Here's what respect looks like.

Memphis wide receiver Antonio Gibson recorded a school-record 386 all-purpose yards in last week's win against SMU. He caught six passes for 130 yards and two touchdowns, had a 97-yard rushing touchdown and also had a 97-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.

What did he do immediately after the game? Gibson made sure he tracked down SMU wide receiver James Proche. And it wasn't to brag or boast about the win.

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"I do not know him, but I just told him to keep balling," Gibson said of Proche. "I think he is a great athlete, so I had to talk to him after the game."

That says a lot about Proche, considering Gibson -- the reigning Walter Camp National Offensive Player of the Week and American Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Week -- was the talk of last Saturday's primetime matchup between the Mustangs and the Tigers. Gibson may have had the most highlight plays, but Proche showed himself to be one of the most dangerous players on the field after catching 13 passes and scoring a touchdown.

Check that. Proche showed himself to be dangerous once again. He had 12 catches and two scores last year against Memphis.

It all goes back to something the senior from Dallas said after he caught the game-winning touchdown in a come-from-behind victory against Tulsa on Oct. 5.

"If I catch the ball, it's in," Proche said. "I always feel like it's in."

Lost in the uproar of last Saturday's 54-48 primetime shootout on ABC, a game that set an AAC record for conference-game attendance with 59,506 at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, Proche put together one of his greatest statistical performance wearing an SMU uniform. It was his seventh career game with double-digit receptions and his 12th career 100-yard game.

And now with SMU preparing for a homecoming battle against ECU, Proche has a chance to do yeoman's work in front of alumni returning to the Hilltop. If all goes as planned, by the end of the fourth quarter, Proche will sit at the top of SMU's career record list in a couple of categories.

Last Saturday was Proche's eighth consecutive game with a receiving touchdown. If he scores against ECU, Proche breaks a tie with Emmanuel Sanders (2006-09) to become SMU's all-time leader in career receiving touchdowns.

To add, a Proche receiving touchdown also would break a tie with Aldrick Robinson in most consecutive games with a receiving touchdown. Robinson scored in eight straight games back in 2010.

"James has been money for us all year," said head coach Sonny Dykes, who admitted that very little that Proche does anymore surprises him.

For the year, Proche has caught 74 passes for 841 yards and 10 touchdowns. Against Memphis, he did his part in helping to shoulder SMU's offensive load with the absence of Reggie Roberson Jr., who is nursing a foot injury.

Proche has 74 grabs; no one else in the AAC has more than 53 catches. Only Pittsburgh's Maurice Ffrench (75) has more catches than Proche -- but that can change as SMU prepares for an ECU team that gives up yards.

"He just makes a bunch of plays. It doesn't matter if there's somebody on him," Dykes said of Proche. "He just has a knack of going to get the football."

In addition to being second nationally in receptions, Proche currently ranks eighth nationally in receiving yards and tied with UCF's Gabriel Davis for fourth in receiving touchdowns. He also is third nationally in average receptions per game. His 8.2 average ranks behind Texas' Devin Duvernay (8.6) and Ffrench (8.3).

Saturday would make for a memorable day for the senior. And in a homecoming environment, it would be fitting if Proche entertained the alumni while also leaving the younger roster players and recruiting targets a goal to chase in the future.

"He competes incredibly hard," Dykes said, "and he is playing with a lot of confidence."

SMU (8-1, 4-1 AAC) vs. ECU (3-6, 0-5)

11 a.m. Saturday, Gerald J. Ford Stadium