UNIVERSITY PARK -- Having jumped into last season's recruiting race in December 2014 after coach Chad Morris was hired, SMU enjoyed a much different process this time around.
For starters, the coaches actually had homes to come to after road trips instead of the press box at Ford Stadium. They also reaped the benefits that came from their hard work during the frantic pace of the previous session.
SMU landed 21 oral commitments from 2016 prospects by last summer, very rare in recruiting. Of course, the coaches still had to recruit the early pledges who were getting interest from other schools.