SMU knew they wanted Padron

Long before Kyle Padron had started a game for Southlake Carroll, SMU was taking a long look at the senior signal caller. That was even preceding his 2-0 start this season in which he's has racked up gaudy stats such as 552 yards through the air and 88 yards on the ground.

So how exactly did the Mustang coaching staff know that their quarterback commitment was going to be as talented in the starting role as he's shown thus far?

"Coach Dan Morrison came and saw my spring game and then invited me to go to the quarterback camp at SMU," recalled Padron. "He told me I was one of 12 guys they were looking at. They invited the other guys as well. He told me that there was going to be some competition and he wanted to get a look at me since I hadn't played any real varsity games at that point."

That afternoon, both Morrison and head coach June Jones kept their eye on the Metroplex product. In the end, they liked what they saw.

"They were real impressed with my poise and footwork as a quarterback. He said they were real impressed with the accuracy I had as a high school quarterback."

Those were the last thoughts of Padron that the coaching staff had in their minds as they thought about his performance for the next month or two. That's when they decided that there wasn't anymore research that needed to be done about this one.

"My coach told me I needed to call coach Morrison. I called him and he told me that they were going to offer me a full ride scholarship. It took about three weeks for me to talk it over with my parents and think about it.

"My mom and dad and I had a meeting with coach Jones and coach Morrison eventually as well. I ended up committing that day in the coaches office."

Padron surprised himself with the confidence he had to pull the trigger and end his recruiting process. Even though he only had one offer in hand, there were many schools contacting him even though he had yet to start in a game.

"I honestly told myself that I wasn't going to commit till after the season this year. I changed my mind when I went to the campus. I kind of always knew the team and heard of coach Jones. But I actually got chills when I went out there and looked around that day. I knew that's where I wanted to be. I committed right then and there."

Still receiving mail from Big 12 schools such as Texas A&M, Nebraska, Colorado, and Oklahoma, Padron remains firm in his commitment to the Ponies.

"I just want to go to SMU and play in the run and shoot offense. That's basically what made me choose SMU. It was the coaching staff and the type of offense they run."

Check out the Pony Express this Friday to find out Padron's thoughts on SMU's top two quarterbacks being true freshman this year. Plus, what family connections does the Southlake signal caller have to SMU?