SMU safeties ready to complete turnaround, shine in 2023

The safety position for SMU Football has had some of the team’s biggest names for good and bad reasons the last couple seasons. There’s been star power, but missed assignments and tackles.

Going into 2023, there are new faces, but plenty of veterans that are leading Scott Symons’ new position group. The talent level’s jumped up once again with the additions of Stanford transfer Jonathan McGill, Fresno State transfer CJ Sanders and TCU transfer Kyron Chambers.

Returning are the likes of Brandon Crossley, who is in his final year of college football, Bryan Massey, Ahmaad Moses and Isaiah Nwokobia.

The depth and talent is what has Massey optimistic about the safety room after a somewhat rough 2022 season. Symons added multiple pieces to the room that upgraded it quickly as Nick Roberts graduated.

“I think everybody around the country sees us as an offensive team, but looking at it from my standpoint, we’re three, four deep at each position on defense, honestly,” Massey said. “I feel like defensively we’re at a good point, we’re a good team. I think last year we saw that we could’ve been better, especially the safeties.”

That means the competition at SMU has ramped up. There’s more comfort with the defense among the returners, but at the same, their jobs are up for grabs.

“Since we didn’t have that change in coaching, it’s easier to get used to it and focus on learning the defense and helping other guys because I’ve already been through the defense. It’s way easier than last year,” Crossley said. “It’s really iron sharpening iron because we have guys here. If the guy next to you isn’t pushing you or the guy behind you isn’t pushing you, it’s not like you’re going to get better because you’re not really scared of losing your opportunities. A lot of different cultures so it’s bringing us together and it’s making us better as a defense.”

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With the competition comes opportunities to learn from others. Last year, Nwokobia, Massey, Donald Clay, Roderick Roberson and others were either hurt or unavailable. Learning different positions in the safety room and from each other is key.

“One man goes down, next man is up. Especially with last year, we started with a good number of safeties then ended up with a less number,” Moses said. “He really wants us to know more than one just in case, but we all play one position and rotate sometimes. We can focus on one and he wants us to learn others. I’m learning from one of the best caches to learn from on defense.”

Scott Symons takes over safety room

Symons’ defense requires the safeties to play the communicator role, sending the play and audibles down to the linebackers and defensive line. One of SMU’s most vocal players knows one of the biggest priorities is improving communication.

“The safeties are the quarterback of the defense so we’re trying to bring the corners along. Being vocal, we’ve just got to get the play across the board,” Crossley said. “I just feel like we’ve made the emphasis and tried to make sure everybody’s on the same page. A lot of times we done had 10 guys on the same page and one guy not. Being vocal is trying to get the play across the board.”

Having Symons available to SMU’s safeties in every meeting is important for checking all the boxes in preparations. Symons moved back to coach the safeties after Craig Naivar departed for the defensive coordinator job at Coastal Carolina.

“It’s huge because we have that open communication. It doesn’t feel like you’re talking to someone that you don’t necessarily see all the time,” McGill said. “We joke around in the DB room all the time and we feel comfortable to go talk to him about anything, any issue, any question that you might have compared to if you’re somebody else in a different position group. You don’t want to go to the DC and say, ‘Hey coach, I’m not really understanding this.’ Because then it’s like, ‘Does he have enough confidence to play?’

“Having a chance to have that open dialogue is huge because we’re getting involved in everything. It eliminates a lot of questions that you might have about certain calls.”

Not only is Symons there to be leaned on, but the group is embracing the chance to learn from each other.

“It’s all good because it’s all people who can all play, know the game,” Moses noted. “I would say it’s competition, but it’s really not because we’re all learning from each other, the same coach and we’re all just getting better each day because we all have the same goal and that’s to win.”

McGill, Crossley among veterans stepping up for SMU

As McGill entered the room, he had to find his footing as a leader. The Coppell, Texas native didn’t take long to establish himself and now sees a room that should have high expectations.

“Coming from Stanford being a captain and earned my voice and everything to coming here Day 1 and it’s like I’m a freshman all over again. I didn’t want to say nothing, I didn’t want to lead. Just wanted to earn my spot and do what I had to do. Being in spring and summer workouts, it gave me a little more credibility with the guys. That was something that was huge for me. I think we’ve got a really good safety unit. Obviously, got to put the work in and everything, but expectations are high.”

Head coach Rhett Lashlee noticed Crossley’s improvement on the field in fall camp. The Little Elm, Texas product impressed down the stretch last season and built on that during SMU’s offseason.

“He’s a little more disciplined. He’s got better eyes. He doesn’t freelance as much. Last year he was make a big play or give up a big play,” Lashlee said. “Right now he’s being more steady and allowing those plays to come like yesterday. I think him and CJ (Sanders) are battling well. They’re both going to give us good depth at that nickel position. Really pleased with where he is to where he was a year ago.”

Massey, who said he was never 100 percent last year after a fall camp injury, feels “100 percent” better this year. He reiterated that the depth has the group thinking big: Be the best and play with an edge.

“I think it’s really good that I can have someone that I can believe in behind me. All these guys are going to be able to play. Pressure is non-existent to us. Coach Symons always says, the tip of the spear, be the ones that lead. For us at safety, we’re definitely trying to have that edge for us. We don’t want to leave no doubt on the field that we’re the best position on the team.”

Ultimately, SMU’s defense has to show on the field that it can take that next step. The safeties in particular have to tackle and be the leaders on defense.

“I need to see it go from drill work to correlating to team. I think from now to the spring, we’ve worked on it, we’ve worked on it all summer,” Symons said. “They understand exactly how we’re asking them to have it done. As a group collectively, it’s something we have to keep working on because we’re going to get a limited amount of time to go live. That’s how it should be. When it’s time to tackle, tackle.”

That’s not the only thing SMU’s safeties need to do. When it’s time to lead, lead. When it’s time to communicate, communicate. When it’s time to produce, produce.

There’s optimism that’ll happen, but Symons alluded to it, it needs to correlate to the field this fall.