For SMU football coach and Arkansas native Rhett Lashlee, there's no transition period this season
DALLAS, TEXAS - There’s change in the air around the campus of Southern Methodist University.
At Gerald J. Ford Stadium, work is being done behind one end zone on a state-of-the-art complex which will include a new seating addition as well as new offices for the football coaching staff. Renovation and expansion work is also being done at the business school and the student center, among other venues.
But there's another big change coming to the campus which is known locally as "The Hilltop." Specifically, in regards to the upcoming move of the Mustang athletic programs to the Atlantic Coast Conference.
After seeing several in-state Division I programs - notably Baylor, TCU and Houston - get significant upgrades into more prestigious conferences, the Mustangs are finally gaining entry into the exclusive club of the Power Five.
However, at the SMU football offices and at Gerald J. Ford Stadium, there’s hardly been any talk about the new league. Hardly anyone has brought up the possibilities of playing against ACC heavyweights such as Florida State, Clemson and Miami (Fla.).
As far as the Mustangs, and particularly head coach Rhett Lashlee, are concerned, they’re focusing on the conference they’re already in - the American Athletic Conference - and not counting down the days until their departure.
“Well there’s no transition for us right now, not in football; not me, and not the players,” said Lashlee, the former Shiloh Christian (Springdale, Ark.) quarterback standout now in his second season as SMU’s head coach. “We’ve handled it by obviously having a really tough non-conference slate and our goal, well before any of that stuff happened, was to try to put ourselves to compete in the American, which is a really good league, and we would love to see if we can put ourselves in contention down the stretch.
“There’s no transition happening for us right now; we’re proud members of the American this season and we really have a lot of respect for (league commissioner) Mike Aresco and our league and the teams in our league and the coaches in our league, and we want to go out and compete and see how we can stack up against the good teams in our league, so we’re not there yet.”
SMU football coach Rhett Lashlee addresses the media following the Mustangs' win against Charlotte on Sept. 30, 2023.
Plus, Lashlee and the Mustangs believe they have a great chance to win the American before officially switching to the ACC next summer.
SMU started its farewell tour through the AAC on a high note on Sept. 30 with a 34-16 win against Charlotte, leading from start to finish.
The win improved the Mustangs to 3-2, coming off a tough non-conference schedule which included losses to Oklahoma - currently undefeated and ranked in the top five nationally - and TCU, last season’s national runner-up.
“We’re excited to be 1-0 in the league; I was really worried about coming out of the non-conference, we had two really physical games in the non-conference and an emotional game (against TCU on Sept. 23), and I really thought the guys bounced back all week, I felt like we would play well,” Lashlee said. “It was vital, because it didn’t matter if we were 4-0 or 0-4 or 2-2.
“We said this earlier in the week, that your conference season is a big deal. I don’t know what the data is, but there’s so much data out there in this world, I would think if you start 0-1 in your league, you don’t win it very often. So, to start 1-0 was huge.”
SMU set the tone right out of the box, scoring a touchdown on the opening series, moving 82 yards in 10 plays. The Mustangs added another TD later in the first quarter for a 14-0 lead.
Then early in the second half, SMU scored 10 straight points to build a 27-3 advantage. That included a 95-yard TD run from senior halfback Jaylan Knighton, tied for the second-longest scoring run from scrimmage in program history.
The Mustangs finished with 363 yards of total offense, 228 of those on the ground as Knighton picked up 150 yards and two TDs.
Knighton gave credit to Lashlee for getting the Mustangs focused on their AAC opener following the tough 2-2 start through non-conference play.
“Coach Lashlee emphasized that this team is fixing to come and play,” Knighton said. “There wasn’t any thinking that we was just going to walk in and catch an easy win, so we had to really prepare, we had to really dial in, we had to really watch film, really study and make sure we were on top of our details so that we could come out here and execute every play.
“So Coach was really on us all week, making sure we were tuned into our details and staying focused so that we didn’t get distracted or thinking it was going to be an easy win because conference play is not going to be easy. Every team is going to come and play because they’re trying to get that ring, too.”
Lashlee returned to SMU after serving as the Mustangs’ offensive coordinator for 2018-19 before leaving to take the same role at Miami. He has the distinction of being the only coach ever nominated for the Broyles Award (given out annually for the nation’s top assistant coach) four different times at four different schools (Arkansas State, Auburn, SMU and Miami).
But Lashlee finally got his first shot as a head coach after returning to SMU prior to the 2022 season.
