CUSA 2008 Football Previews > 2008 SMU Football Preview

2008 SMU Mustangs football preview

SMU Mustangs

2007 Record: (1-11, 0-8)
Coach: June Jones (0-0 SMU, 76-41 overall)
Returning Starters: 23, (8 offense, 8 defense, 7 specialists)

2008 SMU Football Overview

It’s Run-and-Shoot time at SMU, June Jones-style, which means hope for a program that’s known way too much misery. Since Jones’ arrival in January, fresh from crashing the BCS with 12-0 Hawaii in the Sugar Bowl, the buzz at SMU is: next stop, the Promised Land - even after a winless league campaign in ‘07.

Mitch Enright returns at center where he started all 12 games last season.

Though wandering The Bowl-less Desert for two decades-plus, SMU has patiently laid the groundwork for Jones’ coming: a gem of an on-campus playing facility, Ford Stadium, opened in 2000; admissions policy has steadily eased its post-death penalty vise-grip on recruiting; Division I-A status has been doggedly maintained; and AD Steve Orsini, a money-magnet mover-and-shaker, was handed the reins in ‘06.

After firing 18-52 head coach Phil Bennett last year, Orsini persuaded a band of supporters to ante up about $10 million for the next one – the big one, the final piece of the puzzle.

Enter Jones, who turned 0-12 Hawaii into a 9-4 WAC co-champion his first season on the job, and finished with six bowls and two league titles in nine years.

Jones looks forward to similar results at SMU. “It’s going to be pretty awesome,” he said, “because [SMU] has been down for so long. Not just the alumni and the school, but the whole city of Dallas, I think, is pulling for SMU to get back to their winning ways.”

To do so, the Mustangs must master the new offense and find a defense. Other challenges include addressing last year’s turnover margin (-9), eleventh in C-USA, and a league-leading 70 penalty yards per game.

Can the Mustangs turn it around - this year? If they do, look for Jones’ statue outside Ford Stadium … right next to Doak Walkers’.

2008 SMU Offense

Jones’ system uses four wideouts - two per side, or trips left or right – and a single back with the quarterback. On the snap, the quarterback reads the secondary’s reaction as receivers adjust routes on the fly.

“I think [the players] are excited about it and that’s always the first step,” said assistant head coach Dan Morrison. “Excitement leads to confidence and that confidence leads to success.”

Quarterback

Morrison says the importance of quarterback play in the Run-and-Shoot causes those vying for the job to bond. “I don’t know if it’s because so much rests on them … and they want to support each other in that.”

Jones says the position remains wide open.

Two-year starter Justin Willis (6-1, 210), SMU’s all-time leader in career touchdown passes (51), has rejoined the team after a spring suspension for violating team rules.

“Hopefully, he learned the right lesson,” Jones said. “It seems like he’s corrected and knows what he’s got to do, and hopefully he will do those things.”

Redshirt freshman Logan Turner (6-0, 179) moved up during Willis’ absence, with Daniel Miller (6-0, 186), working No. 2. Highly-touted freshmen Bo Levi Mitchell (6-1, 185) and Braden Smith (6-1, 190) join the fray in August.

Receivers

The Mustangs need eight receivers, two at each position, ready to play each week, Morrison said.

Wideout Aldrick Robinson impressed coaches in the spring.

Receivers coach Jeff Reinebold has been especially impressed with Emmanuel Sanders and Aldrick Robinson. “I felt like coming out of the spring that they would have been guys that would have been on the field for us, had they been at Hawaii, with their athletic ability,” he said.

Sanders (6-1, 175) led SMU last year with 889 yards on 74 catches. Robinson (5-10, 170) saw limited action as a true freshman.

Junior Zach Zimmerman (6-1, 166) and redshirt freshman Bradley Haynes (6-3, 205) showed “flashes” in the spring, Reinebold said. Sophomore Josh Bryant (5-8, 176) was slowed by a sore hamstring.

