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Small sample size, but after his performance last year, where does he rank among SMU QBs? I don't mean total accomplishments. Pure talent. If you need a QB for 1 season, who do you want?

To me it's:
Ramon Flanigan
Lance McIlhenny
Garrett Gilbert
Tanner
Mike Ford
Josh McCown
Shane Buechele
Ben Hicks
Kyle Padron

Obvious omissions: Don Meredith (never saw him play), Preston Stone (looking forward to seeing him play)

National passing champion Chuck Hixson needs to be high on the list

Think I'd go with Garrett... good run and pass.

McCown should be higher. I don't know how much higher, but higher. I'm still bitter that Cavan ran him off.

Also, I didn't know this: McCown also became the first player in NFL history to record more than 450 passing yards, two passing touchdowns, a rushing touchdown, and no interceptions in one game

Results oriented would put Mac White, and Chuck Hixson into that mix

Totally dependent on the offensive scheme of course...Ford was the best pure passer I saw at SMU, and was tough. Hit him in high school, and it was like hitting a wall of flesh. He could throw a ball through a wall, and had touch on long passes. Ask ET. Gifted.

Hixson played on teams that were dotted with great players, and was a prolific passer as well. Watched him dismantle Oklahoma in the fourth quarter of the Bluebonnet Bowl, and when he finally got time, hit LeVias with impunity.

Meredith RAN the ball successfully at SMU, and according to an old Aggie in my church, they prepared for his running as much as passing. Those that saw him in his Cowboy days saw a guy that had knees beat to death during the early 60s, and not who he was at the Hilltop.

Then there is Lance. A pure winner. He simply competed, was surrounded by great talent, and yet was the best option quarterback in the nation. People forget the tremendous controversy of replacing Ford with Lance, when Meyer was faced with changing the entire offense virtually mid-season. It was the right call, and contributed to an incredible running game.

Pick one as an athlete? I'll take Meredith.

GG and Shane were very good. GG could make ALL the throws and was a running threat. SB was just a winner and could make most of the throws and was a better runner than some would think. GG could be a little slow on the release and SB was a little under sized but they were both highly highly skilled.

Nostalgia goes with Ramon (and maybe McIlhenny) but the most skilled in that list were GG and SB of those I actually saw play.

Those that never saw Meredith discount him too easily. I was at SMU with him. He was a miracle worker. Best overall quarterback in the nation.

Best I ever saw was McIlhenny. Emotional favorite Ramon, pre-injury against Arkansas. Biggest heart award goes to Chris Sanders.

You could argue Mike Romo for the biggest heart, too. He got the hell beaten out of him every week, kept getting up and put up big numbers with modest talent around him. He was a tough as they make 'em.

PonyFan wrote:You could argue Mike Romo for the biggest heart, too. He got the hell beaten out of him every week, kept getting up and put up big numbers with modest talent around him. He was a tough as they make 'em.

Aye to toughness...

True.

I always wished Padron had stuck around. Really talented guy.

Ramon does not hold a candle to Gg or Shane when it comes to throwing the ball.

He threw more picks than TDs. And his success was all about his rushing. That was because we had a weak rushing game, a weak OLine, and our most successful play was to have Ramon rush the ball after no WR could get open and the LBs had dropped back into coverage.

Add the fact that SB played against better defenses than Ramon saw in the WAC. Weak TCU, UTEp, Rice and New Mexico every year.

Guy had heart. Don’t deny that. And I will admit that SB and GG had more talented WR. But they both could place the ball in exact spot needed on a much more consistent basis than Ramon. Which is why there was NFL interest for GG and SB.

From your list:

(Ramon Flanigan
Lance McIlhenny
Garrett Gilbert
Tanner
Mike Ford
Josh McCown
Shane Buechele
Ben Hicks
Kyle Padron)

I would go with Buechele: great passer, high QB IQ, and a pretty good runner/scrambler. I tend to downplay Gilbert and Padron a bit just since they played mostly against really cruddy teams in June's clown offense.

If we included all SMU QBs, I would have to go with Dandy Don, a true dual threat that also had a pretty good NFL career.