SMU’s Rhett Lashlee was the last head coach to take the podium at ACC Media Days, and outside of increasing the intrigue surrounding the program’s ACC opener against Florida State, he shed some light on the QB room’s current composition.
Preston Stone Is SMU’s QB1, But Kevin Jennings ‘Will Be Needed’
In 2023, redshirt sophomore Preston Stone cemented himself as one of the best QBs in the country, throwing for 3,197 yards and 28 touchdowns (11th in the FBS) against just six interceptions. In his first year as a full-time starter, he led the Mustangs to their best season (11-3) in over four decades. However, he didn’t do it alone.
Stone suffered a season-ending broken fibula against Navy just one week before the AAC Championship, thrusting redshirt freshman Kevin Jennings into the starting role. Jennings stepped in and completed the victory over Navy, guided SMU to a win over No. 22 Tulane in the title match, and threw 48 passes in a 23-14 Fenway Bowl loss to Boston College.
At ACC Media Days, Lashlee says he expects both QBs to repeat — if not improve on — their 2023 performance in 2024.
“We had to have both of those guys to win a conference championship last year, and there’s no question in my mind — to be successful, we’ll need both of them this year.”
Jennings finished the year with 618 yards, five TDs, and two INTs, adding another 142 yards and a score on the ground. His dual-threat ability adds a dimension Stone simply doesn’t bring (198 yards and four TDs in 2023) and could result in special packages in 2024.
But make no mistake; Stone is the QB1 in University Park. In fact, he checked in at No. 3 on College Football Network’s ACC QB Rankings, with Miami’s Cameron Ward and FSU’s DJ Uiagalelei ahead of him.
It also helps that SMU’s offense returns all three of its leading rushers (Jaylan Knighton, LJ Johnson Jr., and Camar Wheaton) as well as five of its top six pass catchers, including RJ Maryland, the No. 2 TE in the conference.
Stone has fully recovered from his injury and recently became the first SMU quarterback invited to the Manning Passing Academy as a counselor. He joined 40+ collegiate passers to help run the annual camp and picked up tips of his own from Peyton and Eli Manning and former New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick.
Both Stone and Jennings joined Lashlee in Charlotte, North Carolina, for Media Days and were highly complimentary of each other.
“The way he moves in the pocket, doing 360s, making defenders miss, that’s a crazy trait of his that I’m trying to learn,” Jenning said of Stone.
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“Competition is at the foundation of everything we do in the quarterback room and at every position we have on our team,” Stone said. “I feel incredibly lucky that we have enough talent in the QB room to push each other every single day.
At the same time, [Jennings] is one of my best friends in the entire world. We get to go out and compete against one another every day, but we have just as much fun off the field as we do practicing and playing. … I thought he was the faster one. But I wish I could throw the ball 80 yards; this kid’s got a really strong arm.”
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