Preston Stone, RJ Maryland & D'Eriq King Discuss SMU Mustangs Training Camp, SMU '24 Season

[Music] how's fall Camp been so far for you oh it's been great it's been great um you I didn't get to go through spring this past year and so been able to be back out here with the guys and um just play the game I love again it's awesome does it feel any different to you or you feel just like you were last year a little bit I think it feels I think you know I think the older you get you know the tougher it can be um you know just get older you get more aches more pain but I think definitely this year I feel more thankful to be playing football than I have in a long time especially after it gets taken away from you all you want to do is go play so I'm having I'm having a great time on gu what's it been like rotating through Personnel in the offense and obviously more running backs to contend with but more wide receivers how have you guys kind of balancing that and how's that different from last year uh I don't think it's too different I think you know if anything we just have more weapons you know with guys like Shard coming in uh hitner is going to be a great compliment to RJ in the tight end room um and I think you know this year more than any year I've been here I have more chemistry with my receivers um we have just about every weapon at receiver coming back and um I feel really good about our timing and the way those guys are playing what's the room like obviously you know Kevin you and Kevin out starters experience C got chance to run with the two in spr just what's that that Dynamic been like with with you guys yeah you know Iron Sharp's iron I think we all three of us can play at a really high level and um you know there's different aspects of each other's game that we can that we can take from each other and learn from each other and um I think we have a we have a great chemistry between us and we make each other better every day how has that chemistry developed to wide receivers that might be a little different than last year with you guys and and how much does it help having all of that group back pretty much and and what did you see from them and the work that they put in this off season you know I think I just have a really good feel for how each of those guys play um more so than last year you know last year was J first year Kean um those guys first year get to play with them and um they all work their ass off this offseason and so um I have a great feel for how they're going to run their routes the different nuances they bring to the table that make them special and um you we can be compared defenses in a lot of different ways cuz they all have their own little unique thing makes a really gooder how much have you guys been experimenting with the inh helmet technology I think communication technology I think I saw it during one of your practices what's that been like it's really cool it's been really cool kind of feel like Aaron Rogers going like this listening to coach um no but it's been really cool and um it's great having coach Lashley here especially if you know with situational talk like hey here's what we're thinking on third down um stuff like that and um it definitely makes my job easier it's pretty cool yeah when you're when you're an offense that moves pretty quickly you know what do you feel like do you feel like that's important to kind of give you a good advantage next year absolutely yeah you know Tempo Tempo is our bread and butter and um just having an extra motive communication um definitely makes that a little bit easier what have you seen from Kevin specifically and have you seen him kind of take stuff for since those last couple games last year how much do you think that helped him coming into this season yeah Kevin's a beast I think you know we we've all seen um from his first day here how special he is and how good of a quarterback he is and um you know you guys saw against T Lane he stepped into the game like he' been the start of the whole year so like I said before iron sharpens iron I think me and Kevin both make each other better every day and um he's he's he's he's really good is that tough to is that tough to go from kind of being in that spot that he was in last year having a step in and then knowing he's going to kind of go back to the role he was in before how do you kind of work with a younger guy through that do you talk to him at all about that and kind of getting ready for his time um I mean we're we're good friends so I mean obviously we come out here and we compete and make each other better every day but um you know Kevin's got a great great ha on his shoulders he's one of the most humble kids we ever met so um um he's definitely not a guy that's going to be seeking out attention look at me he's he's a very low-key hard worker and um I know whatever role he steps into this year he's going to be right have you seen kri grow you know this past year uh especially working with Coach King you know I know you've obviously talked about you know what your relationship has been like with him but do you know anything about their relationship um what you said with Coach King with Coach King and C yeah I mean you know we we all have a great relationship with ER um he's been he's been awesome having him as a quarterback coach this year and uh krick's a baller you know I think just like I said about the receivers I think in the quarterback room we all have our own little nuances in game that make us special and um kri can just flat out rip the ball you know he's he's