DALLAS — SMU Mustangs receiver Yamir Knight said Thursday that Kevin Jennings makes plays no one on the field expects, and that he has taken the argument to the Mustangs’ own defensive backs during one-on-one drills.
Knight’s disagreement with SMU’s secondary starts when the defensive backs tell the receivers a route took too long to develop.
“The stuff that Kevin puts on film is like second to none,” Knight said. “I tell my older brother all the time, I’m like, yo, this dude is like the craziest quarterback I’ve ever played with. He just makes so many sick plays. You never know what’s going to go on with seven back there.”
“So I’ll be arguing with our DBs a little bit because they be telling us in one-on-ones, like, oh yeah, the route’s taking too long,” Knight continued. “I’m like, yeah, man, you know who we got back there. We got seven back there. So just know he’s back there. He makes those types of plays.”
Knight is in his second season at SMU after two years at James Madison, and the acclimation he was still working through a year ago is finished.
“Definitely felt like I was finding my way. With the quarterback, the whole scheme, really the offense and how we do things here, I feel like I’m much more acclimated now,” Knight explained. “I got acclimated really last season, throughout the season. As soon as I came in, these guys were super, super welcoming. So it was kind of just like an easy process to just get in and get going.”
Yamir Knight’s 2025 Season At SMU
Knight caught 54 passes for 637 yards and five touchdowns in 2025, second on the team in receptions and third in yards. He averaged 49.0 receiving yards a game and 11.8 yards a catch across 13 appearances with six starts.
His best game came at Boston College on Nov. 8, when he had seven catches for 162 yards, including a 61-yard reception. He had seven catches for 104 yards in the Trust and Will Holiday Bowl against No. 17 Arizona on Jan. 2 and was named the game’s offensive MVP.
Knight also averaged 9.9 yards on punt returns, fifth in the ACC, and was an All-ACC honorable mention selection.
At James Madison in 2024, Knight led the Dukes with 53 receptions for 605 yards and four touchdowns. He is from Smyrna, Delaware, and was the state’s Class 3A offensive player of the year in 2022. He signed with James Madison out of high school and transferred to SMU in May 2025.
Jennings threw for 3,641 yards with 26 touchdowns and 13 interceptions last season and completed 66.1% of his passes. He wears No. 7. He is in his fifth year at SMU and has 19 wins as a starter. He attended the Manning Passing Academy this summer and was one of nine players to receive a Sling TV NIL deal before the season.
Yamir Knight On SMU Having Monday Night To Itself
SMU is the only college football game on the schedule Monday, and Knight said that hands the Mustangs the whole audience.
“It’s an amazing opportunity, right? We’re the only football game on that whole Monday, that whole day,” Knight said. “So it’s an amazing opportunity. If anybody wants to watch football, they have to watch our game. So it’s an opportunity for us to showcase to the world what we can do on the national stage and on a big stage.”
Monday will be SMU’s first trip to Doak Campbell Stadium, which seats 67,277. Florida State beat New Mexico State 34-17 on Aug. 29 in its opener.
Injury Report For SMU And Florida State
Cornerback Karson Hobbs, cornerback Chuck Kennon, safety Jordan Crutchfield, and receiver Devin Carter are out for the Seminoles, and receiver Tae’Shaun Gelsey and defensive back KJ Kirkland are questionable.
SMU listed receiver Daylon Singleton as questionable on its initial ACC availability report Thursday night. Knight was not listed.
SMU ranked 12th nationally in passing offense last season on the way to a 9-4 finish and a Holiday Bowl win. The Mustangs return roughly 62% of their production, a top 25 figure nationally.
SMU beat Florida State 42-16 in 2024 at Gerald J. Ford Stadium in its first game as an ACC member, the only previous meeting between the programs.
Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. CT Monday on ESPN. SMU is ranked No. 19 in the AP Top 25 and No. 20 in the coaches poll.
