Padron shined in his starting debut

Without ever starting a football game in his high school career, Southlake Carroll quarterback Kyle Padron already had an offer from SMU coming into the 2008 season. Last year, his role was to make sure he was there to support starter Riley Dodge.

"I was a backup last year and if something happened to Riley then I got thrown into it," said Padron. "I just always had to be ready to go."

Seeing late action in most of the games, Padron got a taste of the future.

"In the playoffs, I played in the last five or six minutes of the Cedar Hill game. I also played in the Abilene game when Riley got hurt."

After committing to the Mustangs this summer, the SMU faithful were anxious to see what kind of quarterback they had on their roster for '09. Getting to play inside his future home at Gerald J. Ford Stadium on the SMU campus, Padron felt all eyes on him as the game began.

"I'm not going to lie to you, I was a little nervous the first quarter," laughed Padron. "The coaches settled me down and told me that every quarterback they've had has always started off a little jittery and a little slow. That helped me out to know that I wasn't alone and I had other people around me. I eventually calmed down and went with it."

It took a few drives for Padron to get his offensive unit all the way down the field but once he got it going, there wasn't much stopping him. Looking sharp in his debut, the two-star prospect achieved 247 yards through the air with two touchdowns.

The game also brought an opportunity for Padron to do a little more running than most expected. When there weren't any open receivers downfield, there was occasionally daylight for him to rush as he accumulated 35 yards and a touchdown on the ground.

"Last week was a little different and we installed a little more run game for me. I'm more of a pocket passer but if I'm called on to run then I will. I'm not a 4.4 guy though so I prefer throwing the ball more than running it."

Still, Padron even astonished himself a few times when running around the line and having the ability to turn it up field.

"I was surprised a little bit. I can usually outrun a couple of linebackers and defensive linemen but once it comes to the safeties and corners, then I'm a little outmatched."

Overall, the 35-9 victory was a good showing for Padron on his future college campus, one that he hopes to have many more of in the coming years.

Get a full scouting report on Padron, this Friday at PonyPride.com.