The Pony Express 6-12

Williams picks up SMU offer

by Nikki Chavanelle

Sapulpa, Oklahoma's Dae Williams just received an SMU offer and is very excited to be considered by the coaching staff as a great potential future Mustang. Williams is a Rivals two-star, listed as a running back, but offered as a linebacker by SMU.

"I was extremely happy about my offer," Williams said. "It was one of the offers I was hoping would come pretty soon so I was happy."

Being from Oklahoma, Williams was a bit surprised to be hearing from the SMU coaches but has been getting to know them steadily.

"I probably started talking to the staff about three weeks ago," Williams said. "Coach Archie McDaniels added me on twitter, we direct messaged back and forth and now we've been talking every week. They are trying to set up a time to talk to my family and me but I haven't had time yet, but I'm trying to find some time to do that."

Williams was unable to make it to SMU camp and he hasn't visited the campus yet but it's high on his priority list.

"I'm trying to get on campus pretty soon and get a nice unofficial going," Williams said. "I've heard SMU has a beautiful campus. I've heard the new coaching staff is bringing the program to the brink of success. I've also heard that SMU's academics are great. "

In the past few weeks, Williams has begun to build a relationship with coach McDaniels and he likes the coach a lot so far.

"I've gotten to know coach McDaniels pretty well and he seems like a really up-tempo guy," Williams said. "He's very upfront and I like that a lot too. He's not going to tell me something and then not follow through on it. He seems like a really great guy, football aside."

Currently, Williams holds an SMU offer as a linebacker, his secondary position in high school, and he prefers to play running back.

"Right now, SMU has offered me as a linebacker but my preferred position is at running back. I've gotten offers at running back so I'm hoping SMU sees me play more and that they offer me as an athlete or something," Williams said. "I've been offered at Navy, Army, and New Mexico at running back."

Williams holds a few offers but still sees SMU at the top of his list for the moment.

"SMU is in my top three for sure. I think I'll be getting offers from Iowa State and Memphis soon. I really like Iowa State, and Arkansas too," Williams said.

"I want to go to a school where when I get out I will be set up with a job and everything, I also want it to be a winning football program, and maybe close enough to home for me to come home comfortably."

Coach discusses Jakolby Long

by Conor Lane

After getting a chance to speak with Mustang high school's head basketball coach, Terry long (Edmond, OK), it was acutely clear the kind of player Jakolby Long is.

Yes, Jakolby is Long's son, and boy, can he play.

Coach Long says that Jakolby's game reminds him of Michigan State's Denzel Valentine.

"He brings a little bit of everything to the table, he can do anything I need him to. He can rebound, handle the ball, shoot from distance, and finish at the cup."

At 6'4" 200 lb., Jakolby has the quintessential body type of a Division-I shooting guard with the skill set to match. His competitiveness and athleticism make him very tough to match up against. You have to honor his jump shot, but at the same time, he can blow right by you and finish at the rim above bigger, taller defenders. His highlight reel speaks for itself, but Coach says Jakolby has a list of "intangible skills" that stats and videotapes just don't showcase which really speak to the degree of his game.

He makes his teammates better. Cliché as that may be, it's the truth. He's the glue guy, the one holding the unit together. He doesn't always score the most points, grab the most rebounds, or dish the most assists--although, he does a decent percentage of the time--but his hustle and drive better those playing with him.

An activist in his local church community, family is a big part of Jakolby's life. When asked where he wanted to play in college and what factors are contributing to his decision, Jakolby told the HillTopics' Adam Grosbard that he "wanted to play somewhere close to home, and somewhere that his family can watch him."

That is evident in his game. Jakolby's selfless brand of play helped him lead his Mustang Broncos to an undefeated season (28-0) and capture the first State Championship in the school's history.

"A lot of guys on our team could go to another school and average 30 points a game," Long told The Oklahoman's Super 5. "But if we all play together, we can win championships. It doesn't matter who scores, as long as we win."

Jakolby is currently weighing offers Oklahoma State, Missouri, Texas Tech, DePaul, Ole Miss, SMU, Wichita State, Kansas St, Houston, and others. Although he's still sifting through his options, SMU remains high on his list.

"He really likes Larry, I think that's one thing that SMU has going for them that other schools don't," said Coach Long, "he's your typical 16-17 year old kid and he just wants to have fun playing basketball wherever he goes."

It will be interesting to see where Long takes his talents at the next level. Hopefully the Mustangs see what he has to offer and lock him up quick, as SMU fans everywhere would be ecstatic to welcome him into the Family.

2017 RB attends camp

by Adam Grosbard

2017 Parish Episcopal (Texas) running back Dominic Williams made it to campus Saturday for SMU camp, his second visit to the Hilltop in three days.

"I thought it went good. We worked hard. It was a hard workout," Williams told the HillTopics.

