SMU Football Gets Big Win Over TCU Before Iron Skillet Even Kicks Off

Mustangs hold off Horned Frogs, Texas A&M, Ole Miss, Oklahoma St., Baylor for highly touted Dallas area quarterback

DALLAS – The final Iron Skillet game hasn't even kicked off and SMU has already pulled off a huge win over TCU. 

Thursday evening Rhett Lashlee's Mustangs beat out the Horned Frogs for Duncanville 4-star quarterback Keelon Russell, the No. 16 quarterback in the country according to 247Sports, just ahead of future ACC opponent commit Bryce Baker who is headed to North Carolina. The 6-3 gunslinger from the Class of 2025 also had offers from Texas A&M, Baylor, Oklahoma State and Ole Miss among other.

The pick-up moves SMU up to No. 6 in the 2025 class rankings, the first class that will come in with the Mustangs truly under the ACC banner. That's up two spots from No. 8 as the Ponies were able to leapfrog Notre Dame and Miami.

Russell led the Panthers to their first state championship since 1998 last year as Duncanville finished the season undefeated with a 28-21 win over Galena Park North Shore in the Texas 6A-Division I championship game. It was one of only two close games all season as Russell reportedly racked up 2,377 yards passing and 22 touchdowns. 

The Panthers have been one of the most potent teams in the country. Through three games they have outscored their opponents 154-13, and that included games against a tough South Oak Cliff team before destroying traditional national power Rockledge out of Florida, 44-0. 

Russell not only has a smooth touch on the ball, but has shown the ability to break off several huge runs while executing the RPO. Another good sign is his willingness to follow through with the fake, showing the passing portion of the RPO after the hand-off to buy his running backs and extra fraction of a second to spring free.

Duncanville takes on Cedar Hill tonight at home before Russel leads them into what may play out as a de facto district championship game on the road at undefeated Waxahachie next week.