SMU Flips 4-Star Quarterback From In-State Foe

There’s a lot of news about SMU football today, and most of it is not good. However, the Mustangs have something to celebrate: They have flipped four-star quarterback Ty Hawkins, ranked number 159 in the rivals.com top 250.

Hawkins had been committed to TCU since June 2023 and was viewed as the next belt big quarterback to come through the TCU football program.

SMU Has Tons of Money

It is no secret that SMU has a ton of money when it comes to boosters. However, there was one big question: whether or not SMU would be able to keep up in the NIL game when they are greedy enough to opt out of the media agreement that the ACC has for the teams. Part of SMU’s admission agreement into the ACC was that they would not accept any of the media rights deals that pays more than $30 million per year per school.

Again, SMU donors are known for being some of the richest in the world; however, with this recent flip of Ty Hawkins from TCU to SMU, it appears clear that SMU donors are still willing to give large amounts of money towards an NIL.

Of course, there is the news that SMU is currently being investigated by the IRS for tax issues and reporting when it comes to donors, but even if the number isn’t as large as what they reported, what has to imagine that SMU donors were lining up with full pockets of cash once SMU officially made a jump to the ACC on June 1st.

Ty Hawkins Has Lots of Upside

Ty Hawkins, one of the most highly recruited quarterbacks in the 2025 class, will start his senior year at IMG Academy. After playing his first three years at Johnson High School in Texas, IMG Academy is known as one of the big powerhouse high schools in the nation.

Last year, Hawkins, who stands at 6’1″ and 200 pounds, was the two-time UIL six District 28 offensive MVP. He threw for 2093 yards and 24 touchdowns, with only five interceptions on a 68% completion rate. He also rushed for 833 yards and 14 touchdowns while leading Johnson High School to a tenant record and a birth in the postseason.

According to some sources, Hawkins is the nation’s fourth-ranked quarterback at the 2025 class. IMG academy, which finished fifth in the nation last year and will open up to the 2024 season against Corner Canyon, the high school of Denver Broncos’ quarterback Zach Wilson and current Utah quarterback Isaac Wilson.

SMU Has Upside

The ACC may not have the strongest footing in football, but it may not take long for SMU to become a powerhouse within the conference. Everyone knows that Texas is known for having some of the best college athletes in the entire nation, and as it currently stands within the ACC, there is very little competition for SM against other teams. Of course, there are multiple SEC and Big 12 teams. However, even those two have their own challenges and cultures, which may not align perfectly with every recruit.

That’s not to say that that SMU will have no issues recruiting within Texas or elsewhere, but considering that unlike Florida which has both Florida State and Miami, North Carolina which has Wake Forest, North Carolina, North Carolina State, and Duke, in other parts of the conference that are very limited in the recruiting hot pads, SMU very well could rise to be in one of the top teams very quickly.

Of course, not having the media rights deal will hurt, and they keep getting into trouble with the IRS and NCAA, which probably won’t help their case either.

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