Elite DB Markel Ford recaps SMU visit

2026 Mesquite (Tex.) Horn safety Markel Ford was back on SMU’s campus for another unofficial visit to the program on Sunday. Getting around SMU defensive coordinator Scott Symons and other coaches was good for the talented junior.

“Everybody was real cool,” Ford told On3. “It was good to be back around coach Symons. It’s always good love in Dallas because I’m from here.”

Symons shared the defensive plan for Ford at SMU and how the program could use him in the defense that saw a major turnaround in 2023.

“He was basically giving me the rundown of all their coverages and all that,” Ford said. “He really likes my play style and things of that nature.”

USC, Texas, TCU and Baylor are the programs also in heavy contact. With his name squarely on college radars, Ford’s worked on a lot of his game that saw him emerge as an even bigger college prospect.

“Tackling, get my tackling up there,” he said of what he worked on this fall. “Obviously, my ball-hawking skills came down with two picks tonight (in a win vs. Arlington). My leadership, too.”

SMU leads the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine over Oklahoma, Texas and others early on.

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