Matt McNew commits to SMU

Adding pieces to strengthen the offensive line and the secondary, two of the thinnest areas on the roster, would have been good enough for SMU fans on Sunday morning.

But Robinson outside linebacker Matt McNew had other plans, committing to SMU and giving the Mustangs three pledges in one day.

It's OFFICIAL!! Matt McNew committed to SMU this morning. #Tempo #PonyUp pic.twitter.com/2xBd8sl7hA- Cheryl McNew (@CherylMcNew) January 18, 2015

"I'm very excited. It's just an awesome place," McNew told the HillTopics. "The facilities are top-notch, it's Division-I football. Each coach is class act, they're leaders and people you want to teach you and to be coached by. Everything (Chad) Morris is bringing, he's going to turn things around. I wanted to be a part of it."

McNew made the decision at the end of his official visit this past weekend on the Hilltop and he got to tell the coaches in person.

"They were all very happy. They were all hugging me, really excited," McNew said.

It was SMU linebacker coach Archie McDaniel who was the point man on McNew. McDaniel recruited him at while at New Mexico and, "when he came to SMU he asked if I'd be interested in playing for him there and I said absolutely."

McDaniel sees the 6-foot-3, 220-pound McNew playing his high school position.

"They see me as an outside linebacker, a run stopper but I can drop back into coverage. My strength is being able to make hard stops at the line of scrimmage, plugging holes and going sideline to sideline."

McNew, who will enroll this summer, was blown away by his future campus.

"It was very beautiful, the most beautiful campus I've ever seen. The dorms are very nice, top-notch. It's an impressive campus."

McNew was equally impressed by the job his future coaches did on hosting the official visits. The Mustang coaches took the recruits to dinner at Ocean Prime, which McNew called "the nicest restaurant I've ever been to," and also took in the SMU basketball game against East Carolina, which McNew said gave him a great idea of the game atmosphere that is possible at SMU.

"They did a phenomenal job on the visit. I enjoyed the visit and I know everyone else did too. I liked the locker room and the uniforms set up in the lockers with everyone's high school number to give you an idea of what it'd look like."

McNew also had offers from Air Force, Army, Navy, New Mexico, New Mexico State and Northwestern.