SMU Football: 10 Key Players to Watch in 2025
No. 16 SMU enters the 2025 season with some key returners on offense and some new faces on defense. Together, the group will look to build upon the team’s run to last season’s College Football Playoff. Here are 10 key players for the Mustangs in 2025:
SMU quarterback Kevin Jennings (7) warms up before the ACC championship game against Clemson, Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C.
Elías Valverde II / Staff Photographer
1. Kevin Jennings
Junior quarterback / 6-0, 192 pounds
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2024 stats: 247-for-380 passing, 3,245 passing yards, 23 passing touchdowns, 11 interceptions, 101 rushes, 354 rushing yards, five rushing touchdowns
Breakdown: After entering the 2024 season as SMU’s backup quarterback, Jennings had a breakout year once he overtook the starting job. His dual-threat abilities not only led SMU to the ACC title game and College Football Playoff but entered Jennings into the Heisman conversation as a potential dark horse this season. While SMU has the utmost confidence in its returning quarterback — and its successes will depend on him — the Mustangs need Jennings to show more maturity in his decision-making this season and avoid some of the careless turnovers he made in critical games last year, like against Penn State in the playoff game.
2. Isaiah Nwokobia
Senior safety / 6-1, 205 pounds
2024 stats: 100 total tackles (53 solo), 0.5 sacks, three interceptions, six passes defended
Breakdown: Nwokobia is the only returner on SMU’s defense who started all 14 games last season. The Dallas native eclipsed 100 tackles in a single season for the first time in his career, leading the Mustangs in interceptions and ranking second in total tackles. He earned All-ACC first-team honors and enters this season on the All-ACC preseason team. SMU will look to Nwokobia to lead a defense with mostly new faces on the starting unit.
SMU tight end RJ Maryland (82) waits to participate in a drill as the SMU football team held practice in the Armstrong Fieldhouse at SMU in Dallas on Friday, August 15, 2025.
Stewart F. House / Special Contributor
3. RJ Maryland
Senior tight end / 6-4, 240 pounds
2024 stats: 24 catches, 359 yards, four touchdowns
Breakdown: Maryland’s junior season was cut short when he tore his ACL in SMU’s October game at Stanford. The star tight end was destined for the NFL in the offseason after steadily progressing through his first three college seasons, but his injury and lengthy recovery landed him back on SMU’s roster for a fourth year. Expectations are high for Maryland to bounce back from his knee injury this year, proving his readiness for the NFL and leading the Mustangs as one of the most veteran skill players on the roster.
4. Alexander Kilgore
Junior linebacker / 6-1, 230 pounds
2024 stats: 56 tackles (19 solo), three tackles for loss, three passes defended, one forced fumble
Breakdown: Kilgore has patiently waited his turn and enters this season as SMU’s most experienced linebacker. Despite playing behind Ahmad Walker and Kobe Wilson for the last two seasons, Kilgore has been a steady contributor at linebacker. This fall, he will take over the starting job alongside East Carolina transfer Zakye Barker. Kilgore is coming off a solid sophomore campaign where he totaled 56 tackles, including five in the College Football Playoff game.
