SMU’s Kevin Jennings did something wild on Saturday against Stanford. (Ron Jenkins/Getty Images)
(Ron Jenkins via Getty Images)
SMU quarterback Kevin Jennings put a new spin on the shovel pass Saturday against Stanford.
Midway through the first quarter, Jennings faked a sweep handoff before throwing the ball behind his back to Mustangs tight end RJ Maryland, who galloped forward for a 9-yard gain.
Pre-snap, Maryland was lined up as the upback. Rather than blocking, Maryland slipped to the middle of the field, where he caught the finesse pass from Jennings, who looked like a point guard diming up his teammate.
Advertisement
A holding penalty on the next play derailed the drive, but it didn’t diminish Jennings’ slick flick.
Jennings is in his second season as SMU’s full-time starter. Last year, he led the Mustangs to the ACC championship game in SMU’s first season as a member of the conference. Although the Mustangs let the league title slip to Clemson, they still made the 12-team College Football Playoff.
This time around, the Mustangs already have two losses through five games. But Jennings entered Saturday with 1,411 passing yards this season, coupled with a 13:6 touchdown-to-interception ratio.
He came in completing 71.4% of his passes. His accuracy was just as good on a behind-the-back pass against Stanford.