he's a guy that's going to go in there um you know no pressure on the shoulders not thinking too much step into any situation and just rip the ball so um G's a really good player and just like Kevin I know whatever role he steps into this series he going coach Kane is heavily involved in practice you know racing you guys down the field and making some of the same throws as you guys not many quarter rack coaches in the country can say that so what can you say about him and helping you along in your development yeah you know he's um one it makes pack is really fun because you know it's not just a quarterback coach that's just preaching to you and giving you instructions he's stepping into the drill and showing you how a former Heisman Contender actually does it so um coach King makes practice really fun I've learned a lot from him just from uh you he gives a lot of real game advice we go into meetings and it's hardly any what we call board talk where we're um you know this is what it looks like on paper it's like he's been in those big time real situations to where he knows what it's like to actually step into the quarterback's perspective um I could be out here to have as a coach good all right for you how do you feel like uh it's just gone from a development standpoint for yourself it's been going pretty good you know uh just just getting back into the swing of things you know just getting ready for the season a lot of it for the younger guys cuz obviously I've been it's going to be my third year and so I already I already know the plays and everything I just got to polish everything so just more like polish than anything yeah what's that like does it seem like just yesterday was your first call Camp or you kind of feel like you've now been through those battles no it feels like I I just got on campus but it's 2024 now and shoot I got here June 2022 177 years old and yeah already 20 now so it's crazy yeah what do personal goals kind of look like for you this year and how has your work during the offseason kind of built up to where you hope allow you to do that so yeah you obviously want to have a great season uh I want I want to be able to maybe declare after this year so so yeah obviously got to have a great season but to do that we got to we got to play well as a team or else none none of your individual goals will happen so you know just as long as we play good as a team everything will work out F what have you seen from the quarterback room anyone standing out to you any kind of big steps forward many of those guys I say cedrick Lester you know he's a he's a young guy but he's a great quarterback and uh you know we all we have those two great QBs Preston and Kevin you know K's good too and uh like if he ever gets a shot in the game you know I trust him to do whatever what's it been like adding a guy like Matthew to the tight end it's great it's great you know he's a great tight end he makes plays he's been making plays out here and uh yeah it's awesome to have more tight ends are great you guys obviously established your Championship culture last year but he comes from you know a different Championship culture what is what is it like adding that into the mix and how do you thought that can help you guys you know go the level yeah it's great like in the meet in the meeting room uh he just gives us little little leg of information that ivly he probably learned at Michigan which uh they won the National Championship so yeah if you could bring anything to the team National Championship IET and DNA you know he has one so it's great how much just bringing him in allow you guys to maybe run more two tight end looks and you do some different things since he he can catch the ball a little bit too yeah it it allows for great great offense uh whenever we get 12 Personnel cuz you know obviously our our off L running 12 Personnel sets you know I love it too more tight ends more more action for us yeah where do you where do you guys need to uh you know focus on the most as a as a tight end group to kind of take the next step this season uh just to be more disciplined uh and execute a little bit better just as a whole offensive unit you know sometimes we've been lining up or we we like to play fast so we got to line up fast we can't fall start we uh we can't have a legal shifts formations just simple stuff like that so yeah just like pre-nap and post Snap stuff you kind of turned into a go to Target uh throughout the season you know Co the team in touchdowns what does that mean especially as a tight end with this group of wide receivers that you're a guy that whether whoever's a quarterback that they see you as a guy they can trust and that the team kind of sees you as a guy that can make a big play yes it's awesome uh just being a go-to guy throwing the ball to me um I love making plays so yeah and uh the receiver room all y'all saw last year that we all get the ball and we all make plays so yeah as a collective receiving unit we're it's awesome more weeks of that we going to wait for that to go by go for what have you thought of fall camp with your group so far I thought it good right I think all the guys in the room playing well we focus on one thing out here going right the ball we don't focus on results and I think for the most part they' do a good job getting the ball supposed to go protection right job coach Lashley said that it might have been a little bit of a slow start for Kevin and Preston but he really kind of locked in you know towards the end of last week what was your kind of perspective on