Two days before the camp Williams came to SMU for a personal tour of the facility from one of the staffers.

"It was a good facility. I'm trying to build a good relationship with the coaches," Williams said.

Williams says he has good relationships with Van Malone and Claude Mathis and he is getting recruited by Arkansas, Oklahoma, Michigan State, Arkansas State, TCU and Tulsa.

Williams looked good at camp, taking sharp angles and making some nice catches. The 5-foot-10, 186-pound back is a Dallas-native.

Corner comes down from Oklahoma for SMU camp

by Adam Grosbard

Santa Fe (Okla.) cornerback Delwin Richard made a second visit to SMU, this time for the new staff's first camp.

"It was a really good camp. I had a good time out there with the coaches. It was really hot out there," Richard told the HillTopics. "But other than that I got some good work in with coach (Justin) Stepp and the wide receivers and coach (Jess) Loepp and the defensive backs. So it was a pretty good camp."

Richard was impressed by the way the staff ran the show.

"So far of all the camps I've been to this was by the far the best I've been to. It was the most organized. I liked that we went right into the football side of it. Like coach (Chad Morris) said it was a football camp, not a combine," Richard said.

Richard did not get a chance to tour the campus on this trip but had seen them on his previous visit.

"So far SMU is the most beautiful campus I've seen," Richard said. "If the opportunity presents itself to be here I will."

Loepp is promising to visit Richard more this upcoming season in Edmond, Oklahoma. Until then, Richard will be camping at Arkansas State, North Texas, Iowa State, Oklahoma and Tulsa camps.

Bob Jones OL visits camp

by Nikki Chavanelle

Bob Jones High School's Tucker Walters was at SMU for camp and Alabama native really enjoyed his time on the Hilltop. Walters is 6-foot-2, 290-pound offensive lineman.

"Camp went really well. I did really well on my one-on-ones. I went eight times and I won everytime. After that stuff we toured the facilities and I got to talk to coach Justin Stepp, coach Claude Mathis and coach Dustin Fry.

Walters really enjoyed talking to the coaches and getting to know them better and he felt a mutual respect between them.

"They were all really nice and they all definitely know what they're talking about," Walters said. "They all really like coach Chad Morris so they are ready to change the program around. I could tell that coach Mathis really likes me and respects me. I think that the coaches all want me to be there."

One of Walters' favorite parts about coming to camp and visiting SMU was seeing the campus and the nice part of Dallas that it's in.

"SMU has a beautiful campus and it's in a great, rich part of Dallas. We got to see the weight room and locker room," Walters said. "I know they're making a lot of renovations and adding a bunch of stuff so I'm looking forward to that."

For Walters, his college choice is going to come down to more than wins and playing time.

"Education is definitely the most important to me. I also don't just want to be on a team, I want to be a part of a family," Walters said. "I already have a really good relationship with the coaches and I know some people there and they're all really friendly. It was great to go there and it was a great experience for me to be honest."

The 2017 has a while to shop around for the perfect college and right now he's receiving interest from several other schools.

"I'm also looking at Navy, South Carolina, UT Martin and Auburn right now," Walters said.

In the meantime, Walters will be visiting schools and focusing on finishing high school as strong as he can.

"I'm really focusing on my game and my footwork," Walters said. "I want to keep my grades good and get my name out there more."

Though he has a long time to wait, Walters can tell he could fit in at SMU and he certainly wouldn't shrug off a chance to be a Mustang.

"It would mean a lot to me to be a part of SMU's turnaround. They already are having three really good offensive linemen come in and it seems like a great opportunity."

Sachse OT visits for SMU camp

by Adam Grosbard

6-foot-5, 320-pound Sachse offensive tackle Nate Thompson visited SMU on Saturday to participate in its camp.

"I think camp went really good today. Coach (Dustin) Fry and coach (Keith) Gunn are really good people," Thompson told the HillTopics. "They're more about technique which I like about college. So definitely loved the camp and loved the campus too."

Thompson had seen the SMU campus before this visit and is a fan.

"It's really open. And football is one area, which I kind of like because I don't like to walk around that much," Thompson said. "But it's really nice and beautiful."

Before he left camp, Thompson spoke with Fry about his performance.

"Coach Fry thought I did an excellent job. One-on-ones went really good, I won five out of six today," Thompson said. "He said my hands were good and my placement is kind of too high, which is one of my downsides."

Thompson has been speaking with Fry, Morris and Joe Craddock the most in his recruitment.

"Coach Craddock and I talk a lot. We've got a really solid foundation. We talk about where I want to play in college, do I want to play college football, do I want to be an SMU Mustang," Thompson said. "He's a great guy and so is coach Fry."

Thompson also is in contact with Washington State, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas Tech.

