Rhett Lashlee describes the pillars of SMU's program

Many are learning a lot more about SMU Football as a new member of the ACC. So, what exactly are the Mustangs all about?

Rhett Lashlee answered that question while his team made their debut appearance at ACC Media Days on Monday. It began with a pair that two of his players shared today with words like trust and transparency.

“That’s awesome to hear that’s what those guys said. I mean, that’s what I believe in,” said Lashlee. “I was taught a long time ago by Pat Sullivan that you always tell the truth, even if you tell somebody something they don’t want to hear.”

From there, Lashlee listed four foundational aspects of his own when it comes to SMU. His first was the family feel of their building as they try to live in a way that shows every member of their team that they cared for and about them.

“We don’t have a lot of sayings and slogans in our place because I would forget them, not emphasize them enough and then they don’t mean anything. But we do have a few and it starts with family. That means relationships. It’s not just a buzz word. We try to live it,” said Lashlee. “With a hundred-something guys, that looks different to everybody but I do think the majority of our guys know we care about them first. If they don’t know we care about them, it’s going to limit what we can accomplish and their goals.”

Secondly, the Mustangs are about competition. That’s one they focus on, which should only help them in their adjustment to their new league this fall.

“I mentioned earlier competitive excellence is number two,” said Lashlee. “We believe you’re always competing and competition brings out the best in everybody if it’s done in a healthy way. We stress that.”

Finally, the last pair involved effort as well as finishing strong. The first of those is a given for most, if not every, team but the second is key as it’s a reasoning as to why he thinks they’ve found success over his two seasons as head coach.

“We believe in hard work and discipline,” Lashlee said. “That’s the third one.”

“Then the fourth one is we believe in finishing. I think finishing is a quality that’s important for everyone. When I came back, that was one of the things we wanted our program to be known for,” said Lashlee. “We were 7-1 the last two years. I’d like to think it’s because the guys have bought into having a finishing mindset and those kind of things.”

All of that comes together to build a team that is 18-9 (.667) through two years under Lashlee. That includes an 11-3 mark in 2023 where the Mustangs ranked in the Top-25 both in the AP Poll and for the College Football Playoff.

SMU is making their introduction to the power level for the first time ever this fall. Opponents better learn about them quickly too with what all Lashlee and the Mustangs are bringing with them to the Atlantic Coast Conference.

“That’s the long and short of it,” said Lashlee. “When it comes to playing, we want to play fast and physical, aggressive. We’re going to have fun, be fun to watch. Hopefully that means we win a lot of games.”