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Right On Target
Local Star Has Sights On SMU; Dad Has Mustang Ties
DALLAS - Rockwall High quarterback Braden Smith, an SMU verbal commitment since August, has never wavered during the Mustangs’ extended coaching search. Not even when the process stretched into January.
“I knew SMU was doing a thorough job in their search,” Braden said recently at a barbecue spot north of Rockwall. “As they kept waiting, and the bowl games kept going, you suspected that maybe there was one of those coaches they were waiting on.”
Indeed, it was Hawaii’s June Jones the Mustangs were watching and waiting for, ultimately hiring him January 7.
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Rockwall quarterback Braden Smith, right, District 10-5A's Offensive Player of the Year two years in a row, and his father, Scott Smith, Rockwall's head coach. Scott was an SMU assistant under Forrest Gregg in 1988-89. |
Braden, District 10-5A’s two-time Offensive Player of the Year, was plenty excited with that news and the opportunity to operate in Jones’ Run-and-Shoot scheme.
“I fit into the passing offense well,” he said.
A highly accurate passer, Braden (6-1, 190) racked up 2,899 yards through the air last season, including 26 touchdowns and three interceptions, for a 117 quarterback rating.
(He also punted, averaging a hair under 42 yards per attempt.)
In 2006, Braden led Rockwall to its first ever Class 5A playoff berth with a perfect 7-0 district mark.
The Yellowjackets followed that in ’07 with a 5-2 district record and another playoff appearance. Braden also passed for 298 yards and three touchdowns in a 49-42 loss to the vaunted Southlake Carroll Dragons.
“We played ‘em a close game,” Braden said. “Jumped out on ‘em early and just weren’t able to hold on to that one.”
Big Impact
Braden’s father, Rockwall head coach Scott Smith, said he’d like his son to have a hand in turning things around at SMU. “He helped do that here in Rockwall,” he said.
Scott was a member of Forrest Gregg’s SMU staff in 1988 and ’89, as the Mustangs began digging out from the NCAA death penalty.
“Boy, I learned so much at a young age in my coaching career [from Gregg],” Scott said. “He’s had a big impact on me.” Scott said the Mustangs began with 13 players in ‘88, when SMU chose not to play any games after being prohibited from doing so in ’87. “We started it literally from scratch,” he said. “We practiced three days a week and then we’d go recruit.” He has fond memories of ’89, when the Mustangs resumed competition. “You look back, we were 2-9 that year,” Scott said. “But I’ll tell you what - for me, as a coach, that was one of the more enjoyable years because a bunch of kids went out there and got after it.” Scott quarterbacked Highland Park High in the mid-70s and was a defensive back on Baylor’s 1980 Southwest Conference championship team that faced Alabama in the Cotton Bowl. |
Scott’s other high school head coaching stops include Garland, Highland Park and Odessa Permian.
So, what does Coach Scott like about his quarterback, Braden? “I’ve had the opportunity to coach a lot of quarterbacks who have gone on and played at the next level,” he said. “I think the strength that [Braden] brings first of all is leadership.”
Also, “In the offensive system, he takes what they give us. But at the same time, boy, he’ll challenge and he’ll force the issue to make plays. And he will make plays.”
Braden’s NFL hero? Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts. “He runs the entire show,” Braden said. “He knows every aspect. He knows exactly what needs to go on every play.”
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Getting Vertical
Braden said he caught some of Hawaii’s Sugar Bowl game on television. “I thought a lot of it was similar to what we do when we throw the ball [at Rockwall,]” he said. “Just getting guys vertical up the field.”
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Braden rang up 2,899 yards passing in 2007, including 26 touchdowns and just three interceptions. (submitted photo) |
“The timing-based stuff, it just takes working with the receivers and getting guys that work well together. It’s very effective.”
Braden said he’s heard from Jones by phone and looks forward to meeting him soon.
Braden attended an SMU football camp before his junior year and liked what he saw. “I liked the coaching staff,” he said. “I liked the school and the area surrounding it. I grew up over in Highland Park from first through third grade, so I know the area.”
His brother, Shea, is a quarterback at Air Force.
Braden wants to coach one day after, of course, looking at opportunities to play professionally.
Said Scott, “I just hope, mainly, [for Braden] to get an education and be around a great group of people, and hopefully be able to make a difference in it.”
“SMU’s a special place,” he said.
Quotable Scott Smith:
- On Michael Bowen, after he caught the game winner in SMU’s 31-30 victory over Connecticut in 1989, the Mustangs’ first post-death penalty win: “He’s down there on the bottom and everybody’s on top of him and we’re trying to get him out and he’s fixing to suffocate. I mean it was that kind of dog pile.”
- On working with Forrest Gregg: “He was never in a hurry - very adamant about doing it the right way. And you could see … what you’ve read about Coach [Vince] Lombardi in Coach Gregg.”
- On his own coaching philosophy: “Coach the stew out of ‘em, love ‘em, care for ‘em, teach ‘em the game, teach ‘em to be good guys, do the right thing, and play a good brand of football.”
SMU Football Flashbacks:
- Scott Smith’s father, Robert, graduated from SMU and played football with Doak Walker at Highland Park. Robert died in 2004.
- Former SMU quarterback Lance McIlhenny was a freshman at Highland Park when Scott was a senior quarterback there.
Ronnie Perry contributed to this story.
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