OFFENSE

Junior Kyle Padron will be in his third year of running June Jones’ Run ’N’ Shoot offense, which means the decisions the quarterback is forced to make should come more easily. Padron threw for a school-record 3,828 yards (16th in the nation) and 31 touchdowns last year along with 14 interceptions, which is a number Jones is OK with considering that Padron threw the ball 508 times.

The Run ’N’ Shoot features one running back, and that job will fall to junior Zach Line, who put together a strong 2010 season. Line ran for 1,494 yards and 10 touchdowns, eclipsing the single-season rushing total of all Mustang backs not named Eric Dickerson. Line was held out of spring practice with back issues, but will play nearly every down if he stays healthy.

Jones likes to stick to the same four receivers once he settles on starters, and coming out of spring he liked Darius Johnson, Cole Beasley, Terrance Wilkerson and Keenan Holman. Johnson and Beasley will typically line up in the slot with Wilkerson and Holman on the outside. Johnson is the best of the bunch, and Beasley led the team in catches last year with 87.

All five starters return on the line, but Josh LeRibeus, a senior who sat out ’10 due to academics, will regain his spot at left guard. All in all, five seniors with starting experience will line up in front of the Mustangs’ talented skill players.

DEFENSE

SMU returns all three defensive line starters from last year and will boast a unit loaded with upperclassmen. Defensive end Taylor Thompson has an NFL future, and Jones was high on the play of both nose guard Marquis Frazier and defensive end Margus Hunt in the spring.

SMU’s 3-4 scheme relies heavily on the linebackers to make plays, and the Mustangs return a pair of good ones in Ja’Gared Davis and Taylor Reed. The athletic Davis had nine sacks last year and was a first-team all-league selection. Reed led SMU in tackles in ’10 from the middle linebacker position. True freshman Davon Moreland, the most highly touted SMU recruit in recent memory, will get a shot to start right away.

Chris Banjo will start for his fourth straight season at free safety, anchoring a back line that returns three starters. Ryan Smith will line up next to Banjo in his second season at strong safety after playing cornerback as a freshman. Richard Crawford will man the right cornerback slot again, while the left should go to emerging sophomore Kenneth Acker.

SPECIALISTS

Redshirt freshman Mike Loftus will take over the punting and placekicking duties after watching Matt Szymanski handle both last season. Punt returns will be an area of focus in the fall after the Mustangs ranked 103rd in the nation last season and lost three fumbles, two of which were recovered for touchdowns.

FINAL ANALYSIS

With plenty of veterans back from a squad that tied for the C-USA West title last season, the Mustangs are poised to win plenty of games in 2011. Depth is still a concern, but the starting 22 can play with anyone in the league, and the Mustangs’ first league championship since they tied for the 1984 Southwest Conference title in the pre-Death Penalty days is a real possibility. The key will be in the turnover department, where SMU was No. 111 nationally at minus-12. An improvement even to the middle of the pack will make a huge difference for a team whose offense is capable of outscoring nearly every team on the schedule.