On this edition of the On The Pony Express Podcast, Billy Embody previews the SMU-Florida State game with Warchant.com's Matt LaSerre. Plus, we take a look at the first commit of the 2026 class for SMU, Lancaster (Tex.) DB Victor Lincoln. Also, Andy Enfield & Co. had some big names on campus for visits this weekend.
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this is the on the pony express podcast part of the on three network check out all the SMU coverage you need at on the pony express dot com now here's your host Billy M buddy welcome in ladies and gentlemen to another edition of the on the pony express podcast I'm Billy M body thanks for listening we got a lot to get you today including an early look at SMU's opponent this coming week Florida state will get to that in just a minute but first guys I got to remind you that we are presented by our friends at status jet status jet calm reach out to them today it is time for the away game stretch of SMU season starting next week they'll go on that run of facing Louisville facing Stanford facing Duke so for the month of October treat it like status jet month use code pony up ACC for discount on a round trip flight organized by status jet fly in luxury so reach out to David Henry and his entire team they've got quotes all ready to go with estimates as far as how you can get from Dallas or wherever you are for SMU's away games this season so reach out to them using that code pony up ACC and we will see you in the skies with our friends at status jet welcome back to the on the pony express podcast and I am now pleased to be joined by a member of the on three network from war chant calm covering all things Seminoles there one of the OG websites out there so with your on the pony express subscription give them a read check out all their content at war chant calm but war chant zone Matt Lacer joins on the pony express podcast now to take a look at the Seminoles Matt thanks for the time how are things over there in my home state good man good I could say the same exact for you I'm excited to get back home from for me to Dallas this weekend yeah for those that don't know Matt actually went to high school Frisco Reedy went to high school Noel Matthews and also with Nate Anderson as well so he's very familiar with the DFW area and Matt what is the temperature right now around this Florida State program you get the first win of the season over Cal 14 to 9 but where did they go from here now as they've gotten that first win how big was that I mean it was big I don't feel like the fan base enjoyed it enough is what I've seen from a lot of people on Twitter on the message boards it kind of we enjoyed it that night and then it looked we looked at the offense like this still is a great right so I think what people really want to see is an improvement from that offense and just have the defense keep going as they're going really good this week I mean the can't ask more from the D line getting seven sacks I think this week the test against the SMU O-lines can be really tough probably the best one of the best they've seen so far I don't think Cal's O-line was very good so I just think if they can keep doing it the defensive line if they keep doing it ahead on SMU's O-line will be a lot more positive and for this and for this Florida State program it's been an adventure especially offensively to you know try and get enough points to win they finally do that against Cal DJ Uyunga I remember him coming out of high score remember McClemm's in found that success against Oregon State what's been the offense you know what are the issues over there in Tallahassee for coaches normally you know able to put up points yeah in my opinion it does come down to the offensive line and it hasn't been great part of that I think was Alex Atkins was suspended for the first three games due to a recruiting violation or a portal recruiting violation because they seemed very improved coming his first game back last week and you know DJ hasn't been great you know but not everything's on him right the offensive line if you don't have protection you can't throw the ball if you can't if you don't have any blocking you can't run the ball and this offense DJ U wasn't brought in to be this superstar like he was coming out of high school five star I think he was number one in the country for quarterbacks at least number two not that if not one he was can't he we wanted him to be more of like a game manager we want to establish the run that was the main point and you saw it with this running back room when they brought in Roydo Williams Jalen Lucas to be that speedster specialty back obviously both of them are out this game Jalen Lucas out for the season Roydo Williams to miss extended time we found out today but you bring in Cam Davis a freshman who is huge right he doesn't even need to lift when he came back into the program at Trey Benson who is now at the Arizona Cardinals even like yeah that kid he's good like NFL weight wise you're good to go so he's gonna take over him the main thing they always want to do is just establish the run so then they can open up that downfield pass you saw them get to do that a little bit against Cal last week you know one ball was a little overthrown by DJ to Malik Benson but you had that perfect ball jakai Douglas for what ended up being the winning touchdown so you're starting to see the flashes from DJ there right it's just