SMU center Blake McJunkin clearly has multiple sides to his personality. Talk to him off the field, and he comes across as a smart, thoughtful guy who values his family, his faith and his roles as a student and an athlete. But watch him on the field, and he paints a different picture, as one of the anchors of the Mustangs’ offensive line who wages war at the line of scrimmage.

McJunkin’s is a job that requires intensity to the point of ferocity. Even in practice, teammates say, McJunkin is one of the Ponies most likely to finish blocks when the team goes to live 11-on-11 drills. In games, his desire to dominate and physically overwhelm opponents never gets called into question.

Blake McJunkin has drawn praise this week from university officials and fans ... from both SMU and Texas A&M (photo by David Mojica).

In Sunday’s season opener at Texas A&M, the two sides seemed to merge. When senior Texas A&M defensive back Trent Hunter intercepted a pass, his return came to a sudden halt when he ran into McJunkin and SMU right guard Kelly Turner. Hunter’s helmet flew off, leaving his head exposed to the risk of injury.

But McJunkin and Turner didn’t take the opportunity to injure Hunter, who, at a listed weight of just 192 pounds, gives away more than 100 pounds to both SMU linemen. They made sure Hunter was tackled, but McJunkin appeared to wrap his arms around Hunter’s head and then use his own body to protect his opponent from the risk of another injury.

“It was a funny deal,” McJunkin said. “It’s not like I had the time to look, register the information and make a decision to protect Trent Hunter. But I play football for a number of reasons, and one is to play it the way it’s supposed to be played. You want to beat the other team, but you don’t want to seriously injure someone. You want to win, but you have to respect the other team.

“I would hope that if one of my teammates was in (Hunter’s) position, with no helmet, someone on another team would do the same thing.”

Maybe that would be the case, maybe it wouldn’t. The fact is that McJunkin is the one who did it. If he didn’t think it through — if the move was nothing more than instinctive respect for another person, it was a gesture that has not gone unnoticed. The media has told the story, and Texas A&M athletic director Bill Byrne even brought it up in his weekly press conference.

“Every year there are opportunities to make nominations for good sportsmanship awards via the NCAA and various conferences,” Byrne said. “We are going to recommend SMU lineman Blake McJunkin, No. 63, receive a sportsmanship award. During an interception return, Trent Hunter lost his helmet. Blake McJunkin went out of his way to protect Trent as he cradled Trent’s exposed head during the tackle. That’s real sportsmanship.”

Needless to say, Hunter also was grateful that McJunkin declined to take the opportunity to inflict serious physical harm.

“At the time of my interception and being tackled, my helmet popped off and I really didn’t know what had happened,” Hunter said. “When I was watching video later, I saw that No. 63 (McJunkin) was protecting my head from any other hit.

“I really appreciate that gesture and that is what sportsmanship is all about. I can tell you their guys played hard throughout the game. I wish Blake and SMU all the best the rest of the season.”

McJunkin’s effort to tackle Hunter without injuring him also did not go unnoticed by his head coach.

“Blake has a lot of character,” SMU head coach June Jones said. “He’s a great kid.

“Here’s my memory of Blake that tells you everything you need to know about Blake’s character: three years ago we went to Annapolis to play the Naval Academy. It was cold and rainy, and we got our rear ends kicked. After the game, it was 30-something degrees and raining, and I saw one player standing at attention while the Navy Academy school song was played. It was Blake.”

McJunkin admitted to being a little surprised by the attention drawn by his non-hit Sunday, but said the incident reflects the strength of his faith.

“I play football for a number of reasons,” McJunkn said. “I love the game, the physical aspect, the physical fitness and beating up on the other team.

“But most of all, I was called to play this game because I’m kind of good at it and this is the best way, at least right now, that I can have an impact on other people, that I can affect them positively, as far as representing Jesus Christ — this another way people are finding out about me. If they know about me or ask about me, this game gives me the opportunity to say, ‘hey, this is why I play the game differently, to honor the Lord, who gave me the gifts to play the game.”

Since Sunday’s game, McJunkin has gotten a little more notoriety than offensive linemen usually enjoy. He has gotten phone calls and e-mails, and his Facebook page is filled with messages from fans who have felt the urge to recognize his action when tackling Hunter. Texas A&M fan websites are filled with comments from fans hailing him as a classy player, and representative of SMU. Many have wished him a speedy recovery and good luck to the Mustangs for the 2011 season.

But not everything went well Sunday for McJunkin — the Mustangs lost to the Aggies, and he left the game early with a high ankle sprain. McJunkin has not practiced this week but said Thursday that his ankle is feeling better, and said whether he plays in the Ponies’ home opener against UTEP will be decided before Saturday’s game.

“I thought I was going to go down there and have the best game of my life, in one of the best places to play in the state where I grew up,” McJunkin said. “But the Lord had another plan. He helped me do something that has made people want to get to know me a little bit, and by doing that, maybe they’ll get to know Him.”

For all of the praise McJunkin has received this week — and it has been extensive — his play Sunday is not an indicator that he is getting soft. That assessment, McJunkin said, is far from true.

“I try to physically maul the guy in front of me, to beat him up and make him hate life for a few hours,” McJunkin said. “But nobody wants to really get hurt. I would hope that if my helmet comes off, someone would do something like that for me. There’s a difference — a big difference — between being nice and being respectful. Anybody who watches me on tape will see that I finish my blocks. I have a job to do on the field, and I try to play one way all the time. Sometimes I’m not going to get the job done right all the time, but I always try to play at a high level.

“I’m pretty blown away by all of this (attention). But I’m going to use it as an opportunity. My platform to reach people is expanded more than it was before Sunday.”

While McJunkin deflects much of the attention he is receiving, Jones is not bashful about showing how proud he is of McJunkin.

“We teach character, and we teach the idea of doing things the right way,” Jones said. “Even before he did what he did Sunday, I was really proud he’s on my team.”