SMUleopold

Good luck figuring that one out. I posted my thoughts on that in another topic. LSS, I’m not looking forward to it.

Some would argue this is what’s happening at UConn right now - their roster has basically evaporated due to the changes in conference affiliation. But, I mean, it’s their own fault. Stanford is running into a unique problem- due to the difficulty of getting into their graduate schools kids who graduate with playing time remaining are leaving early. To his credit David Shaw has recommended they move on to a master’s program, and as a result they’ve got something like 15 kids transferring this year.

Meet Arkansas LB Bumper Pool: https://arkansasrazorbacks.com/roster/bumper-pool/

uh Houston didn't 'build for 2021' Houston quit. Don't recommend that.

I mean, Idaho has a population of 1.7 million. If size of TV markets was an indicator then BSU wouldn't be FBS. Shoot, Nebraska has only 1.9 million themselves. Just win so much they can't ignore you. That's the only way.

The hard reality is that they'd let Richland CC in if it meant attaining P6 status. I understand that geographical proximity can work against a school when it attempts to move up, but that's the fight we all have while fighting for inclusion.

I know everyone else in the conference is open and even possibly excited about the possibility of Boise State joining the AAC, but I can't stand it. I think it reeks of short-term gains and long-term instability. BSU joining doesn't make the AAC a P6 conference. Rather, it's going to water-down any common goals and identities that exist within the conference, be it geography, school missions, and - most especially - whether it's going to be a football or basketball conference, because there absolutely will be a basketball only school, like VCU, that joins to balance the conference or whatever, along with their own independent agenda. Sooner or later realignment is going to hit, and when it does the AAC, instead playing the long game and building the conference, is going to start to revert to whomever is hot at the moment and filling the spots with footall and basketball-only schools, creating a Big East 2.0. When that happens the hybrid structure is going to doom the conference in the long term. Furthermore, if the conference becomes more successful too soon in it's going to force a P5 conference (likely the Big XII) to cherry pick the AAC for more talent to continue to keep pace with other conferences. Might be a little dramatic, but it's certainly possible. So as far as I'm concerned, BSU can stay in the MWC - no need to fix what isn't broken. If they have to bring someone in bring in an all-sports member that we can invest in for the long term and work to build cohesion and common goals with. Otherwise, we are planting the seeds of our own demise.

I think Dykes has come up with a common sense approach to using GT's and DFW as a way to attract better talent, going with a simple approach to the players: Have more than one year left of eligibility Be from DFW Fit your teams needs and have little to no disciplinary issues (James, the TE I just mentioned, smoked pot. Peronally, I'm fine with this, call me whatever you want) Endless amounts of talent disappears under the depth charts in the P5 for no real reason than arbitrary judgement calls - Burrow is a prime example of this at OSU - so there's no reason there can't be a way to find talented players who are decent kids to come home once they graduate. Honestly, there's no reason UNT couldn't clean up, either - this rule change has a chance to really level the playing field. As far as the DP goes.... after 35 years of sucking, it's time to move on. No reason we shouldn't be able to win and do it cleanly.

The coaches have been open about looking at GT's at a couple of different positions, especially RB, DT, LB, and a CB, so I expect a few to come in some way, shape or form - we've also landed a 4* WR JUCO prospect, stealing him from TCU (hell yeah). But a couple that we landed last year but didn't play are the intriguing ones to me - the OL from Boston College that I think is going to add some depth is a big one, and then my genuine favorite, Kedrick James, the TE who was going to start for Alabama but got kicked off the team for smocking pot. With Proche leaving and an OL that had problems getting a strong push up front this kid could contribute to both issues, making our receiving corps even better this year. He got hurt last year and didn't play - can't wait to take him out of the box.

