Category: NCAA

By Morris Phillips

Coach Rhett Lashlee knew what Brashard Smith could do running and catching passes. Lashlee recruited Smith out of high school and saw his versatility and big play potential.

With Smith in the transfer portal after three, mostly inactive seasons with the Miami Hurricanes, Lashlee didn’t have a spot or a need for a slot receiver. So, for two weeks, the portal became a confusing place for Smith and his services.

Then Lashlee got creative. Call it coach’s intuition… and ingenuity.

“Man, he’s just too explosive of a talent. Let’s see if he can play running back,’” Lashlee said.

Smith, more concerned about being around coaches he could trust than positional fit, said yes to being a Power 4 running back without any experience.

And guess what? The gamble paid off.

Smith has 1,089 yards rushing, 209 yards receiving, and 15 touchdowns while playing in all 11 games this season. The Mustangs coaching staff has managed the undersized Smith beautifully, limiting him to fewer than 20 carries in all but one game in regulation, and four or fewer pass receptions.

Not only has Smith been productive and available, but he’s fumbled just twice despite running with a bruising, physical style that no one, even himself, knew he had. A notion that turns a flyer into an All-ACC skill position player is transformative. For SMU, it’s meant going from an ACC also-ran to a national title contender.

“He just runs with that downhill mentality for a smaller back, can definitely get on the edge, and can really catch the football,” Lashlee said.

Kevin Jennings had two scholarship offers initially, none from a Power 5 school and one from Missouri State, which he nearly accepted. The high school quarterback from Dallas South Oak Cliff, which produced Dennis Rodman, was drawing attention, but for his part in an ensemble cast that would go on to capture the 5A State title in 2021, the first time in 63 years the title had gone to a school from Dallas.

Jennings’ teammates drew more attention than he did from college recruiters, but his play led the Golden Bears to the title. Lashlee came to recruit Jennings’ teammates Jaxson Lavender and Jayden Lawton but left wanting Jennings.

“You couldn’t miss him, just like I think that people that are starting to watch him play now in college, if they do watch him, they go, ‘Woah,'” Lashlee said.

Coming into 2024, Jennings’ sophomore year at SMU, he was still trailing on the depth chart behind starter Preston Stone. But Lashlee committed to playing both quarterbacks, and Jennings eventually won out and hasn’t lost a game in the starting role. SMU sits at 10-1, entering their regular season finale against Cal with a spot in the ACC Championship game already secure.

Jennings has impressed with his ability to extend off-schedule plays using his legs to escape and his arm to deliver the ball. Smith’s provided the perfect compliment with his explosive running. And Lashlee, just 42, as the architect of both players’ development, earned a well-deserved extension that keeps him at SMU through 2030.

Lashlee got his coaching start as an assistant under Auburn’s Gus Malzahn. He replaced Sonny Dykes at SMU in 2022 after Dykes left for TCU.