The annual Red & Blue game was supposed to be a showcase for a quarterback to step up and assert himself as a potential starter going into two-a-days next year.
Mother Nature had other ideas.
The Blue Team won a rain-shortened scrimmage, 26-0. Senior cornerback Jonas Rutledge didn’t waste a lot of time stamping his name on the new season Saturday during the scrimmage.
Rutledge picked off a pass from redshirt freshman quarterback Richard Bartel early in the scrimmage and scampered 75 yards for a touchdown starting the day of right for the Blue team, made up of primarily starters.
Gerald J. Ford Stadium was full of eager fans who were willing to bear the rain to see the new-look SMU Mustangs. The scrimmage was almost 20 minutes old when lightning forced a delay. The Mustangs finished the remainder of the scrimmage under rainy conditions.
The surprise of the day was freshman quarterback Tate Wallis, who quarterbacked the Blue team with 188 yards passing on the day. Wallis spent last season as a scout team tight end before moving back to quarterback at the beginning of the off-season.
With the first spring season of the Phil Bennett era under their belts, the team is excited about the direction they are heading.
“We got some things done we needed to do, but we also realize we have a ways to go,” senior linebacker Vic Viloria. “If we keep buying into the system were going to be real good.”