2018 TE Ben Redding and ATH PWO Conner Allen Commit to SMU

After an "unexpectedly successful" official visit to SMU, Highland Park WR/RB Conner Allen called off his recruitment and committed to Sonny Dykes and StangGang18.

The 5-foot-8, 175-pound athlete says he always struggled with coaches not believing in him due to his size but his size certainly wasn't a factor during Highland Park's second consecutive state championship run.

Allen held a scholarship offer from Boise State and a PWO offer from Arkansas but decided to forgo taking more visits after last weekend and play close to his home and family. Allen's grandfather is Randy Allen, the prolific head coach at Highland Park High School, where Conner transferred from Austin for his senior year.

Biggest tipping points for Allen were staying close to home and the confidence Coach Dykes and the staff showed in him and his talent. Allen says he will try to emulate one of his role models, Trey Quinn, when he gets to the Hilltop.

After decommitting from UNLV in late December, schools were immediately all over Friendswood TE Ben Redding. Redding picked up offers from Western Kentucky and Boise State last week but took an official visit to the Hilltop this weekend. Despite the official visit, Redding was still waiting on an offer from Coach Dykes and the coaching staff.

The staff has yet to announce a tight ends coach hire, which might be a big reason why Midway TE David Priebe has been looking at other programs. It's unclear whether Priebe will reopen his recruitment after this new addition to StangGang18.

Redding stands at an impressive 6-foot-4 and, despite the minimal usage of tight ends this past season for the Mustangs, SMU needs more big targets on the field for their air-raid/spread combo offense.