Challenge accepted: QB Derek Green looking to make 2021 count

Editor's note: The following content is Part 1 of a two-part feature with SMU quarterback Derek Green.

A typical weekend in the greater Kansas City area for Derek Green looks the part. Family time is valued. Football is constantly discussed, sometimes over some of the area's famous barbecue.

Mental preparation for the 2021 spring football season is key, but that's an ongoing process -- particularly when you're a college football quarterback. It's expected when you have a father in Trent Green who has a Super Bowl ring and two Pro Bowl selections to his resume, as well as an older brother in TJ Green who just finished his college career playing Big Ten football.

For Derek, football is life, especially with the expectations for the SMU Mustangs. And with so many questions surrounding what's expected to be an intense battle for SMU's starting quarterback in 2021, many might believe the upcoming spring will have its share of storylines regarding the program's success.

But for the next few days, literally a little more than a week or so, the young quarterback remains unbothered. For good reason.

"Right now, I'm just focused on staying healthy and looking to bulk up," said Green, the 6-3, 205-pounder who is viewed as SMU's incumbent starting quarterback for 2021 -- even with tons of quarterback talk on the SMU campus being a hot topic during the winter season.

"That's really all I can worry about right now."

Welcoming competition

The SMU quarterback timeline officially started last month. Four-star 2021 pledge Preston Stone, viewed by many as SMU's quarterback of the future, signed a national letter of intent to play for the Mustangs on Dec. 16. That was big, as two days later, record-setting quarterback Shane Buechele declared for the NFL Draft and chose not to take advantage of the extra year of eligibility offered by the NCAA because of COVID-19.

Four days after Buechele's announcement, Oklahoma quarterback Tanner Mordecai announced his plans to transfer to SMU. Mordecai was a highly touted recruit out of the 2018 class with several Power 5 offers.

In that short span, Green never batted an eye. Never grumbled. Never groaned.

He's seen top competition around him before. This isn't anything new.

"That's kind of been the way it's been my whole recruiting process," he said. "I mean, they're both four-star guys; I was a zero-star."

One fact remains clear: Green is the only current SMU quarterback with game-time experience. That's said with respect to Will Brown, who was a part-time starter as a freshman but has since moved to wide receiver for the Mustangs.

Not counting Brown, and not counting Mordecai and Stone who have yet to officially arrive, SMU's current quarterback roster includes Green, Jacob Oehrlein and Josh Stupin. And while Green only has three pass attempts for his career, his 13 games of experience with the Mustangs is nothing to force a shrug.

Head coach Sonny Dykes is high on Green's high school path had its positives, as he helped Rockhurst High School advance to the Missouri Class 6 state semifinals as a junior and back-to-back district titles in his final two years. Unfortunately, Green, as an unrated recruit, didn't have any reported FBS scholarships and chose to walk on at SMU in 2018.

He was, at one time, SMU's fourth-string quarterback. But Green has worked hard -- very hard -- and that work has paid off.

"He's got some experience," Dykes said of Green, "and when he's gotten into football games for us, historically, he's played well."

Taking advantage

After redshirting the 2018 season, he saw time in three games in 2019. He then earned a scholarship in February of last year.

Brown moved from quarterback to wide receiver at the beginning of the 2020 season. And after the Navy game at the beginning of November, Terrance Gipson -- Buechele's immediate backup -- entered the transfer portal.

Just like that, Green became SMU's No. 2 quarterback.

"That kind of came as a surprise to me that it happened when it did," Green said of Gipson's decision. "You never know if Shane gets hurt or something, so I was surprised when it happened."

An unselfish player for SMU, Green saw the quarterbacks' moves as an opportunity for himself. He received more reps in practice the second half of the season.

He earned more confidence with the team as a special teams contributor. He was the holder for SMU kicker Chris Naggar, who ended up being the American Athletic Conference Special Teams Player of the Year.

Green's got big plans for the 2021 season. He's hoping the spring will be his time to shine -- like those around him did.

"I haven't made any big headlines, nothing too crazy," he said. "I've just been putting in the work, and I've found myself in a spot now to compete for a starting spot in the fall."

Stay locked in with The HillTopics, as we will publish Part 2 of the Derek Green story Saturday morning.