SMU QB Kevin Jennings jumps into Heisman Trophy discussion
SMU quarterback Kevin Jennings is knocking on the door of the Top 5 of the On3 Heisman Trophy Poll after his Week 13 performance. The former South Oak Cliff star helped the Mustangs punch their ticket to the ACC Championship, leading the team to a 33-7 win over Virginia.
Jennings was 25-of-33 passing for 323 yards with two touchdowns and a rushing touchdown on the day. On the season, Jennings is tied for yards per attempt with Miami star Cam Ward.
SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee shared his take last week on why Jennings is being slept on nationally, but really isn’t concerned about that. Now, after a career-high in passing and clinching an ACC Championship berth, Jennings moved into the Heisman conversation at On3 with 10 points.
“He’s performed as well as anybody else in the country – I think in these last seven games,” Lashlee said before the Virginia game. “All that stuff comes. Our job is not done; we have to win, and we have to continue to win. I think he’s played great. I think he’s starting to get recognized. I think the more we win or, the more he plays well throughout this year and even into the next year, those things are gonna happen.”
In typical Kevin Jennings fashion, he’s proud of what the team’s accomplished so far, but knows there’s still work to be done.
“It was an amazing feeling, an accomplishment for us to show everybody that we came in our first year and was able to get it done,” Jennings said after the Virginia game. “Well, not get it done, but make it to the ACC Championship. It’s amazing for us, and I’m proud of these guys and the team, all the hard work we put in.
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“Yeah, the goal was to always go, that was part of the goal for sure, we looked at our schedule and it’s like, there’s not a game we can’t win. So it’s the work we put in and saw where we could carry it on to this.”
Each of the four national experts — Charles Power, J.D. PicKell, Andy Staples and Ari Wasserman — submitted a ballot with his top 10 players on it, and we’ve compiled the results to create a complete ranking using points — 10 points for a first-place vote, nine for second, etc.
The rest of the rankings are below.
1. CB/WR Travis Hunter, Colorado – 40 points
2. RB Ashton Jeanty, Boise State – 36
3. QB Cam Ward, Miami – 32
4. QB Dillon Gabriel, Oregon – 28
5. TE Tyler Warren, Penn State – 23
6. QB Kevin Jennings, SMU – 10
T-7. RB Dylan Sampson, Tennessee – 8
T-7. QB Riley Leonard, Notre Dame – 8
T-9. RB Cam Skattebo, Arizona State – 7
T-9. QB Kurtis Rourke, Indiana – 7
Others Receiving Heisman Trophy votes:
QB Jaxson Dart, Ole Miss – 4
WR Ricky White III, UNLV – 3
WR Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State – 3
EDGE Kyle Kennard, South Carolina – 3
EDGE Abdul Carter, Penn State – 2
