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SMU pride heavy in the Saints locker room

Thomas Morstead entered the league in 2009 out of SMU as a fifth-round draft pick with the New Orleans Saints.

And the occasion carried significance not just for the former Pro Bowl punter, but for the school.

"I was the only SMU guy in the league," Morstead said.

While SMU would eventually place more players in the NFL -- 15 are now on NFL rosters -- Morstead always had a personal goal.

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"I remember getting here and thinking it would be really cool one day to play with an SMU guy on the same team," he said. "And that's when there was no one else in the league."

Morstead had to wait a long seven years before the Saints brought in another former SMU player, but his patience paid off in a big way in a span of one year.

Cornerback Sterling Moore became the first player from SMU to join Morstead when he signed in September 2016, and then safety Chris Banjo signed in November 2016.

The offseason produced offensive lineman Josh LeRibeus and long snapper Zach Wood. Fullback Zach Line was on the Saints' roster during training camp, and then returned in early October.

"I knew they were some guys here, but I didn't know there would be six," Line said. "My four years in Minnesota, I always wanted a Mustang to come up there. This year was the first year (cornerback) Horace Richardson was the first one, and then I leave Minnesota."

Moore is no longer with the team after the Saints released the veteran cornerback in late October, leaving the team with five former SMU players.

But Morstead, Banjo, LeRibeus, Wood and Line can take immense pride in knowing they represent a number that is currently tied with Clemson (Houston Texans) as the most players from a single school on an NFL roster, according to SMU.

"They just showed up," Banjo said. "I remember LeRibeus came in the summer and that caught me off guard, then both Zachs showed up and it was cool. It was just exciting knowing you were getting some of the guys you played with in college, some familiar faces."

As Banjo points out, the SMU connection in New Orleans is more unique when considering most of the players were college teammates.

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