Inside the SMU QB competition between Tanner Mordecai, Preston Stone

SMU spent just a week in spring football before spring break came calling. What doesn’t stop is chatter about the SMU quarterbacks, which are competing for the starting job as the page turns to the Rhett Lashlee era.

The stakes are high for both in this marathon to the season opener against North Texas. A decision on which one will start is a ways off, but the moves are scrutinized.

“A lot of it is like, do you know your assignment? That kind of deal,” quarterbacks coach Jonny Brewer said last week. “The thing I like is we’re a no-huddle offense, but we do have them call ’em out from the sideline, huddle up by themselves, call the play, take charge of the offense leading them out on the field. We’re evaluating all those kind of things, not just like, ‘Hey, we’ve got to do everything right on the play and that kind of stuff and a guy busts.’

“What does your leadership look like? Can you get guys to follow you? All those kind of things. That’s really what we’re looking for.”

Tanner Mordecai is coming off a strong statistical season for SMU in his first year as the starting quarterback while Preston Stone waited his turn and saw limited action. Mordecai set a school record for touchdown passes and was named a starter while Stone played much less than just about anyone thought he would after inking with the Mustangs as an elite recruit.

With a week of spring ball in the books, it remains the same pecking order as last year.

“Tanner was a great starting quarterback here, he’s the guy taking the first reps right now,” offensive coordinator Casey Woods said. “Obviously, we feel great about Preston coming in here and helping push that, forcing the competition at the position.”

Brewer identified as much off the field intangibles that stand out with both as it is on the field qualities.

“Two pros. Two guys that love ball. Two guys that ask really good questions in the meeting room,” Brewer said. “Their attention to detail is really high. They’re guys that respond to each other, talk to each other. That’s kind of been the big coaching point is like, ‘Hey, you guys come together in the room, help coach each other, see what you see.’ Because you’re the guys on the field. We’re just the coaches in the background. You got to say, ‘Hey, I saw this, maybe you should look at it like this way or this way.’ That’s been a comforting thing in our room.”

Head coach Rhett Lashlee, who worked with multiple starting quarterbacks at Miami last season with varying degrees of success, knows SMU is in a great situation.

“You’ve got to have a leader and a winner,” Lashlee said on the first day of spring practice. “I think we have a really good situation here when you’ve got someone like Tanner who came in, had a fantastic year statistically, won games, you’ve got that experience coming back. I thought he had a really good day today. I was really pleased with how he, again, the demeanor and leadership and the way he went through practice.”

“Then you’ve got a guy like Preston, I think (being a leader) is a super strength of his. His energy, his attitude’s contagious to the guys. Obviously, he’s really talented, as well. He’s now been through a year of college. Nothing’s new to him other than the offensive tweaks. Really was pleased with how both those guys went today and how they pick up everything throughout spring.”

Mordecai is thrilled with the start to his SMU career after transferring in from Oklahoma. There’s still a lot to be done, but the first act was an encouraging one that ended in misery as the Mustangs lost four of their last five as Sonny Dykes shuffled out the door to TCU.

“I had a blast. Obviously, the first eight weeks were a lot more fun because we were winning. Losing was not fun,” Mordecai said. “Like you said, broke records here, established myself. I was a captain. I was really proud of that. I had a lot of fun with those guys. A lot of the guys on that team are coming back and I think it’s going to be equally as fun, if not more if we can go win a championship.

“Whenever something like that happens, for me it’s, ‘When can I get back to work? When can I get that out of my head and focus on something new?’ which was starting spring ball with this new staff.”

Last spring, Stone was getting his feet wet as an early enrollee. The spotlight was on him, but now he’s settled in and is focused on working as hard as he can.

“One of the biggest things for me this year, I don’t have to feel anything out anymore,” Stone said. “I more or less know what to expect when I come out here each day. My goal this spring is to be the most competitive player out here. I’m trying to do that each practice. Starter, playing, not playing, it doesn’t have any difference on how competitive you can be when you come out here every day. 

“That’s my mentality, to come out here and be the most competitive, most prepared quarterback in the country that I can be. The rest will take care of itself.”

There’s no timeframe for a decision on who will start, Woods said after the second practice. Like any position right now, it’s an open competition.

“We’ve got two great players here,” Woods said. “You ask about criteria, we want winners and we’ve got two winners here. We like touchdown passes, we’ve got a lot of touchdown passes between them. And we’ve got guys that want to lead and they’re both great leaders.”

As Mordecai and Stone begin to truly compete on a level playing field, there’s more of a bond that goes along with the competition.

“It’s a competitive brotherhood regardless of what position it is on the team,” Stone said. “It is much cooler to have been playing on a team for a year now and getting to know what our strengths and weaknesses are. It’s awesome. I encourage him, he encourages me and we can only make each other better. I think that’s both of our mindsets.”