SMU’s star quarterback Kevin Jennings announced his return to SMU for the2025 season on social media on Sunday. There was not much speculation that Jennings had any interest in transferring away from SMU but in the current college football landscape, you can never be too sure. The Mustangs travel to State College on Friday as they prepare for the first round of the College Football Playoff against Penn State on Saturday at 11 a.m. CT. Before Jennings turned his full focus to the game against the Nittany Lions, he wanted to let everyone know he sees a bright future with SMU.
Jennings isn’t the only player to announce their intentions to return to SMU for another season. Veteran offensive lineman Logan Parr as well as linebacker Alex Kilgore took to social media to announce their loyalty to the Mustangs. Now, these aren’t players that anybody saw leaving SMU anyway but the statements these players put out are messages to college coaches across the country that they do not want to leave the Hilltop.
During a press conference on Tuesday, Coach Lashlee expressed his frustration when talking about coaches from other schools trying to take SMU’s players for next season all while the Mustangs aim to beat Penn State and extend their current season.
“Let’s call it like it is, people are bombarding our roster, trying to pick people off our roster, and we’re trying to focus on the playoff,” Lashlee said.
SMU players cannot be contacted by coaches from other schools unless players have officially put their names in the transfer portal. If coaches do attempt to reach out, it’s called tampering and it’s illegal. However, this clearly isn’t stopping coaches and universities from trying.
Kevin Jennings burst onto the scene this year when he led the Mustangs to a perfect, 8-0, conference record. Because of this, SMU and Jennings received more attention from the media, rival teams, and college football fans alike.
In the modern era of college football, NIL has become one of the most important factors in a player’s decision to enter the transfer portal. For Kevin Jennings, his decision to stay at SMU was not for the money.
When Jennings committed to SMU out of high school, The Mustangs were his only Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) offer. SMU convinced Jennings to commit to the Mustangs and be a “hometown hero” as Jennings went to South Oak Cliff High School, less than 15 miles away from SMU’s campus. With Jennings at SMU, his family can attend all of SMU’s home games because of his proximity to home.
The pitch from the coaching staff to get Kevin Jennings to become a Mustang hasn’t changed since adding his name to the roster. Jennings values being one of the faces of SMU football and the Dallas community. He also has immense trust in the coaching staff as they were the only FBS staff to believe in him coming out of high school. Jennings confidently told reporters about his intent to remain a Mustang.
“Just to let teams around the nation know I’m staying here,” Jennings said.“I’m 100% locked in with this coaching staff and the players here.”
With SMU losing five wide receivers to graduation after this year, the Mustangs will have opportunities to bring in some new faces to catch passes from Jennings and after a productive sophomore season with the Mustangs, Jennings feels he can build off this year. This starts with recruitment. Jennings has talked with the coaching staff and has been involved in who SMU looks to bring in through the transfer portal.
“With guys I know and guys that are reaching out to me [that are in the transfer portal], [I will be] letting the coaches know ‘Hey, he is reaching out to me’ or ‘You should check on him,’” Jennings said.
He hopes to create a special season, or two, for the Mustangs down the line. This starts on Dec. 21 as Jennings and the Mustangs face off against Penn State in the first round of the College Football Playoffs.
