College
Stone and McGill, long connected by the city of Dallas, are leading SMU's quest to become DFW's team
SMU Mustangs quarterback Preston Stone and safety Jonathan McGill grew up in Dallas as family friends. Now the two are leading the Mustangs' quest for an American Athletic Conference Championship and setting the program's culture for the impending move to the ACC.
From a thousand-foot view, SMU has been on a rocket ship to rebrand itself since head coach Rhett Lashlee took over in November 2021. It's like they saw the college football landscape diving into the uncharted waters of NIL money, transfer portal and conference realignment and channeled Lord Petyr Baelish from "Game of Thrones" - Chaos is a ladder.
Over 65 of the 85 scholarship players on the 2023 roster joined SMU within the past two years, recruited by Lashlee either from high school or the portal. In September, they entered the ACC after agreeing to forgo conference media rights for their first nine years because Power Five conference status was that valuable. A $100-million endzone complex under construction will be ready for the move next season.
Checking your access
We're confirming your subscription. The full article will appear in a moment.