Lubbock Coronado linebacker Izaiah Kelley can always tell the story of how he was the first public commitment of SMU's 2021 class. The three-star defender announced his verbal pledge on Nov. 11.

SMU was Kelley's first offer, but since then, he's added four more offers to his list, including Big 12 schools Oklahoma State and Kansas. The Oklahoma State offer is the most recent, as the Cowboys entered the race on Wednesday.

With players like Kelley, part of the recruiting process for SMU is all about winning over talent. Another major part is keeping the talent once they're committed. It's a repeated routine for many college football programs.