hasn't been enough for you to really be happy with the performance right like the interception Norvell said today and we talked to him that was all around a bad play he didn't really blame DJ he just said all around it was a bad play but yeah man it's it's been a rollercoaster for sure at least we got the one win and maybe that's enough momentum the biggest difference has been practice so we're lucky enough to get to see practice every day Norvell lets us do that and the big message has been let loose and have fun like don't stop pressing stop like thinking about oh if I do this and then this bad thing will happen just go out and have fun you're kind of starting to see that more practice where they're having fun competing with each other and it honestly going into that SMU TCU game I mean that was kind of what I picked up from SMU side they they had been kind of tight a little bit and they figured out how to play a little bit more fun and fast and it all came together for him last week and and of course it came together for FSU getting the win over Cal what is the the run game like is that where you know they really focus all their attention and energy I remember Cam Davis too coming out of high school like you said very much a physical beast back there a former five-star as well yeah you know I I think this running back room is still stacked well it is young with now with Jay the Lucas and Roydell Williams gone I I still like where they stand you know you got Dan's he was another freshman who I don't know if you've seen him seeing a whole lot of them but he got moved off scout team once Jaylen Lucas went out for the year and he's a speedster man if he can show it off to the people it would it's something to watch it's really fun outside of that you also got Sam Singleton who's another young guy who's kind of shown out sorry I'm looking at that chart too and I'm almost forgetting to Lord's Toa Fili who won the MVP at the ACC Championship game last year who really I think it's good for him that he's now gets to be that guy and be that workhorse because in the ACC Championship game that's what they needed right and we saw that last week against Cal to where he can make plays if you give him the space and you keep giving him the ball and I think that's going to be the main guy that they want to make plays against SMU and you know with this offense why it seems like they've kind of been nicked up to Jeremiah Byers he's been out and kind of where does the offense blindstand you know injury wise yeah so Robert Scott and Jeremiah Byers were out last week Rob Scott's been injured on it off for two three years now so that wasn't a super surprise Jeremiah Byers Norbell said today they like like where he's progressing and they think he'll be available this week or at least he feels good about it where the exact words I believe so I think we'll see it there Jalen early had a good start and a second start last week also at tackle Darius Washington before the Memphis game actually had some free thing happen we don't know what it was but some free thing happened in warm-ups to where early had to start on a dime which again is tough to do when your offensive line coach Alex Atkins isn't on the sideline for that game so I think that helped him at that tackle spot having him back last week again it was a huge improvement and that Cal defense a line is still pretty good that defense is pretty good so I think when it comes the offensive line they're gonna be healthier this week and I think having Atkins is a big deal and you flip over the defensive side of the ball and Patrick Payton was named ACC defensive lineman of the week he had three sacks three and a half tackles for loss and just you know had an outstanding showing in that game against Cal that group that the Seminoles have on the defense line it it kind of reminds me of Estim use in terms of the depth and the talent that you and I talked about on the war champ pod but you know this is a big time defensive front that the Seminoles have can you kind of dissect them a little bit and what makes them so good yeah I mean what there's like what are they not supposed to be good at right I mean going into the year you know ESPN going into game day that Georgia Tech games saying this defense line is gonna be the best in the country or not if like one of the like second or third disappointing start obviously it just didn't seem like they were there didn't feel like they were as motivated as they normally were and I think the biggest thing was fuller kind of our defense coordinator Adam Fuller simplified it down and said farmer told us after the game last week against Cal that just go eat go attack go eat and I think that really motivated them and got them going right farmer was a force this past week so is Peyton Marvin Jones finally getting it on the action I know a lot of people from the FSU side wanted to see him just because his dad's that big legacy Marvin Jones junior and he hadn't done much and then two pretty critical sacks at the end of the game just finally getting that push one guy and people don't really talk about that much because he's not a starter Daniel Lyons through even the bad times of the D line at the start of the season what's kind of that bright spot right he had the most TFL's I can't remember he had a second I'll be in the most TFL's and he was really the only one doing much on the defensive line obviously that has changed and I think they got the motivation to finally keep going keep going forward and building off that momentum and even Darrell Jackson a guy who is an athletic freak right I think he was on the freaks list beginning of the year he didn't get to play last year due to not getting the waiver but just a freak gets you're waiting to him to really pop what's that linebacker group like DJ Lundy Omar Graham Cam Riley DeMarco Ward and and similar to estimate they play in a 425 most of the time with a nickel I mean what's that linebacker group like for them yeah so that's probably the thinnest group on the defense it's the one that everyone gets mad about in the message boards about when it comes to recruiting transfer portal everything that's the one people want to get better of a Blake Nicholson sophomore from California has really kind of come into his own in a second year in the program he's gotten a lot of playing time Adam Fullerman said I don't want to say he solidified his position but he's getting majority of the snaps there it's been really good DJ Lundy is someone who was supposed to leave for Colorado in the portal and then came back that was essential for them just because that was the one experienced guy you had in this defense at linebacker he hasn't been great in past that's one guy you don't want to see in past coverage that if SMU does see him out there and wants to run a wants to throw the ball it's probably the best time to do it and then Cam Riley transferred from Auburn who came in this summer he had to wait to graduate from Auburn to come but he has been really good he's second all the team in tackles been a really good addition to this team and lastly one of my favorites a Texas kid from Katie Justin Kryer he had his first the first interception of the year for the team came against Memphis and it was him and it was a really it was really nice interception like a great catch he hasn't done a whole lot but he's someone who I really like as watching him develop and just being like a natural born leader he's gonna be a guy for years to come for Florida State you know the secondary for Florida State is another one where some unicorns running around their federal cypress as a riot Thomas I remember covering or a little junior in high school as well he's the nickel shining browns been playing really well at safety what's the secondary like overall for the Knowles and just what's their what's their style what's their calling card to the the back end yeah I mean those kids love playing man-to-man they get really hyped up playing man-to-man because I remember forget what came it was like yeah they like throwing the ball up when we press and doing everything and we look they like our guys we like ours so it's really fun to watch them compete and play really they got the swag and all the kind of stuff you saw it start to come back last week and practice having fun AZ's locked down Fentrell's locked down you don't see them getting much stats but also in your corner that's a good thing that means they're not really throwing the ball your way right Shaheem Brown has been the one true leader on this defense all year he he didn't miss a game and he still leads the team in tackles which is always good to see but yeah he was when this team was lacking leadership in the first three games going 0 and 3 he was the one who was trying to get him going and talking to all the guys really trying to get the communication going which was a problem between plays and before play started he was their guy now they've switched up a lot at the other safety position you know Conrad Hussey started KJ Kirkland started last week KJ Kirkland they're both young guys both done really well KJ Kirkland had kind of felt like he earned that role with the way he's been playing recently but also when you go in the secondary these young kids who might not be starting have been really good of Quinn Darius Jones had three PBUs to tie the team lead on one drive last week against Cal and it was an important drive to get that stop on and then Edwin Joseph who kind of plays everywhere he plays nickel he plays corner a lot of guys said he rind him of Jamie Robinson who's now with Carolina Panthers he had his first interception last week he kind of started flashing on special teams a lot of the guy would catch the button he would be in on that tackle right away without even a chance to take a step for the returner and he earned that role and he took advantage of it but I also really get in the game winning sack on fourth down last week when you look at the the keys to victory for Florida State what would you characterize those as you know going into this game against SMU what do they have to do to come away with a win on the road I think it starts with establishing the run really that's what this team's goal has been all year like I said DJ they don't want DJ to be flashy they don't want DJ to be this big star they want to establish the run now does that get harder without Roidell Williams and Jaylen Lucas yes I would say more with Roidell Williams but also I think Roidell Williams and Cam Davis are very similar to both tough runners like we said huge they're just I think they're very similar and I think Cam is kind of adapted to that when he because he's learned a lot from Roidell they have the same style like I said and I think that'll be fine with them I don't think they'll really miss a beat again Cam is Cam's gonna be a stud and I think it'll really show out this game but Lawrence Tovili is gonna have to be that guy while he's not a big bruiser like Cam Davis or Roidell Williams he's gonna be a guy who needs to get off the edge and find space so what do you have as your prediction for this matchup I've been going back and forth last week I was like all right I'm finally going to a game all the way I get to go home like all right that's gonna be a win I feel good I like the momentum but right now early in the week I still I like where SMU sits I don't know an exact score I would probably guess on the lower end just the way these four state fans or not fans these games have been going probably like a 21-28 SMU or maybe even 24-28 SMU yeah I think this is a you know last last week SMU hit the over by themselves but a lot of things happened for that to happen which I mean you never know if they find that confidence who knows what can happen but I'm with you I think this this is a defensive slug fest I think this is the game that introduces SMU fans to what I think a lot of ACC games are I mean I turn on you know games around the country and in terms of the ACC and it just seems like it's a lot more defensive-minded it's just there's good coaching there's strong battles and that sometimes leads to lower scores yeah so I wanted to ask you this too and I'll again but yeah the defense has been great ACC the way it is just kind of gone out it's been a pretty defensive league so far even like look at Georgia Tech another who we already played that run the ball ground a pound and just control the game yourself that's really been the theme of the ACC this year so I was wondering what's the kind of fan like is it gonna be packed at SMU this week is that what I expect I know you set the student record last week is it expected to come again I know there's a lot of fans traveling because this is one of the big cities we get to go to yeah I was about to ask you that you know with the start that FSU had you still expect them to travel right I mean I know there's there's there's a ton of Florida State fans there's a ton of alums it's a big school you know the first time to go to Dallas are they still go show up because if so we're going to be looking at a packed crowd you know the students will sell out you know they actually had to kind of expand their ticket block for last game and and it was it was a pretty close to a sell-out game for the TCU game I think there's some frog fans that didn't make the trip over for whatever reason and but I mean you're looking at a stadium that has a brand new end zone complex you'll I think enjoy the changes that they've made to which I mean it'll just be your first time but the changes that they made to the to the game day experience both the pre-game show that during the the game I mean it's it's it seems like from the fan perspective it should be a really good time and I'm actually on our site I'll have a bunch of articles for you know fans to kind of check out as far as you know maybe where to go eat before the game or get drinks and things like that some good Dallas Dallas spots for FSU fans to check out but if that's it if FSU fans are traveling I think we're looking at a sell-out and I know it was it was it was already close to a set it was already a sell-out from the student perspective for the for the program yeah I mean so to put it in perspective I'm not going for work I'm going for fun right so we have we're actually taking a party bus to the game for my house just tailgating my house and we have 19 people on the party bus just going to the game alone in that uh and I know a lot of like people are going at first this was the big travel one who's this and Notre Dame Notre Dame's a little hard to get to just because you have a direct flight from Tallahassee to Dallas which makes this a lot easier but uh I still think there's going to be a decent amount not as much as there was but I still think there's going to be a decent amount let me let me ask you this and then we'll get you out of there obviously there's a bunch of stuff going on the Florida State and the league we'll see kind of what happens with that I think if they come up with more money it'll at least work for now but how do FSU fans feel about SMU I mean is it you know still very much kind of a toss-in is it you know a program that at least they won the league last year and they're gonna bring a new market you know do that is there is SMU kind of already above some other schools in the league already I think yeah I think they do put them above some schools in the league just because then that Texas feel right uh football like look we all don't like Wake Forest and all those small schools like we like we like how SMU has that big-time feel maybe from Dallas I was like everyone's surprised about all the money again throwing around I'm like guys this has always been a program where if you gave them a big stage the donors were going to be there and it was going to be game on right and I think people see that I think FSU fans have a lot of respect for that uh good thing you guys got rid of that hill or else Florida State fans wouldn't make fun of it we make fun of it for Wake Forest all the time there we go that's that's that's the there that settles a big debate on the message boards you know I get to have their kids you know roll down the hill or whatever but yeah tell you