Lance McIlhenny
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| No. 11 – SMU Mustangs | |
|---|---|
| Position | Quarterback |
| Personal information | |
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) |
| Weight | 190 lb (86 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Highland Park (TX) |
| College |
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| Awards and highlights | |
Lance McIlhenny is a former American college football player who was a quarterback for Southern Methodist University. He led the SMU Mustangs to two Southwest Conference championships.
McIlhenny is considered to be one of the greatest option quarterbacks in NCAA Division I-A history. As a freshman, he did not begin the 1980 season as the starter at quarterback, but was promoted during the seventh game against the University of Texas.[1] Future NFL running backs Eric Dickerson and Craig James, combined with blue chip running back Charles Waggoner, were nicknamed the "Pony Express" for their running attack; with McIlhenny leading the offense.[2]
In 1982, he led the Southwest Conference in passing efficiency with a 133 rating. Slocum told Sherrington, McIlhenny “understood option football. ... He had two great running backs at SMU, but he’s the one who made it all go”.[3]
In the 1983 Cotton Bowl, number-four-ranked SMU and McIlhenny (a senior), played against the number-six-ranked University of Pittsburgh and Dan Marino in his final game.[4] SMU won, 7-3.[5]
McIlhenny is the winningest quarterback in school and Southwest Conference history, finishing with a career record of 34-5-1. He played a key role in the Mustangs two SWC Championships (1981, 1982).
As Kevin Sherrington, sports writer for The Dallas Morning News observed in a January 2015 analysis of the 1982 Mustangs, "Lance McIlhenny had more than a little to do with the success. He became SMU’s starting quarterback midway through his freshman year. Not because he was big or fast or could throw a pass through your earhole. What he was, was a mechanic. Nobody south of the Red River ran the option better. He learned it at the foot of Frank Bevers at Highland Park, where R.C. Slocum, then a Texas A&M assistant, recruited him for the Aggies."
In 2013, he was inducted into the SMU Athletics Hall of Fame.[6][7]