One of the biggest reasons why SMU fans are excited by new head coach Chad Morris’ arrival to the Hilltop is his ties to Texas, which they hope will help the Mustangs land more in-state recruits as the program tries to rebuild.
Well, it seems as if hiring Morris is already paying dividends on the recruiting trail for SMU.
Blessed to have just committed to Play for @coachchadmorris and The SMU Mustangs#PonyUp ☝️
— RICH HOMIE (@hunterherndon10) December 5, 2014
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Officially Committed to Southern Methodist University!!!!! #SMU #PonyUp #Tempo pic.twitter.com/wj171bwxi4
— D’erren Wilson (@Dwilson_81) December 11, 2014
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One of the biggest criticisms of June Jones during his tenure at the school, especially in his final seasons, was his inability to bring in recruits from the Dallas-Forth Worth area.
As pointed out by Bill Nichols of the Dallas Morning News in his column on Morris’ hire, the Mustangs are seriously lacking in homegrown talent:
“Despite DFW being a recruiting hotbed, SMU has only 68 Texans on its roster, the fewest of any FBS school in the state. The Mustangs have more out-of-state players (31) than DFW players.”
That low of a number is justifiably viewed by fans as being downright unacceptable, but those around the SMU program are already seeing a difference in the way Morris is approaching recruiting within the state.
Chad Morris visited more local schools in two days than June Jones did in my 4 years covering #SMU
— "EJ Holland" (@EJHollandOn3) December 3, 2014
The Mustangs are blessed to have one of the country’s biggest recruiting hotbed essentially right in their backyard, yet Jones and his staff were unable or unwilling to tap into it.
That all seems to be changing with Morris, who spent 16 years as a high school head coach in the state before serving as offensive coordinator at both Tulsa and Clemson. That experience obviously gives him invaluable knowledge about the intricacies of recruiting in a state with a plethora of talent for the taking.
Including Herndon and Wilson, SMU’s 2015 class currently has 12 verbal commitments, all of which are from players within the state of Texas. It’s a class that is currently ranked ninth in the AAC and 94th in the country by 247Sports. While that’s not great, it does give Morris and his staff something to build off of.
Among the players that you can expect the Mustangs to make a run at quarterback Chason Virgil, who de-committed from Mississippi State after head coach Dan Mullen controversially decided to rescind his scholarship offer.
We won’t know just how successful Morris’ first recruiting class will be for quite awhile, but it’s clear that there’s reason for SMU fans to be optimistic about the future as their new coach builds the foundation for his rebuilding effort in Dallas.
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