SMU returners leading way, newcomers stepping up
The SMU football team has a good mix of returning players and new faces on the field and they are starting to come together midway through spring practices.
Tuesday marked the return from spring break and some of the units are starting to mesh. One of those areas is on the defensive line even if there are still some question marks.
“On the outside, I think we’ve got some juice still. We got guys back like Elijah (Roberts) and Turbo (Isaiah Smith) and Cam Robertson,” SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee said. “And then you’ve got new guys like Jahfari (Harvey) and (Omari) Abor. So I think we’ve got some ability to rush the passer and I think we got some depth. I think we’ve got better depth on the inside too. It remains to be seen kind of how we hold up in a live game situation and all that. But the bodies we brought in at D-tackle, I think, give us good depth. Probably better depth than we had a year ago. So can we get the same production? That remains to be seen, but I think the depth has been really good.”
One of the biggest things is that SMU returned a lot of players in key positions on the field like at safety and linebacker. Those are where your most vocal players on the field usually come from as they help others lineup and get into position.
“You’ve got the (Jonathan) McGill‘s, the Isaiah (Nwokobia)’s, the Ahmaad Moses, the CJ Sanders and those guys in the back end, they’re communicating at a high level,” Lashlee said. “Same thing with Ahmad (Walker) and Kobe (Wilson) and some of those guys that linebacker and (Alexander) Kilgore and even the guys that have come in that are new are picking it up. I think the communication, the understanding of the defense, the getting lined up, the execution, all that is much further along this spring than it would have been, say, in that spring.”
Then there are positions like the offensive line where there are some familiar faces and experienced players, but they are being put into new situations. Justin Osborne is moving to center after playing both guard and tackle last season. PJ Williams is being given an opportunity to earn the starting left tackle job after playing there and some guard a little last year. Then there is Savion Byrd who comes in from Oklahoma, along with Nate Anderson, and will move from left guard to right tackle at SMU.
“Obviously, we’re shuffling some things on the O-line. We feel really good about it. We’re more athletic, we’re more talented,” Lashlee said. “I think when we get some guys back from injury and some guys in that are coming in June, I think we’ll have good depth there. But still, JO figuring out the center, guys at tackle. There’s communication things that take some reps, but at the skill positions you’ve got a lot of guys back.”
All of that helps the Mustangs be in a better position at this point of the spring than they were a year ago.
“I think you can see we’re a lot further along now, definitely, than we were this time last year,” Lashlee said.
