He could have been one of the top pass-catchers in the 2017 NFL draft, but SMU’s Courtland Sutton elected to return to the Mustangs for another season, surprising many fans and media analysts alike.

The 6-4, 215-pounder is coming off an impressive 2016 campaign, hauling in 76 receptions for 1,246 yards and 10 touchdowns, all career-highs.

Now considered one of the front-runners to be the first receiver picked in the 2018 draft, Sutton spoke exclusively with Draft Wire about why he came back to school, his high expectations for the Mustang offense, and so much more.

JM: How would you describe your skill-set?

CS: I think I’m a player who brings a lot of talent to his team. Leadership is an important trait to me, and I pride myself off trying to lead by example. I aim to be the spark-plug for my team. I love when my coaches look at me to make a play or to go fire up my teammates. I can bring positive energy to the team when they’re feeling low.

Basically, I love being that guy that my coaches and teammates look too when we need to make a big play. I want to be that dominant presence every time I walk onto the field. I want the defense to look at me and say, “Okay, that dog is on the field now. We need to get ourselves together.” I like being able to bring that intimidation and dominance to the field with me. Those are things that I bring to the game.

JM: You forced 13 missed tackles last season. That ties you for the most of any returning receiver from the AAC last season. What makes you so elusive?

CS: A lot of people look at me and think that I’m just a big receiver. They assume that I’ll be slow and that I’ll lack the ability to be shifty. I’m surrounded by a lot of elusive receivers here at SMU. A lot of the guys in my position room are these short, shifty guys. I sit there and learn from how they make people miss. I try to incorporate those things into my game. Whenever a defensive back or a linebacker thinks I’m just gonna try and run them over, I surprise them with something that they don’t expect. I don’t want to be pigeonholed as that big receiver who’s just gonna plow guys over; I might hit you with a move that catches you off guard.

I try to add new elements to my game during the off-season. It could be something as small as a step back or a spin. My coach emphasizes every day in practice during route running, catch the ball and make a move; it’s not about making a catch and playing dead. That’s not what I’m gonna do in the game so I always try to practice like I play. Whether it’s during summer workouts like right now or at practice in the middle of a game week, I always try and make a move after I catch the ball. I’m conscious of doing that in practice so during a game, it comes naturally to me and I don’t even have to think about it.

SMU's Courtland Sutton forced 13 missed tackles on receptions – tied for the most of any returning AAC WR from 2016. pic.twitter.com/aJeh1ITqmM — PFF College Football (@PFF_College) June 19, 2017

JM: You were widely considered a potential Day 2 pick in the 2017 NFL draft. Most guys hear that and run towards the NFL, but not you. What made you decide to return for another year at SMU?

CS: Every time I answer this question, people don’t think that I’m answering truthfully. I came back for a few reasons. One, I get to graduate in December and I’m really proud of myself. My family backs me 100 percent on this decision. To be able to get my degree at SMU now and not have to worry about coming back to school once my football career is over is a blessing. I also get to come back and be apart of one of the best teams that we’ve had here in a really long time. I truly see us being a conference championship contender and I see us playing in a big bowl game this year. I want to help put SMU back on the map. We have an abundance of talent on this team.

I’m excited for this season and also for this personal achievement of mine, to be able to say that I have a degree from SMU. A lot of people may think I’m just saying that, but getting a degree is very important to me. Some people rather get their degree once their playing careers are over but I’ve spoken to a lot of people who did it that way and they wish they would have just finished out before leaving for the NFL. Being able to say that I got my degree while leaving SMU with a conference championship under my belt and having won a bowl game, these are things that not many people can say they accomplished.

To be able to walk away from college football with a Biletnikoff (award for college football’s top receiver), that’s ultimately one of those long-term goals that these small things I’m constantly working on are going to help me get there. These are the things I see for my future. As of right now, I’m just working on the small things to help us get there. My family is so proud of me for getting my degree. I’m really excited about that.

JM: Chad Morris has coached some big named wide receivers: DeAndre Hopkins, Sammy Watkins and Martavis Bryant, just to name a few. How is he helping you work on your craft?

CS: With him having coached those wide receivers you just mentioned, it gives him a certain pedigree that other coaches don’t have. Coach Morris really pushes me to make sure that I’m not only bettering myself, but bettering those around me as well. While working on my game, I can sharpen the craft of my other wide receives so that we could have the best team possible.

