New RB grad transfer Tre Siggers: Playing for SMU 'was always like a dream'
Former North Texas standout Tre Siggers spoke to The HillTopics about his plans at SMU and why SMU was an easy decision.
Tre Siggers played three seasons for North Texas, his last two on the offensive side of the ball after starting his college career in the secondary. In those final two seasons, he recorded 1,311 rushing yards and seven touchdowns.
Siggers graduates from North Texas in May, and Saturday afternoon, he announced that he will move a little closer to his Duncanville home and play at SMU as a graduate transfer. It's a blow for North Texas, but a huge get for an SMU team looking to add depth to its backfield.
"It felt like the best fit for me," Siggers told The HillTopics. "It's close to home, and it was always like a dream for me to play for SMU coming out of high school."
Listed at 5-8 and 200 pounds, Siggers comes to SMU after a 2020 season where he rushed 85 times for 458 yards and a touchdown in eight games for North Texas. He averaged nearly 5.4 yards per carry, and his best statistical game was his final one with the Mean Green -- a 120-yard rushing performance against Appalachian State Dec. 21 in the inaugural Myrtle Beach Bowl in Conway, South Carolina.
Coming out of high school, Siggers was a three-star athlete who could play either running back, slot receiver or anywhere in the secondary. He rushed for 634 yards and nine touchdowns and also caught 76 passes for 772 yards and three scores his senior year.
Siggers said choosing SMU was an easy decision for him in that he recognized what the program was doing on and off the field.
"I like how they're a family. Everyone is just close-knit, and they're really involved in the community," Siggers said. "That's really a big thing to me. They look like a family from the outside looking in."
An added bonus is the opportunity of being coached by running back Ra'Shaad Samples, who is the son of Duncanville head coach Reginald Samples. SMU's running backs collectively rushed for 1,618 of the total 1,765 yards accumulated in 2020.
Siggers adds more depth to what is becoming a long list of running backs that SMU has to work with for the 2021 season. Ulysses Bentley IV was the American Athletic Conference Co-Rookie of the Year after rushing for 913 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Tyler Lavine (310 rushing yards, five TDs) and TaMerik Williams (98 yards, two TDs) also were called upon when starter TJ McDaniel (297 yards, TD) went down with a season-ending ankle injury four games into the season. Add Siggers in 2020 signees Brandon Epton Jr. and Montaye Dawson, and the Mustangs are loaded with options in the backfield.
Siggers believes he can add a different dimension to a group that already has a few gears.
"I feel like it's my experience and knowing the game," Siggers said of how he can be a difference maker. "I've played in big games, so I know I can bring experience."
Siggers graduated from North Texas with a degree in kinesiology. He said he is looking into studying physical therapy while at SMU.