that and how you seen them progress through the first you know couple weeks yeah definitely you know like the first day is always a big push right get back into the real practice the game speed um I think as you know practice 3 4 5 six and on they they both been really good they like I said they get the ball supposed to go their progression SC touchdown off so I love that for my room who whoever they take get it's been good what have you seeing from Preston as he's gone you know through that recovery process and now was out there full go again yeah he's been good he's been awesome like you said like the first practice it took him a couple days to get back in the r and get back in the gr but um since then he's been good man he's been kind of where he left off last year before he got hurt so he's been having a really good camp um know focus on the small things that he have to get better at he's taking what are some of those small things that he has to get better at and then same with Kevin yeah uh you know press it's always you know last year some of his pocket stuff kind of got him in trouble and that's been a big emphasis all this whole offseason hey playing within the pocket right um checking the ball down was there he ownership he's been doing good he asked the right questions in the meetings um same with Kevin like Kevin's a gun right he can make every throw um so we have that mentality you think you put the ball in small Windows right he's he took the next St in my opinion from St ball now um but he's not there check still being aggressive but making the right play and moving offense you always have to have a 75 y test let's move the ball and they shots present let's take it good job how have you seen kri develop since you got here and what have kind been the focuses for him these past couple months man K's been awesome like he's he's he's right up there top two guys he's been having a great Camp um spring B spring B really helped cuz pressing was practice he got a lot of reps right so spring B and now like K I think he has complete ownership of the offense right he while about when he gets in there he just gets comps like he moves the ball a lot um he doesn't overthink things um he's a completion machine right so offense going to be move when he gets in the game he's been awesome he's been a really good job this game Prest was talking a little bit about your style and kind of going in there running drills with them what how much does that help being able to do that with those guys and how do you kind of describe your style I'm a little Hands-On right um I think you know we got a lot of coaches in in this profession that haven't played right so um I I like going in there having fun with the guys still doing drills I'm still pretty young so I'm just kind of joking around having fun keeping things like right it's a game we play kids game and I want to have that mentality hey we here to and all that still have have fun right so I jump in every now and then and kind of trying to show them how it's done what's your perspective on getting to use the inh helmet communication um obviously I wasn't thing when you were in college but but uh what do you think that adds to the offense and are you excited to see your pack yeah I think it's great right I think you know um know being able to talk to those guys you know CL last talk to those guys and kind of you know give them heads up or might do this coverage or whatever um I think I think if we used it the right way could be really positive for us the quarterbacks they love it um course last year does a great job of not overc communicating he's talking to him and kind of letting those guys play so it's it's been good it's been good so far with the competition that Preston and Kevin have how do you kind of I guess uh make sure you know one's not looking over one shoulder and just going out play versus you know cuz last year it just seemed like Preston's first year starter he has a long Le so to speak just all that yeah I think the beauty of that right like I think we have a really good quarterback room so you have three guys that can three or four guys can go in there and move the offense and I think they do a really good job of you know competing with each other right it's you know they they support each other who whoever's in that that's the guy right so they they've been doing a good job of of going to practice every day and focus on what they have to do right it's not no sort of you know I mean I hope it's got they they've been doing a good job they support each other so they've been good with that and I'm you know very impressed with the whole room General probably handling Camp that's going do you view Paul Camp a little differently now that you're you know doing as a coach versus a player it's a little different it's a little different um you know as a player you know you practice get 3 4 hour break after practice we going to write the meeting right so we up here all day grinding um but yeah it's a little different obviously it's not as as physical tacing as it was as a player but mentally it's a lot more so um B camp Camp supposed to be a grind so it's been good do you go in for treatment stuff nah I I never I never want to be that coach that goes in for treatment right and then I got the trainers like man what you a coach like you're not I I don't want to do that so if I need treatment I I'll go get it on my own so I don't want to be that guy who's this guy right here yeah good job great answer thanks good all right good thanks [Music] oh [Music]