Eric Dickerson is not very proud of his alma mater at the moment. Dickerson, the NFL record holder for most rushing yards in a single season, has watched Southern Methodist University lose its first two games of the season by a combined score of 88-6. On Saturday, SMU will take on No. 7 Texas A&M in a game that will almost certainly get ugly in a hurry.
During an interview with Shan and RJ on KRLD-FM Tuesday, Dickerson criticized SMU’s recruiting tactics and said he believes there are high school teams that could beat the Mustangs.
“In some instances there, I didn’t think they did enough to help the students get in,” he said, as transcribed by EJ Holland of The Dallas Morning News. “Recruiting is right there in Dallas. I mean, you have to make the students and their parents feel like they’re welcome. I’m talking about black athletes to come play at the university.
“It’s nothing against those kids because those kids are give their all, but I guarantee you there are some high schools around the country that could beat them. There is no doubt. They don’t have the talent to compete with Baylor or Texas A&M. They would get killed.”
SMU is located in Dallas, and they have virtually no chance recruiting against programs like Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech and Alabama. Despite that, the Mustangs were pretty successful in 2011 with an 8-5 campaign that included wins over TCU, UCF and Pittsburgh. Dickerson believes the opportunity for SMU has come and gone.
“I think we had a shot, but it’s gone,” he said. “I really do believe it’s gone. It’s like Texas and Alabama, those are big schools you can’t compete with. At one point, they were going to join the Big East. If I’m the Big East, if I’m the Big 12 or the Pac-10, I would look at SMU and ask ‘what do you have to offer us?’ You have 3,000 people that come to your football games. You’re winning maybe five games a year. What’s the appeal for us to want to split $12 million? There is no attraction. Yes, you are in Dallas, Texas, but that’s all you have. You can’t even compete.”
If you hear someone booing louder than everyone else at SMU’s next home game, that just might be Dickerson.
