What was he Thinking: Dec. 24

Well, the old man is going to give another go in 2023.

In college football, 23 is old enough to be considered a greybeard. And SMU grad transfer safety Jonathan McGill has taken enough ribbing from fellow secondary teammates Ahmaad Moses and Brandon Crossley to where is age has now become urban legend.

“Yeah, I’m 23. I was born in 2000,’’ McGill said. “They call me the old man. Crossley and Moses think I’m 27 or 28.’’

But when you are the elder statesman of a position group and in some respects, this roster and on the receiving end of these kinds of jabs, it reveals respect and validates leadership.

That’s the impact McGill has made in his first year after he transferred from Stanford. That played its role to SMU enjoying its most successful season since Ronald Reagan won re-election for a second term as President (1984).

On Dec. 8, the Coppell native announced that he would return to The Hilltop for the 2024 season. It will be his sixth year playing college football.

First things first. There’s a fifth season to complete on Thursday morning in Boston. SMU (11-2) meets future ACC opponent Boston College (6-6) in the Fenway Bowl. In many corners, this was met with disappointment. SMU believed it should have been playing in a NY6 game, the Fiesta Bowl against Oregon on New Year’s Day.

Instead, it’s a trip to the Northeast that begins when the team departs on Christmas Eve. But a leader’s responsibility is to identify the solution presented by the problem.

“At the end of the day, we can’t worry about not being in the NY6 bowl because we’ll have an opportunity to play a team we’ll play next season,’’ McGill said.

No one would have blamed McGill for leaving that sixth year behind and taking his shot in the pros. He paid his debt to the college game. Did his duty. McGill played at and went to two excellent academic schools in SMU and Stanford.

Discussions between him and his family along SMU Senior Director of Player Personnel Alex Brown and Assistant Director of College Scouting Jeremiah Wait coupled with early feedback from the NFL gave McGill the information he needed.

While the inspiration nudged, the consensus was that sixth year could enhance his value if he wants to pursue his pro dream.

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This 2023 was McGill’s first true season to start at safety. He played mostly nickel for the Cardinal. Versatility will always help a player. Still, there has to be a position foundation. Scouts want to see McGill more at safety before they truly know what they are evaluating.

“When I transitioned to safety, I didn’t have a lot of snaps at playing at that certain position,’’ McGill said. “Getting a feel for it and getting through certain situations are things that are going to be routine for me next season. Stacking reps was kind of the biggest thing determining that factor.”

Consider Thursday’s experience at historic Fenway Park to be part of stacking reps and to continue to be a leading voice in the locker room.

This is exactly what SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee and his staff were hoping for when they pursued McGill after he entered the portal. Of course, there was a history between SMU, Lashlee and McGill.

McGill, a 2019 prospect, had been committed to the Mustangs for most of the fall of 2018. Then Stanford came along and that was that. McGill flipped to then head coach David Shaw.

When McGill entered the portal on Nov. 28, 2022, SMU immediately moved. McGill jumped on board. A secondary that struggled mightily over the years had an alpha personality. It then became a matter of fitting in.

“He brought everything we thought he would bring and more,’’ Lashlee said. “A level of maturity. A level of consistency. Just day to day how he approached a practice or meetings. I think that helped the back-end guys raise their level and go ‘Oh, this is what a captain level or a veteran level guy whose played a lot of football how he prepares himself, how he handles himself.”

Lashlee then made an intriguing statement about McGill’s level of competitiveness. Typically, we look at competition as you wanting to beat the other guy.

In McGill’s case, it was the opposite. “He competes with his teammates but not against them,’’ Lashlee said.

By that, McGill presents a high-end mentality but a passion to inspire his teammates to raise their game with him. Lashlee didn’t pause for a second when he declared it impacted the secondary and traveled through the entire defense.

This 2023 SMU team made history because of the American Athletic Conference championship, an 11-2 record and a defensive unit that ranks No. 11 nationally in total yards allowed per game (299.5) before the bowl. McGill’s 51 tackles are fourth. Then add a key 34-yard Pick6 at East Carolina on Oct. 12 that sealed SMU’s 31-10 victory.

“When you come in, you don’t want to be a guy who is trying to make demands and you have no credibility,’’ McGill said. “The hardest thing is always establishing credibility wherever you may go.

“Earning respect of the guys in the locker room first and foremost. The coaching staff saw what I could do and obviously, they brought me in. Earning the respect of my teammates was definitely the biggest part.”

For all of that, 2024 carries its own history as SMU journeys to the P4/5 world to play in the ACC. This roster is being crafted so the transition can be as seamless as possible.

SMU wants to show it was worthy of the invite. It needs all the players of that caliber it can get.

McGill’s return, though, is a boost. He’s been there, done that in the P5 world a lot. In his four years at Stanford, he started 24 games and appeared in eight others. Playing this kind of ball is a grind. Yet it will be a little special for McGill next fall when SMU travels to play Stanford.

“Consistency is going to be the biggest thing,’’ McGill said. “That’s what we had preached when we were at Stanford. All those opportunities that you want are right in front of you each and every week. Be confident that you’re going against the best but have the confidence in yourself that you know you’re going to come out on top.”

With age comes wisdom.

*****

Now, a look at other SMU sports. Once again, we’re very light. Things will start to pick up in January.

>Using a 24-2 run over six minutes to close the first half, the SMU women’s basketball team picked up its third straight win with a 75-44 victory over Air Force on Thursday afternoon in Moody Coliseum. The Mustangs (6-5) also beat Sam Houston State on Dec. 18, 69-64.

Amirah Abdur-Rahim posted her second straight double-double with a career-high 19 points. The senior forward added 11 rebounds, three blocks, and a steal. Tamia Jones scored 14 points, passed six assists, and grabbed four boards. TK Pitts scored a career-high 13 points and added six rebounds, two assists, two steals, and a block. Chantae Embry scored six points and grabbed four boards, and Donavia Hall recorded a career-high six rebounds and four assists. 

American Athletic Conference play begins on Dec. 30 when plays at South Florida.

Let’s make it a great week! Pony Up!