UNIVERSITY PARK -- It only took three carries for TJ McDaniel to make the biggest division of college football look like any old Friday night in Southlake again. 

His first career carry at SMU went for six yards. The second went for four. The third went for 48 down the middle of the field, right through the teeth of a stout Texas State defense. Just two plays later, McDaniel ran it 10 yards in for his first career collegiate touchdown, assuredly the first of many. 

“I thought this game was different, the speed was different, all that stuff,” McDaniel said after the game. “When I got put in today, it was like I was playing high school football. It all fits the same way – they make a block, you find a hole and you cut through. It felt like I was playing in the Friday Night Lights.” 

Maybe to you, TJ.

SMU offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee didn’t wait long to put McDaniel back in. Shane Buechele handed the ball to McDaniel on a delayed draw. He squeezed between the tackle and guard, swerved around a cornerback and took off. This time, the defenders didn’t catch him. It was a 39-yard touchdown. 

Just days earlier, McDaniel was running scout team against his own defense, wondering if he’d even get into a game as a freshman. The coaching staff hinted that he might get a few reps against Texas State, but he didn’t oversell it. Even though he ran some first team running back reps, he only really expected to play special teams. Freshmen typically have to wait their turn. 

Even those closest to him didn’t realize this would happen so soon. His brothers, Gavin and Cam, were at a wedding shower for Gavin. Cam was still driving to it when TJ scored his first touchdown. By the time he got to the venue, Gavin had turned the game on. 

TJ’s high school coach, Riley Dodge, was out on a date with his wife at a local Mexican restaurant as the game started. By the end of it, date night was them at a restaurant table watching T.J. ball out on Dodge’s phone. 

“Where was this the last two weeks?” an SMU teammate asked McDaniel with a laugh on the sideline after he scored his second touchdown. 

“Guess I’ve been using it all on y’all,” McDaniel shot back. 

On McDaniel’s next drive at the end of the third, Texas State defensive coordinator Zac Spavital learned his lesson. He put nine in the box, only leaving his corners out with no safety help over the top. Lashlee didn’t care. McDaniel ran a dive up the middle, broke two tackles and broke free for an uncontested 42-yard touchdown. 

The final count: 159 yards and three touchdowns on just eight carries. Days later, he was named the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Co-Player of the Week. 

“We’re not surprised, honestly,” SMU coach Sonny Dykes said. “He’s a good football player. He does things the right way.”