If I’m the only one bettering myself, I’m ultimately not helping my team. Coach Morris emphasizes my role as a leader to the entire offense. If I’m helping my receivers and the offense, then I’m leading by example — the receivers help the quarterback, the offensive line helps the quarterback and the running backs and vice versa; If the offense is clicking, then we’re ultimately helping out our defense as well. We’re just trying to become the best team possible.

Coach Morris stays on me to make sure that I’m bettering everyone around me. He stays on me, he never lets me slack. People think that I might be treated differently due to the status that I’ve developed here, but coach Morris doesn’t let me get away with anything. He’ll critique the smallest things about my game and it helps me improve. I’m not annoyed by that, I love being critiqued because it keeps me on my toes and it makes sure that I never take a play or a practice rep off. This ultimately ensures that I’m becoming the best receiver and the best person that I can be on and off the field.

JM: It’s an interesting offense that Coach Morris runs; it’s balanced, but it also spreads things out. How does playing in this scheme get you ready for the next level?

CS: It gives me confidence knowing that I could be “the guy” in any offense. Whatever team decides to draft me at the next level, they’ll know that I could handle the pressure of being “the guy” on their football team, and I won’t shy away from that. This offense is high-tempo and it’s very potent. We love to score points and we keep the ball moving forward. I understand that I have to learn different ways to get open because I get to see some pretty strange coverages from defenses that try and take me out of the game; I think they’re just making things up sometimes [laughs]. Being able to understand and break down the game within the X’s and O’s so that I could my team means a lot to me.

If I get two touches a game but the receiver on the other side gets to have eight catches with 125 yards, if that’s what we need to do to win, those are the things I look forward to. I’d rather get the win than be able to say I had 10 catches for 200 yards. If we lost, my stat line doesn’t matter. If I had one catch for 15 yards but we won by 21 points because two of my receivers had 100 yards each, I’m okay with that. Those are the things that playing in this offense allows me to do. I could be that guy, but I could also open it up for the other receivers or for the running backs so that we can be successful in the long run.

JM: Many would consider SMU to be a “small school” program. What would you tell a scout or NFL team that might question the level of your competition?

CS: I would tell them to put on the film. No matter what type of competition we’re playing against, I always give my best as a player. It doesn’t matter who the competition is, whether we’re playing a team ranked higher or lower than us, you can put on any of my film and you’ll see me give everything I have to help the team. I’m always trying to put us in the best spot to be successful. I really don’t care if we’re playing against Alabama or anybody else, you’re gonna get my best effort.

I could be going up against a corner projected to be drafted in the first round or a guy that won’t get drafted at all, I’m going 100 percent because it’s not about playing to the level of my competition, it’s about playing to the best of my ability to help my team be successful. I would just tell the scouts to put on the tape and you’ll see that the skill level that I play at doesn’t waver based on who we’re playing that week. You’re gonna get my best against every team. The tape speaks for itself. Anyone you talk too will tell you that I’m a competitor. Those are the things I can back up with my game tape, and the people around this organization will vouch for that.

JM: Are there any NFL wide receivers that you try and model your game after? Do you watch more film on one specific guy?

CS: I wouldn’t say that I watch film on one specific guy to try and take things from his game. I like to take a little bit from everyone. I love the way Julio (Jones) plays the game. I watch a little bit of Brandon Marshall, just watching the way he competes on every play with him being a big receiver as well. I grew up watching the Cowboys a lot so I got to watch a lot of Terrell Owens and now Dez Bryant as well. I love the way that those guys play the game.

I really enjoy watching Dez Bryant play the game right now. He plays with such passion and determination to be successful. He knows that he’s going to get the best corner each week and he doesn’t shy away from it. He just goes out there and tries to be as successful as he can for the Cowboys. Dez would be the only wide receiver I guess that I watch more than anyone else with me being a Cowboys fan. I watch the Cowboys a lot, so I get to watch Dez Bryant play more than any other wide receiver in the league. I just love the way he plays the game. He plays with the drive to be successful. I’d like to say that I carry that with me as I play the game.

JM: I’m gonna put you in a little scenario here: You’ve got the DB in man coverage, he’s covering you on an island. Do you have a go-to move or a favorite route?

CS: Whatever coach calls. But honestly, if a defense puts me on an island with a DB, I look at it as disrespectful and I tell my coach that. I’m hoping coach calls a play over the top for me in that scenario because I know that at least 90 percent of the time, I’m coming down with a catch or it’s pass interference. I’ve worked hard to lay down the foundation so when I’m faced with a 1-on-1 situation, I should be able to make that play.

