SMU football signed 25 high school and junior college players to complete the team’s 2013 recruiting class. The class, ranked 66th on Scout.com in the country and seventh in the Big East Conference.
Jones said that the class filled a lot of areas of need, including at running back, where Zach Line left a huge hole due to graduation.
The Mustangs filled that hole with former five-star recruit Traylon Shead, who signed with the Mustangs and enrolled early for the Spring semester from Navarro Junior College in Corsicana, Texas.
Shead, the prized recruit of the class, at 6-2, 225 pounds and with a 4.5 forty-yard dash, will be asked to come in and take over the starting role provided he can pick up Jones’ Run-n-Shoot, but that won’t be a problem for the former Texas Longhorn to do now that he is reunited with quarterback Garrett Gilbert.
Another addition to the class was three-star Red Oak High School tight end Jeremiah Gaines. Gaines will line up all over the field for the Mustangs on offense, at outside receiver and even as a down tight end.
The Mustangs got some help on defense, where the team loses eight starters. Three-star outside linebacker Roderick Moore from Dallas Skyline signed with the Mustangs on Wednesday and at 6 foot, 240 pounds Moore can really disrupt opponents’ gameplans coming off the edge.
The Mustangs had two high-profile signees, but not just for football reasons. Myles Crosby from Colleyville, Texas is a model for Calvin Klein and is rated as a two-star safety by Scout.com.
The elusive Deion Sanders Jr. out of Prime Prep also signed with the Mustangs on Wednesday. Sanders is the son of former Atlanta Falcons and Dallas Cowboys star Deion Sanders, a perennial All-Pro player in the NFL and also earned himself the nickname “Primetime,” for his celebrations.
With the amount of talented players that were brought in with this class, Coach Jones seemed to think the move to the Big East couldn’t come at a better time.
“With our move to the BIG EAST, we will be playing a step up in talent and I feel this group will be able to compete as we make our move to our new home. This class will allow us to play the game at the highest level possible.”
Scott Sandford contributed to this article.
