July 18, 2005

When a football team returns 22 starters from the previous season, most onlookers would expect improved performance from the team and a familiar-looking depth chart. While SMU fans can expect improved results on the field, with competition at every position, the depth chart may look vastly different in 2005.

Playing with the nation's youngest roster in 2004, SMU finished 3-8 and was a much-improved team as the season progressed. However, there are questions to be answered in preseason practice. Among them: Who will be the starting quarterback? Who will be the featured running back? Who will replace All-WAC defensive tackle Allan Adami?

SMU used three different starting quarterbacks in 2004 - Chris Phillips, Tony Eckert and Jerad Romo. All three experienced success and setbacks a year ago and all three are back in 2005.

Phillips started as a true freshman in 2003 and was the opening-day starter in 2004, but was injured in the Oklahoma State game and sat out the remainder of season as a medical redshirt. Eckert took the reigns for the San Jose State game and led SMU to its first win in 15 tries and finished the year as SMU's top passer, throwing for over 1,400 yards - the most for a Mustang quarterback in four seasons. Romo saw time in nine games and finished the season as the Ponies' top rusher with 434 yards and four TDs.

Head Coach Phil Bennett evaluated all three, saying, "Tony is a tremendous touch passer and also throws a good deep ball. Jerad is such a good runner that we tried him at wideout a few times last year just to get him more touches, while Chris is a big, strong quarterback that can run you over or hit one of our receivers on a long pass play."

"That said, all three have aspects of the game that they need to work on. Tony's got to get better at running the ball and protecting the ball, Jerad has got to be more accurate in his throwing and Chris has to make better decisions and become a better touch-passer. We also need all our quarterbacks to be mentally sharper."

"For us to get better, we must make better decisions and take care of the football," he continued. "Our touchdown-to-interception ratio has to be opposite what it is right now. I'm excited, though, because for the first time since I've been here we have three guys that have started games."

"It's really a three-man race right now. People have asked me if I'm against playing two quarterbacks, and the answer is `No.' But I would like to see one of them take charge. All of them want to be the starting quarterback and it's a healthy competition. It's something that if we handle right will only make us better. They're great friends and fierce competitors. I'm counting on them competing and pushing each other. Any one of them can give us the leadership we need at that position."

Who joins the starting QB in the backfield is also up in the air. Foy Munlin, SMU's preseason starter last season, was injured before the first game and the Mustang rushing attack never really recovered. Romo, a back-up quarterback, finished as the squad's leading running threat in 2004, and the only other 2005 returnee with more than seven career carries on his resume is sophomore Cedrick Dorsey. Dorsey showed flashes last season, even scoring the winning TD on a 25-yard scamper in overtime to defeat Tulsa, but played most of the season injured and never showed his full abilities.

"Our job is to find a feature back," said Bennett. "I don't know who it will be yet, but we have to find our guy. Last season, we saw some things we really liked in Cedrick Dorsey, and he played most of the year with injuries. I want to see how he holds up and how he's matured."

"We also have Richuel Massey and Fred Turner, one of the team's fastest players who we've moved to running back. Two other possibilities are guys who redshirted last season - Jessie Henderson and DeMyron Martin."

"We just have to see what we have back there and how they all fit together. As I've said to the offensive staff, our chore is to find a feature back. That means mixing and matching and all those kids with the starting line and getting them quality reps. That's the only way to see who's best fitted for that feature-back role."

Leading the way for the SMU attack is an offensive line which figures to have more depth than in years past. The Mustangs should return all five 2004 starters and see some position battles from other returnees. While Brad Kieschnick and Chris Urbanus both missed spring practice, those two, along with starters Justin Boren, Martin Guidry, Darrin Johnson, Caleb Peveto, Ben Poynter and Bryan Turner, will fight for spots in the trenches and try to hold off challenges from Kenard Burley, Sean Lobo, Dustin Morton and Tommy Poynter, among others.

"We've got everybody back, but we're looking at some possible changes," revealed Bennett. "We want to get the best five lineman on the field. That would give us a lot of flexibility. We are going to work some with Ben Poynter at center because it's more of his natural position and he'll be more versatile. Boren, Peveto and Turner all started at times last year, and that gives us much better depth than we've had since I've been here."

One of SMU's deepest positions is tight end, where junior Ryan Kennedy figures to contend for All-League honors again in 2005. Joining Kennedy will be highly-recruited redshirt freshmen Vincent Chase and Andrew McKinney.

"We believe Ryan Kennedy will be an All-Conference player at tight end," said Bennett. "Our big goal is to find our number two and number three guys. Vincent Chase broke his foot and missed the spring. While that's going to be a setback for him, he can overcome it. We've moved Andrew McKinney to tight end as well, and he looked good in spring practice."

At wide receiver, SMU is again stocked with retuning talent as the `Stangs lose just one player who played sparingly in 2004. Bobby Chase and Chris Foster led the squad in yards and catches, respectively, in 2004 and should be even better in 2005.

