SMU Coach Rhett Lashlee Sports Custom 'Jennings For Heisman' T-Shirt at ACC Kickoff

The Kevin Jennings Heisman campaign is officially open for business, and SMU football coach Rhett Lashlee isn’t bothering with subtlety.

Lashlee arrived at ACC Kickoff prepared to sell his quarterback to anyone willing to listen.

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Beneath his dress shirt was a “Jennings for Heisman” T-shirt. In his hands was a page packed with numbers, accomplishments and reasons the fifth-year senior deserves a place among college football’s biggest names.

This wasn’t a casual endorsement. It was a warning shot to the rest of the country: Stop overlooking SMU’s quarterback.

Jennings enters his third season as the Mustangs’ starter after guiding SMU to nine victories despite playing through an injured ankle and leading an offense that didn’t always give him enough help.

The Mustangs still finished within one possession of reaching the ACC Championship Game.

Now Lashlee believes the supporting cast is stronger, the roster is deeper and Jennings is positioned to make a legitimate national run.

The argument isn’t built entirely on hype, either. Jennings ranks among the top returning Power Four quarterbacks in several major statistical categories.

He’s also within striking distance of owning virtually every significant passing record in SMU history before the middle of the season.

That’s where this campaign separates itself from some of the preseason Heisman noise.

Jennings isn’t an untested quarterback being promoted because of recruiting rankings, projected upside or the logo on his helmet.

He has already won big games, produced at the Power Four level and established himself as one of the ACC’s most accomplished returning players.

He’s also become the public face of the entire athletic department.

Jennings regularly supports SMU’s other programs, appears around campus and has remained committed to the Mustangs through college football’s transfer portal and NIL chaos.

Lashlee has described him as the embodiment of what SMU wants its program to represent.

None of that guarantees a trip to New York.

Quarterbacks don’t win the Heisman because their coach wears a promotional shirt in July.

Jennings will need explosive statistics, signature victories and enough national television exposure to break through a crowded field.

More importantly, SMU must win.

If the Mustangs fall out of the ACC race early, the campaign will become little more than clever marketing.

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But if Jennings has SMU competing for a conference championship in November, voters won’t be able to dismiss him as a regional story.

Lashlee has started the sales pitch. Now Jennings has to make the shirt look prophetic.