Kyle Padron, a sophomore from Southlake Carroll, began his notable football career at Ford Stadium in a nationally televised high school football game. (Casey Lee/THE DAILY CAMPUS)

Every SMU fan knows the story of how quarterback Kyle Padron came in and led SMU to their first bowl victory since 1984, but few know the story of how Padron got to this point.

For example, few know that Padron’s road to glory actually started at the beginning of his junior year in high school right here at SMU’s Gerald J. Ford Stadium.

Padron was a relatively unknown quarterback heading into the 2007 season at Southlake Carroll, a powerhouse high school football team known for producing state championships year in and year out in the Dallas area.

Senior quarterback Riley Dodge, son of former Southlake Carroll and current University of North Texas head coach Todd Dodge, was the face of the Dragon football team. Dodge led Carroll to a 43-29 victory in the Class 5A state championship the year before and was verbally committed to play for the Texas Longhorns.

Padron had no chance of playing for the number 1 ranked team in the nation unless he was in during garbage time. Living under Dodge’s shadow was tough, but Padron’s time would soon come.

The second game of the year featured the Dragons taking on the Miami Northwestern Bulls in a highly anticipated high school football game. The Bulls were ranked number two in the nation, and state bragging rights were on the line.

The game, which was nationally televised on ESPN, was played in front of over 31,000 screaming fans at Ford Stadium.

With the game tied at 21-all, Padron came into the game after Dodge left with an injury. Padron had the Dragons deep in Bulls territory but threw a crucial interception in the end zone.

Carroll went on to lose the game 29-21, and Padron was back on the bench the following week.

While losing was not the happy ending the team had hoped for, the experience Padron gained would help him prove doubters wrong in 2008.

Expectations were abnormally low for the Dragon football team and Padron the next year after losing Dodge to graduation.

In the face of adversity, Padron led Carroll to the second round of the Texas high school football playoffs and threw for over 1,500 yards and 18 touchdowns with only three interceptions, despite missing time due to an injury. He also added six touchdowns rushing.

Padron’s skills were once again doubted when recruiting time came around. Standing at 6′ 4″ and weighing 200 pounds, Padron looked like a prototypical spread offense quarterback, but failed to garner recruiters’ attention. Only rated a two star quarterback by Rivals, Padron had only one official offer.

SMU, the place where it all began and where he threw his first significant varsity pass, was the only Division 1 team to offer Padron a full athletic scholarship.

The 2009 football season began with Padron on the bench, backing up starting SMU quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell. The Mustangs’ season seemed to be sailing in the wrong direction after a 3-4 start.

Padron took over as the starting signal caller against Tulsa in the eighth game of the year, but not much was expected, as the season had pretty much already been pronounced dead. 

Padron led SMU to a 27-13 victory and threw for 354 yards and two touchdowns. The team continued to roll with Padron under the helm, and SMU finished with an 8-5 record overall and earned a trip to the Hawaii Bowl.

Two touchdowns and 460 yards later, Padron was the new face of SMU and no longer a shadow. Padron’s performance earned him Hawaii Bowl MVP, and the historic 45-10 spanking of Nevada will forever be enshrined in SMU football glory.

Padron finished 2009 with 1,922 yards passing and 10 touchdowns and is considered one of the top sophomore quarterbacks in the country for a potential BCS buster and rising team in SMU. 

Is it ironic how the shadow became the star and the star became the shadow? Riley Dodge now plays at North Texas, a doormat team in the Sun Belt Conference. In 10 games, Dodge threw for just 50 more yards than Padron did in six and also threw 15 interceptions. Dodge produced two wins the entire year while Padron won five out of six games as a starter.

Padron is finally receiving the recognition he’s deserved for so long. And it all started here on that one hot Dallas evening at Ford Stadium.