DALLAS – Courtland Sutton’s 6-foot-4 frame is stretched out completely under a desk, and he smiles while talking about some of his secret fishing spots in the Dallas area. This is the country boy in Sutton, a native of Brenham, Texas, not the All-American-caliber receiver — and possible 2018 first-round pick — he’s grown into over the past few seasons.

Sutton, a redshirt junior, returned to SMU this year with the intention of finishing his degree. The decision to put off millions would perplex some; for Sutton it was never much of a question. An education is important, and so too is what he wants to prove.

A year ago, Sutton served as a light during a 5-7 campaign in the second year of Chad Morris’ Mustang rebuild. He hopes to do the same in 2017, this time lifting SMU with him.

“Our conference doesn’t get a lot of the recognition because people don’t think we’re capable and can hold a candle to these Power Five schools,” Sutton said. “Winning games will give us the capability to be recognized with the talent we have.”

Sutton knows more than a bit about being under the radar.

He committed to SMU at the last minute in what his high school coach Glen West called a happy “accident.” Prior to that, Sutton fielded only a handful of offers, all of them projecting him as a safety.

It takes a few breaks for any streak of circumstantial greatness to occur, and Sutton is a perfect example of that. Now, he hopes to be the catalyst and concoct another unexpected jump for the entire Mustang program. So never mind that Sutton still appears on lists like the 10 college football players you don’t know but should.

“I don’t see it as a bad thing people don’t know who I am,” Sutton said.

“I’m working to this day on trying to make sure I’m able to put SMU back on the map, so we don’t run into this problem when the really great athletes are here.”

***

Courtland’s mom, Phelicia Marshall, says of her son: “Whenever you meet him you just remember who he is.”

That’s true.

Sutton is engaging and gregarious. He recently asked teammate Corey Rau why everyone refers to him as “Bubbles,” only to find out Rau dislikes the name. So Sutton instantly agreed to stop the use of the moniker. It’s a small thing, but it’s why Sutton ingratiates himself easily to others.

But as a recruit, few coaches remembered to offer.

West said plenty of coaches came through and were enamored with Sutton’s “sky-high ceiling,” but few actually knew what to make of him. Sutton, as one of the biggest players at his high school, played tight end instead of wide receiver on offense, while working at safety on defense.

In-state schools like Texas A&M took a hard look at Sutton as a safety, but they never offered. Eventually, as his senior season winded down, Sutton’s only Power Five-level options were BYU and Colorado. Sutton strongly considered Texas State just so he could stay close to home.

Sutton loved Colorado, his first offer, and planned to visit following his high school season. The weather that weekend was horrid, and Sutton’s original flight from Houston was canceled. But the CU coaches talked with Sutton’s mom and pushed for him to come, so the family drove through icy roads and found a flight out of San Antonio.

At the end of that weekend, Sutton said Mike MacIntyre sat him down and told him: “We don’t have your scholarship anymore.”

“That was a whole lot of shenanigans,” Sutton said.

A recruitment Sutton could only describe as an “awkward process” took yet another turn when then-SMU assistant Derrick Odum showed up in Brenham looking for a player soon after. The Mustangs had just lost a recruit from Houston, and they needed someone to fill up their class.

“Do you have anybody?” Odum asked West.

To which he responded, “as a matter of fact, I do.”

West flipped on film Sutton’s film, and after 10 minutes Odum called then-head coach June Jones asking if he could offer. Jones approved, and Sutton had an in-state parachute.

BYU made a late push when Bronco Mendenhall visited Sutton and “bashed SMU pretty bad,” but Sutton would stay home.

“I committed and nobody even knew SMU had offered me,” Sutton said. “It threw everybody for a loop.”

***

Sutton’s SMU career actually started at safety.

The Mustangs signed Sutton as an athlete with no promises. But following a Week 1 game with Baylor, SMU needed an extra receiver because of injury. Jones called Sutton over and asked: “Have you ever played receiver before?”

That question puzzled Sutton a bit. The first few minutes of his senior highlight tape were nothing but him playing wide receiver.

“I’m like, ‘Alright, I don’t know who really watched me or not,’” Sutton said.

Either way, Sutton found his way outside.

At this point the line, “the rest was history” would usually come up. But that wasn’t really the case. Sutton’s true freshman season ended after just two games when Sutton suffered a season-ending back injury. By the time he returned, the Mustangs had a new coach – Chad Morris – and Sutton’s career had been thrown into flux again.

Sutton wasn’t sure he’d get to stay at wide receiver. Marshall said the family wasn’t positive Sutton would get to stay at SMU at all as the new staff brought in its own guys.

