SMU football is planning beyond Kevin Jennings with Tai Hawkins, Cole Liner and Malachi Ziegler - and the money to buy a portal QB if needed.
DALLAS - SMU football isn’t just riding with Kevin Jennings for one last run. The Mustangs are already building the quarterback runway for what comes next, and it’s more organized - and more aggressive - than most programs want to admit.
With Jennings entering what’s expected to be his final season at the controls, the conversation usually turns into panic.
Not at SMU. The Mustangs have stacked options behind him, starting with Ty Hawkins (signed in the 2025 class), Cole Leinart (a 2026 quarterback commit), and Malachi Zeigler (a four-star pledge for 2027).
That’s three different recruiting cycles covered, three different skill sets in the pipeline, and a built-in competition model that keeps the job from being handed out like a participation trophy.
The point is simple ... SMU isn’t hoping it has a quarterback. It’s planning to always have one. And if the plan hits turbulence? SMU has the wallet to change lanes.
The modern transfer portal quarterback market has turned into free agency with shoulder pads. As discussed on Locked On SMU with host Grayson Singleton, high-end portal quarterbacks are commanding serious money - often in the $2.5 million to $3 million range - and that number isn’t trending down.
It’s trending up. The Mustangs, fresh off major financial backing (including a reported $50 million donation), are positioned to play that game if development or retention doesn’t go as expected.
That matters more than fans realize. Because quarterback plans don’t fail only because a player isn’t good enough. Sometimes it’s injuries. Sometimes it’s coaching fit.
Sometimes it’s the reality of “kids being kids,” as Singleton bluntly put it. Either way, SMU has created something most teams don’t: a recruiting pipeline plus a portal parachute.
Head coach Rhett Lashlee benefits most from that stability. If he has consistent quarterback talent, SMU can sustain momentum year after year - the exact formula for building a program that doesn’t spike once and disappear.
There’s still work to do, of course. Recruiting rankings don’t win games. Development does. But the structure is there: Jennings now, Hawkins next, and a battle between Leinart and Zeigler (or whoever emerges) after that, with the portal as the emergency exit.
SMU football isn’t just thinking about 2026. It’s playing chess into the next decade.