Everybody has their own take on this, but I think Dykes realized when Buechele transferred in he had the team to win right then and there. In 2018 SMU was 5-7, had 21 of 25 returning starters, and was a QB away from winning the AAC West, and if you win your division at SMU you have done your job. So when he landed Buechele he decided to go all in for the next two years, loading up on qualified transfers and getting lucky on a couple others - McBride lettered at Auburn but after the neck injury he was ghosted by 32 other programs before e-mailing us, and Stephens, the CB who covered Rico, was a 3* RB from UCLA who simply asked to walk on and was told "fine, but we need DB's not RB's so that's what you'll have to play." So a couple guys just landed in our lap when they got passed over by everybody else. We got a little lucky, to be honest. We're good at QB right now, but those DT's from Texas would find the field in a hurry right now. *EDIT* Grammer

There are those of us who tend to believe that Morris' was in over his head as a HC and that his real talent is as an OC. It's been shown a number of times at a few different schools, and that alongside his contacts at the HS level he would be a very strong OC pick. Not being funny or picking a fight - if you can get him, get him. As far as Norvell goes.... I grew up in Memphis. A number of people are saying that that the inside scoop on Norvell is that the reason that he was passed over for a few P5 jobs is that he has some personal issues that could be a concern. The term 'college girls' has come up in a few discussions, and that has scared a few programs off. We'll see if that matters here. If I were a razorback I'd take a look at Fritz. National championship at one level and now rebuilding Tulane? Seems like a winner to me.

Arkansas spends $10M on Chad's buyout. Dykes goes to Arkansas, who spends another $6M on Sonny's buyout. Buechele graduates in one year with his MBA, and due to new transfer rules goes to Arkansas to get his PhD in Feline Hunting and Culinary Preparation. He is joined by the upper half of SMU's 2020 recruiting class, never to be heard from again. Arkansas opens with a loss to Nevada and Sonny is fired when they lose to Charleston Southern 51-9, costing them another $15M. Heard it here first.

You can transfer without sitting out a year if you graduate from your school and have at least a year remaining. I believe there is some sort of requirement that the school you go to have a program not offered at your first school, thus acting like there is an academic reason for the transfer. That, and the fact that he only played in four games last year at UT allowed for that season to be considered a redshirt year, so he had two years of eligibility remaining when he showed up. TBH I would imagine that if someone managed to graduate their master's program in a year (not that difficult a notion) then, yes, they could move on - hope he doesn't do so.

Us graduating players has never really been an issue, and, to be honest, I fully expect players who were able to graduate in three years from schools like Texas, Rice, Illinois, and UCLA to be able to handle the course load expected of them. We fully expect the DC, Kane, to have a P5 job offer after this season, but we expect to have 15-18 starters back for next season.

Thank you, we're excited. We probably can't keep him from in-state poaching. I have suddenly become a very big Red Raiders fan as a result of his success.

If an academic scholarship counts against the limit, then it counts against the limit. So be it, and it makes sense to me. I feel confident Sonny can handle the player management aspects of this. Here is a list of the 16 transfers we landed this offseason: https://247sports.com/college/smu/LongFormArticle/Shane-Buechele-Richard-McBryde-Thomas-Shelmire-Kedrick-James-Chevin-Calloway-CamRon-Jones-SMU-Mustangs-college-football-transfers-new-players-134499064/#134499064_3 Notice at the end of the article the specific mention of the 'walk-on' transfers.

Fair point about the top 25 - honestly thought of that after I wrote it but didn't bother to change it. But, no, the actual price of the school, both undergraduate and graduate doesn't match the sticker price. I choose SMU because they gave me financial aid in both - they were not my first choice for either. They made it happen, and I would argue that an MBA from SMU is worth it, on top of playing college ball. To be fair, I'm certain there are some players who turned it down but I maintain, especially where they are now, it's a steal. But to answer ADLER's original question, yes and yes.

Yes, and probably yes. Stephens, the starting CB, graduated from UCLA as a RB and had fallen to third on the depth chart. So the kid A) had his undergrad degree paid for, and B) was going to rot as a football player if he stuck around. McBryde, the starting MLB, got hurt at Auburn late in his third year and was considered damaged goods, so he finished his degree as well and e-mailed 30 schools and got no answer. So I think both players - like any 21 year old would - just wanted a chance to play. I know Stephens has been given a scholarship, and I believe McBryde has. As far as academic scholarships are concerned, Grayson and Abercrombie both graduated Rice in three years and did it playing football, as did an Charlie Flores, all-Ivy League OL from Columbia. As far as I'm concerned, they've earned the academic and intellectual benefit of the doubt - give them an academic ride and don't look back. But lets say they are paying tuition out of pocket. If the parents aren't paying then they are racking up only 2 years of student loans in order to A) Get a MA or MBA from SMU and B) Play for a top 25 football team, and that's with half the presidential candidates talking seriously about student loan forgiveness. I mean, they'd be stupid not to take the deal.

