SMU football is heading into their first season in the ACC. Quarterback Preston Stone made a rather bold statement during the Mustang's first batch of interviews at Monday's ACC Kickoff, via the ACC Network.

“I think we have the best receiving room in the conference,” said Stone.

Preston Stone look to start strong in inaugural ACC season

SMU Mustangs quarterback Preston Stone (2) in action during the game between the TCU Horned Frogs and the SMU Mustangs at Amon G. Carter Stadium.
Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Stone was one of the best quarterbacks in the nation last season, thriving in head coach Rhett Lashlee's attack. The redshirt junior drew the eyes of the college football world with his performance, throwing for almost 3200 yards and 28 touchdowns during SMU's 11-3 season. That mark included a perfect 8-0 record in conference play, an achievement that the Mustangs will look to repeat as they head into their first season in the ACC.

Furthermore, Stone's passing efficiency rating of 161.3 was one of the best marks in the nation. The signal caller discussed the reasoning behind that in Monday's interview.

“That's one thing that's really fun about our offense,” stated Stone. “We take a ton of shots, so I think it will be fun for the ACC to see how many shots we take this year.”

Kevin Jennings, another quarterback for the Mustangs, also saw a lot of playing time last year, particularly after Stone broke his fibula. In eight games played, he passed for 618 yards and five touchdowns, notching a passing efficiency rating of 119.4.

Both quarterbacks discussed the offense as a whole, particularly the skillsets that each of them possesses. Although they are different in how they play the position, both Stone and Jennings are looking forward to showing the ACC just what exactly their attack can do.

SMU football boasts strong receiving core

Five members of the Mustangs' receiving room went over 400 yards receiving last season (Jake Bailey, RJ Maryland, Jordan Hudson, Romello Brinson and Kelvontay Dixon), with a sixth in Key'Shawn Smith almost hitting that target as well (392 total receiving yards). Maryland and Hudson led the team with seven touchdown receptions each, as they became two of Stone and Jennings' favorite targets.

Although Maryland and Dixon have left the program, the other four return for at least one more season. Hudson could potentially be back for two seasons, as he is entering his junior year. Brinson and Smith are seniors, while Bailey is now a graduate student.

Regardless of their levels of experience, the stats speak for themselves. This is a deep group that routinely made plays last season. If they can do that this season, then perhaps the Mustangs can make an ACC title run in their very first season in one of the nation's top conferences.