By Veronica Downs | SMU Daily
Fresh off a narrow College Football Playoff semifinal loss in the Fiesta Bowl, the SMU Mustangs entered the offseason with clarity: to sustain their rise into the national elite, they needed to reload, not rebuild.
Despite losing cornerstone players - most notably star offensive tackle Dramodd Odoms and veteran cornerbacks Marcellus Barnes Jr. and William Nettles - SMU attacked the recruiting trail with the urgency of a contender. The result? One of the program’s strongest and most balanced recruiting classes of the modern era.
Head coach Nico Augustine and his staff delivered a group headlined by blue-chip athleticism, positional need, and, perhaps most importantly, players fully bought into SMU’s vision: competing annually for championships.
In a year where SMU needed impact players, they landed two of their most coveted prospects:
TE Lionel Davenport (Ashdown, Arkansas) 
A dynamic pass-catching tight end with elite length and body control, Davenport was one of the staff’s top priorities from day one. With Mackey Trophy winner Dwayne Kasay entering his redshirt junior year, the Mustangs needed a future star ready to transition smoothly once Kasay departs for the NFL.
Davenport fits the mold perfectly. Standing 6'5", he moves with the fluidity of a wide receiver and possesses the blocking upside of a future every-down tight end. His commitment was a major national win, beating out Arkansas, Oklahoma State, and multiple SEC programs who pushed late.
RB Brian Volson (Austin, Texas)
If Davenport was the finesse victory, Volson was the recruiting street fight.
The Austin native was courted heavily by Texas, Texas A&M, and TCU - three programs that rarely lose Lone Star State prospects to an in-state challenger outside the “big three.” But SMU’s pitch was simple and powerful: Come be the Lightning to Justice Spielman's Thunder. He'll get immediate opportunities to field the Lion's share of touches from the get-go if all things go well.
The Mustangs aren’t a novelty anymore. They’re no longer the scrappy, rising program looking up at the giants of Texas.
They’re in the fight - and winning enough battles to stay in the Playoff conversation.
With cornerstone senior leaders like McCariens and Lockridge returning, this incoming class arrives not to rebuild, but to join a championship-caliber roster already in motion.
SMU has made its statement:
They can develop stars.
They can compete with anyone.
And they can recruit like a national power.
If the Mustangs continue stacking classes like this, the loss to Clemson may soon be remembered not as a peak but as the turning point on the way to a national title.
SMU 2028 Football Recruiting Board
| RECRUIT |
POS |
HOMETOWN |
HT / WT |
STARS RATING |
NATL (POS) |
STATUS |
| Joaquin Paredes |
OG |
Mount Pleasant, TX |
6'3"/299 |
|
#79 (#1) |
 |
| Thad Crum |
MIKE |
Dallas, TX |
5'11"/234 |
 |
#1784 (#105) |
|
| Kerry Sylvan |
QB |
Mesquite, TX |
6'2"/223 |
|
#1769 (#88) |
|
| Bobby Goodspeed |
WR |
Richardson, TX |
6'4"/192 |
|
#317 (#66) |
|
| Mustafa Agude |
WR |
Arlington, TX |
6'3"/195 |
|
#141 (#29) |
|
| Ethan Whitehead |
OT |
Marion, AR |
6'8"/310 |
|
#267 (#27) |
|
| Zach Wiggins |
WILL |
Houston, TX |
6'3"/232 |
|
#436 (#40) |
|
| Jameson Beckner |
EDGE |
Pearland, TX |
6'3"/224 |
|
#270 (#39) |
|
| Eric Baccellia |
MIKE |
Carrollton, TX |
5'11"/220 |
|
#675 (#38) |
|
| Kaseem Boykins |
CB |
Frisco, TX |
6'1"/166 |
|
#262 (#25) |
|
| Lionel Davenport |
TE |
Ashdown, AR |
6'4"/208 |
|
#155 (#6) |
|
| Joel Turner |
TE |
Hattiesburg, MS |
6'5"/233 |
|
#409 (#14) |
|
| Caleb Willingham |
MIKE |
Saint Louis, MO |
6'1"/229 |
|
#926 (#52) |
|
| Brian Volson |
HB |
Austin, TX |
5'9"/206 |
|
#283 (#26) |
|
| John Byard |
HB |
DeSoto, TX |
5'11"/211 |
|
#1284 (#159) |
|
| Alex Balducci |
OT |
DeSoto, TX |
6'6"/314 |
|
#1821 (#112) |
|
| David Strong |
CB |
Fort Worth, TX |
6'0"/208 |
|
#1627 (#131) |
|
| Trent Schelll |
DT |
Waverly, IA |
6'6"/311 |
|
#158 (#12) |
 |
| Moses Laborn |
WILL |
Bradenton, FL |
6'1"/227 |
|
#415 (#39) |
 |
| Denario Owen |
HB |
Moore, OK |
6'0"/192 |
 |
#20 (#2) |
 |
| Bernard Boutte |
QB |
Herriman, UT |
6'1"/178 |
|
#64 (#4) |
 |
| Tyler Riddick |
WR |
Amarillo, TX |
6'3"/208 |
|
#45 (#7) |
 |
| Thad Hundley |
WR |
Salt Lake City, UT |
6'0"/167 |
|
#67 (#15) |
 |
| Jimmy Cabral |
OG |
Cedar Park, TX |
6'4"/294 |
|
#116 (#4) |
 |
| Lorenzo Jaimes |
EDGE |
Mountain View, CA |
6'6"/246 |
|
#320 (#43) |
 |
| Logan Bitonio |
EDGE |
Kennedale, TX |
6'5"/289 |
|
#351 (#44) |
 |
| Larry Cavka |
MIKE |
Fort Worth, TX |
6'2"/216 |
|
#421 (#21) |
|
| Jaron Morris |
CB |
Opeoplousas, LA |
6'0"/174 |
|
#365 (#34) |
 |
TRANSFER PORTAL TARGETS
QB Charles Bushman | 3-star | Former School: Appalachian State | 6'4", 209 lbs | NAT: 124 / POS: 17 | Sophomore
WR Santiago Silvestro | 3-star | Former School: Tulane | 6'1", 201 lbs | NAT: 330 / POS: 51 | Freshman » Committed
OG J.P. Terrell | 3-star | Former School: Rice | 6'3", 306 lbs | NAT: 867 / POS: 24 | Sophomore » Committed
C Kai Pettis | 3-star | Former School: Air Force | 6'2", 291 lbs | NAT: 889 / POS: 25 | Sophomore » Committed
C Miguel Patino | 3-star | Former School: Baylor | 6'2", 314 lbs | NAT: 193 / POS: 4 | Sophomore » Committed
MIKE Keke Madden | 3-star | Former School: Tulane | 6'0", 237 lbs | NAT: 175 / POS: 7 | Sophomore » Committed
CB Rasheem Cooke | 3-star | Former School: Texas Tech | 5'10", 191 lbs | NAT: 743 / POS: 82 | Sophomore » Committed
