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UNIVERSITY PARK – With the year coming to an inevitable close, the look-ahead toward 2020 begins now. It has the potential to be a banner year for SMU athletics, particularly with the re-established success of the football program.
But underneath the concepts of success and failure are many important storylines for the football program. Let’s break all of them down, running through the 10 biggest things to look for in the new year.
Note: The list of topics is not in order of importance.
10. Will SMU keep its coaches?
SMU, so far, has kept basically its entire coaching staff from a 10-3 season – not hard to do. As head coach Sonny Dykes points out, you’re either in the group that’s getting fired, or being looked at for bigger jobs. The main names to look out for are Ra’Shaad Samples, because of his local recruiting prowess, and for OC Rhett Lashlee, because of his impressive resume and SMU’s success on the offensive side of the ball.
9. Will any SMU players get drafted?
Right now, SMU has a bunch of players leaving this season that could get drafted, but no one who appears to be a virtual lock. WR James Proche would be the most likely candidate, but others such as LB Patrick Nelson, DL Delontae Scott, safety Rodney Clemons, RB Xavier Jones and DT Demerick Gary are all going to try and make the case over the next couple of weeks and months. SMU will have pro day in March, with the draft later in the spring.
8. Who gets carries at running back?
With Xavier Jones and Ke’Mon Freeman both graduating, SMU doesn’t have a clear-cut top option at running back heading into next season. SMU made the mistake of using a year of Southlake Carroll’s T.J. McDaniel, when they should have preserved his first year of eligibility. Still, that might indicate he’s first in line heading into next season. Or, maybe, someone like Ulysses Bentley IV might make the jump to become a starter. There are several internal options, or SMU might look at the transfer portal.
7. Will SMU be able to take, or make, a 40-yard field goal?
The kicking game probably didn’t cost SMU any games this year, but it certainly could have. And if it’s not addressed it very well might lose the Mustangs a game next year. SMU didn’t make a field goal longer than 38-yards. And that futility was solidified when Kevin Robledo missed a 38-yard field goal at the end of the season. Seven missed PATs, three missed field goals inside 30 yards -- it all added up to a disastrous kicking season. SMU will surely be looking for options in the transfer portal.
6. Will Reggie Roberson be completely healthy?
The answer to this is likely yes. However, we don’t know what specific injury SMU’s star wide receiver suffered in that Oct. 24 game at Houston. It forced Roberson to miss the remainder of the season, and Dykes was not transparent at all in discussing the severity of his injury -- other than to say it was a foot injury. Some foot injuries can be very serious for football players -- and some have recovery times that take up to a year. So, because we just don’t know what happened, we don’t know when Roberson Jr. will be back, or what condition he’ll be in to play effectively.
5. Clarifying the future at QB beyond 2020.
Right now, the plan will obviously be Shane Buechele returning as the starting quarterback in 2020. But the 2020 season should also see a further clarification of SMU’s plan at the position beyond Buechele and into 2021. The Mustangs have yet to sign a QB to the 2020 class, so presumably they believe their future QB is either on the roster, in the transfer portal, or a 2021 target. Internal options include Will Brown, who was out all season with an injury. Terrance Gipson still has four years of eligibility remaining.
4. Will attendance go up?
SMU’s attendance did rise this season, up to north of 29,000 for its homecoming game against East Carolina. However, no one would suggest that SMU’s long-running attendance issues have been solved. In big games against Temple and Tulsa, the stadium was about half full, even as the ranked Mustangs pursued a perfect record at the time. The internal belief is that interest needs time to catch up to success. So, with a year of success under their belt, will SMU’s attendance see a significant rise?
3. Does SMU get top Dallas recruits?
SMU’s entire “Born and Raised" campaign for Dallas has been to keep the top area talent at home and playing at SMU. As of right now, SMU has yet to secure a top local high school talent, and only signed one Dallas-area high school player in December. But there were some signs with two solid JUCO players, originally from Dallas, deciding to play at SMU. The next step will be a big four-star player from the area choosing the Mustangs.
2. Who replaces key pieces on the defensive line?
SMU graduated key players like Gary, Scott, Zach Abercrumbia and Pono Davis along the defensive line. So the question becomes, who replaces those players? At defensive end, players like Gary Wiley and Tyeson Neals are good options. SMU will likely have Harrison Loveless back at DT. He missed the season with an injury suffered early in the year. Former Baylor DT Will Jones also got some looks this year, and will likely again next season.
1. Can SMU make a New Year’s 6 bowl?
And this thought points to the larger question -- which is whether or not SMU can improve off last season. And it gets at the question of whether or not the 2019 season was a one-off, or a true establishing of a foundation for success. SMU’s season didn’t end the way it wanted to, and as a result it won’t be ranked, and the national perspective will fade away. But it was still a great year, and the question remains if next year can be even greater.
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December 28, 2019 at 04:22AM
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10 key storylines for SMU football in 2020 - The Dallas Morning News
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