Chad Morris and his staff have been complimentary of SMU’s freshman class. But Morris won’t rush to play all of the freshmen right away.
Speaking Monday night on his Tempo Talk radio show, Morris said 10 to 12 of the 25 true freshmen will play this fall. He urged patience with those who will redshirt.
“They all come out and think they’re ready to play, their parents think they’re ready to play,” Morris said. “Sometimes they’re not ready just yet. They’re going to be ready, they’re going to be phenomenal players and we’re excited to have them, but this is a grown man’s game.”
“If you’re not mentally ready, that’s my job as a coach to make sure we don’t put them out there.”
Most of the freshmen arrived on campus in June, with running back Aphonso Thomas as the lone January enrollee. They took summer classes and participated in team strength and conditioning workouts.
The 2016 signing class was heavy on defensive players – 14 of the 25 signees were recruited to play defense for SMU. A defense that gave up 45.7 points per game will welcome reinforcements and young talent. Morris mentioned three players in the secondary who will help immediately: cornerback Eric Sutton, cornerback Christian Davis and safety Mikial Onu.
The defensive line won’t be without freshmen either. That’s one area where Morris is pleased with the competition and improvement.
“Improvement on our defense starts up front,” Morris said. “We feel like that’s an area, coming out of fall camp, that has really developed depth. We’re more athletic and we move better.”
On his show, Morris didn’t name any true freshmen expected to help on a defensive line that experienced a lot of turnover. But a few names are clear based on chatter and watching a few scrimmages. True freshman defensive ends Demerick Gary and Michael Badejo have stood out. In the spring, Morris praised ends Michael Scott, Delontae Scott and defensive tackle Chris Biggurs after each redshirted 2015.
SMU brought in two veterans to provide depth in the middle: junior college defensive tackle J.T. Williams and Iowa State graduate transfer Terry Ayeni. The Mustangs also moved Nick Horton to defensive end. He spent his first three seasons at linebacker.
“(Horton) was out of position,” Morris said. “He didn’t move well, he was slow, he was stiff, just really didn’t look like what we expect at the linebacker position. When you move guys 4 yards closer to ball, it’s amazing how much better they become. This is a natural position for him. He feels comfortable and feels at home at that defensive end position.”
Other notes
Morris talks Peavey: Last week, SMU added former Arkansas quarterback Rafe Peavey to its roster. Peavey started fall camp with the Razorbacks, but decided to transfer midway through. He enrolled in classes on SMU’s first full day of school and announced his transfer on Twitter a day later. Morris said he recruited Peavey at Clemson.
“Rafe loved what we did at Clemson,” Morris said. “But we had already had a quarterback committed in DeShaun Watson and Rafe was committed to Arkansas. After two years, he decided he wanted to transfer. He loves what we do on offense here.”
Peavey did not throw a pass in two seasons at Arkansas. He will have two years of eligibility left starting in 2017.
Horton wins Jerry LeVias award: In addition to Nick Horton’s move to defensive end, the senior won the right to wear former SMU wide receiver Jerry LeVias’ No. 23 for the season. In 1965, LeVias became the first black player in Southwest Conference history.
“It’s a great honor,” Morris said. “When he won the award, he was extremely emotional. He got his teammates up to celebrate with him.”
