DALLAS – The SMU Mustangs have officially announced Sonny Dykes as the next head coach for the program.
The Mustangs lost former coach Chad Morris to Arkansas shortly after the regular season ended. In the first year where recruits can sign to programs as early as December, it was important to find a new coach as quickly as possible.
Although the signing period does start on Dec., 20, coach doesn’t know how many anywhere will actually sign early.
“I think it [the early signing period] puts a lot of pressure on us all to make decisions quickly,” Dykes said at his announcement press conference. “The thing about recruiting, I’m not sure how this early signing period is going to go. I’m not sure what percentage of recruits are actually going to sign on the 20th. I’m not talking about our kids only, I’m talking about across the country.”
Dykes, the son of coaching legend Spike Dykes, began his coaching career at J. J. Pearce High School after graduating from Texas Tech.
After getting back to Texas Tech from 2000-2006, he had stints at Arizona, Louisiana Tech and California.
Dykes spent last year at TCU as an offensive analyst for the Horned Frogs. He said the year under Patterson not having to worry about too much coaching helped him.
“Gary [Paterson] has been a friend of mine through the years,” Dykes said. “I had an opportunity to go and work for what I think is one of the finest defensive coaches in college football and have an opportunity to learn from him and be around his program.
“The thing that makes Gary so good is his passion, he has a tremendous passion for football and young people. It was really good for me to see how he organizes his program in everything that he does.”
The new coach said he has met with the team and plans to coach the Mustangs in its bowl against his former team, the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs. His plan, as detailed in the press conference, is to not change the offense for this game and keep the terminology as similar as can be.
To catch up with the team offensively, he plans to meet with quarterback Ben Hicks to learn more.
“I’m going to sit down with Ben today,” Dykes said. “I told him, you’re going to be the only player-coach in college football right now. We’re going to put our players in the best position they can be in to be successful.”
Coach Dykes said he has met with a few recruits and will be on the phone and plane to ensure the Mustangs keep them through the signing period. He has a 41-45 overall record as head coach.
Gerald Tracy is an assistant editor of Texas football for TexasHSFootball, covering prep football in the San Antonio region. Follow Gerald on Twitter, @GTracySports, and read more of his content here.
Brought to you by:
