Nick Saban raves about Kevin Jennings’ playmaking, competitive nature

SMU quarterback Kevin Jennings is among the nation’s top quarterbacks in efficiency since taking over as the starter this season. Legendary coach Nick Saban walked into the film room College GameDay of Athens, Ga., highlighting Jennings’ big plays.

“The first thing I like about him is the guy has really good arm talent. He’s made all the throws so far that you need to make to be a great quarterback,” Saban said. “His instinctive ability to scramble, keep his eyes downfield and make another explosive play by finding an open receiver. That kind of instinctual play is not something you find in a lot of quarterbacks.”

He ranks third nationally in yards per carry. pass attempts (9.69) and fifth in passing yards per completion (14.96). Jennings has the highest passer efficiency rating in conference play only in the ACC at 178.6. He is Top 4 in the country in yards per carry. attempt.

Saban showed some clips of Kevin Jennings from Duke, a game in which he had five turnovers. Despite the tough outcome for him, he went out and led SMU to a dominating 48-25 victory over Pitt. Saban loved that answer from him.

“First of all, you can improve some of the turnover problems with good fundamental techniques,” Saban said. “It shows me what kind of competitive nature the guy has to have the resilience to be able to overcome bad plays, which I think is very important for quarterbacks because you always want some. That’s why his teams have been successful with him at quarterback.”

ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit, who has also been high on the Mustangs, touted Rhett Lashlee’s switch to Kevin Jennings this season and how SMU is trending with him at the helm.

“He’s an outstanding coach. Coming into this year, Preston Stone was really his guy. That was his quarterback,” Herbstreit said. “Within the year, it does change, Jennings, who just did a great job there in the film room with showing his big play ability, but when he plays within the structure of the offense and then can stay confident in that and not always rely on that athletic ability, he’s going to get better every single week. This team is real.”

One of the greatest defensive coaches in college football history, Saban reminded people that it’s just not about Kevin Jennings. SMU’s defense is also a big reason why they are atop the ACC standings.

“What I like about SMU is they play really good defense,” Saban said. “They’re one of the best defensive teams in the country in terms of takeaways, rush defense, lots of categories, and that’s the biggest difference in Miami is their inability to stop people because of their defense.”