UNIVERSITY PARK — SMU wide receivers coach Rob Likens is just relieved he didn’t have to lie to anyone in recruiting.
Not that he ever intends to, but by the time fall camp and the season start, circumstances change.
For his group of wide receivers, he sold his young talent on a pitch that they would get to play as true freshmen, and it’s panning out how he expected. They may be the most important true freshmen on SMU’s roster.
“We told them, ‘Guys, we’re losing dudes. We need you. If you come here, you’re going to play as a freshman if you are who we think you are,’” Likens said.
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The Mustangs lost four of their top wide receivers from a veteran group last year — Roderick Daniels Jr., Key’Shawn Smith, Moochie Dixon and Jake Bailey. Since Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice left for the NFL, SMU has taken a by-committee approach at the position.
Last year, eight different receivers had over 275 yards and a touchdown, but no one exceeded 700 yards.
While SMU returns talented veterans such as Jordan Hudson and Romello Brinson, they’re going to need more support from some of the seven new faces they brought in.
“It helps practice when you’re a true freshman, and you know you’re not just going to get thrown down at scout team two weeks into camp,” Likens said. “A lot more juice and gas in your tank when you come out to practice every day knowing you’re actually going to get in a game.”
Of SMU’s seven new wideouts, three are transfers — JUCO transfer Link Rhodes, James Madison transfer Yamir Knight and Colorado State transfer Dylan Goffney, who returned to the Hilltop where he started his college career.
All three of those more veteran newcomers are expected to contribute, but so are the four true freshmen.
The four freshmen are all from Texas and make up one of the most talented receiver classes SMU has ever had. Cibolo Steele’s Jalen Cooper and Arlington’s Isaiah Robertson have been the two standouts for Likens, but expectations remain high for DeSoto’s Daylon Singleton and Arlington Seguin’s Carterrious Brown.
Singleton and Cooper were both highly-touted four-star prospects out of high school.
“Jalen Cooper, who was here in the spring, is doing really good things,” Likens said. “Isaiah Robertson, wow, just for a true freshman, is very, very impressive. His body type and how physical that he plays is going to allow him to play as a true freshman when that occurs.”
Throughout camp, those two have been taking snaps with the backups, but based on the way SMU plans to rotate receivers, there’s still more opportunity up for grabs.
The star-studded freshman receiver group has already caught the attention of other position coaches, including cornerbacks coach Rickey Hunley, who may get to know them better than anyone.
“Carterrious Brown can catch any ball you throw at him. Zay Robertson is a specimen as far as from a physical standpoint. Cooper is fun to watch. He’s quiet competitive, but he runs routes well, does some of the little things well. And Daylon Singleton can run by anybody probably on the field at the DI level,” Hunley said.
Those unique skills will all be valuable come Aug. 30 when these new Mustang receivers need to account for the 2,000 yards and 11 touchdowns that went out the door last spring.
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