Dickinson building bond with Stepp

by Adam Grosbard

North Forney athlete Khari Dickinson had a good performance on Saturday at SMU camp, impressing the coaches enough to earn a camp champ shirt from Chad Morris.

But the coach Dickinson spent the most time with on Saturday was receivers coach Justin Stepp, who was seen with his arm around Dickinson's shoulder coaching him up and talking in between plays.

"Me and coach Stepp are real cool. My high school coaches are talking with him and putting in a good word," Dickinson said. "It went real good. The coaches here really love me and I think I did pretty good today."

Dickinson was making good moves out on the field, using his speed to avoid defenders and his footwork to make catches along the sidelines.

Dickinson was surprised by the difference between the camp run by this year's SMU and the one he went to last year under the previous regime. But he's gotten used to that after visiting campus numerous times since Morris and crew took over.

"(SMU commit) Hunter Herndon is coming here and I've toured with him before," Dickinson said. "I'm about to go take a tour of the full campus right now."

Dickinson had a visit planned to Texas Tech later in the week.

"I've been talking with coach (Mike) Jinks, he's the one who told me to come to camp," Dickinson said.

Dickinson will be at North Texas on Friday for another camp.

Junior from Oklahoma visits SMU camp

by Adam Grosbard

2017 Carl Albert (Okla.) linebacker R.T. Sherman was one of the participants at SMU's camp on Sunday.

"I think the camp went pretty good," Sherman told the HillTopics. "I liked it a lot. I liked being around the coaches, the coaches were pretty cool."

Sherman finally got the chance to meet defensive coordinator Van Malone after talking with him through Twitter initially.

"He was nice; instead of rushing through the drills he'd actually break it down and show us how to do it. Some people just rush through it and not give it any time but he didn't do that," Sherman said. "He said he can't wait to see me again and to keep in touch with him so I will."

Sherman enjoyed his first trip to the SMU campus, taking in the school and the field.

"At camp my favorite would have to be the seven on seven. It was real fun, I seven breakups on the ball almost had a couple of picks," Sherman said. "During the tour my favorite was the weight room. We got to see everything. They told us how they work out and they've got a little snack bar with all these protein bars and Gatorade where they can fix them a drink after workouts."

Sherman had a visit to the Oklahoma camp on Wednesday and also went to North Texas on Sunday.

"I had been talking to coach (Perry) Carter a lot through Twitter and then met him at spring game. It was real nice up there. He gave me his card and told me to come back for the camp. I did real good, after camp he said stay in touch and keep talking to him," Sherman said.

Sherman is working on a number of small things in his game this offseason after studying film of himself. He play running back but says he prefers getting to chase down runners on defense rather than make plays himself.

Louisiana QB earns honors at SMU camp

by Adam Grosbard

2017 Fontainebleau (La.) quarterback Justin Stolberg singled out SMU as a camp that he wanted to attend this summer. And the camp did not disappoint as Stolberg left with a camp champ T-shirt.

"I thought I did pretty good so it was nice to see that. Coach (Joe) Craddock told me that they were interested in me and they would keep an eye on me this season," Stolberg told the HillTopics.

The SMU staff separated itself by the way that it ran the camp.

"I thought it was run beautifully. I went to Houston and Texas Tech camps but SMU was the best I went to," Stolberg said. "I learned the most and just the way the coaches ran it, the way they were personable with you, right there with instructions. There was a coach on every drill to give you advice. One of the quarterbacks was working it and I asked him what the reads are in a game so I could make the same reads when I was out there."

Stolberg sees a lot to like about SMU.

"I like the new coaches they brought in and the vibe they brought in," Stolberg said. "I like the idea of them trying to revive a program that was so powerful and dominant."

"The facilities are nice. They were a lot better than what I thought they'd be considering they're all under construction. The team room was almost brand new. The weight room had a lot of stages to move around to and work out."

Wilmer-Hutchins receiver attends SMU camp

by Adam Grosbard

2017 Wilmer-Hutchins wide receiver Herb Sparks paid his first visit to SMU camp on Sunday.

"I went pretty good. I learned some new things in the fundamentals like my footwork, stuff like that," Sparks told the HillTopics. "I talked to coach (Justin) Stepp and my recruiting coach, coach (Buddy) Wyatt. They said they'd come out to see me this fall."

Sparks will be back on another SMU camp visit later this summer but made the most out of this one, touring the football facilities following the action on the field.

"It was great. Got to see the whole facility. Got to see the weight room and locker," Sparks said. "Coach (Stepp) also said for us 2017 grads when we get there it will be an indoor facility for us."

Sparks also was excited by the new graphics that SMU put on the walls recently in the facilities.

"I love what they are doing with those. It really rbings everything out. I also got to see how they are building coach (Chad) Morris' office," Sparks said. "It's huge, it looks great. I got to see some of the equipment they give the players also and it's Nike and I love that."