Kevin Jennings injury update: Rhett Lashlee updates health of SMU QB

The SMU Mustangs are coming off an emphatic road win over the Clemson Tigers. There, quarterback Kevin Jennings battled through an ankle injury to deliver an excellent performance in the win and keep SMU in the ACC hunt.

Now, with practice underway, SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee shared the latest on Kevin Jennings. While still not healthy, he has been able to battle through it and should be good to keep battling through those injuries.

“He’s fine,” Rhett Lashlee said. “I think the fact that he was able to play shows you that he should be fine. It’s sore, but he was a full practice participant today. He wasn’t limited in anything. I do not think it’s as bad as it was coming out of the Baylor game. That was the worst week because he really didn’t practice that week.”

Kevin Jennings has been banged up since the Baylor game on September 6th. In that time, he’s improved but struggled to be completely healthy. That nagged him in a major way as he limped around the field against Clemson.

“It’s just an ankle that about every time he gets healthy, it gets re-rolled,” Lashlee said. “And I think he’s learning how to play through it. So, we’ll see. Hopefully, he feels great Saturday, but I fully expect him to be ready to go.”

Against Clemson, Jennings threw for 290 yards and two touchdowns to one interception. He also rushed for 20 yards on six carries. It was a performance that Lashlee felt was among the legendary performances that the SMU program has seen, given the circumstances.

“I think for here, yeah. He got rolled up and he got up pretty hobbled, to the point that I was not sure. I was thinking that he may not be able to come back in this game. So, the game flow goes on and we’re getting the ball back and D’Eriq [King] is like, ‘Hey, he’s gonna go.’ Okay, great. I kind of looked at him and he’s like, ‘Let’s go win.’ So, we didn’t call the game like he was hurt and that was because of him. The very first play is a boot. He kind of hobbles out, sticks his foot in the ground, and throws a 70-yard touchdown to Jordan [Hudson]. Even in the second half, we’re booting him out. We’re running quarterback counter. Like, we’re doing whatever we need to do to win,” Lashlee said.

“So, yeah, I would think for this place, I’m sure we’ve seen some great performances but that’s got to be up there because 290 yards, two touchdowns. I don’t know how people look at statlines, but if you watched the game, he balled out. I mean, the throw to Jordan was incredible. He made so many other plays that are little within the game. I mean, the throw he made to Matt Hibner is an all-timer. The drive at the end of the game. The plays he was helping us make to win the game. Yeah, I think doing that also with what some people said was a flat tire, pretty cool. So, I think it’s legendary.”

SMU is on the road again this week against Wake Forest. Hopefully, Kevin Jennings will be as close to 100 percent as possible. Regardless, he’s already proven he can battle through this nagging injury.