Randy McKinnon is tired of waiting. After graduating in just three years from Syracuse, he transferred to SMU to play his final year of college football — a season that was cut short when he tore blew out a knee in the Ponies’ 2010 victory over UAB. After getting his injury ended his season, McKinnon approached SMU defensive coordinator Tom Mason and suggested a move to linebacker, where his speed could be put to use in coverage and in rushing the passer.

Randy McKinnon is ready to return to the practice field as a linebacker, which he played for a few games at Syracuse (photo by SMU athletics).

Mason liked the idea and moved McKinnon to the SAM linebacker spot. McKinnon, meanwhile, hit the weight room, adding bulk while rehabilitating his knee as he prepared to take the field at his new position when the Ponies began spring workouts.

But McKinnon has yet to be cleared by the team’s medical staff, and isn’t sure when he will be.

“I don’t know,” he said Monday. “I expect to be (cleared) soon, but I don’t know exactly when.”

Like the Mustangs’ other injured players, McKinnon is expected to do “mental reps” at his new position, which he said is not going to be entirely new to him.

“I played a few games (at linebacker) when I was at Syracuse,” McKinnon said. “I played against Penn State, UConn and Louisville. I played the WILL spot up there when the starter got hurt.

“We played a 4-3 (defense) up there, and we play a 3-4 here, but a lot of the principles are the same. Our SAM plays a little more off the edge, to bring that edge pressure, but as far as the blitzing and coverage, a lot of what the SAM does here is like what the WILL did there.”

McKinnon said he is eager to show off his blitzing skills, which once netted him 3.5 sacks in a single game against Rutgers.

“That got overlooked a little,” McKinnon said, laughing, “because one of our linebackers had five, I think. He broke Dwight Freeney’s (Syracuse single-game sacks) record.”

McKinnon admitted that he still would prefer an interception over a big sack — after all, interceptions mean getting the ball back for the offense — but said takes pride in his ability to rush the passer, too.

“When I was at Syracuse, I would get into the blitz drills with the defensive linemen,” he said. “I was infatuated with some of the moves. Art Jones, who plays for the Baltimore Ravens now, showed me a great move. It’s sort of a swim move, a rip move, that I want to use.”

How much McKinnon plays in the spot vacated by the graduating Youri Yenga remains to be seen, of course, but McKinnon said he is confident in his ability to compete for the spot.

“There’s an opportunity there,” McKinnon said. “Coach Mason said we’ll be given the opportunity to compete, and that’s all you can ask for. I still have a big chip on my shoulder, because I didn’t get to play last year. I got hurt so early it feels like I didn’t play at all last year. That’s a long time in football terms.

“My goal, when we play Texas A&M, is to be in the starting lineup.”

That game still is about five months away, and before any determinations about the starting lineup can be made, McKinnon has to show he knows his new position.

“I’m a full-time linebacker now,” McKinnon said. “I know all of the positions, so it wouldn’t be hard to adjust to linebacker or go back to safety. But I’m a linebacker now.

“(While healing), my main focus is working on the mental aspect of the position, the mindset, the switch of technique. This is a great defense for me to play in. Now it’s just a matter of moving upfield, rather than playing in the (defensive) backfield.”