Hudman said that even if he had not been reinstated, he was going to stay at SMU to get his degree (photo by SMU athletics).

Shortly before the SMU football team started its 2008 spring workouts, safety Bryce Hudman found himself becoming the bearer of bad news. After starting eight games as a sophomore, and tying for the team lead in tackles, he had to tell his parents he was off the team.

New SMU head coach June Jones had implemented a “three strikes” policy governing his players’ conduct in a number of areas related to the team and to their academic performance, and the coaches deemed Hudman had violated that policy too many times. So before he ever had a chance to play for his new coaches, he was relegated to the role of spectator.

“I found out right before spring ball,” Hudman said. “I could have transferred and gone someplace else to play. If it had happened earlier in my career, maybe – I might have left. But even then, I doubt it. I came to SMU to come to SMU, to graduate from SMU. I was getting close to graduating, and I wanted my SMU degree.

“My parents weren’t very happy, of course – they were upset. My dad is a pretty stern guy, who always says ‘you control your own actions.’ But they also were very supportive. Parents are always going to be on their kid’s side. They offered to come talk to the coaches on my behalf, but I told them they shouldn’t do that. I made the mistakes I made, so the coaches made the decision they had to make.”

While disappointed in his part in the circumstances that led to his removal from the roster, Hudman said he held no resentment toward the SMU coaches. Nevertheless, the spring was a difficult time for him.

“Last spring was the first time I hadn’t played football since I was about eight years old,” he said. “It felt really weird, to be a regular student, to have more free time. I set up my schedule so my classes would be done around noon, and then thought, ‘why?’ I didn’t need to work my classes around practice.”

Hudman spent his suddenly freer time productively, working out at SMU’s Dedman Center and dedicating more time to his academics. But he remained friends with many players, including roommate Chase Kennemer, and missed everything about the team, from games to practice to working out.

“I was really disappointed in myself, obviously,” Hudman said. “Anyone would want a scholarship to pay for school, and I just love to play football. When you really love doing something, and then you can’t do it, it sucks.”

REALITY CHECK

The native of Spring, Texas (a suburb of Houston) went to SMU’s 2008 season opener at Rice.

“That was the worst,” he said. “Knowing that I should be out there, giving what I could to the team, knowing I could help the team – that was horrible to watch. I felt kind of helpless watching that game. The guys on this team are my friends, my boys, and I really realized that day how much I had let them down.

“I’m not in a fraternity. This team is my fraternity. When they were out of town, I had nothing to do.”

In December, Kennemer approached SMU defensive coordinator Tom Mason and asked about whether the coaches would reinstate Hudman.

“When Bryce told me he wanted to come back, we (the SMU coaches) set up some ground rules,” Mason said. “I told him ‘this is what we all have to live by – we have a standard policy for everyone. Don’t screw up. But if you can live by that, we’d love to have you back.’”

Hudman said that in their initial conversation, Mason wanted to know what Hudman had done wrong, and how Hudman viewed his mistakes in hindsight. Mason also made it plainly clearly that if Hudman returned to the team, he would be on a short leash.

Hudman tied for the team lead in tackles in 2007, with 82 (photo by SMU athletics).

“I told Coach Mason that I had made mistakes, that I had done wrong,” Hudman said. “He set up some parameters for what I had to do to get back on the team. Don’t miss anything. Don’t be late to anything. Don’t mess up at all – don’t even tempt fate. He didn’t say that the policy had changed from three strikes to one, but he made it clear that screwing up again wasn’t an option.”

Even after his meeting with Mason, Hudman said he realized there was a chance he still might not be reinstated.

“I entertained the thought that I could be off the team for good,” Hudman said, “but that wasn’t going to affect whether I was going to graduate. If I didn’t get back on the team, I was always going to be knocking on their door, asking for that chance, so obviously I’m very grateful for the chance they’ve given me.”

At the moment, though, that’s still all it is – a chance. Hudman, who will be a senior in the fall and graduate with a sociology degree in December, had to pay his own way this year, but chose to do that, rather than transfer to another school where he could earn another football scholarship. His dedication to getting his SMU degree and to the team is something not lost on his teammates.

ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS

“I don’t know how many people would have done that,” wide receiver Terrance Wilkerson said. “I think that says a lot about his character that he stuck around. Even if you’re financially able to do that, I would think a lot of guys would have gone somewhere else, because if you’re a competitor, you want to play … and he’s extremely competitive. But he wanted to stay at SMU.

“You can’t go wrong when you get a degree from SMU, and it says a lot about him as a person that that was important enough to him to make him want to stay. I think it’s paid off, too, because he has come back a better person. He seems to have a lot more focus, because he knows more than any of us what’s really at stake. He works as hard as anyone out there, learning the plays, learning the defense. He’s excited just to be out there.”

Hudman is no ordinary walk-on. In 2007, he tied linebacker Will Bonilla for the team lead with 82 tackles, including a Conference USA-record 26 against Arkansas State. But his past performances have guaranteed him nothing in terms of playing time.

“They said that if I earn a starting job back, they might put me back on scholarship,” Hudman said. “But I’m not looking at that. I’m not counting on that, because I haven’t earned anything yet.”

Instead, his focus is on learning the new defense, and his new role. In addition to mastering the assignments and terminology for both safety positions, he is expected to earn considerable playing time as a nickel linebacker in the formation the Mustangs employed “about 70 percent of the time last year,” Mason said, against the pass-happy spread offenses that are so popular among C-USA teams.

Defensive coordinator Tom Mason said that Hudman has done everything asked of him so far, and is a versatile enough athlete to be deployed in a number of ways in 2009 (photo by SMU athletics).

“We see Bryce as a big, physical safety who can really run, and can play both safety spots,” Mason said. “But we also want to use him as a nickel ’backer, because so many teams we play use three and four receivers most of the time. He can tackle in the box, and he can drop into coverage, where his height (6-2) will be an advantage. But we also think he can blitz off the edge, to take advantage of what I call ‘second-level skills.’ He can cover the curl routes in the flat, and he can make plays on the screen. He can do a lot of things.”

Regardless of what role he plays, Hudman’s overwhelming reaction to his reinstatement is one of gratitude. He said that in a way, being reinstated is even more gratifying than when he earned his scholarship out of Klein Oak High School four years ago.

“What I’m learning, in terms of the terminology for these coaches, is new, but I don’t feel like a freshman,” he said. “Being my age (22), I don’t know – maybe it’s a little maturity. When I was 18, I don’t think I could have done what I’m doing now. I can’t imagine being 18 and getting up at 6 a.m. to get to practice – I never would have made it through.

“In a way, maybe I needed this. I know I can’t mess up, or I could be off the team again tomorrow. I appreciate being a part of this team so much more now. I made mistakes, I’ve learned from them, and I’m ready to move on and play.”