what I've been in a good number of football facilities and what they did there is is first class all the way 192,000 square feet of space which is massive so uh should be a good atmosphere seven o'clock ACC huddle is going to be there ACC network and our guys at Warchand are going to have it all covered from the FSU side so be sure to follow them all follow Matt Lacer and the entire Warchand team over there they do great work tons of content all day every day over there at Warchand so check them out SMU fans and Matt appreciate the time thanks so much for coming on thank you for having me excited to get down there welcome back to the on the Pony Express podcast thanks for listening great to have Matt Lacera Texan on the podcast to give an early glimpse at Florida State and look we are going to have so much coverage of this game the first one of SMU's ACC era we'll have that for you throughout the week at the on the Pony Express podcast reminder guys join on the Pony Express and get 50% off annual subscriptions now go to ontheponyexpress.com join using code pony up okay this isn't going to last much longer we're doing it as a part of the celebration of the ACC games that are this week and I believe next week we're going to do it depending on uh how crazy you guys get with it but uh we had a ton of people jump on board with us after SMU beat TSU so taking advantage of that special we're not doing many specials we want people that want to be on the site for a long time so that's why we're doing it for annual subscribers only before we get to SMU's latest commitment though we do have to pay the bills and tell you guys about our friends at AKM Turpin Greens I told you we'd have some fresh footage for you and they just got done doing a project down in Lower Greenville you get the putting area on the side of the house which is for me the hardest part of the entire uh home yard maintenance you know there's a lot of shade so on the side of your house you could have a little putting area you can have a little mini course and then look at the backyard pristine they run it right up into up to the trees there and then obviously edge it out and everything like that for you along the side of the yard got it sloping away so it doesn't puddle what a job by AKM Turpin Greens reach out to them info at AKM Turpin Greens dot com use code pony up and mention on the pony express when you reach out to them to renovate your backyard and give you the backyard of your dreams whether you want a bunch of turf or whether you want a putting green situation like this let AKM Turpin Greens help you out they're servicing DFW surrounding areas and for the right jobs they'll go even farther than that so reach out to them today SMU got big news on the commitment front Sunday evening they picked up a local prospect in a big name on the board for Ricky Huntley at the cornerback spot and that is Victor Lincoln out of Lancaster big-time prospect who had offers from Baylor North Texas Texas State and others had you know his choice of power five offers including Arkansas Boston College and others but it's the Mustangs that come away with his commitment to kick off the 2026 class he's a guy that has been on the radar for Ricky Huntley for a minute now but sometimes you get a big win and guys have been there guys are feeling it and Victor Lincoln jumped on board as he was able to you know make that commitment announce it and give SMU commitment number one in the class of 2026 so a big deal there he'll get ranked soon by our on three team and for Ricky Huntley you know he's done a good job of getting his cornerback room and his position kind of taking care of throughout his tenure at SMU and and and we've seen him go from addressing it in the transfer portal with guys like Charles Woz and Chris Meganson and then bringing back some guys like a Brandon Crosby and Jalen Davis Robinson a J Davis he had Deuce Harman you have Jari Rogers who Jari Rogers I believe was one of if not the highest ranked PFF guys for SMU last week against TCU but he is really a talented corner who's going to add weight over the course of his high school career and then get into college he's got good frame good length good speed he actually ran a low four five forty on a strained hamstring at camp this summer and want a bunch of reps against some really high quality talent that did come through and camp and as a note from the competitive side of things you know he really wasn't supposed to run that 40 I mean he was there to compete or whatever but when you have a strained ham you don't want to make it worse he snuck in line and ran it I was told so that was something that's really funny and he grew up in Kansas City and you know just ended up you know making his way down to Lancaster and he's at that talent which rich program which SMU is after quite a few guys there as always it seems like and he made his commitment on Sunday and first guy who will get him a profile picture here soon but one of the first guys to recognize that commitment was Isaiah Lee running back out of Lancaster really one of the top running backs in the entire state of Texas in the class of 2026 he's got Baylor he's got TCU he's got SMU leading the way on the on three recruiting prediction machine and and that lead technically really should should jump up another you know notch because he was on campus this past weekend to watch SMU beat up TCU he's got an organ offer