Who's Next?

SMU has done a fantastic job of getting out on the road and recruiting some of the best athletes that Texas has to offer to come and play for the Mustangs. At positions like defensive back SMU has excelled with verbal commitments from players like Ar’mani Johnson (three-star prospect out of Missouri City, Texas), Justin Guy-Robinson (two-star from Pearland, Texas) and Delano Robinson (three-star recruit from Denton, Texas). They are players that will go a long way in re-establishing the talent pool that departing seniors Darrion Millines and Horace Richardson left void, while also completing the current roster which returns playmakers like Jordan Wyatt and Rodney Clemons.

With the secondary seemingly locked up for the foreseeable future, SMU has some needs that should try and be addressed as the time for recruiting 2017 prospects is nearing the end. One of those problem areas will be on the defensive line as the Mustangs have several new holes thanks to older guys seeing their careers come to an end on the Hilltop.

Seniors Terry Ayeni, Deon Green and Jarvis Pruitt are no longer suiting up for the Mustangs and as they go so does an enormous portion of this rotational unit’s depth. Defensive line is the kind of position where younger players aren’t developed as quickly, older players have years of strength and conditioning training under them and because of this have an obvious advantage over the youngsters. Great play from true freshman Demerick Gary and quality minutes from Michael Badejo show promise for the future, as does the verbal commitments of the three-star prospect Noah Jones and two-star Harrison Loveless, but SMU could always use more bodies. Players get hurt, ankles can get rolled on any given play, one more commitment from a defensive line prospect would be great for the Ponies.

A potential remaining target for SMU includes local recruit three-star defensive tackle Damion Daniels. The Dallas product holds several offers including LSU, Mississippi and SMU but is still undecided.

Whatever you may think of the linebacker play in the 2016 season, whether it was mediocre or atrocious, SMU needs more players at this position. In the 2017 class, the Mustangs have received verbal commitments from only two recruits at this position. One of them is 5-foot-9 and 173-pound Elijah McQueen who is an outside linebacker from Terrell, Texas, and the other would be the 6-foot-1 and 205-pound Shaine Hailey from right here in Dallas. While both of these recruits are playmakers in their own right, having only two commitments from a positional unit that struggled mightily this season is a little worrisome. Luckily SMU does return Kyran Mitchell, Jeremy White, RC Cox and Anthony Rhone, most of who saw significant game action in 2016, and has redshirt freshman Myles Duke and Noah Spears to select from as well.

Grant Stuard is another undecided linebacker recruit who holds offers from AAC rival Navy and Ivy League’s Dartmouth. As a Texas prospect it’s reasonable to believe that SMU could swing his choice.

With just a few more possible spots available in the 2017 class it will be interesting to see what Morris and his staff decide to do with them and what areas they will address. Either way SMU fans can be excited about another talented recruiting class stocking the Mustang roster as the team goes into 2017 with monumental expectations.