SMU’s Chris Butler attempts to make a few yards in the annual Red vs. Blue Game on Saturday in Ford Stadium. (Lindsey Perkins)
Spring football is the only time when the final score does not matter. It’s how the points were scored that is of interest to the coaches and the fans.
The red team won SMU’s Red and Blue football game, 31-7.
But that does not matter.
What matters is that a breakout player has emerged for the Mustangs.
Wide receiver Zach Zimmerman caught two passes Saturday, both for touchdowns. The 45-and 40-yard receptions were the highlights of an otherwise sloppy spring game. Both catches were arching passes that he brought down with coverage around him. Zimmerman was able to snag the ball, keep control and easily get into the end zone.
“It’s bad that we’ve had injuries, but they let me step up and see what I could do,” Zimmerman said.
Zimmerman came to SMU in spring 2006 but did not see playing time last season. He will be a sophomore in the fall. He was a two-year letterman at Flower Mound High School and a two-time all-district selection.
He said the practices during the fall helped him become familiar with the schemes SMU uses, and the spring practices gave him an opportunity to show what he has done.
Zimmerman’s emergence helps fill out a receiver corps that is thinned due to graduation. Starters Bobby Chase and Reynaldo Pellerin are graduating and spots are open for younger players to fill in and make their marks.
The spring receiving corps was even thinner due to the illness of Columbus Givens. Head coach Phil Bennett said after the spring game that Givens would withdraw from school this week. In order to remain eligible he must pass six hours worth of classes this summer.
Bennett said the biggest accomplishment of the spring game was no one got hurt. He praised the strong hitting of the defense and the overall play of the offense.
However, he was not pleased with the high amount of turnovers in the game. Both Willis and backup quarterback Corey Slater turned the ball over. Willis had one interception and Slater had two.
Willis threw for 158 yards and two touchdowns while Slater had 77 yards throwing and two touchdowns.
Willis said afterward that he is still recovering from his injury two months ago when a recruit slammed his hand in a car trunk. The doctors said a full recovery would take five to six months. He said he hasn’t been as good on his throws as he would have like to.
“It’s limited me a little bit,” Willis said. “It’s a patience thing.”
He plans on spending this summer with all of the receivers so he can develop the same rhythm he has with his roommate, and favorite passing target, Emmanuel Sanders.
“Next year there will be a bunch of Emmanuels,” he said.
After a intercepting a Justin Willis pass, Reggie Carrington runs down field during the Red and Blue Game at Ford Stadium on Saturday. (Lindsey Perkins)