he's got Utah he's got Arizona State so Kyle Cooper Ricky Hundley leading the way on him as well he would be you know one of the top targets in the 2026 class for SMU at the running back position so big news to kick off the 2026 class for SMU which you know I think has a chance to be really good this is where you're going to see a lot of the groundwork over the past year two years on those guys really pay off because SMU got into the ACC really at the beginning of the 2025 classes junior season and so a lot of those guys the high profile ones maybe had offers from elsewhere had some bigger names schools that were already in on them things like that and they weren't paying as much attention to SMU these 2026 guys they were just beginning their sophomore years SMU has been really kind of careful in a sense on this 2026 class they've gone a little bit more national it within the when the within the ACC footprint as well going to Florida going to Georgia going to California places like that but when you look at what they're doing in the class of 2026 I mean it's it's really good I mean if you look at the visitor list that we had posted at on the pony express.com and some of the reactions from those guys at on the pony express.com you're looking at a group that could be really really counted when it's all said and done and it's the 2025 classes is sitting around kind of top 25 land and if SMU goes out and flips a couple big name guys or highly ranked guys they could maybe finish in the top 25 but they know that they're going to have a bunch of spots as six wide receivers graduate offensive line and move on defensive line needs to be addressed you're going to you're gonna have to do a lot of that through the transform portal quite frankly to kind of help with the group that you have coming in in the 2025 class 2026 is really going to be a group that I expect to be largely high school and there's just so many spots in 25 that SMU being at 22 commitments or so they're still going to be able to you know address the transfers with 2026 I really think retlashing the staff want to make it a banger in terms of you know making it really about high school guys and kind of continuing on that building of the roster I mean we've seen it at certain spots like you look at where the running back position is kind of headed you look at you look at the linebacker position look at corner safety those are those particular spots really have a lot of high school depth that's being built up and in 2026 you know I look for the offensive line the wide receivers they'll they'll find a quarterback obviously they have Ty Hawkins a highly touted guy in 2025 but they're going to continue to check their boxes but now offensive line defensive line those are the types of areas in wide receiver that I'd expect in 2026 you can find a way to make a serious move with and and and it's hard to do but now that they're in the ACC now that they have this momentum with that win over TCU here and look to capitalize on it as well and you know we can see the 2026 class be a lot of fun so tons of reactions from recruits at on the pony express.com we'll have full stories all week on on everyone I'm trying to do I'm trying to decide if I'm going to do a big old war room for you guys once a week because this is where it's at right now in recruiting as far as what what SMU is doing it's a really strong time a year so maybe we'll start doing a once a week war room because you know it was a good experience for recruits when you go and you hit all of them up after the game or during the game and I mean you get back probably 25 responses I mean that says a lot sometimes kids will just be like I'm tired I'm out going home after this game I don't need to talk to Billy which is fine and to get for them to respond and then keep responding there's a lot of excitement around this program and and I try not to pay attention to social media or this or that when it comes to following recruits I want to try and follow the actions and follow you know what kind of what the the buzz is way after the fact but when you see that type of a overwhelming response and and it be all positive for the most part that says a lot about what retlashley and his staff are doing and and doing in terms of their game presentation for recruits and also what they're doing on the field I'll add that um if you got a chance to see any recruits up close they they had iron skillets as name tags which was cool and it didn't say TCU it said Texas Christian as well so you know make of that what you will but very very nice attention to detail from SMU's recruiting staff there again they had a loaded group on campus that's why you should subscribe to on the cloning express.com we're also gonna do a recruiting insider podcast tomorrow it's my plan um might report it tonight who knows but but probably tomorrow do one of those for premium members on on our youtube channel or at on thepony express.com but I want to wrap up with kind of a closing thought on on football recruiting and and as SMU did dish out um a new offer I got a shout them out um this past weekend and one one that I've been following very closely for a minute now and that's western Nielsen at a bass drop high he's a four-star prospect 2027 quarterback so like Dean said on the post-game podcast uh he I can't even remember how he said it but basically that all the SMU players weren't born the last time SMU beat