newsome from Oklahoma who I think transferred too-It all fell apart. Probably because they were cheating to get kids in under SMU's more stringent admission standards rather than just NCAA standards.

Pahulu wound up at Texas St I think

For whats its worth, Scout currently has SMU at #59:

FOOTBALL RECRUITING RANKINGS
Rk. School Commits Conf. Points
1 Florida 26 SEC 5275
2 Oklahoma 29 Big 12 4961
3 Texas 22 Big 12 4513
4 Alabama 24 SEC 4360
5 Auburn 28 SEC 3937
6 LSU 25 SEC 3791
7 Penn State 18 Big Ten 3741
8 Washington 29 Pac-10 3536
9 Michigan 26 Big Ten 3442
10 Georgia 19 SEC 3283
59 SMU 22 Conf USA 1227

Scout by the way has SMU with just 6 Three Star Recruits-some I think they have totally missed-I just don't think they go deep enough in their evaluation of non-BCS schools to be of much use. I think they have missed on Jeremy Johnson, Rickey Collins, Bordano, O'Guin and probably Beard or Thornton who I think are probably 3 stars.Don't really think Swope is a Three Star. On the other hand Rivals screwed the hooch on their ratings too. 75% of the Texas Class don't deserve 3 Stars and above-that's ridiculous. Scout has about 170 Three Star and above Texas High School recruits-about the Top 45% but Scout does little to differentiate or distinguish the bottom 55% -so most non-BCS recruits are treated the same which I don't buy at all

JaGared Davis and Taylor Reed were Rivals 2 stars last year. While I think Rivals does a great job with ratings, this is an art, not a science. We'll see if JJ can evaluate better than the crowd. Only time will tell. He's going to have to if he seriously wants to compete with the "high majors".

I liked Cavan's and Bennett's BEST classes but they were one and done..fortunately for us, JJ's classes are going to get better every year.

Your right about "art" and "science". At least this time we have a real head coach with plenty of experience grading out "potential", instead of coaches deserately trying fill out a class.

On Scout's list, I was surprised to see Auburn and Michigan so high. Especially Michigan with all the "complaints" and "rumors" surrounding their head coach. Looks like Auburn will not give Alabama a clear path to the championship for long.

Add Vic Viloria's class of 1998 to that list of strong post DP classes. It was the last class before Malin killed it for us and probably a stronger one than '97 when you subtract Mosley.

The key to this class is good athletes that fit very well with what Jones is trying to do.

yeah I admitted I think I may have been mixing and matching some of Cavan's first two classes. The more I thought about it Brewer, Newsome and a few of the others were in the 1997 class which Cavan only had a few weeks to assemble. The higher rated class was probably the 1998 Class. Suffice to say Cavan recruited well until the day the Malin story broke.

Pretty sure Mosely was 1998 recruit, I remmeber him never leaving Boaz hall my freshman year...Mccown, marcus Pratt, ect. all lived there and played Madden constantly..

You're right. Point is, as Stallion points out '97 and '98 were solid classes.

IMHO, this class will bear out to produce the best 4-5 year players we've had since DP. Thanks for all the comments on Cavan's classes...seems that due to Malin, or grades, or just not gaining enough momentum, those classes never materialized. I think this class will produce results immediately (e.g. Fields) as well as in the long run.

As a whole from top to bottom (not just looking at 2 or 3 players in a class) this class is the best since the DP.

As Stallion pointed out, 2003 was our highest rated recruiting class -- not the best, but the highest rated -- (prior to this one) post-DP. It had ten 3-star recruits.

I also frequently refer to that class as an example of how inexact the science of recruiting is. Of those ten 3-star athletes, I think most would consider at least 6 to 8 of them to be a bust. Out of all of them, Cory Muse was solid, Joe Sturdivant had a great career here and Desmond Jones could have been great (but he got into trouble).

Many of the most significant contributors were made by the 2-stars. Guys like Kennard Burley, Brandon Bonds, Charlie Berry, Jay'Mond Cleveland and Rey Pellerin, Caleb Peveto, Cedrick Dorsey and even Ryan Wolcott -- all of whom made significant contributions.

You never know how these kids will pan out, but when you compare this class to the 2003 class....

Well, there is no comparison.