SMU Mustangs Roster 2019 Mustangs Roster

Head Coach: Sonny Dykes        2017 Salary: N/A        Offensive Coordinator: Rhett Lashlee       Defensive Coordinator: Kevin Kane         

Stadium: Gerald J. Ford Stadium       Surface: Turf        City: University Park        State: Texas

Sonny Dykes is one of the coaches who has all the luck. Dykes was hired to coach the Southern Methodist Mustangs, and he walks into a great situation this season. SMU has improved in fits and starts, mixing bowl seasons with bad seasons. The program has not been able to achieve any sort of consistency. However, the Mustangs won seven games under Chad Morris last season and figure to improve even further this year.

Dykes is an acolyte of Mike Leach so the scoreboard will definitely be lit in Dallas. In addition, Dykes has Ben Hicks, who already has experience running a spread offense. The marriage of Dykes’ wide open system and Hicks’ experience should make for an explosive offense. The Mustangs did lose receivers Courtland Sutton and Trey Quinn to graduation, making the transition to Dykes’ system slightly more difficult. Dykes’ scheme will be the story this season, assuming that he finds the depth necessary to install it.

SMU struggled badly on the defensive side of the ball last season. To rectify this, Dykes hired Kevin Kane as the defensive coordinator. Kane had a track record of success at Northern Illinois, where his defenses were among the tops in FBS. The Mustangs will be relying on their defensive line to win the battles in the trenches.

SMU will be an entertaining team to watch this season. The AAC has become a tough conference, and there is no reason why SMU cannot eventually join the conference’s elite once it adapts to Dykes’ system.