In his first season with the Mustangs, Lashlee went 7-6 with an appearance in the New Mexico Bowl. SMU also finished 14th in the nation in total offense, an offense which featured - among others - running back Rashee Rice, currently with the Kansas City Chiefs.
SMU is continuing its offensive prowess under the former Shiloh Christian signal-caller. The Mustangs have recorded at least 350 yards of total offense in every game this season, and they’ve also had at least eight receivers catch a pass in each game. In addition, they have averaged 47 points in three home games thus far.
However, the Mustangs have made significant strides on the other side of the ball. They rank in the top three in the AAC in several categories, including first in total defense and passing yards allowed, and second in scoring defense, sacks and defensive touchdowns.
SMU’s defense is allowing 15.4 fewer points per game this season compared to 2022, ranking as the fifth-best jump in the nation during that span.
“As every week goes on, we kind of get better and better, but I would say the defense really just needs to focus on just their job” said senior defensive end Nelson Paul, who had one of the Mustangs’ two sacks along with 2.5 tackles for loss in the Charlotte win. “If they kind of try to do both, there’s a gap that opens up, so even the back end, just ignore the eye candy and just stay on your man, do your job and we’ll be solid.”
Like Knighton, Paul gave credit to Lashlee for getting the team focused and ready to go in their final opener of the American slate.
“(Charlotte was) willing to do any scheme, any plan, to just try and get points on the board, and he basically emphasized it’s 1-0; it doesn’t matter what the record is, just take everything a step at a time and keep your head down and win the game,” Paul said.
SMU had some more time to savor the win, as the Mustangs had the week off. They resume action on Thursday night, traveling to East Carolina in a game that will be televised on ESPN.
“The bye week comes at a good time,” Lashlee said. “We’re five games in and we’re haven’t had devastating injuries but we’ve got three or four guys that we would love to get back for the league.
“East Carolina is arguably maybe the toughest place to play on the road in our league, and we’ve got to go get a road win, and we’ve got four of them left on the road, and if we want to put ourself in contention, we’re going to have to win a lot on the road. So I think it was huge for just some confidence, to get that winning feeling back coming into this bye week and hopefully, we can make some good decisions, get healthy and continue to just get better each week.”
The Mustangs are getting an early taste of what life will be like in the ACC. Their first two conference games are against teams from the heart of Tobacco Road (Charlotte and East Carolina), and then on Oct. 20, they play in Pennsylvania - site of another ACC member school in Pittsburgh - to face Temple.
When SMU joins the ACC, the Mustangs will be the only team in the Central Time Zone in a league that will literally stretch from coast to coast. Other new members include a pair of West Coast schools, California and Stanford, who will come over from the soon-to-be defunct Pac-12.
Even with the prospects of a new league and the possibility of even more travel, Lashlee remarked that SMU has done well on the recruiting trail, especially in Texas.
The Mustangs have secured nine commitments from the Class of 2024, including safety Ka’Davion Dotson of defending Class 6A Division I champion Duncanville and linebacker Brandon Booker of DeSoto, the defending 6A Division II champs.
But that’s not all. Lashlee also secured commitments from key members of the Class of 2025 from those aforementioned defending state champions, Duncanville quarterback Keelon Russell and four-star DeSoto receiver Daylon Singleton.
“I think it’s been good; we’ve had a couple of ’24 kids commit, and I think there’s a couple more that probably will soon, we’ll see,” Lashlee said. “I think you look at our ’25 class; I think we’ve had three or four guys commit since the last month, so I think the future of our program and where everybody sees it potentially going is helpful.
“I also think the more we can compete and win will help, but there’s a lot of guys that are really interested in coming to SMU and playing football, and hopefully, that will continue.”
Nevertheless, once again while Lashlee can’t wait until those key in-state and out-of-state commits officially come on board as Mustangs, he’s firmly focused on the here and now, going for an American conference title before the shift to the ACC.
“I think we’re a work in progress. … I think we’ve seen we have the potential to have a good defense; it’s going to get tested every week in our league,” Lashlee said. “I think we’re better running the football, we still want to get more consistent.
“I think our passing game’s been up and down, I think (sophomore quarterback) Preston (Stone) will continue to grow, I think the receivers will continue to grow. … I think we’re taking the right steps, we’re 1-0 and that’s all that really matters.”
Photo of SMU coach Rhett Lashlee by Elias Valverde II, The Dallas Morning News
-- Buck Ringgold | buck@scorebooklive.com | @SBLiveAR | @SBLiveTX
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