On a football team loaded with offensive firepower, Kylen Granson simply has waited his turn to be "the guy" at SMU. As a tight end, he understands the odds of him being the first person fans talk about are low.

Or even the second or third person.

When Granson finishes his career at SMU, the one thing he wants everyone to understand is simple. And it's something that he's proved to his teammates every day since transferring from Rice last year.

"I make plays when I make plays," a personable, humble-yet-honest Granson said after SMU's win over East Carolina last week.

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On a team with Shane Buechele and James Proche and Xavier Jones -- and Ke'Mon Freeman and Rashee Rice and even an injured-but-expected-to-return Reggie Roberson Jr. -- Granson often is viewed as the forgotten skill-position player for the Mustangs. It's a nice problem to have for SMU, a team with a national top-10 offense statistically.

But last week against East Carolina, Granson showed that being forgotten doesn't equate to being second-tier. If anything, Granson as a 6-3, 235-pound flex tight end could be that valuable X-factor that takes SMU to its greatest finish in more than three decades.

Granson has been the ultimate security blanket for SMU's offense since Roberson went down with a foot injury Oct. 24 at Houston. Granson has 33 receptions for 570 yards and eight touchdowns through 10 games.

Since Roberson's injury, he's recorded 17 of his 33 receptions and scored six of his eight touchdowns the last three games.

"When Reggie went down, he's a big part of our team and still is, so everyone had to step up," Granson said. "It's just natural when you have a good player go down, the whole team needs to step up their game. I think I've responded pretty well as far as the circumstances are concerned."

Granson and Buechele combined to put on a show last week, and Granson had a career day against East Carolina, catching seven passes for 138 yards and scoring three touchdowns. He was targeted eight times in the game and had five plays where he gained 19 yards or more -- including his last two going for 36 and 31 yards, respectively.

His last catch of the day was a deflating one for East Carolina. On fourth and 20 midway through the fourth quarter, SMU chose against a long field goal, and Buechele connected with Granson, not only for the first down but also for a 31-yard touchdown that proved to be the game-winning points.

"Fourth and 20's never a good call," SMU coach Sonny Dykes said. "You always make these decisions based on, do we want to kick a 48-yard field goal into the wind? If it's at the 31-yard line, do you want to punt? We had been aggressive the whole game up to that point, and we figured we'd stay aggressive.

"Shane made a heckuva throw, and Kylen made a heckuva catch. They made a play."

Granson added: "We have a great quarterback, and we have great skill players and tight ends. The fact that Coach Dykes was willing to go for a fourth and long like that, I feel a little big for my boots. He trusted me."

Every play Granson makes for SMU is one that makes some Rice fans cringe. Granson signed with Rice in 2016 and was a contributor for the Owls for two seasons.

After a 1-11 season in 2017, and after seeing head coach David Bailiff fired, Granson chose to transfer to SMU. He sat out the 2018 season because of NCAA transfer rules.

This is his first active year with SMU, and Granson has yet to disappoint. A conversation with Roberson after the Houston game helped to heighten the expectations for the remainder of the season.

"Good player to good player, [Roberson] was like, 'I need you to step up,'" Granson said.

They were words Granson took to heart. Ten games into the season, Granson is ranked third on the team in receptions and second in receiving touchdowns and average yards per catch (17.3).

"Nobody expects the tight end to go out and run the deep ball," Granson said. "Shoot, I had three [touchdowns Saturday]."

As if his receiving efforts weren't enough against East Carolina, Granson also had a 9-yard rush on an end-around sweep that helped move the chains. His biggest play of the game, however, may have come during the onside kick with less than two minutes left to play. Granson recovered the kick that clinched the win over the Pirates.

SMU has two American Athletic Conference games remaining against Navy and Tulane. The Mustangs (9-1, 5-1 in AAC) are hoping the cards fall into place for an opportunity to play in the AAC Championship Game on Dec. 7, then prepare for a bowl game either in December or January.

All this means is more opportunities for Granson to show his skill set and be the additional weapon Dykes knows he has on offense.

"You go back and look at the last couple of weeks, really starting against Houston, and he's just starting to make more plays," Dykes said. "That's what good football teams do; when you lose one of your best players like Reggie, somebody else has to carry the load."