WACO, Texas (AFCA/SMU) – SMU wide receivers coach
Justin Stepp has been selected to participate in the 2018 AFCA 35 Under 35 Coaches Leadership Institute, the American Football Coaches Association announced Monday. The event is presented by the AFCA and NCAA Leadership Development.
This prestigious program is aimed at identifying and developing premier, future leaders in the football coaching profession and will take place on Sunday, January 7, during the 2018 AFCA Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Stepp is responsible for mentoring Biletnikoff Award and Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Semifinalist
Trey Quinn, who leads the FBS in receptions per game (8.8) and also ranks inside the top 10 in receiving touchdowns (6th, 12), receiving yards per game (9th, 99.3) and receiving yards (10th, 1,191) and Biletnikoff Watch List member
Courtland Sutton, who also has 12 receiving touchdowns and finished the regular season with 1,017 receiving yards, 84.8 per game. Sutton ranks third among active FBS players with 31 career touchdowns, and is sixth in receiving yards (3,152) and seventh in both receiving yards per game (82.9) and yards per catch (16.7). Quinn's season yardage ranks fourth on SMU's all-time list, while his 106 receptions are second in a season. The Mustangs are ranked eighth in the nation in scoring offense (40.2) and 13th in total offense (493.8).
In his first season on the Hilltop, Stepp helped develop one of the nation's top freshmen in Sutton. Sutton was named a Freshman All-American in 2015 after ranking No. 1 among freshmen with nine receiving TDs. Sutton set an SMU freshman record for receiving yards with 862 and tied former SMU standout Emmanuel Sanders for most touchdowns by a freshman. In all, SMU's offense increased its scoring output by 16.7 points per game – the second-largest increase in the nation in 2015. In 2016, Sutton again led the SMU offense, catching 76 passes for 1,246 yards and 10 TDs, making him SMU's first 1,000-yard receiver since 2013. Sutton was not SMU's only threat, though, as
James Proche emerged, catching 57 passes for 709 yards and six scores en route to Freshman All-America honors.
This year's class was chosen from a total of 138 applicants. In order to be eligible, applicants must have been born on or after January 1, 1983, and must be currently serving as a high school head coach, a two-year college full-time assistant or head coach, or an NAIA/NCAA full-time assistant or head coach.
About the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA)
The AFCA was founded in 1922 and currently has more than 11,000 members around the world ranging from the high school level to the professional ranks. According to its constitution, the AFCA was formed, in part, to "maintain the highest possible standards in football and in the coaching profession" and to "provide a forum for the discussion and study of all matters pertaining to football."