Reinebold expects a talented bunch of incoming freshmen to push for playing time. This staff isn’t shy about playing freshmen, he said, noting that Hawaii’s Colt Brennan threw his first collegiate pass to freshmen receivers against USC.

“All of [SMU’s incoming freshmen] have the athletic ability it takes to play in the offense,” he said. “It’s going be a question of which ones come in with the swagger and the confidence to go out and perform.”

O-Line

“The main difference is, obviously, we’re going to throw the ball 50 times a game,” said line coach Dennis McKnight. “So … that’s going to be a different thing for the guys to see and get used to.”

“We don’t have a very deep pocket,” he added. Linemen won’t fall back and “cushion block”, but set up in the line of scrimmage in “kind of hand-to-hand combat.”

Rimington Trophy candidate Mitch Enright (6-2, 272) returns at center where he started each game last year as a sophomore. Senior Sean Lobo (6-3, 300), at left guard, was another 12-game starter. Right tackle Tommy Poynter (6-4, 277), back after a season-ending leg injury against Tulane, is also a senior.

Redshirt freshmen Kelvin Beachum (6-3, 283) and Bryce Tennison (6-3, 292) step in at left tackle and right guard, respectively. McKnight calls Tennison strong and aggressive, with “a little nasty streak to him.” He called Beachum a smooth athlete who, with more experience and upper body strength, will be “a really good one.”

Senior Vincent Chase (6-5, 252), converted from tight end, is also “in the mix.”

“I think we’re pretty good with the young guys,” McKnight said, noting redshirt freshmen Josh LeRibeus (6-4, 332) and Kelly Turner (6-3, 281). “There’s a lot of them and that’s good.”

Said Jones, “I think our offensive line will do what we ask them to do. It’s the quarterback’s job to get a handle on the offense, know where he can go quickly with the ball, as much as it is the offensive line protecting the quarterback.”

Running Backs

Coach Wes Suan said his backs have responded well to the new passing attack. “They’ve done everything that we have asked, as far as understanding the scheme of things, recognizing the defense, going through the whole pre-snap routine and being great technicians.”

Competition for playing time in the single-back set, he said, is between DeMyron Martin (6-2, 234), Jessie Henderson (5-9, 169) and Chris Butler (5-10, 210). Suan said Martin, a senior, is “potentially, physically, … the best talent that I’ve ever had.” The sophomore Butler, he said, is tough, with good vision and instincts. Henderson, another senior, has great athleticism and attitude, Suan said.

Senior Andrew McKinney (6-4, 264), who moved from tight end, has been “a pleasant surprise.”

2008 SMU Defense

SMU allowed 39.8 points per game last year, better only than Rice’s 42.9. The Mustangs allowed nearly 500 yards per game, including 300 through the air.

“I think we’ll be better,” said defensive coordinator Tom Mason.

“The biggest concern I’ve got is, do we have enough depth to get through twelve games?”

D-line

Two sophomores, Youri Yenga (6-2, 225) and Anthony Sowe (6-2, 240), start at defensive end. “I think Yenga and Sowe are good, solid football players,” Mason said.

SMU's leading receiver, Emmanuel Sanders, should provide plenty of fireworks in the Run-and-Shoot.

“[Yenga’s] a kid you want to try to build your defense around.”

With sophomore Jordan Johnson (6-3, 255) and junior Adrian Dizer (6-6, 240), Mason said he feels good about the position.

Seniors Serge Elizee (6-1, 301) and Patrick Handy (6-2, 256) anchor nose guard and tackle, respectively. Experienced junior Chris Parham (6-3, 286) and sophomore Zac Thomas (6-4, 250) provide backup.

Expect more up-field disruption and quarterback pressure. “We don’t have enough big guys to sit in there and be one of those bend-but-don’t-break defenses,” Mason said. “We’re going to have to do a get-after-it, pressure-type defense, and that’s what we’re going to do.”

Linebackers

Senior Will Bonilla (5-11, 225), the strong-side starter, tied for the team lead in tackles (82) in ’07. Mason calls him “a good, solid veteran.”

