2010 NCAA Football Preview: Southern Methodist University
People in Dallas had almost forgotten that Southern Methodist University had a football team in the last 20 years. Ever since the NCAA effectively terminated the team for the 1987 season (and the school kept the team shut down in 1988) the Mustangs have been one of the doormats of college football.
Athletic director Steve Orsini hoped that would end when he was able to hire June Jones away from the University of Hawaii in 2008. In Jones’s first season, it appeared to be more of the same as the team won only a single game, but the 2009 season was a different story.
The team did well with quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell at the helm, but it seemed to really take off after Jones replaced him with freshman Kyle Padron. Pardon would start six games including the team’s first bowl game in 25 years against Nevada, winning five and only losing one.
After the success of the 2009 season, there is legitimate, honest optimism for the future of the Mustang football program. Jones has been known for creating incredible quarterbacks and appears to have another candidate in Padron. For once, fans might actually be looking forward to the season starting.
Offence
Kyle Padron may have only started six games last season, but he sure looked good in the process. On the season he would end up throwing for just under 2000 yards, 10 touchdowns, and four interceptions. The most telling statistic for the future has to be his completion percentage: in five games he had a percentage of 66.7 or higher with three better than 70% including a 78% day in the Hawaii Bowl.
With June Jones to coach him along, Padron could not be in better hands. To help him, he will have a quartet of talented receivers in Cole Beasley, Darius Johnson, Aldrick Robinson, and Terrance Wilkerson. Robinson is expected to pick up the slack for departed go-to guy Emmanuel Sanders.
To make his job easier, Padron will have nearly all of his offensive line coming back. Two of them have the potential to be all-conference players by season’s end (guard Josh LeRibeus, tackle Kelvin Beachum). With all five of them being juniors the potential for the Mustang offence will be even greater in 2011, assuming all five come back.
Defence
Where the team may hurt is in stopping the other team from scoring. In 2009 the team gave up close to 400 yards, good enough for 84th in the nation. While this is not exactly good, it is a vast improvement over 2008 (when they gave up close to 480 yards a game).
The unit will look to get better at stopping the run, and with five players returning to last season’s starting seven that goal is within reach. Senior linebacker Pete Fleps should stand a pretty good chance of becoming an all-conference player after posting 189 tackles over the last two seasons. The added experience in the front seven should not only benefit the rush defence, but should also help improve the team’s pass rush as well.
Where they could end up hurting is in the secondary. Both corner backs are good, but there could be academic trouble brewing. The unit will return a potential all-conference player in free safety Chris Banjo; in two seasons he has improved from 61 tackles in 2008 to 86 in 2009, making a 100-tackle season within reach.
Losing has become so much a part of the culture of the Mustangs that last season was a much needed breath of fresh air. Jones has been known to throw the ball and with Padron he appears to have a guy that is more than capable of doing so. If the 45-10 beating they gave the tough Nevada Wolf pack is any indication then there are good things to come for Southern Methodist University football fans!
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