Rhett Lashlee on quarterback battle: ‘Nothing has changed’ between Preston Stone, Kevin Jennings

SMU has not had a full-time starting quarterback this season. Instead, Mustangs head coach Rhett Lashlee has elected to play both Preston Stone and Kevin Jennings during their first two games in 2024.

The Mustangs’ game plan will not change heading into their Week 2 match up against the Big 12’s BYU Cougars. According to Lashlee, he may have named a starting quarterback but is expected to play both moving forward.

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“Preston’s our starter. He earned that job. He is the starter. He’s gonna start and he’s gonna play a lot. I still think you’ll see Kevin,” Lashlee said. “The last game was the way it went. We kind of played back and forth a little more than we probably normally would, but it was good to get both those guys a lot of drives. Even Keldric (Luster) in there, but yeah, nothing’s changed. Preston’s our starter.”

Stone was the main quarterback for the SMU season opener against Nevada. He completed 17 of 30 passes for 254 yards and a touchdown while Jennings added 54 yards on four completions during the contest.

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Jennings earned a larger sample size for the second matchup against Houston Christian this past weekend. He completed 10 of 14 passes for 148 yards and a touchdown to go with 54 ruhsing yards and another score. However Stone impressed yet again with a pair of touchdown passes of 6 of 9 completions.

Lashlee said that he’s gotten to know both players’ tendencies as their play-caller and head coach throughout camp. For Jennings specifically, Lashlee said he needs to be a bit more careful with his ball security when he’s scrambling but was thankful that he never fumbled. Otherwise, he’s a veteran who has “played and should.”

For Stone, it’s clear that he’ll move forward into Week 2 as starter.

“I think they’re both playing at a really good level. They’re both valuing the football,” Lashlee said. “They’re both putting the ball in the endzone when they’re out there a lot. We’ll continue to go as is, and I think BYU should be ready for both of them.”

Kickoff between SMU and BYU is scheduled for Friday at 7 p.m. ET and will air live on ESPN2 as the Mustangs look to improve to 3-0 on the early season.