Summer scouting notes: SMU, Cal to be welcomed to ACC by Florida State

In our third edition of the Osceola's summer scouting reports, we take a look at two of the ACC's newest members in 2024, SMU and Cal. Both teams will take on Florida State in September with Cal coming to Tallahassee and SMU hosting the Seminoles. It will be the ACC opener for both programs.

California

Saturday, Sept. 21 at Florida State

Head Coach: Justin Wilcox

Head Coach Record at SMU: 36-43 (seven seasons)

Head Coach Record in College Football: 36-43

Cal 2023 record: 6-7 (loss to Texas Tech in the Independence Bowl)

Over/Under for 2024 per Vegas Insider: 6.5 wins

Preseason Prediction/Rankings: Athlon's-ACC 10th, Nationally 51st, Lindy's ACC 12th, Nationally 61st

ESPN BET preseason odds for Cal at Florida State: No Line

Not only does Cal draw Florida State in its first season in the ACC but also gets to come to Tallahassee in the southern heat of September. The Golden Bears are coming off a 6-6 2023 regular season that earned them a trip to the Independence Bowl, which they would ultimately lose. Cal has had only two winning seasons since Justin Wilcox took over the program in 2017.

Cal on offense

Offensively, Cal returns seven starters from a unit that ranked 47th in the country in scoring offense (30.2 PPG), 45th in rushing offense (172.8 YPG) and 61st in total offense (390.9 YPG).

The good news is that Cal returns one of the nation's best running backs in junior Jaydn Ott, who ran for 1,315 yards, which led the PAC-12, and 12 touchdowns on 246 attempts. He also caught 25 passes for 169 yards.

They also return sophomore quarterback Fernando Mendoza, who took over the starting job halfway through last season. He threw for 1,708 yards, 14 touchdowns and 10 interceptions on 243 attempts while completing 63 percent of his passes.

Cal also returns junior wide receiver Trond Grizzell, who finished second on the team in receptions (39) and receiving yards (590) and had two touchdowns. They also return three of their five starting offensive lineman from a year ago.

Sophomore TE Jack Endries was named to a number of freshmen All-America teams after hauling 35 catches for 407 yards and two touchdowns last season.

Portal additions to the Cal offense

Rogers was brought in to to compete with Mendoza for the starting QB spot and if nothing else brings experience to the position. He threw for 3,382 yards, 29 touchdowns and just 5 interceptions while completing 62 percent of his passes for North Texas in 2023. He also started 19 games for Louisiana-Monroe before transferring to North Texas. Rogers was ranked as the 335th-best player available in the transfer portal this off-season.

Matthews is expected to compete for a starting WR spot after transferring from Utah. He will be a sophomore. As a true freshman at Utah, he caught 29 passes for 216 yards. He also returned punts and kickoffs for the Utes. Matthews was ranked as the 95th-best player in the transfer portal this off-season.

Dyches is expected to provide depth for Cal at tight end after transferring from Maryland, where he played in 39 games over four seasons. He hauled in 107 catches for 1,193 yards and 9 touchdowns in his career with the Terrapins. Dyches was ranked as the 190th-best player available in the portal this off-season.

Reimer is graduate transfer from Montana State, where he started 30 games over the last three seasons. He was a first-team All-Big Sky selection last year. Reimer is expected to compete for a starting role at either guard or tackle. He was ranked as the 220nd-best player in available in the portal this off-season.

Merriweather, a junior, is also expected to compete for one of the starting receiver spots. He caught 15 passes for 325 yards over two seasons at Notre Dame. Merriweather was ranked as the 231st-best player available in the portal this off-season.

Stoffel was brought in to compete for one of the starting tackle spots. He started 19 of 35 games he played in at Temple.

Brady was brought in to strengthen the Golden Bears' depth at wide receiver. He will be in the Cal rotation after starting 21 of 28 games played at New Mexico State, where he caught 62 passes for 931 yards and seven touchdowns. Brady was ranked as the 615th-best player available in the portal this off-season.

Cal on defense

The weakness for Cal last year was its defense, which ranked 111th in scoring defense (32.8 PPG), 102nd in total defense (414 YPG) and 128th in passing defense (281 YPG). They were very good at taking the ball away from opponents, tying for the lead nationally with 28 forced turnovers. They return eight starters from last year's squad but must replace their top two tacklers from last year's team.

Cal also brought in nine defenders via the transfer portal. Three of the defensive backs the Golden Bears added to the roster rank inside the top 200 players to transfer this past off-season.

Senior safety Craig Woodson is back after totaling 81 tackles last year, which ranked 3rd on the team. Sophomore inside linebacker finished fourth on the team with 66 tackles last season and he also had 6.5 tackles for a loss. Junior cornerback Nohl Williams is also back after finishing fifth on the team with 53 stops.

Portal additions to the Cal defense

Yaites played in all 13 games for LSU last season where he made 16 stops. He was ranked as the 59th-best player in the portal this off-season. Yaites was an Under Armour All-American coming out of high school.

Wagoner played in seven games for Oklahoma as a true freshman last season. He is expected to add depth the Cal secondary. Wagoner is ranked by Rivals as the 125th-best player to transfer this past offseason.

Harris is expected to start at cornerback for Cal. He played in 40 games over three seasons at Idaho, where he made 154 tackles and had six interceptions. Harris originally signed with Oregon State out of high school. He was ranked as the 188th-best overall player in the portal this off-season.

Buchanan is expected to start at the other inside linebacker spot after transferring from UC-Davis. He played in 36 games there and totaled 2028 tackles, 14.5 TFLs and four sacks. Buchanan was a second-team All-Big Sky selection last year. Buchanan was ranked as the 259th-best player in the portal this off-season.