Sophomore Justin Smart (6-2, 240) moves from defensive end to the middle and sophomore Pete Fleps (6-2, 226) is at WILL. “I really like both those kids,” Mason said.

“[Smart’s] what you want in a middle linebacker. He’s got that leadership ability.”

Both saw plenty of time last year.

Secondary

Junior Bryan McCann, last season’s team leader in interceptions (4) and sophomore Derrius Bell are the corners. “I think those are going to be two really good corners,” Mason said. “McCann, I think, is a special player.”

Junior Rock Dennis (5-10, 189) is back at strong safety after missing last season with a shoulder injury. Tyler Jones (6-1, 203), who showed head-hunter tendencies as a redshirt freshman last year, is free safety.

Mason said incoming freshmen will have to provide some backup.

Special Teams

First-team all-conference punter Thomas Morstead led the league as a junior last year with a 44.6-yard average. He also nailed all 43 PAT attempts, an SMU season record. His current streak of 77 consecutive PATs is also a school record.

Morstead (6-5, 233) made 13 of 20 field goal attempts, including three of four from 50-plus yards.

Senior kick return man Jessie Henderson averaged 21.4 yards per attempt in ’07. Sanders averaged 9.1 yards per punt return, fourth in the league.

Junior Kellis Cunningham averaged 61-yard kickoffs last year, with five touchbacks. Jackson Taylor and Sam Bennett return as deep and short snapper, respectively. Senior backup punter Andrew Galloway remains the holder.

SMU has a special teams coach for the first time in years. Twenty-four-year NFL coaching veteran Frank Gansz was coaxed out of retirement by Jones - and that was an accomplishment. “I was very happy being retired,” Gansz said.

Jones and Gansz go way back, having coached together with the Atlanta Falcons and Detroit Lions. “I think it was combination of June, and the extraordinary person that he is, and the school itself,” Gansz said.

“SMU is a very special program, a very special school. There’s not just any place I’d go back to [coaching.]”

Outlook

The season hinges on quarterback play – (if Willis is a model citizen and proficient in the Run-and-Shoot, look out) – and the defense must vastly improve.

Talent is there, like last year. A new system and mindset could do wonders.

The schedule offers a chance to start with a bang. After opening at Rice, the Mustangs get Division I-AA Texas State for Jones’ home debut. (SMU hasn’t started 2-0 since ‘96.)

The trip to Texas Tech, though not a “W” for SMU, could be interesting.

Highlight September 20. That’s when TCU invades Dallas for the first time since losing there, 21-10, in ’05.

Other scheduling pluses: the Mustangs get conference powers Tulsa and Houston at home, and two open weeks in November.

Remember, SMU lost three overtime games last year and another on the last play of regulation. The football gods owe the Ponies.

I see bowl people.

SMU 2008 Prediction: 7-5, 5-3 C- USA; Texas Bowl vs. TCU

Wins: @Rice, Texas State, TCU, @Tulane, Houston, Memphis, Southern Miss.

Losses: @Texas Tech, Tulsa, @Navy, @UTEP, @UCF.

2008 SMU Football Schedule

• Fri. 8/29 @Rice
• Sat. 9/6 Texas State
• Sat. 9/13 @ Texas Tech
• Sat. 9/20 TCU
• Th. 9/25 @Tulane
• Sat. 10/4 @UCF
• Sat. 10/11 Tulsa
• Sat. 10/18 Houston
• Sat. 10/25 @Navy
• OPEN
• Sat. 11/8 Memphis (Homecoming)
• Sat. 11/15 @UTEP
• OPEN
• Sat. 11/29 Southern Miss

2008 SMU Football Notes:

*running back James Mapps, safety Bryce Hudman and quarterback Zach Rhodes all missed spring practice for team rule violations. Jones said he hasn’t talked to Mapps or Hudman and that Rhodes may transfer.

*SMU has five nationally-televised games this year: Rice (ESPN), and TCU, Tulane, UCF and Navy (CSN).