TCU at home and uh let me tell you that was that was a tough one that was a tough one when when Dean said that but when you look at western Nielsen he's on the radar in a big way right off the bat and and has been extraordinary when it comes to what he's doing on the field already for bass drop that's a really talent rich program I mean he's got some really talented uh playmakers around him he's got a 2027 tight end in case Ben was well that should really be on SMU's radar for for the 2027 class who who can really I think one day pick up some offers and and get rolling and then also I mean bass drop was well represented at SMU on Saturday um I might be butchering this name but Austin Boylan um maybe maybe I tried to make too much of that but already got an Arizona Arizona state offer uh his sister is on the dance squad for SMU the palm or the cheer one of the two um and he really enjoyed himself western really enjoyed himself so worth monitoring those two guys western's the one that picked up the offer um over the weekend but uh Austin certainly uh is there and then and then case is another name to know at bass drop and then SMU went out into the 2027 class and offered jquon snell uh who's a really talented player uh he can really go um on the back end of that secondary for waxahatchee uh number one safety in america really really talented who is uh first cousins with Jaylen Davis Robinson uh again he was on campus he just picked up his offer and SMU also had one of his teammates on on campus uh as well and another uh highly touted prospect in the 2027 class who has an SMU offer and I think once I plug in the visits and get done doing that over the course of the rest of the week jerry mire the third uh will will it'll look like more of a battle there instead of a way too early prediction that he ends up at baylor but both those guys were on campus checking out SMU so again it just speaks to the amount of talent they had on campus and jquon snell added an offer from SMU so they wanted to do in person that's something that we're really seeing a lot of um when it comes to the staff is they they like guys to come through it's another thing that they said about um when I was talking with weston uh and and and you know just kind of getting his thoughts on the offer for a story he said they they've been wanting to do it they just wanted me to you know come through and see them they also offered jayden fields out of huddle uh big time wide receiver in the 2027 class uh so he's he's on the radar as well um this was a big weekend for SMU so any anybody that was on campus and they were able to um you know extend an offer uh while they were here I think it meant a lot to him so um a big run of recruiting for SMU over the weekend and then I want to I want to finish up with basketball and and they deserve a shout out here because they had uh two of the best underclassmen in the country we talked about um the two official visitors that SMU had on campus in jerry easter four star combo guard out of link academy who's the number two overall combo guard in the country four on threes number three on the on three industry ranking and then you look at jayden tombs who came with him four in official visit as well he's set to announce his decision I believe wednesday night so it could be a set uh you know consecutive weeks that SMU picks up big time basketball commitments there is if you're watching on youtube you see he's got the on three recruiting prediction machine lead for SMU there so that is a good sign uh for the most part as always uh and he's a top 50 prospect he's number four center in the country he was on campus for an official visit I did drop more intel at on theponyexpress.com on those two but let me slide over and and talk about dakari spear you know top 100 prospect in the country um one of the guys that early on SMU's prioritized really well and and he came through and was on campus for an unofficial visit and got to spend more time around the staff uh and and you know that's that's the type of guy that you want to get in on early and same goes for uh Davion Adkins a top 25 prospect for on three so if the rankings ended today he'd be a five star number three power four in america he's from dallas texas over at faith family academy of oak cliff and uh that is interesting as well uh as as they are very familiar with that program and he's very much on the radar one of the top prospects in america again would be a five star on three if the rankings ended today and uh you look to him as somebody that you want to keep getting around campus get him in moody when the games begin and and just keep having him around your program so what a monster weekend it was for the recruiting side of things um and and I think for for SMU overall between basketball football I'm sure other sports were taking advantage of it as well what a scene what a scene in forward stadium florida state comes to town this weekend you heard us start to preview that it'll be another bit busy recruiting weekend and and you know I don't know if there will be more football you know uh offers dished out and things like that but it's going to be a hot ticket with fsu and smu facing off acc huddle will be here as well so they're expected to be broadcasting friday afternoon from campus and then they'll be broadcasting pretty much i believe all day on saturday you know on and off that's kind of where the acc network