Someone once described former Dallas Cowboy Daryl “Moose” Johnston as the perfect blocking running back, calling him “strong and tough, with a linebacker mentality on offense.”

With exactly two practices under his belt since being moved from linebacker to running back, nobody is comparing SMU junior Ryan Moczygemba to Johnston, but he has some similar qualities. Consider:

• When collecting firewood for a bonfire a couple of years ago near his home in Bulverde, Texas (about 25 miles north of San Antonio), Moczygemba was bitten on the knuckle of his right hand by a rattlesnake. Moczygemba drove himself to the hospital for treatment.

• Having hunted and fished all his life, Moczygemba came up with a new sport as a teenager: he spread corn on the ground inside a rope noose. When a deer ventured over for a snack, Moczygemba would yank the noose around the deer’s leg, and then hang on for a bumpy ride. “My father came home one day,” he said, “and saw me bouncing across the yard, hanging on to the deer.”

In addition to his move to running back, Moczygemba will continue to work with the Ponies' punt return and kickoff return teams (photo by Travis Johnston).

Granted, playing football has nothing to do with snake venom or wrangling wildlife, but the incidents are revealing about Moczygemba’s mentality on the football field. A defensive tackle at Smithson Valley High School, Moczygemba has been a backup linebacker for the last two seasons at SMU, and said he can bring some of that mentality to the offensive side of the ball with his move to the backfield.

“The ‘linebacker mentality’ is about not taking anything from anyone,” he said. “You have to do that on offense, too, whether it’s running the ball or blocking to protect the quarterback.”

Moczygemba admitted the move caught him by surprise, but seems eager to learn his new position.

“(The coaches) asked me what I thought about the idea,” he said. “My thing is, whatever it takes to help this team and to get on the field in the process, I’m all for it.”

Moczygemba, who never has played running back at any level, joins a crowded SMU backfield that includes incumbent starter Chris Butler, transfer Shawnbrey McNeal, sophomore Bryce Lunday and freshman Zach Line. He said he doesn’t know the specifics of how he will fit into the rotation (although he has been working on special teams, as a backup on the punt return and kickoff return units).

“I think Chris Butler, Shawnbrey and Bryce (Lunday) are going to get the majority of the carries,” he said. “Me and Bryce — our job is protection first. We’re going to block for those guys, but our first job is to protect the quarterback.”

Moczygemba (6-1, 223) acknowledged that he already has thought about getting the ball and reaching the end zone, but said he knows he has a lot to learn before his role morphs into one that requires a lot of carries.

“I think every kid dreams of being the stud quarterback or the stud running back,” he said. “But my first job is protection. (Running backs) Coach (Wes) Suan stresses protection above everything else, and that’s what I’m trying to get down first.

“Where it goes after that … we’ll see. I’m not worried about the other stuff yet.”