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Friday, August 28, 1998
SMU's missing piece might be backup quarterback
By Whit Canning
Knight Ridder Newspapers
(KRT)
FORT WORTH, Texas - With the departure of Ramon Flanigan, SMU's
career total offense leader, it is hardly surprising that head
coach Mike Cavan finds himself searching for a quarterback.
No, not a "starting" quarterback. He already has
one of those - sophomore Chris Sanders, who was the Mustangs'
leading passer in '97.
But should Sanders get injured - as he did when he hit a tree
while skiing in the off-season - the Ponies could be presented
with quite a puzzle.
"Well, he's a tough kid," Cavan says, laughing. "He
broke a small bone in his foot, but he knocked the tree down.
"The injury has healed, although he missed the spring.
But we obviously couldn't figure on going through the season with
just one quarterback, anyway.
"So, our main priority in two-a-days will be finding a
backup. Someone needs to step up and take that job."
The leading candidate at the moment is redshirt freshman Rand
Holdren, but he figures to be pushed by sophomore transfer Steve
O'Neill or incoming freshman Josh McCown.
Once that item is cleared up, SMU will be able to gaze confidently
into the future, which includes an ambitious 12-game schedule
played on consecutive Saturdays without a break.
From the moment they tee it up against Rice on September 5,
the Mustangs will not rest until they have finished with Navy
on November 21. In addition to those two, there are road games
at Arkansas and Air Force, plus a charming two-week swing from
Honolulu to Laramie.
"Well, the staff may get jet lag, but the players probably
won't even notice," Cavan said. "These 18-20-year-old
kids bounce back quickly."
Last year, in Cavan's first season, the Mustangs shed themselves
of any remaining death penalty residue and bounced back into the
world of the living. There were a number of achievements, not
least of which was the school's first winning record (6-5) since
1986.
"It was a step we needed to take, and it probably lifted
a lot of spirits around here," Cavan said. "Now, we
can put it behind us and stop worrying about it."
Totally revamping the system, Cavan installed a run-based I-formation
attack and an aggressive 4-3 defense, with the result that the
Mustangs had their highest scoring average (22.5) and best defense
(29th nationally) since 1985. They also won five in a row down
the stretch before being upset by TCU in the season finale.
Although there are 14 returning starters, plus kicker Roy Rios,
there are only 16 seniors on the squad. There is a strong recruiting
class and a new offensive coordinator, Greg Briner, who will put
the Mustangs through another change.
"Hopefully, we will become a lot more balanced as an offensive
football team," Cavan said. "That's what I've really
always favored, and I don't think you can win championships if
you can only do one thing.
"Last year, we got a little heavy-handed running the ball,
but I felt we needed to establish that capability first. It also
kept us in a lot of ball games.
"Greg will put in a sophisticated passing attack, and
with Chris at quarterback, we'll be throwing more and using the
option less."
But the basis of the attack will be running the tailbacks behind
the bruising lead blocks of fullback Jeff Pennington.
Donte Womack, sixth on SMU's career rushing list, is gone,
but when he was injured last year, Kelsey Adams stepped in and
strung together five consecutive 100-yard games before missing
the TCU game with an ankle sprain.
He missed the spring after twisting the ankle again, but should
be back at 100 percent for the fall, backed by the swift and versatile
Rodnick Phillips.
In front of them will be one of the great strengths of the
Mustangs - an experienced offensive line averaging better than
300 pounds per man.
It includes four returning starters - tackles Jerry Chavira
(6-4, 300 pounds) and Jeremy Morgan (6-4, 290), guard Trey Bandy
(6-5, 300) and center Austin Adami (6-3, 305) - plus guard Bill
Holder (6-6, 320), who started the first two games last year before
sustaining a knee injury.
While Albert Johnson's return will bolster the receiving corps,
the loss of linebacker Chris Bordano - now with the New Orleans
Saints - would normally wreck a defense. Help is available, however.
"I feel really good about (junior) Jason Simonton moving
into the middle where Chris was," Cavan said. There are also
several possibilities from the incoming freshman class, which
was heavily recruited toward filling the vacancies at linebacker.
Up front are Luke Johnson, the WAC newcomer of the year with
10 sacks in '97, and Alex Pahulu (6-0, 265), who changed his mind
about leaving on a church (Mormon) mission this year. In the secondary
are Jacoby Rhinehart, Tracy Hart, Donald Mitchell and Dewey Evans.
They combined for nine interceptions and 190 tackles last year.
"We should be a better team this year," Cavan said,
"but I can't tell you what that means in terms of wins and
losses."
(c) 1998, Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Visit the Star-Telegram on the World Wide Web: www.star-telegram.com.
Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.
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