SMU football’s offensive success fueled by versatile running backs

UNIVERSITY PARK, Texas — Go back one season and Brashard Smith was a wide receiver and return specialist at Miami .

Derrick McFall was on the way to a senior year at Tyler High School where he'd record 818 receiving yards.

And Roderick Daniels Jr. was a piece of a deep wide receiver room at SMU embarking on the program's first conference championship victory in nearly 40 years .

On Sept. 28 when the Mustangs played their first conference game as part of the ACC against Florida State , the three prior wide receivers starred not while running routes but when taking handoffs as running backs.

The trio combined for 198 yards on 35 carries, averaging 5.7 yards per carry against a tough Seminoles defense.

Versatile players are becoming a standard for SMU football, particularly in the running back room.

As many of the Mustangs' more traditional running backs have dealt with injuries , the team has found success getting the ball in the hands of players who know how to move the football.

"When we think about putting a game plan together, we have certain plays we have in mind where we want to use those guys," special teams coordinator and running backs coach Kyle Cooper told LoneStarLive.com . "It is just a matter of making defenses defend sideline to sideline and those three guys have the speed and create matchups problems East to West."

Brashard Smith's breakout Through SMU's 4-1 start to the season, Smith has carried the biggest workload , and he's done a lot with it.

After being away from the running back position for all of high school and his first three years of college, Smith has rushed 70 times for 509 yards and seven touchdowns.

He's among the top running backs in the conference and has the highest offensive grade by Pro Football Focus for any power-conference player.

"Some guys, God gave the ability that when you hand them a football, they know how to run with it," coach Rhett Lashlee said after SMU's 42-16 win over Florida State. "That guy knows how to run with it. So, hand it to him."

Even though the SMU coaching staff was familiar with Smith — having recruited him to Miami — his season is impressing them.

The Mustangs returned their top three rushers from 2023, and Smith still won the starting job during fall camp and has led the team in rushing yards in every game.

Smith has undergone a physical learning curve with the position switch, because he's being tackled a lot more frequently.

The fact he's through 70 carries and 11 receptions this year for a player who's never had more than 56 all-purpose touches in a season is important for SMU.

"The physical nature of that position, he hasn't shied away from. Not to say I was surprised, but we needed it," Cooper said. "It's a box checked."

Roderick Daniels Jr. can go anywhere Lashlee likes to say Roderick Daniels Jr. has "done everything but play left tackle."

Even Daniels disputes that a little.

Back in high school, he got up on the line to dish out a block once or twice.

The Mustangs won't put the 5-foot-9 receiver on the line, they trust him almost everywhere else.

During his time at SMU, Daniels has been a punt and kick returner, played slot receiver, out wide, on kick coverage and frequently in the backfield as a running back.

He's a "renaissance man" as Lashlee said, and he took on a larger role against the Seminoles following another injury in the running back room.

Camar Wheaton suffered a season-ending injury during fall camp and Jaylan Knighton only made it to the third game before having his season cut short.

LJ Johnson Jr. missed the Florida State game while still in concussion protocol from the prior game against TCU.

As a deep room before the season dwindled to a handful of scholarship players, SMU made the choice to hand Daniels a larger role in the backfield.

Two practices and a walkthrough was all Daniels needed to turn in 15 rushes for 53 yards and a touchdown on the ground against the Seminoles — with two catches for 20 yards tacked on.

"We wanted him to feel comfortable in doing what he could do and switch roles in terms of running back being his first priority in thought," Cooper said. "He's so cerebral and football smart that even I told him 'don't forget your receiver stuff'. He's someone we can trust that fully knows the why of every play and the how of every play."

The Mustangs didn't feel limited in any way with Daniels next to quarterback Kevin Jennings and thought he ran hard.

Daniels said for him it's just about "knowing my alignment and my assignment" and everything else takes care of itself behind the SMU O-line.

The Duncanville product loves playing football, having done so from a young age. When he's not competing, he's watching more football and learning from it.

Daniels knows he's more valuable on the field the more he can do, so he prides himself on being a savvy player who adapts quickly.

The physical toll was limited, according to Daniels. The morning after the game he could feel it, but in the moment, it was the last thing on his mind.

"It ain't really fun if you're not getting tackled, not getting hit. It's part of it," Daniels said. "I'll be alright. During the game I'm not thinking about it, I'm just thinking about making the next play."

The week ahead of the game, the coaching staff didn't want to over-do his preparation, but find a balance in making sure he was prepared to run everything in the offense.

On physical practice days, the SMU staff have specific plays and specific snaps to dole out to each of the running backs.

They want to know that when the play gets run on Saturdays, the players know what it sounds like, what it looks like and what it will feel like getting it done.

Even though Johnson is cleared from concussion protocol, it wouldn't be a surprise to see Daniels get in the backfield again, or just about anywhere SMU wants to put him.

"They need to be prepared for Roderick to play everywhere on the offense," Lashlee said. "We might snap it to him at quarterback, might put him out wide again, slot, running back."

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Derrick McFall to follow the mold McFall — a true freshman — has seen the least game time among the healthy running backs.

His debut came in the second half of SMU's blowout win over FCS Houston Christian where he rushed 16 times for 69 yards and his first career touchdown.

Since then, he played against Florida State and TCU, getting three carries in each game and averaging over four yards per touch.

"He's still learning the college game. Every high schooler has got to have that incubation time where they figure out how fast the actual game is," offensive coordinator Casey Woods said Sept. 12. "The more times he touches the ball, makes people miss, gains yards and does the things we need him to do there, he's certainly going to show up in the game more often."

The expectation wasn't necessarily that he'd be one of the top options for the team this quickly.

However, with injuries mounting, McFall is getting major reps during practice and seeing more of the field than any other true freshman on the roster.

McFall spent time playing running back and receiver in high school and one of the other major benefits of having Smith on the roster is that he's the mold SMU wants for McFall.

"I see myself just like B Money [Smith]," McFall told LoneStarLive.com . "I see him and I'm just like 'that's going to be me one day.' He's a big influence, a big role model and I love working with him, for sure."

While he hasn't showcased it for the Mustangs yet, McFall is an excellent pass catcher.

At 5-foot-11, he has an impressive vertical. Having played basketball in high school, Cooper would get videos from McFall of him dunking.

His workload may not increase if the rest of the room stays healthy this year, but Cooper — also in charge of special teams — sees McFall contributing in the return game soon.

The Mustangs expect him to start in the backfield one day, if all goes according to plan.

Versatile skill sets like those that McFall, Smith and Daniels present has SMU's offense operating at a high level.

With the way the Mustangs continue to build their rosters, it may be a strategy for the long haul.