SMU receivers Bailey and Daniels leading from the slot

Jake Bailey and Roderick Daniels Jr. are two of the most veteran wide receivers on the SMU roster and they are taking the lead in the room.

Daniels has been with the Mustangs since 2021, playing in 38 games of 39 games with four starts. Meanwhile, Bailey is entering his sixth year of college football and his third at SMU. He started 13 of the 14 games last year.

That kind of leadership and experience is extremely valuable.

“Man do those guys make my job so easy because, No. 1, they help coach everybody else. They’re extremely intelligent and extremely, just really good feel football players,” SMU receivers coach and co-offensive coordinator Rob Likens said. “They know how to get in space and they can teach all of those things and talk to all my other guys. I’ve got 19 guys in my room. So I’m coaching over here well they helped me over coaching with other guys.”

It also opens up the playbook to do some different things with them in the slot.

“We can do so much with the 3s,” Likens said. “I tell coach, if he wants to change a play or change the way we do something, I go ‘Oh, that’s easy as long as it’s a 3.’ Because those guys pick it up just like that. They’re so intelligent and (have) so much experience that I don’t even worry about them.”

They’ve built a relationship too.

“Jake, that’s like my brother,” Daniels said. “We go at it every day. We really coach each other more than like we’re going to Likens. He’s watching me, I’m watching him. He’s waiting for me to mess up and when I do, he tells me. Or whenever he mess up or he asks for advice, I’ll tell him. It’s just good to piggyback off each other.”

Last season Bailey led the Mustangs in receptions and yards with 42 and 528, respectively. That included a season-high seven catches against Oklahoma going for 73 yards, one fewer than his season best.

No receiver had more than his 42 for 528, but six other players had at least 20 catches and seven others had at least 300 yards. Bailey believes the receivers room can keep the balance while increasing production this season.

“I think it was a really weird year in terms of numbers and things like that,” Bailey said. “I think in a lot of cases, you would have seen groups turn on each other, guys get mad at (each other), start butting heads. But I think we really came together more so, more collaborative. … Do the same thing, keep it spread out, but boosting those numbers. I think we just continue to raise the standard, do what we’ve been doing … ultimately, be the best players we can be day in and day out to continue to boost those numbers up.”

Daniels is experiencing some of that when it comes to things he does outside of receiver. He was the team’s primary punt returner with 24 of the 27 returns, including a touchdown return. He also was the leader in kickoff returns and played out of the backfield.

With the addition of All-American kick returner and running back Brashard Smith and other pieces, Daniels has some of that weight off his shoulders.

“It’s actually easier and makes it more fun because it’s not all just on one person. Everybody’s not waiting for one person to make the plays,” Daniels said. “I feel comfortable that if I’m not making as many big plays, one of my brothers is going to make a big play. That’s going to help us, no matter what.”

That attitude goes into the receiver’s room too. There are a lot of pieces that can make plays. That takes some of the overall pressure off, but it also makes every rep count.

Daniels knows about that, catching a 91-yard touchdown pass against Prairie View A&M. He also had four other receptions of at least 40 yards during the year.

“We’ve got a lot of receivers, but as much as we pass the ball everybody going to get a chance,” Daniels said. And how fast we play, everybody going to get a shot to get in the game. Whether it’s 10 receivers or just four or five playing, how fast we play everybody going to get a shot to get in. You might not have 10 targets every game, but two or three can make a big play in the game, depending on what you do with it.”

Who SMU will be doing it against looks different this season. The move to the ACC means bigger challenges every week.

The Mustangs are ready.

“I for sure have an increased sense of urgency, absolutely,” Bailey said. “From the team, I think everybody’s in that same type of boat. It’s not so much, it’s no fear. It’s not being scared of new competition. It is giving them the respect they deserve. Realizing and understanding that these are real athletes and teams that you know are going to give us a game week-in and week-out and we have to be tough enough and have that competitive stamina to be able to keep doing that week-in and week-out.”

It might not have been explicitly said during fall camp, but players talked about a different feel to things. That went into the work they did starting in July through last week in camp before season prep begins this week.

“Oh yeah, we definitely know it’s not going to be as easy as last year,” Daniels said. “We know every game is going to be a fight, so that’s what we’ve got to prepare for.”

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