throws things too so what a weekend it's going to be i don't really have too much else on recruiting i guess i do want to close with a couple other things on the team you know we i asked rhett lastly about it in the in the post game special teams and their improvement and i think it just speaks to the depth of this team ret talked about it uh when you have so many players that want to play on teams want to make an impact and they do it because it it can help the team they're not too selfish that you know they they can't play teams and they can't they can't help out uh overall and for smu to have a punt return uh unit that um you know doesn't have overlap with uh return with a punt return unit that doesn't have overlap with a punt coverage unit and to have you know a veteran long snapper and in will Benton uh who's is back again and obviously a lot was made of his first i think his first snap of the season but you know smu has a good special teams unit and and and rogic daniel's you know took the punt back he didn't end up getting honors this week but i know he was a finalist for uh special teams player of the week in the acc but i mean you even look at the depth like a guy like terry and lee jr you know that kick return was fired right at him and he was able to grab it and return it for a few yards and it made a difference so smu in the past has gotten out classed quite frankly against tcu and special teams and a lot of people were nervous about special teams after they saw what tcu did the ucf at times but they held up their end of the bargain this week and and i think that's worth noting retlashley talks on tuesday so i'll let him address any other injuries but we didn't talk talk about on the board jailin night and he's he's likely it's pretty much confirmed he's out for the year um when it comes to um his knee injury ret alluded to that on his on his weekly radio show last week so we'll see i mean the there's a chance he comes back for the end of the season but he's he's out for a bit so best wishes to rooster that means you're going to see a lot more bershard smith and lj johnson if he's able to bounce back from whatever happened to him and then darek mcball you have freshmen that step up throughout the course of the year and darek mcball might be his time to really uh step not into the limelight because bershard smith certainly has that and he was named running back in the week by the acc with the mod moses the safety spot being named uh defensive back of the week for his performance against tcu but when you look at what bershard has done he's he's certainly a bell cow and if and if he can stay durable and stay healthy it's gonna be a huge deal for us in you so covered a lot of ground this uh podcast and on tuesday we'll also have or i mean on on wednesday morning we'll have hayden harroton breaking down smu beating tcu and then on thursday morning we'll have hayden harroton and myself breaking down fsu and kind of looking ahead uh and and maybe a special guest we'll see how that goes but um hope you guys enjoyed this edition of the on the pony express podcast i want to thank in particular our friends at goat fuel this is a new friend of the program right here goat fuel was started by jerry rice everybody knows that is the goat uh he was started by jerry rice in his family and it's really about giving you all of the right electrolytes nutritious um you know the bits that you could want in a in a in a drink so i love the flavors watermelon punches the one i've got here zero sugar got essential vitamins uh quarter seps as well and so it just creates this really you know perfect balance of natural caffeine electrolytes bcaas and more and and so i've really enjoyed it it's been something that i've been introduced to by a friend of uh the program and and really enjoyed getting to try it as well it helps you stay sharp i drink it before i work out or you know like this coming weekend SMU plays Florida State at seven o'clock we'll have our post game show probably good lord probably midnight for that so i need goat fuel to help me stay up uh late for that one so check out goat fuel uh jerry rice started it he is the goat and they'll have a lot more exciting news to share with you guys as uh they continue to grow as a company they're sold out on their website so you can actually find it on amazon that is where i'd recommend checking out goat fuel so uh be sure to take a look at that but just want to shout them out and also of course we've got to remind you guys to check out status jet dot com status jet dot com is where you can reach out to david henry and his team for all the latest on how you can get from point a to point b for those ACC road games using code pony up ACC it gets you a discount it gets i've had a couple people book lately with status jet and they were super pumped about the discount that it brought in for them so appreciate those of you at on the pony express who you know checked out status jet and we appreciate their partnership as well with us at on the pony express so reach out to them today hope you guys enjoyed this edition of the podcast we'll catch you guys later this week with another edition of the on the pony express podcast thanks for listening to the on the pony express podcast with billy and body follow us on your socials on x at smu on three and on instagram at on three smu and keep it locked to on the pony express dot com for more coverage
