Mustangs salvage class in 11th hour once again, land 39th best class
By Veronica Downs | SMU Daily
If there's one thing that head coach Nico Augustine likes to do, its keep the SMU faithful on their toes. Despite only having one commitment for the majority of the season, the SMU Mustangs went into the off-season with lofty expectations and possible dire consequences if they were unsuccessful, and managed to peel away with a litany of recruits, including four-star safety recruit Larry Tu'Ikolovatu out of Indianapolis, Indiana.
The 2027 SMU recruiting class will officially hold 22 members, made up up five four-star recruits, eight three-star recruits, and nine two-star recruits.
Four-star wide receiver Eric DeLuca out of Austin, Texas was their original recruit, signing early during Week 1 as soon as he was offered. The team has since added Tu'Ikolovatu, four-star defensive tackle Trent Landry out of Gillette, West Virginia, offensive tackle Teryan Brisby out of Solon, Iowa, and running back Justice Spielman out of Little Rock, Arkansas. Those five four-star recruits are tied for the seventh most in the ACC, with Clemson going away with an eye-popping 24 four-stars (along with two five-star recruits, but this isn't about them).
The team struggled in the transfer portal, instead opting to plug a few pieces. The team was reportedly high on running back Rodney Fields Jr. coming out of Oklahoma. The team targeted him last year when he was coming from Oklahoma State but were shunned. This time, the running back opted to join TCU, who has made real noise for robbing multiple recruits from SMU, including the number one recruit in the country, MIKE linebacker Dalton Retkofsky.
SMU 2027 Football Recruiting Board
| RECRUIT | POS | HOMETOWN | HT / WT | STARS RATING | NATL (POS) | STATUS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eric DeLuca | WR | Austin, TX | 6'1"/193 |  |
#289 (#62) |  |
| Adrian Fogg | EDGE | McKinney, TX | 6'4"/249 |  |
#1440 (#113) | |
| Orson Blue | SS | Grand Prairie, TX | 6'1"/185 |  |
#1952 (#30) | |
| Justice Spielman | HB | Little Rock, AR | 6'0"/213 | |
#146 (#19) | |
| Nathan Lester | WILL | New Caney, TX | 6'2"/216 | |
#686 (#54) | |
| Mike Coker | MIKE | Grand Prairie, TX | 6'0"/233 | |
#641 (#35) | |
| Trent Landry | DT | Gillette, WY | 6'1"/ 300 | |
#375 (#17) | |
| Denzel Hennessy | CB | Eufaula, OK | 5'10"/161 | |
#1838 (#127) | |
| Daniel Chavez | EDGE | Fort Worth, TX | 6'5"/ 223 | |
#1024 (#80) | |
| Rico Bercovici | OG | Aubrey, TX | 6'3"/ 314 | |
#1343 (#71) | |
| Teryan Brisby | OT | Solon, IA | 6'4"/ 284 | |
#411 (#45) | |
| Doug Treggs | EDGE | Duncanville, TX | 6'3"/247 | |
#2920 (#228) | |
| Josh Coat | MIKE | Pilot Point, TX | 5'10"/224 | |
#2427 (#137) | |
| Larry Tu’ikolovatu | SS | Indianapolis, IN | 6'2"/188 | |
#392 (#5) | |
WR D.J. Tobias | 2-star | Former School: Kennesaw State | 6’2”, 202 lbs | Freshman » SMU
TE Henry Hoppes | 2-star | Former School: Charlotte | 6’4”, 210 lbs | Junior » SMU
OG Mitch Slater | 3-star | Former School: Temple | 6’1”, 316 lbs | Freshman » SMU
DT Dominick Benshaw | 2-star | Former School: FIU | 6’5”, 327 lbs | Freshman » SMU
SAM Tyronne Malik | 2-star | Former School: NC State | 6’2”, 210 lbs | Freshman » SMU
WILL Gerald Stingley | 2-star | Former School: Kansas | 6’1”, 230 lbs | Sophomore » SMU
CB Isaiah Gumbs | 2-star | Former School: Tulsa | 5’9”, 185 lbs | Freshman » SMU
FS Nolan Simms | 3-star | Former School: Tulane | 5’10”, 205 lbs | Freshman » SMU
bros name is pronounced Too-e-kolo-vaw-tu