Boller was brought in to play DE in Cal's 3-3-5 scheme. He played in 18 games over three seasons at Wisconsin. He was ranked as the 618th-best player in the portal this off-season.

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SMU

Saturday, Sept. 28 at SMU

Head Coach: Rhett Lashlee

Head Coach Record at SMU: 18-9 (two seasons)

Head Coach Record in College Football: 18-9

SMU 2023 Season Record: 11-3 (AAC Champions)

Over/Under for 2024 per Vegas Insider: 8.5 wins

Preseason Prediction/Rankings: Athlon's-ACC 7th, Nationally 31st, Lindy's ACC 7th, Nationally 32nd

ESPN BET preseason odds for FSU at SMU: No Line

The Mustangs enter the ACC after winning 11 games and the American Athletic Conference last season under second year head coach Rhett Lashlee. The SMU program has come a long way since joining the AAC in 2013. They won just 8 games in their first three seasons in the league but have had two seasons with 10 or more wins since 2019 and haven't had a losing season since 2018.

SMU on offense

The Mustangs were very good on offense last season, ranking inside the top 40 in the country in scoring (8th at 39 PPG), rushing (40th at 175 YPG), passing (22nd at 278 YPG) and total offense (16th at 454 YPG).

Their spread offense is led by junior quarterback Preston Stone, who was 10-2 as a starter last season. He threw for 3,197 yards, 28 touchdowns and just six interceptions while completing 60 percent of his passes. He also ran for 102 yards on 62 attempts, which includes sacks.

The team's top two running backs, junior LJ Johnson and senior Jayln Knighton, also return this season. Knighton led the team with 760 yards on 136 carries while Johnson was second on the team with 578 yards on 108 attempts. The pair also combined to catch 20 passes out of the backfield for 147 yards.

SMU also returns five of its six leading pass catchers from a year ago. Senior wideout Jake Bailey returns after leading the team with 42 catches for 528 yards. Tight end RJ Maryland is back for his junior season after catching 34 passes for 518 yards. Wide receivers Jordon Hudson, Romello Brinson and Keyshawn Smith are also back after combing to haul in 83 passes for 1,248 yards.

The Mustangs must replace three starters from last year's offensive line. Of the seven offensive players SMU brought in this off-season via the portal, five were offensive lineman.

Portal additions to the SMU offense

Byrd transferred in from Oklahoma and is expected to start at right tackle. He made four starts in nine games played for the Sooners last season. Byrd was ranked as the 214th-best player to enter the portal this off-season. That is the highest ranking among all SMU transfers.

Sapp signed with FSU out of high school and played sparingly in two seasons in Tallahassee. He is expected to compete for a role at either center or guard. Sapp was ranked as the 394th-best player in the portal this off-season.

Cozart is expected to compete to be in the rotation at wide receiver after transferring from Oregon, where he didn't see action as a true freshman. Cozart was a three-star prospect coming out of high school and was ranked as the 477th-best player in the portal this off-season.

Anderson will add depth to the SMU offensive line if not compete for one of the starting guard spots. He played in 12 games for the Sooners last season. Anderson was ranked as the 531st-best player in the portal this off-season.

SMU on defense

The Mustangs return six starters to their 4-2-5 defense, which was very good last season. SMU ranked inside the top 30 in scoring defense (11th at 17.8 PPG), rushing defense (28th at 121 YPG), passing defense (13th at 182 YPG) and total defense (12th at 304 YPG). They held eight of their 14 opponents to 16 points or less in 2023.

SMU is also deep on defense. They return their top seven leading tacklers from last season, two of whom are listed as backups heading into fall camp. Senior linebackers Ahmad Walker and Kobe Wilson split time at one of the linebacker spots and are the leaders of the defense. Wilson led the team with 80 tackles and also had three TFLs. Walker was second on the team with 65 stops and had 6.5 TFLs to his credit.

Senior defensive end Elijah Roberts is back after a disruptive 2023 season that saw him rack up 37 tackles, 12.5 TFLs and 10 sacks. He is the only returning starter on the front four, however.

Three of the five starters from last year's secondary return in the form of safeties Johnathan McGill and Isaish Nwokobia and nickel corner Cale Sanders. Nwokobia, a junior, was third on the team with 61 stops and he also had four interceptions in 2023. McGill and Sanders, both seniors, ranked fourth (55) and ninth (31) on the team in tackles last season.

Portal additions to the SMU defense

Harmon is expected to be one of two new starters at cornerback in 2024. In three seasons at Texas A&M he appeared in 27 games, where he earned 11 starts over three seasons. He started six games for the Aggies last year. Harmon was ranked as the 320th-best player in the transfer portal this off-season.

Jefferson transferred to SMU from Georgia and is expected to be a part of the team's rotation at defensive tackle. He played in seven games for the Bulldogs last year and 13 career games. Jefferson was a four-star prospect coming out of high school. He was ranked as the 381st-best player in the transfer portal this off-season.

Harvey is one of several former players on SMU's roster who transferred from Miami. He is expected to start at the other defensive end spot opposite Roberts. Harvey played in 50 career games for the Hurricanes with 18 starts over four seasons. He was ranked as the 393rd-best player in the transfer portal this off-season.

Booker is expected to start at nose tackle for the Mustangs after transferring from Arkansas. Last season he played in 11 games and made 19 stops. He has played in 41 career games, including his time at Maryland. Booker was ranked as the 612th-best player in the transfer portal this off-season.

Lockhart is expected to start at defensive tackle after transferring from West Virginia. He originally signed with Georgia Tech out of high school and has played in 49 career games since the 2019 season. Lockhart was ranked as the 1314th-best player in the transfer portal this off-season.