In his first recruiting class since taking over as SMU’s head coach, Chad Morris loaded up on skill position players, signing one quarterback, two running backs and five receivers. Now, as Morris and his staff get started on their second class, it appears the Mustang coaches are intent on protecting those players.

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For the second time, the Mustangs have received a commitment from an offensive lineman: Jacob Todora of Wakeland High School in Frisco, Texas.

The 6-foot-4-inch, 270-pound Todora chose SMU over scholarship offers from seven other schools: Illinois, Kansas, Navy, Nevada, Army, Tulane and Louisiana-Monroe.

“I just felt like it was the right place — committing to SMU was the right thing to do,” Todora said. “When I visited other schools, I always compared them to SMU, and they didn’t match up. The more I knew about it, the more I knew SMU was the right place.”

Todora has played right tackle throughout his career at Wakeland, starting since his freshman year, when he carried just 200 pounds on his 6-foot-1.5-inch frame, but said he was recruited by SMU as a guard, and is eager to start working with new SMU offensive line coach Dustin Fry.

“(Cornerbacks) Coach (Jess) Loepp was the ‘regional coach,’ I guess — he was the first one who found me, but since then, I have been talking with all of them — Coach Loepp, Coach Fry and (offensive coordinator) Coach (Joe) Craddock,” Todora said. “I watched two spring practices, and I’m really looking forward to playing for Coach Fry. He’s a very good guy, he’s genuine about everything, and he tells you the truth, straight-up.

“His coaching style … he doesn’t yell at you. He helps you understand what you need to do, he teaches. It hasn’t been that long since he played in the NFL, too, so he knows what he’s talking about, and he can relate to players.”

Todora said his recruitment is completely over. “If I get a call from any other schools, I’m going to tell them I’m going to SMU,” he said. “I’m 100 percent committed.”

While a spectator at practice, Todora met several players, including redshirt freshman offensive lineman Nick Natour and quarterback Ben Hicks. Natour also is from Frisco, having played at Lone Star High School, but the two never met before Todora’s visits to SMU’s spring practice. He and Hicks related in part because their fathers knew each other while students at Texas Tech.

“They’re great guys,” Todora said. “They kept telling me how good a place (SMU) is, how much they love it, how much they like the new coaches. They also went out of their way to tell me how much they really wanted me there, too.”

A tackle in high school, Jacob Todora committed to play guard at SMU over offers from seven other schools (photo by Frisco ISD).

That Todora, a first-team All-District 9-5A selection and second-team All-Collin County honoree as a junior, expects to move inside to guard when he gets to SMU is not surprising, considering the way in which he blocks; his brawling, mauling style lends itself perfectly to the hand-to-hand combat that often takes place in the interior of the line of scrimmage. He acknowledges that he surrendered a single sack last season — the only one in his three seasons as a starting tackle — and modestly says he doesn’t keep track of how many pancake blocks he collects. But a glance at his highlight reels (http://www.hudl.com/athlete/3116006/jacob-todora) reveal his aggressive nature and the power he generates in the legs that helped him clear 28 inches in a vertical jump and squat 500 pounds.

“I’m very aggressive, all the time — I don’t like to take any plays off,” he said. “I go after my guy and don’t stop until he’s done. I take him all the way out of the play before I stop going after him.”

After his senior season, Todora, won’t be going far to continue putting that aggression to use on the field. The decision to pick SMU over his other options, he said, was fairly simple.

“I love the city of Dallas, and I really want to get a job in Dallas after I graduate,” Todora said, adding that he expects to major in “something related to business” in the Cox School of Business. “I also think that Chad Morris is bringing a huge change to SMU, and I want to be a part of that — a big part of that. (Morris) is going to push everyone on the team and get the best out of them. He’s going to bring a big turnaround at SMU, and I’m going to be part of it.”