SMU’s ‘New Blood’ Era Puts Kevin Jennings in Spotlight

DALLAS - SMU football isn’t arriving at the ACC’s adult table anymore. The Mustangs have already kicked out a chair, grabbed a plate and started talking like they own the room.

Entering their third season in the conference, Rhett Lashlee’s program carries a 14-2 ACC record, one conference championship appearance and a College Football Playoff berth.

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Lashlee stopped short of calling SMU a blue blood at ACC Media Days, choosing a sharper description instead.

“New blood.”

That identity fits a program moving faster than the traditional powers expected, and quarterback Kevin Jennings is the face of the takeover.

Lashlee arrived in Charlotte wearing a “Jennings for Heisman” shirt, turning what could’ve been a quiet preseason campaign into a public challenge.

SMU hasn’t produced a Heisman Trophy winner since Doak Walker in 1948, but Jennings has numbers strong enough to make the conversation legitimate.

Despite battling an ankle injury following an overtime loss to Baylor, Jennings threw for 3,641 yards and 26 touchdowns while completing a career-best 66.1 percent of his passes in 2025. Lashlee said his quarterback now enters the season healthy and capable of joining the nation’s elite.

“If we do, there’s no question in our mind he’s one of the best players in America,” Lashlee said.

Jennings isn’t exactly campaigning from every microphone. He’d rather let his coach handle the noise, although he admitted Lashlee’s belief matters.

“The confidence he has in me helps me have confidence in myself,” Jennings said.

SMU’s biggest gamble isn’t under center. It’s on the headset.

The Mustangs lost offensive coordinator Casey Woods and defensive coordinator Scott Symons after four remarkably stable seasons. Instead of replacing each with one person, Lashlee created coaching committees.

Maurice Crum Jr. and Rickey Hunley Jr. will share defensive coordinator duties, while Rob Likens, Garin Justice and D’Eriq King carry co-offensive coordinator titles.

It sounds chaotic. Lashlee believes it’ll feel familiar because the replacements already understand SMU’s system and culture.

That continuity matters for a team that watched another ACC Championship Game opportunity disappear with a last-minute loss at California. SMU isn’t interested in another season of being close.

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Lashlee also used Media Days to defend the ACC, pointing to its 8-6 record against the SEC in 2025 and criticizing preseason formulas that automatically elevate other leagues.

The message was unmistakable: SMU doesn’t want acceptance from the ACC establishment. It wants the conference trophy, and Jennings wants a December trip to New York.