SMU's Hunley likes CB progress this spring

Rickey Hunley is well aware of where his position group stands as SMU football wraps up its spring practices.

The Mustangs graduated all but one cornerback start from last season. Right now there are more questions than answers at the position.

“I think that we’re the biggest question mark, right,” Hunley said. “And we’re the one, from a defensive standpoint for sure, that everybody is kind of trying to figure out where are we at. And that’s the question mark we have coming on the field, you lose two guys that played the amount of football that (Chris) Megginson and (Charles) Woods did.

“Now you’re saying, ‘Who’s that guy that’s ready to step up next?’ It’s been good to see that our guys are definitely trying to rise to that challenge. Our big thing right now has been talking about leaving no doubt. Nobody should have a question about you, leave no doubt in what you’re doing and how you do it.”

Hunley has seen some of the younger, less experienced players take that next step. He’s also watched as newcomer Deuce Harmon has gotten his feet under him in a new system.

“I think Smoke, obviously Jaelyn Davis-Robinson has done a really good job. Not played as much football, so he’s got ways to grow as far as just banked reps and putting himself in that position, but obviously has the athleticism and the talent to do so. AJ Davis has had probably one of his best off-seasons with us. He’s kind of understanding where he’s at in the program, what that standard is, what it should look like and he’s come out and he’s done some really good things throughout. And then Jahari (Rogers) has been the older guy. He’s been the guy that you want to see grow, lead, develop. He’s got to continue to take steps forward and put a guy like Deuce Harmon in a position where he understands that standard coming in the door, what that looks like. Obviously Deuce has played at a high level, but I’m going to challenge him. We’re going to ask him to do things that may be out of his comfort zone or he hasn’t done and we want to see him accept that coaching as well.”

The one returning start was by Rogers in the bowl game. He is the most experienced of the group, too, also starting in 13 games over the 2021 and 2022 seasons.

“He and I talked (March 27) and we talked throughout the spring. He’s like, ‘Coach, what do I need to do better?’ Every rep that you execute needs to be a Saturday rep,” Hunley said. “It needs to be a game day rep. You’ve been in the big show, you’ve made big plays for us and at the collegiate level, we want to see you take those reps like it’s a game every single day. I think he is not nearly as emotional as a player as he was when we walked in the door and so that shows maturity, really been pleased with that. He’s not let one play dictate the way practice is going to go, good or bad. You love to see that maturity and he talks to the group. He pulls them aside, ‘Coach, I got it,’ and makes sure that those guys kind of understand this ain’t it today or this is what we need to be let’s keep that standard the way that it is. I’ve been pleased with that part of things.”

One of the things that might help Rogers develop on the field the most is the way he’s taking care of business off the field.

“I’m probably most proud of the way he’s done academically in this past year,” Hunley said. “That’s not always been his strong suit by choice, probably more than anything, but he’s come out and he’s really put himself in a position where he can focus on football when he’s at football because he’s handled his business outside of here. When you’re living right, it usually translates.”

This offseason SMU and Hunley brought in Harmon from Texas A&M to help fill a need. Early in spring it was about Harmon learning the defense. Now he is able to show off more of his ability.

“I think, sometimes, the big thing for us as coaches is we think, ‘All right, that guy’s played a whole lot so he should come in and he should be moving at 100 miles an hour,'” Hunley said of Harmon. “But he’s got to learn the defense. He’s got to learn me coaching wise and what that looks like and what the requirement is and then put all of it together. So at times where you might be hesitant or you may be thinking or you may be moving slow, it’s because you’re trying to process the information.

“You’ve seen him grow in 11 practices as far as understanding what that looks like, understanding the defense. What are the calls, what are the checks, all of those things and now being able to put that in place where you can see him really play. You can see what his true ability is as opposed to when he’s kind of got to think why he’s doing it”

Davis is the one cornerback who is completely home grown. He committed and signed with SMU out of Dallas Skyline in the 2022 class and was on Hunley’s radar before joining the Mustangs staff.

