Monday started the fifth week of the resurrection of The HillTopics. I want to personally thank all of you who have supported the site since the relaunch on Sept. 15.
Covering SMU athletics has been a blast the first 35 days, and I'm excited about the next 35, the next 350, the next 3,500 days -- and so on. I also want to thank those of you who either have come back to the site or have recently given the site a chance. I really hope you're enjoying what you see.
From a social media perspective, there has been significant growth in starting from scratch. For those looking for exclusive content, I urge you to SUBSCRIBE to the site. You won't be disappointed!
As managing editor, I'm excited about the future of The HillTopics ... and as of today, it's time to announce that I won't be doing this all by myself. I'm excited to announce three gentlemen who will assist in helping the site grow as we inch closer to the start of 2020.
Presenting ... THE NEW STAFF of The HillTopics: Mike Graham, Stephen Peters and Rob Graham!
Mike spent 10 years as a full-time sports reporter covering collegiate and high school athletics. Texas Tech fans will recognize this name, as he started his career with Texas Tech's Rivals.com site during the Tommy Tuberville and Kliff Kingsbury eras. Mike subsequently moved on to become co-editor of East Texas Sports Network and then served as the high school sports writer at the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, where we won a prestigious APSE Triple Crown.
Stephen, like Mike, has a strong background in print and digital journalism, as his work has been seen in The Dallas Morning News and Vype.com. Stephen is a versatile journalist who will assist in both football and men's basketball coverage. He played guard for Lewisville High School's basketball team in the early 2000s, but he is knowledgeable in a variety of spots.
Rob is a Dallas-based photographer who is in his 10th year of shooting sports action pictures for both the SMU and Texas Tech branches of Rivals.com. His pictures have been featured in not only Rivals.com, but also in NFL.com, Fox Sports, The Dallas Morning News, East Texas Sports Network and several community newspapers and websites.
Mike and Stephen will assist me in providing team content for the site. For all of you recruiting fans, know that The HillTopics will have regular recruiting updates from me, as well as Sam Spiegelman, the Texas and Louisiana recruiting analyst for Rivals.com.
As a special treat, The HillTopics will begin a new segment each Friday to benefit recruiting fans looking for the potential "next big thing" on the gridiron. "Sleeper Spotlight" will feature commentary from Justin Owens, who has built a reputation in finding some of the best talent in and outside the state of Texas before they become household names in college football recruiting.
The future is bright for The HillTopics, and we hope you not only stay with us but also tell a friend or two about what we're doing. To all currently without a subscription, make that a priority today! SUBSCRIBE to The HillTopics!
