Transfer linebacker lands at SMU
Posted: Tue Aug 26, 2008 4:56 pmSeveral new faces appeared at practice this week, as the team added a handful of new walk-ons.
Among the new players is middle linebacker Justin Padron, a transfer from North Texas who played in high school with current Mustangs Mitch Enright and Pete Fleps. Padron said he measured in at 5-foot-11 and 220 pounds upon his arrival at SMU, where he will have to sit out the 2008 season per NCAA transfer rules.
Padron followed his high school coach, Todd Dodge, to North Texas following his graduation from Carroll High School in Southlake and sat out the 2007 season as a redshirt, but said the school just wasn't an ideal fit for him. Leaving Dodge, though, made the decision difficult.
"It's kind of weird telling your high school coach you're not going to play for him anymore, that you're leaving before you're done," Padron said. "My decision had nothing to do with Coach Dodge. He is a great coach, and I think he's going to do some great things at North Texas."
Padron said that after he got his release from UNT, he called Fleps and Enright, and the Mustangs' center and linebacker raved about the SMU education, coaches and facilities.
"They love it here," he said. "They told me how much they enjoy it, and they told me it's a great place, that I'd love it here. It seemed like the best fit."
Padron said he has no illusions about starting right away when his redshirt comes off in 2009.
"They have some really talented linebackers here," he said. "When I get a chance, I'll have to earn anything I get. I'll have to compete, just like everyone else."
Among the new players is middle linebacker Justin Padron, a transfer from North Texas who played in high school with current Mustangs Mitch Enright and Pete Fleps. Padron said he measured in at 5-foot-11 and 220 pounds upon his arrival at SMU, where he will have to sit out the 2008 season per NCAA transfer rules.
Padron followed his high school coach, Todd Dodge, to North Texas following his graduation from Carroll High School in Southlake and sat out the 2007 season as a redshirt, but said the school just wasn't an ideal fit for him. Leaving Dodge, though, made the decision difficult.
"It's kind of weird telling your high school coach you're not going to play for him anymore, that you're leaving before you're done," Padron said. "My decision had nothing to do with Coach Dodge. He is a great coach, and I think he's going to do some great things at North Texas."
Padron said that after he got his release from UNT, he called Fleps and Enright, and the Mustangs' center and linebacker raved about the SMU education, coaches and facilities.
"They love it here," he said. "They told me how much they enjoy it, and they told me it's a great place, that I'd love it here. It seemed like the best fit."
Padron said he has no illusions about starting right away when his redshirt comes off in 2009.
"They have some really talented linebackers here," he said. "When I get a chance, I'll have to earn anything I get. I'll have to compete, just like everyone else."
