Head football coach June Jones walks through each of the new recruits with an audience of alumni and Mustang fans at the Doubletree Hotel. (Spencer J Eggers/The Daily Campus)

Mustang football announced its gain of 20 student-athletes on signing day, Feb. 1.

This 2012 recruiting class adds strength to the team, which will be competing in the Big East Conference fall 2013.

Along with the new class, four January enrollees joined the SMU football team — Gehrig Dieter, Christian Holloway, Derek Longoria and Daniel Roundtree.

Dieter is a 6-foot-3, 200-pound PARADE All-American receiver from South Bend, Ind.

He holds the national record for receiving yards in a single game (437) and receiving yards per catch (26.9).

He tops the Indiana records for most career receiving yards (4,326) and in a season (2,171).

He was named the Indiana 4A Player of the Year and is a second-team SI.com All-American and a three-star Rivals and Scout prospect. Unfortunately Dieter has torn cartilage in his knee and will not participate in spring practice.

Holloway is also a three-star Rival recruit who only played two seasons of high school football in Torrance, Calif.

However, he racked up 65 tackles, 13 sacks and one interception his senior year.

Holloway is an all-around athlete, like many of the new additions, who participated in basketball and volleyball in high school.

Longoria is another of the nine three-star and above signees and was selected for PrepStar Magazine’s All-Midlands Region Team.

The 6-foot-4, 215-pound linebacker had 115 tackles and three interception returns for touchdowns as a senior. He averaged 41.8 yards as Brownwood High School’s punter.

Roundtree comes to SMU from a California junior college where he notched 46 stops with four tackles for loss and one interception. Jones expects him to take the place of graduating safeties.

Roundtree is another three-star Rivals recruit and has two seasons of eligibility remaining.

The biggest focus in recruiting this year was for the offensive line. The graduation of five starters on the line made way for five fresh standouts that average 6 feet 5 inches, 290 pounds.

Head Coach June Jones said the size and depth of the offensive line is one of the biggest strengths of this class and that he expects most of the linemen to compete for starting spots.

The new offensive linemen include Chauncey Briggs (6-5, 330), Christian Chamagua (6-6, 290), Seaver Myers (6-6, 290), Sam Rice (6-4, 270) and Chase Walling (6-6, 270).

Myers is from Friendswood, Texas and was ranked the 67th-best overall player in Texas, a Texas Top 100 prospect by the Houston Chronicle and the 59th best offensive lineman in the nation.

Other standouts include defensive backs A.J. Justice and Ty Law. June Jones expects Justice to not redshirt, although he anticipates more redshirts in this recruiting class than in the past.

Justice was rated the 64th-best player in Texas by Scout and was first-team All District. He also lettered in basketball and track at Stratford High School in Houston.

Law was rated the nation’s No. 52 corner by ESPN and turned down offers from West Virginia, Washington State and Memphis among others to play for the Mustangs. Jones named Law as one of the players that will play multiple positions.

Another player that will play more than one position is Shakiel Richardson. Jones expects him to play both safety and receiver.

Justice’s high school teammate linebacker Jarvis Pruitt was described by Jones as one of the best players on the new recruit list. He was named first-team All-District and notched 90 tackles including 20 for-loss and four sacks in his senior season.

The second pair of high school teammates are Lincoln Richard and Horace Richardson from Everman, Texas. They are both three-star Rivals prospects and lettered in basketball and track.

Richard was the 95th-rated best player in Texas and 67th best linebacker in the nation. Richardson played corner, running back and receiver with 43 carries for 443 yards and five touchdowns plus five more receiving touchdowns.

The 2012 recruiting class brings SMU a new quarterback: Neal Burcham from Greenbrier, Ark. Jones described Burcham as a “special player.” He was a four-star ESPN and three-star Rivals recruit who was camp MVP at the prestigious Elite 11 Showcase. ESPN also ranked him 20th in the nation’s quarterbacks.

Prescott Line is the Mustang’s second PARADE All-American and will play alongside his brother, Doak Walker Award semifinalist junior Zach Line. Line was named Michigan’s Mr. Football and was featured in the Jan. 30, 2012 issue of Sports Illustrated. He was the nation’s 55th ranked linebacker prospect. He totaled 37 touchdowns in 2011 and 128 tackles his senior year.

The two PARADE All-Americans, Dieter and Line, match SMU with Alabama, Auburn, Cal, Florida State, Ohio State, Oregon and South Carolina as the only universities with multiple PARADE picks.

Other 2012 SMU recruits include defensive linemen Brian Cramer and Elie Nabushosi, wide receiver and defensive back Collin LaGasse, defensive back Ajee Montes, linebacker Damien Neroes and wide receiver Daijuan Stewart.

The Mustangs’ 2012 schedule has been announced. Highlights include home games against Texas A&M and TCU. The season will open Sept. 1 at Baylor.