"We feel like receiver is an area where we can get better," admitted the SMU coach. "Last year we caught the ball better than at any time in my tenure. Jay'Mond Cleveland, Reynaldo Pellerin, Chris Foster and Bobby Chase are guys that have really gotten better and better. They'll all play big parts. That said, two guys we need to get more involved are Devin Lowery and Tony Hawkins. Those two have to step up and make strides."

Defensively, SMU loses four starters, but the loss of Adami will be the toughest hit to absorb. A three-year starter, Adami plugged a big hole on the defensive line.

"It's all got to start up front," said Bennett. "We're not going to have an Allan Adami, but we've got Brandon Bonds, Randy Denman, Adrian Haywood, Lucky DeLay, Dominic Pryor and Hunter Shipp inside. They'll all be in the mix. We're not going to have any dominators, but we'll make up for it by being active."

"We also have to get more out of our defensive ends and that's one of the big reasons we signed Troy Therien. He can make an impact. Justin Rogers was really hitting his stride when he got injured last season and he'll pick up where he left off. We also moved Don Ieremia-Stansbury back to end and he really looks good right now."

"Charlie Berry and Cory Muse did not go through spring, either, but both should be back this fall. Charlie really made progress last season and Cory was our best pass rusher until he was injured."

"So we'll have Therien, Stansbury, Muse, Berry, Rogers, Jamar Bey and Kyle Griffin, and that's a position where we will be better than last year. We can rotate all those guys because they're all pretty close in talent. Having that many solid players will give us flexibility and keep us fresh."

At linebacker, SMU returns more starters than it has spots. D.D. Lee and Reggie Carrington are both back after medical redshirt seasons and Rico Harris and Wilton McCray are back after starting for most of 2004. In addition, Alvin Nnabuife moved to linebacker for the last three games of the season and Avery Cleveland started a game a year ago, as well. All return to battle for starting spots.

"At linebacker, simply getting healthy will be big for us," the coach quipped. "We're going to get two of our best players back in Reggie Carrington and D.D. Lee and that alone will upgrade us tremendously. Wilton will be back and I think he can really progress. Alvin was tremendous in the last three games and Rico was solid all year. Avery Cleveland will also fit in the mix somewhere."

"We've got a decision to make as to how we're going to group the personnel. With our depth, we're going to be able to do some more specialty packages based on down-and-distance and sets. We could have a dramatically improved linebacking group."

The secondary is another spot where the Ponies return experienced depth. Rolando Humphrey and Jamey Harper will be starting for the fourth-straight season and Nnabuife will be in his third year in the starting lineup.

"I think we can solidify some things back there this spring," said Bennett. "Rolando is a potential All-Conference player. Alvin will see time at both safety and linebacker, depending on the package, and Jamey had a strong year in `04. Those guys give us a solid base."

"Joe Sturdivant is another experienced contributor in the secondary and we'll look for him to play a part again in 2005. We've also got two junior college guys we're very anxious to see in Randall Goode and Victor Makinde. Randall was a safety in junior college, but we want to get a look at him at corner due to his speed. Jonathan Lindley and Johnnie Fitzgerald are another couple of guys we want to get involved. We also want to see how David Haynes performs after his redshirt season and we've moved Cortley Blackmon back to corner as well. They'll all get a shot at being the starter opposite of `Ro.'"

On special teams, SMU seems set, with senior punter Ryan Mentzel and kicker Chris McMurtray coming off solid junior campaigns.

"We have both our kickers back, but we will have a new deep snapper in Colin Pelton," revealed Bennett. "Ryan averaged over 40 yards per kick last year, but we've got to do a better job in coverage. Chris was 7-of -8 last year and he was pretty good on kickoffs, too, but again, we need to improve our coverage. Right now, I see those guys keeping their jobs, but we've got some guys that are very capable of handling the duties. Ryan Wolcott and Brayden Harris are both guys that could handle both."

"In our return game, we've got Blake Warren coming back on punts and we also have Jessie Henderson back, who is a return specialist. We also want to look at Cortley Blackmon and Johnnie Fitzgerald on kickoffs and punt returns. Our depth back there will help us."

Certainly the biggest change SMU will encounter in 2005 is the new league - Conference USA. While conference games will also have regional appeal, SMU will continue to take on local rivals and former Southwest Conference foes.

"Playing two home games to start is a plus, but we'll be facing two very good teams in Baylor and TCU. After that, we'll have a big game at Texas A&M," closed Bennett. "I really believe the new conference is something everyone's been waiting for. With our division rivals - Tulsa, UTEP, Tulane, Houston and Rice - it's going to be a fun league."

"With so many guys back and the most competition we've had in practice since I've been here, we're going to be a much-improved team in 2005. Personally, I can't wait for the season."