SMU head coach Phil Bennett addresses the media Wednesday afternoon to announce the 2007 recruiting class. Bennett signed 23 football players, the most during his tenure so far at SMU. The Mustangs plan on redshirting most of the 2007 class. (Sarah Acosta)

One year he recruited for speed, another he recruited for strength. This year SMU head coach Phil Bennett recruited a class he calls his most balanced in his five years on the Hilltop.

“As a group, this could be the most athletic, most rounded group we’ve had,” said Bennett during an afternoon press conference announcing SMU’s 2007 recruiting class.

The Mustangs had 23 players sign letters of intent to join the team Wednesday – the largest recruiting class of Bennett’s tenure. Only two of those players are from out of state. Bennett has two more scholarships available, but as of now does not plan on using them.

SMU’s most notable signing is De’Vron Bailey, a safety/wide receiver from Lawton, Okla. Bailey is the sixth-ranked player from Oklahoma according to the rankings of recruiting website Rivals.com. He was fiercely sought after by other schools and had offers from Kansas State, Missouri, Oklahoma State and Clemson. Bailey committed to SMU only hours before signing day.

“He is a warrior…one of the strongest competitors we got,” said Bennett.

The Mustangs signed six offensive linemen, the most signees at any position for SMU. Bennett said he recruited to fill needs, and his most pressing need was for linemen. Josh LeRibeus, an offensive lineman from Richardson Berkner, is ranked No. 44 in the area according to The Dallas Morning News. He is the highest-ranked player SMU signed from that list.

“He is a pancake specialist,” Bennett said, adding that LeRibeus could have gone anywhere in the country if he wanted to.

Bennett said he met four of the six linemen he recruited at SMU’s summer camps. Those four decided to come to SMU together when they graduated from their respective schools.

Bennett credited the camps not only for the four linemen, but for other recruits SMU signed on Wednesday. Sixty percent of the signees attended an SMU summer camp.

“These are not just enjoyment camps, they are recruiting camps,” Bennett said.

Another notable signing came from an emerging powerhouse in the area – Euless Trinity. Outside linebacker/defensive end Youri Yenga is a “football playing fool” according to Bennett, despite playing for only two years.

Yenga grew up in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and played soccer for most of his life until enrolling at Trinity. He comes to SMU with a list of accolades: DMN defensive player of the year, an Associated Press All-State selection and a first-team selection by TexasHSFootball.com. Bennett said Yenga reminds him of former Dallas Cowboy Dat Nguyen when he was in high school.

SMU was looking for athletes with character, competitiveness and ability, said Bennett. He believes the class SMU recruited has all of those things and will help the team compete for a Conference USA championship and a bowl invitation.

Bennett said SMU fell short in 2006 and that going 6-6 is not a record that can be used to recruit.

“You have got to reach excellence to be a champion,” he said. “Good isn’t good enough anymore.”

SMU is becoming deeper talent-wise, said Bennett, because it is finally able to redshirt entire classes. He plans on redshirting the entire incoming class with one or two exceptions, and told recruits to remain ready to compete in case he decides to put them in for an immediate impact.

Bennett credits strong ties with high school coaches in Texas for the growing numbers in SMU’s recruiting classes. He said SMU recruits in a 300-mile radius. Bennett uses those relationships with coaches, along with seeing the players in person, to recruit.

“We don’t recruit off of lists. I know what I’m looking for,” Bennett said.

He cited his time at Kansas State, where the team never had a top-25 ranked class but was ranked in the top 25 during the football season, as an example of how valid he believes the lists are.