If I get put into a situation like that, I know that I can win over the top. Really, I can win with any route in that scenario but I know for a fact that I’m gonna win over the top. It doesn’t matter who the corner is, he can be a first rounder or he can go undrafted, I feel like I’ve laid down that foundation. The coaches have taught me the techniques that it takes to win in any situation. I just go out and do what I’ve already trained myself to do.

SMU WR Courtland Sutton was terrific in 2016, especially when compared to the NCAA average on these three specific routes last season. pic.twitter.com/jTyygesFKb — PFF College Football (@PFF_College) June 30, 2017

SMU WR Courtland Sutton was terrific in 2016, especially when compared to the NCAA average on these three specific routes last season. pic.twitter.com/jTyygesFKb — PFF College Football (@PFF_College) June 30, 2017

JM: We’ve talked about your size and your shiftiness, but do you think physicality is just as important as being a good “hands catcher?”

CS: Most definitely. A lot of DB’s see a big receiver myself and think that I’m not gonna be good with my hands. That’s another one of those small things that I work on constantly. In the off-season and as the year goes on, you have to perfect the ability to be physical and that means both off the line and in the run game. You have to be a determined, aggressive person when the ball is in the air. When the ball is coming in your direction, you can’t let anything stop you from making that play. I don’t care if the defender is holding onto your arm or he’s pulling you down by your helmet, you have to have that determination and the physicality within yourself to be able to make that play.

Do what you know how to do and do what you’re coached to do. You have to be physical, especially off the ball. I’ll probably wind up facing a lot of press coverage and I know that they’ll try to get into my chest so I have to be able to work with my hands. I want to body people in the red-zone. My offensive coordinator told me that’s one thing he was impressed with me this past season, I was able to incorporate that into my game but I’m still working on being that physical presence when the ball’s in the air. I want to win with my body. I need to use my size at 6-4, 215. I think that being physical plays a big part in being a dominant receiver.

JM: You’re obviously excited about the upcoming season. This is Year 3 of the Coach Morris era; what kind of offense can fans expect?

CS: I think that we’ll be a top offense in the AAC and in the nation, period. We have so much young talent and a lot of returning talent as well. We’re deep at the running back position. We have competition at quarterback and we’re deep at the receiver position as well. We have a veteran offensive line. We’re stacked on defense and I think that our defense is going to help us become the best offense that we can be. We have so many weapons on offense that a defense can’t line up against us and key in on one person anymore.

If you try and do that, it’s just gonna open up somebody else to be successful. I think that this is going to be one of the most explosive, high-potency offenses that we’ve had here in the Coach Morris era. In the past, a lot of defenses have been able to key in on one person or key in one thing and it took us out of the game but now we have weapons all over the field. We have so much talent that we’re gonna’ be able to pick and choose who we want to be successful that day.

JM: There is some room for improvement from last season, especially in the red zone. How can your offense get better this year inside the 20?

CS: We incorporated a lot of new plays during spring ball, specifically just for the red-zone at times. We had periods where we strictly did red-zone work. We know we have to get better down there. We practiced how to beat man, how to beat zone, the best way for us to put our playmakers in a position to be successful. The entire coaching staff has been working day in, day out on ways for us to get better down there. We’re watching film on all different types of coverages. You’re right, we struggled down there last year, and we lost a lot of games because we couldn’t score in the red-zone.

That’s a big emphasis for us going forward. We need to fix it and I think that we’ve found ways to help us become successful in the red zone this season. We were able to reach the red zone with ease last season but it felt like once we got inside the 20, something changed and we stopped making plays. We’re in the meeting rooms watching the film and breaking things down. The coaches are giving us plays so that we don’t run into the same walls that we ran into last season.

JM: What can fans look forward to from you and the Mustangs in 2017?

CS: They can look forward to a high-potency, all-around football team; and I say team because it won’t just be the offense, but the defense and special teams, as well. We’re going to be one of the best SMU teams in a very, very long time. I’m excited to put SMU back on the map. People are going to respect the name and respect our school. I’m really excited to show everyone the hard work that we’ve been putting in since Coach Morris first got here. You’re going to see a very talented team that’s highly improved. We’re gonna win a lot of games this year. That’s one thing that everybody should be looking forward to.