“I think he’s looked like the kid that we recruited at Skyline,” Hunley said. “He’s been fast in and out of his break. He showed top-end speed. He’s made plays on the ball. Those are all things that when we were recruiting him at Liberty and when we were recruiting him here, that we felt like he showed flashes of on film and then was able to compete at that level.”

Even though it may not have happened as fast as they would have liked or even expected, his development is happening and showing up this spring.

“Coming in, sometimes you have a plan of what you think a guy’s progression should be and he’s a guy that’s different,” Hunley said. “So we’ve got to make sure that we bring him along in the way that’s best for the team, as well as him, and put him in the best position. I think he’s grown up probably more than anything in the season. I’ve seen him mature and grow up and it’s translated to the field.”

SMU is also in Year 2 of having Davis-Robinson. He has been limited by a hamstring injury, but has shown progress from last year to this year.

“Every now and then, he’s still having a little tightness in it, so we just make sure that we’re smart,” Hunley said. “We want the best spring possible, but you win games in August and September and moving forward. So we’ve got to make sure that those guys are in place with that. Our athletic training, our strength and conditioning staff do a great job, so I trust them. They tell me where we should be work-load wise, what that looks like, and what they say goes. But when he’s been out there, you’ve seen him move and that’s his strength, his speed, the way he moves in and out of his break. You’ve been able to see those things. Same for him like Deuce, a year ago he was learning all of this. So sometimes you thought he was not processing or moving slow. Now he knows those things. “

The Mustangs have also given another player a look in a position switch. Teddy Knox came to SMU as a wide receiver through the portal. But with others ahead of him, Knox proved himself on special teams. Now he’s been officially moved to the defensive side of the ball at corner.

“He’s an athlete, so he’s got all of those intangibles,” Hunley said on March 28. “Straight line speed, he’s probably close to one of the fastest on the team. So that’s a big deal in the back end. It’s him learning. Not playing defense, probably, since he was in high school for the most part. But we’ve seen him on special teams be able to make plays in the open field. We’ve seen him run down at a breakneck speed. And now you take those things, you move them on the defensive standpoint. And the thing I love the most about Ted is he wants to be coached.”

Through it all, the SMU corners also have help in their secondary counterparts — the safeties. While the corners return only one start, the safeties return every start from last season. They are able to guide the corners, but not cover for them.

“It’s awesome because Coach (Scott) Symons and I spend a lot of time with the back end together, overall period,” Hunley said. “So I can go to (Jonathan) McGill, I can go to Zay (Nwokobia), I can tell them, ‘Hey, these guys need to turn it up a notch. They need you to push the envelope. They need you to make sure you hold them accountable and not just baby them along.’ Our guys, they do that. They’re a tough love group for sure. They’ve done a really good job, that whole safety room I’ll be completely honest with you, the juniors and the seniors that we have there have done a really good job of helping bring the corners along. It’s exciting for us in our room at the corner position as well to kind of have to answer those questions. That fires me up.”

Not only is SMU trying to find two new starters, its doing so ahead of a conference change. The move up to the ACC brings a set of challenges too. Coming off a season like the Mustangs had defensively a year ago helps, but they have to keep taking steps forward.

“We’re in a good spot, I think, from a veteran standpoint. Yeah, you have some question marks and guys that you want to see in those live situations,” Hunley said. “But you put together a D-line like we have, you’ve got linebackers that are veteran guys and played a ton of snaps, you’ve got safeties in the secondary they’re going to bring those guys along. Now what the requirement is is set by the veteran group. Nobody’s kind of learning on the fly because you’ve got so many returning faces. I think that’s very exciting and big for us moving into the ACC.

“You’re taking that step up where it’s not like it’s taking it up with guys that haven’t done it. You’re taking it up with a group of guys that have done it and then they’ve done it together. Like last year, that whole year we were together and had a really good season overall as a team, but defensively did something pretty special and now we want to double down on that. You don’t want to be a one hit wonder.”