Welcome to a new era of college football. And welcome to a new era of SMU football where the Mustangs take the field as a member of the ACC in 2024.
But the usage packages we’ll see from SMU’s offense in 2024 are nothing new as both Preston Stone and Kevin Jennings will see time as the team’s quarterback.
Preston Stone, Kevin Jennings Offer A Talented Duo at Quarterback
For most quarterback groups at the FBS level, any time there’s a dual-starting situation, it’s because the coaching staff isn’t quite sold on one option to lead the team.
For the SMU offense, the starting of Stone and the likely frequent substituting of Jennings is the exact opposite.
The Mustangs will play both quarterbacks simply because both quarterbacks are incredibly talented and they each offer up different skill sets to exploit opposing defenses.
Who Is Preston Stone?
Simply put, Preston Stone is a winner. Just go to our ACC QB Rankings for further explanation:
When speaking about underrated quarterbacks at the national level, you must include SMU QB Preston Stone. After two seasons with the program, Stone finally got his shot at starting for the Mustangs in 2023 and he did not disappoint.
Throwing for nearly 3,200 yards and 28 touchdowns, Stone’s all-around ability is key to the Mustangs having even a remote chance in their first season of ACC play in 2024. He’s got a cannon for an arm and knows how to utilize his arm talent at every level of the field.
Stone will routinely push the ball to the boundary and dominate on downfield shots while also understanding when to take something off his throws and find his receivers in space underneath. He’ll play on time and on schedule, but he has also shown himself to be able to succeed with backyard ball.
Reading defenses with the step up in competition will be crucial to his continued development. But as Stone showed last year, that shouldn’t be any trouble for him in the ACC in Year 1.
So, Who Is Kevin Jennings?
Jennings got two starts for the injured Stone last season and it was clear the talent he possessed. But he played a fair share of snaps across the first half of the season before starting the final two games of the year.
The Mustangs took a bit to get acclimated to Jennings’ game, but as a former high-profile recruit and Texas High School great, Jennings knows how to win on the biggest of stages.
Overlooked as a recruit, however, Jennings signed with the Mustangs out of the Class of 2022 and quickly drew praise and reps as a freshman. His interest surely piqued other school’s interest as to whether he was going to hit the transfer portal last offseason, but rest assured, the constant usage and promise to get him on the field will surely keep him out of the portal now and in the future.
At 6’1″, 180 pounds, with an electric arm and dominant dual-threat abilities, Jennings is must-watch TV just as Stone is.
SMU is prepared to withstand their ACC schedule ahead of them in 2024 with both of these two at quarterback.
What Happened to Preston Stone?
To be frank, nothing. For those wondering why Stone wasn’t in the lineup on SMU’s third drive of the game during their season-opening contest against Nevada, that was always the plan.
“Preston Stone is our quarterback, but you’ll see Kevin (Jennings) in the first half,” SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee said before the game.
Jennings is an extremely talented quarterback in his own regard, just as Stone is. However, after Stone suffered a broken left fibula last season, the program saw near-immediate success with Jennings’ insertion into the lineup, leading the staff to believe they could win with either quarterback in the fray.
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