Jon Gruden praises SMU QB Kevin Jennings at Manning Passing Academy
Barstool Sports’ Jon Gruden and former Super Bowl winning head coach Jon Gruden loves his quarterbacks. He’s grilled many a quarterback on his Gruden’s QB Class and spent some time with SMU quarterback Kevin Jennings this weekend.
Jennings is getting some Heisman Trophy buzz from outlets like Athlon Sports. Gruden chimed in from Manning Passing Academy, where Jennings is a counselor, that he’s high on SMU’s signal caller as well.
“Think SMU can have another great year,” Gruden said. “What a great young man!”
Jennings had a strong 2024 season, appearing in all 14 games and starting 11. The Dallas native threw for 3,245 yards, 23 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions, while also rushing for 354 yards and five touchdowns. He led the Mustangs to a 9-2 record as a starter, making the College Football Playoff and ACC Championship game.
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Head coach Rhett Lashlee is excited about the next steps for Jennings as he enters his first season as the full-time starter.
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“Obviously Kevin got through it healthy, and we’re excited about just the continued development of him,” Lashlee said after spring practices. “I’m excited for him to have a summer with a lot of the guys healthy and around him and continue to lead. Our team believes in him a lot.
“I’m really comfortable with Kevin. I think that probably goes without saying.”
SMU’s quarterback room is ranked among the nation’s best by Phil Steele’s College Football Magazine. Quarterbacks coach D’Eriq King is happy with where the group is at.
“Obviously, Kevin being back is a big deal for us and a big deal for the team,” King said this week. “But I think we brought the right guys in, like Ty Hawkins fits who we are in the quarterback room, he fits who we are at SMU. Tyler Van Dyke was with us before, so all of us are super familiar with Tyler. And then Charlie [Fiser] is great, I think Charlie is like, he doesn’t get enough praise, but he does so much for this program.”
