Recruiting woes continue, as SMU continues to swing and miss
By Veronica Downs | SMU Daily
The wins keep rolling in for the SMU Mustangs as they do their slow ascent back up the college football Top 25 rankings, but the recruiting trails continue to be dusty and desolate. After gaining their first signing in four-star wide receiver Eric DeLuca out of Austin, TX, the Mustangs continue to see some of their top targets opt for greener pastures.
The question why continues to be begged to be answered.
The team loses out on five-star quarterback Sergio Duggan, who announced that he will be committing to pipeline-rival TCU along with fellow SMU target, four-star tight end Donte Dorsey. Five-star MIKE linebacker Dalton Retkofsky, the number one player in the nation who has been heavily considering the Mustangs, also has TCU in his top five.
SAM linebackers, five-star Jesse Jennings and four-star Louis Boote, both opted to join the Oklahoma Sooners - one of the more impressive wins on SMU's still-young season.
"I just don't think these young guys are buying into the legitimacy that Coach [Nico] Augustine is bring to SMU - he's still flying high off of Rhett [Lashlee - former head coach of SMU]'s high-powered roster that really didn't lose too much after a CFP appearance," commented an insider familiar with SMU's recruiting struggles. "It didn't help that they spread themselves so thin. You have a recruit who is intrigued by SMU but doesn't hear from them for a number of days because they're too busy elsewhere. It's a dead situation. I think they fumbled this class entirely."
The team returns home to Gerald J. Ford Stadium for a big conference matchup against head coach Bill Belichick and North Carolina.
SMU 2027 Football Recruiting Board
| RECRUIT | POS | HOMETOWN | HT / WT | STARS RATING | NATL (POS) | STATUS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eric DeLuca | WR | Austin, TX | 6'1"/193 |  |
#289 (#62) |  | |
| Ify Cashman | QB | Sacramento, CA | 6'1"/205 | |
#334 (#24) | Top 5 | |
| Javier Horner | HB | Kirkland, WA | 6'1"/203 | |
#151 (#21) | Top 5 | |
| Jay Roos | HB | Midlothian, TX | 5’10"/193 | |
#235 (#30) | Top 5 | |
| Elias Bender | HB | McKinney, TX | 6'2"/226 | |
#55 (#9) | Top 5 | |
| Ty Ruggins | TE | San Antonio, TX | 6'6"/227 | |
#79 (#7) | Top 5 | |
| Markus Neilon | OG | Laurel, MS | 6'3"/278 | |
#48 (#1) | Top 5 | |
| Larry Agude | EDGE | Gunter, TX | 6'2"/239 | |
#276 (#21) | Top 8 | |
| Adrian Fogg | EDGE | McKinney, TX | 6'4"/249 |  |
#1440 (#113) | Top 8 | |
| Esteban Costello | WILL | Overland Park, KS | 6'2"/227 | |
#386 (#31) | Top 8 | |
| Jeffrey Bankston | WILL | San Antonio, TX | 6'5"/229 | |
#329 (#27) | Top 8 | |
| Dalton Retkofsky | MIKE | Midlothian, TX | 6'0"/223 |  |
#1 (#1) | Top 5 | |
| Johnny Nevis | MIKE | Argyle, TX | 6'1"/220 | |
#185 (#11) | Top 5 | |
| Ben Nagy | MIKE | Jefferson, TX | 6'0"/232 | |
#1010 (#55) | Top 5 | |
| Mike Coker | MIKE | Grand Prairie, TX | 6'0"/233 | |
#641 (#35) | Top 5 | |
| Larry Tu’ikolovatu | SS | Indianapolis, IN | 6'2"/188 | |
#392 (#5) | Top 8 | |
| NO LONGER INTERESTED | |||||||
| Sergio Duggan | QB | Missouri City, TX | 6'2"/212 | |
#11 (#1) |  | |
| John Adeniyi | OT | Apopka, FL | 6'7"/323 | |
#8 (#1) |  | |
| Josh Law | EDGE | Tomball, TX | 6'3"/247 | |
#53 (#4) |  | |
| Davon Kalis | EDGE | Memphis, TN | 6'5"/230 | |
#321 (#28) |  | |
| Alex Stingley | DT | Katy, TX | 6'4"/291 | |
#18 (#2) |  | |
| Ramon Adongo | OG | Rosenberg, TX | 6'3"/289 | |
#212 (#10) |  | |
| Joshua Angulo | HB | Duncanville, TX | 5'10"/188 | |
#174 (#23) | Top 2 | |
| Greg Mangum | HB | Mission Hills, CA | 6'1"/191 | |
#311 (#37) | Top 2 | |
| Bernie Lekkerkerker | CB | Pflugerville, TX | 5'11"/196 | |
#422 (#38) | | |
| Emmett Eckert | DT | Sammamish, WA | 6'3"/291 | |
#86 (#4) |  | |
| Brian Boger | DT | Saint Louis, MO | 6'5"/320 | |
#288 (#14) |  | |
| Jaren Balogh | EDGE | Ballwin, MO | 6'6"/225 | |
#379 (#32) | | |
| Elton Scheffler | DT | Cuero, TX | 6'2"/281 | |
#142 (#7) |  | |
| Donte Dorsey | TE | Coppell, TX | 6'2"/228 | |
#82 (#8) | | |
| Daniel Joyce | OT | Houston, TX | 6'7"/318 | |
#416 (#46) | | |
| Russell Elenz | OT | Van Buren, AR | 6’8"/280 | |
#104 (#8) | Top 2 | |
| Floyd Yancey | OG | Ogden, UT | 6'5"/293 | |
#192 (#9) | | |
| Jesse Jennings | SAM | Flower Mound, TX | 6'1"/235 | |
#19 (#2) |  | |
| Louis Boothe | SAM | Channelview, TX | 6'3"/224 | |
#324 (#26) | |
MIKE Kevin Lockridge vs 
QB Gio Lopez
(6:37) Jeremy Payne, 3-yard run (Sam Keltner kick) [SMU 7 - 0 UNC]
(9:12) Jason Robinson Jr., 80-yard pass from Gio Lopez (Nick Fernandez kick) [SMU 7 - 7 UNC]
