UNIVERSITY PARK — Earlier this year, as SMU was in the early stages of its season-long prep to face Navy, defensive line coach Randall Joyner joked to his graduate assistant, Stefan McClure, that McClure would play scout team quarterback.

McClure, a former NFL safety, only had the physical skill set for it — not the actual background in running a triple-option offense. Joyner ran it by defensive coordinator Kevin Kane, and then McClure — who’s getting his coaching career started this year — was back in pads, being tackled by players he’s typically coaching.

“I was able to run between the tackles, do different things like that. And they can practice studding up, and wrapping up and tackling,” said the 26-year-old McClure. “We ran a little bit of it ... when I was in high school. But it’s been years since I was in high school. It’s not like, ‘Oh, I was doing this last year.’”

Navy is one of the few FBS teams that runs a triple-option offense. A triple-option offense employs three potential rushing options, and the QB decides who gets the ball based on what the defense allows.

McClure is one of two scout team quarterbacks being used to prepare for the triple option. The other is Michael Salerno, a former walk-on, who is listed as a safety and kickoff specialist. He’s getting the opportunity because, in high school, he was a third-string emergency quarterback in an offense that ran the triple-option.

When SMU plays at Navy on Saturday, neither Salerno nor McClure will have a big impact on the field. But their work in preparation will be a critical part of whether SMU wins or loses.

“I told them last year I could run it,” Salerno said. “Ran it last year, and we end up beating Navy. ... This is my favorite week every year.”

SMU actually works throughout the season preparing for Navy. They’ll spend a couple days in spring preparing to defend the triple option. A couple days in fall camp, and then every Sunday, part of the practice is devoted to Navy’s offense.

The Mustangs beat Navy at home 31-30 in OT last season, and should be well-positioned this year. SMU is coming off a bye week, and has had the whole season to, bit-by-bit, implement it’s defensive game plan. Head coach Sonny Dykes believes that if you only prep for the triple option during game week, it’s “almost impossible” to be good to go on game day.

“My freshman year, obviously with a [different coaching] staff, I guess the emphasis on Navy was very different, as far as practice,” said starting linebacker Delano Robinson. “We didn’t really focus too much on Navy until we got to Navy, with the last staff. This staff ... they understand this is a new offense.”

That last staff lost to Navy all three years, and allowed 75 points in the 2016 game. Dykes and his assistants understand that Navy requires a year’s worth of preparation. Salerno and McClure aren’t as good or as polished as Navy QB Malcolm Perry, a senior who has run for 16 TDs and thrown for five more. But they’re what SMU has and they take the time to watch tape and do everything they can to replicate Navy’s offense.

In a game that is truly a must-win — the loser will be eliminated from AAC title contention — SMU is hoping all that preparation pays off.

“In terms of replicating it, you really can’t,” Dykes said. “It just happens so much faster, and it’s crisper, and we just don’t have anybody that’s got the decision-making quickness. And nobody that blocks like their offensive linemen, so it’s a unique experience.”

Even if SMU doesn’t have all the weapons for its scout team, it does have players willing to put it all out there to help get the team ready. The reason why it’s McClure that gets the nod at scout team QB is because this particular scout requires tackling in practice.

Getting tackled is not something backup QBs Derek Green or Terrance Gipson are going to be allowed to do. So it’s up to McClure, who played defense and typically coaches defense, to get tackled again and again.

“They’re out there really trying to hit me,” McClure said. “It’s not bad getting hit, but we got some guys out there — they’re all good guys — but they get a chance to hit you. And it’s stud and it’s tackle Tuesday and stuff, they’re really going to try and tackle.”