KYLE PADRON: Challenged, but unfazed

[PonyPride]

Padron challenged, but unfazed
Sophomore quarterback responds to benching by leading fourth-quarter outburst

SMU quarterback Kyle Padron found himself in an unfamiliar position in Saturday’s victory over Tulane: watching the SMU offense from the sideline.

After the Mustangs’ offense sputtered through the first half, head coach June Jones turned to backup J.J. McDermott, who began a rotation at the position with Padron. Eventually the offense picked up, reeling off 28 unanswered points, with Padron holding the reins, and the Ponies came home with a 31-17 victory over the Green Wave.

To nobody’s surprise, Padron didn’t like it when Jones put McDermott into the game. But he didn’t say anything. At practice this week, Jones dismissed the notion that there is any sort of a quarterback controversy brewing, stating that Padron remains the starter. He also said that he wants to get McDermott some snaps when the game is meaningful, rather than just in mop-up time, and said McDermott will continue to get playing time during the remaining games.

“J.J. is an excellent quarterback, and he knows the offense,” Padron said. “Coach Jones said he was going to give J.J. a shot. I know he (Jones) is confident in what I can do, but he was looking to spark the offense.”

The two passers alternated for much of the third quarter, but it was Padron who was back at the controls when the Mustangs’ offense kicked into gear down the stretch.

“We stalled out for about 45 minutes,” Padron said. “When we started scoring, it was exciting on our sideline, and it looked like it deflated them a little.

“We had a lot of intensity in the first half — our first drive, we went right down the field — but we had penalties and turnovers, and that hurt us.”

Padron said that the fact that the Mustangs could pick up a win on the road, especially in a game in which the offense started so sluggishly, was very encouraging.

“I think this game showed how good we can be if we perservere,” he said. “We made a lot of mistakes early on, but I think it showed a lot about the character of this team.”

Padron and the Ponies are getting ready to head west this weekend to face the UTEP Miners in El Paso. A year ago, it was UTEP the Mustangs beat to clinch bowl eligibility for the first time in 25 years.

“I just remember throwing that high ball that Emmanuel (Sanders) went up and got for the touchdown,” Padron said. “I don’t know if I realized it right at that moment, but that was a really big win for our program.”

For the first time this season, the Mustangs will play at high altitude Saturday. Fitness has been cited by some teams as a factor in why El Paso is a hard place for visitors to win. But Padron said that the altitude shouldn’t be a problem. He said he doesn’t know if the Mustangs will rotate more fresh players in, but said that even with the big guys on the offensive line, he is confident in his teammates’ abilities to help win Saturday night.

“Our offensive line has done a good job this year,” Padron said. “They’re in good shape. But if we have to bring in some other guys, that’s fine. We have 12-15 guys we can rotate on the offensive line, and they work really hard, they know our system. I know that if they have to come in and give the starters a break, they’ll do the job.”

[DallasDiehard]

I wonder if this sort of wake-up call, if you can call it that, is just what Padron needs. Maybe that rotation with J.J. McDermott will be just what he needs to go from playing well to really tearing defenses apart.

It's weird to hear people criticize a guy who is third in the country in touchdown passes. Yes, he can be sharper, but he is growing into his role pretty well, if you ask me.