Rick Alonzo on SMU quarterbacks

[PonyPride]

Tate Wallis emerged this spring as SMU's No. 1 quarterback, but Richard Bartel and Kelan Luker will challenge him in two-a-days. A look at the prominent quarterbacks at SMU since Ramon Flanigan finished his career in 1997 as SMU's all-time total yardage leader, with the last season each played at SMU:

• Chris Sanders (1998): State top-100 recruit from Flower Mound Marcus transferred in 1999.

• Josh McCown (2000): Wasn't consistent at SMU and transferred to Sam Houston State, where a stellar senior season helped him become an NFL draft pick.

• David Page (2001): SMU was 4-4 last season after the scrappy and tough Page took over as the starter. He left the team this off-season for personal reasons.

• Kelan Luker: The returning junior couldn't hang on to starting job last year after three games. Will he win the job and have a breakout season this year?

• Richard Bartel: Grapevine standout was redshirted last year and ran the scout team. Has prototypical arm and size, but he lacks experience and needs to make better decisions.

• Tate Wallis: Quarterbacked Ennis to a state title as a senior in 2000. His mobility, knack for making the right reads and protecting the football have him vying for the starting job in the fall as a redshirt freshman.

— Rick Alonzo

[HorsePower]

I kind of feel bad for Kelan Luker. It seems like Coach Bennett wants to go with the younger, quicker Wallis, and I wonder if Bartel also is ahead of Luker. Not to say that Luker is OWED anything, but I bet it's tough on the ego to go from part-time starter to potential third-stringer, especially when he's worked so hard to get in shape.

[jettison]

I didn't see any spring practice so I can't offer any input on the QBs, since I've only seen Luker play.

However, it seems Rick Alonzo, or somebody at the News, really likes Tate Wallis. There have been a number of articles mentioning him, the "college notebooks" have a big Wallis tilt, even a big article (if I remember right) last year when he received Bartel's newly available scholarship upon signing with the Reds. A good beat journalist is supposed to be unbiased, and it just APPEARS something is coming through. Did he cover Ennis (or high schools in general) before SMU?

[BoazHoes]

I don't know about Kelan's work ethic...I am not around the team...all my SMU football info. comes from Ponyfans and friends...if you say he has been working out hard then good for him....however I do remember not long ago he was devoting a lot of time to a band...not to say that's bad but could that time have been spent working on speed and getting better as a QB. I have heard he relies a lot on his raw talent and could be an awesome QB if the desire was there. Regardless we have 3 solid QB's with more on the way! Go Mustangs!

130 DAYS LEFT TO KICKOFF!!!

[Dement-ed]

Good guess, jettison. Rick Alonzo DID cover high schools before he landed the SMU beat, and he did write about Ennis HS - and about Wallis, in particular. Hadn't made the connection, myself.

[GrapevineMustang]

I still want to see Bartel get the QB job, and not just because he's from Grapevine. I think he has huge upside, if he can learn the offense.