“When the new coaches came in they didn’t know anybody,” Sutton said. “I had little to no film that showed I could be a receiver.”

Sutton didn’t know it at the time, but he had little to worry about.

Morris came from Clemson, where as offensive coordinator he coached players like Sammy Watkins and DeAndre Hopkins. Both are big-bodied, downfield threats who are at their best snagging the ball at its highest point over defenders.

West and Morris were friends dating back to Morris’ day coaching high school ball in Texas. A day or two into SMU’s spring practice, Morris snapped a text to West.

“Oh my gosh, this Courtland Sutton is amazing,” Morris said.

He couldn’t believe SMU had landed a guy with Sutton’s abilities.

The Morris era started with a steal.

***

On the surface, one would wonder how college coaches missed on Sutton at all.

He’s got less than seven percent body fat, a vertical leap of 33 ½ inches and can do things like this:

That’s not even mentioning his personality, intelligence – he’s on pace to graduate in three-and-a-half semesters – and willingness to do what the team needs. That’s why he played tight end in high school and started his college career at safety.

Those character traits always manifested themselves, but the explosive athleticism? Eh, not so much.

Sutton never had time for a true weight program or speed training in high school. He moved from football to basketball to track without a break in between. He had functional and natural abilities in droves, but the actual football-specific muscles were far from refined.

“I always saw myself as a receiver, but I wasn’t the fastest guy coming out of high school,” Sutton said.

So Sutton, when fully recovered, approached strength coach Trumain Carroll for guidance.

Carroll sat Sutton down and gave him a lengthy breakdown of what Sutton needed to do. Sutton wanted to be one of the best wide receivers in the nation, and he’d have to train like it.

At the same time, Sutton went through a bit of a year-long crash course off the field.

With Morris' arrival, Sutton had the opportunity to work with one of the best offensive minds in the country. Morris knew plenty about developing top-flight wide receivers, and West called Sutton’s partnership with his old friend a “perfect storm.”

Sutton also learned plenty from an unlikely source his redshirt freshman year.

SMU’s basketball team needed a few extra bodies and wanted some football players to try out, which is how Sutton ended up being coached for a season by Hall of Famer Larry Brown. Sutton played in only three games, but he took plenty of things away from his season on the hardwood.

Brown preached watching other positions and understanding how their jobs worked. In football that meant details like if SMU is maxed out in a seven-man protection, the running back is unlikely to flex out out. But Sutton knows a defender must cover the threat of the tailback regardless, which means there’s a gap in the coverage somewhere else.

“He taught basketball toward football,” Sutton said.

Morris’ first year proved trying for the Mustang program as they went 2-10. But Sutton began to emerge, showing the potential recruiters used to wonder at.

His 40-time dropped, his overall strength improved and his brain-picking sessions helped him become a Freshman All-American. Last season, Sutton improved on his freshman-year numbers in every way, catching 76 passes for 1,246 yards and 10 touchdowns.

The only thing Sutton isn’t doing at an elite level is celebrating.

Sutton the safety would’ve never had the opportunity. But this preseason All-American is stumped as to what he can do in the end zone. Dez Bryant is his favorite player and he’d love to borrow his trademark “X,” but there’s that whole infringement problem.

“I can’t really find anything that’s not taken,” Sutton said. “I don’t want to use the “X” because Dez has trademarked that. I’m surprised he doesn’t have a TM next to that.”

***

Sutton doesn’t know Eric Dickerson well, but the Mustang great will reach out from time to time on social media. It’s a generational bridge for SMU, a hello from one program legend to another.

Dickerson played at SMU in its glory period (his role in its eventual demise aside). His last year in 1982 the Mustangs went 11-0-1. But SMU hasn’t won 10-plus games in 30 years. For Sutton, his interactions with Dickerson are a link to what he hopes the Mustangs can be.

“I look it as a huge thing to have a great like himself, not only at SMU but at the next level, show support to me and this program,” Sutton said.

It is unlikely Dickerson knew who Sutton was when he became the last member of SMU’s 2014 recruiting class. But he certainly does now. Sutton may still appear on lists of unknowns, but the country boy is now a hot commodity in NFL circles.

Sutton, himself, is the same.

He still fishes to get away, and his nights are usually spent playing video games and listening to music – each Friday for Sutton is dubbed “Future Friday." But the athlete the Mustangs stumbled into is now arguably the best receiver in program history.

Sutton plans to emerge from camouflage again this season.

This time, Sutton plans to take others with him.

“I knew what we had going here as a team and what we’re capable of,” Sutton said. “The only way you’ll get the recognition you deserve is to win games. … I knew what we had – a really good football team that could contend for a conference championship. Once you win, everybody loves winners. It would give exposure to everybody.”