Forgive me for being the voice of reason here, but please take a slightly closer look at those two lists. Damarion Williams was committed to SMU and chose to go to Houston instead - Holgs stole him from us. He is starting at UH, otherwise he would have been guarding Busey instead of a non-scholarship walk-on RB who graduated and left UCLA without a so much as a peep. Jonathon McGill decommited from us and went to Stanford, of all places. We lost him. Jha'Quan Jackson decommited from us and went to Tulane. We lost him. (Sounds to me like he did about the same so far) A few others that went to similiar programs with a better recent success, like an FIU or Brandon Crossley going to Colorado State, may have rejected us. Shamar Jackson's whereabouts aren't 'unknown' - he is at ULM with a full ride to a FBS school. As far as the others go, I don't know if we rejected them or they rejected us. Grades are a consistent problem with us as well - not to try to sound above anybody but we do sometimes lose kids at the last minute due to grades and test scores, and I know UNT does, too. As a result, many of them end up at the FCS level, so I wouldn't be so sure about someone who lost their offer at the last minute and ended up at a SFA or Lamar. The kid may just not have qualified. Lastly I've mentioned losing the equivalent of an entire recruiting class to the likes of Baylor and Arkansas, and I guarantee you this is a consistent problem. You win some, you lose some. But I'm telling you there is consistently more to the story than what people post online.

Okay, so for starters SMU effectively had two straight recruiting classes gutted before this last one, so we had some room to grow. When Morris left for Arkansas two years ago he basically took the upper half of the recruiting class he was building with him, and if a kid didn't leave with Morris to Arkansas you can imagine that Morris wasn't particularly high on him; I mean, Morris even took our starting QB, for god's sake. Dykes had to take the leftovers and try to pull a rabbit out of his hat but IIRC we came in well under the 25 man limit that year. The year before that was the Baylor scandal fallout when they were playing with a stop-gap coach and had ONE recruit committed. Morris had been knocking it out of the park with recruiting - he had Baylor's current starting QB, Charlie Brewster, committed amongst others but Rhule came in offered the upper two-thirds of THAT class, so they left and I'm sure they're happy, but we had to scramble there, too. But Dykes has essentially brought in an enormous amount of walk-on's, transfers included. They've got a platoon of non-scholarship freshmen out there if for no other reason than practice bodies. Stephens, the DB we put on Bussey, asked for a shot to play but he didn't received a scholarship offer until after the season started, supposedly. I wouldn't be surprised if the two from Rice, Grayson and Abercrumbia, were somehow on academic scholarships - I mean, they graduate Rice in three years.

Certainly a large roster change after 2020. But what I'm mostly concerned about is the whole idea 'You live with the sword, you die by the sword.' UNT, Houston, Memphis, UCF, USF, Tulane, Tulsa, Cincinnati, maybe even Temple are positioned to do exactly what SMU did this year and bring in a truckload of transfers. I don't think it would work the same way at Kansas, KSU, Kentucky, and other places that don't have a lot of home grown talent. But a truckload of talent leaves North Texas every year only to be passed over on the depth chart in college and never to be heard from again. UNT and others would do very well if they were able to tap into those players, and it is going to start to change, faster and faster, along those lines.

Can't argue with that one bit. Of course, you did take the player who was 'busted for cheating,' you know that right? https://meangreensports.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=71 (I think whomever listed the high school as 'SMU' got a kick out of it, don't you?)

Honestly, I think we end up 10-2 - the second half of the season looks more daunting than the first. Love to win the conference, though. But for next year? Sorry to be argumentative, but we have as many as 18 starters back. Call me whatever you want, but at this point, I expect us to be ranked in the preseason. The school has actually shown some initiative and started selling 2020 season passes.

SMU basketball under Larry Brown is a good comparison point. SMU and Larry had to sell roughly 6k tickets a game to get people to come to recently renovated state-of-the art basketball coliseum to watch a Hall-of-Fame coach with a top 25 and even top 10 team play nationally recognizable programs such as Louisville, UConn, Memphis, Cincinatti, Southern Cal, and others. Even SMU could market that. SMU football, on the other hand, has to sell 32k tickets a game to get people to come to a 'high school stadium' to watch a retread coach with retread players play schools nobody in Dallas knows, like East Carolina. Totally different monster. I genuinely hope the 'Dallas' thing works out.