Hilltop Visits - Rhett Lashlee: Embracing the Hard Things
Welcome to a new addition to On The Pony Express, “Hilltop Visits”. Periodically, yours truly will be joined by major players within the SMU community to discuss where things are and where they hope to trend as this University continues its journey toward joining the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) on July 1.
In our debut, we are joined by SMU head football coach Rhett Lashlee. Lashlee begins his third season directing Mustangs football. Spring football began Feb. 27. Lashlee led SMU to an 11-3 record and the American Athletic Conference championship in 2023.
Monday begins the first of a three-part series – all this week – that covers anything and everything regarding Lashlee, this program and how the Mustangs are transitioning to life as P4/5 program. Par t 1 focuses on running a spring practice, his experience coaching on championship staffs and then ‘Embracing the Hard Things.”
We hope you’ll enjoy these visits over the coming months. Check out the full interview at the top of the story or on our YouTube channel.
Lashlee, SMU preparing for new opportunities with ACC move
The Mustangs are riding high with a Top 25 recruiting class, coming off that AAC title, and for Lashlee, that means expectations that come with a move to the ACC. During spring practice, SMU’s looking to continue to develop as it churns toward the 2024 season.
“They know we got a big challenge ahead of us. But man, I think the way they train for six weeks in the winter, the way they were this morning in the meetings as we came out, you can tell that last year our purpose was to win a championship,” Lashlee told reporters as spring practice kicked off. “Now, they’ve really shifted that focus and if you’re a competitor, how could you not be excited? We’re excited. It’s a great step for our school, for our program, and five months from now we start fall camp and now six months from now we’re playing and seven months from now Florida State’s coming in here so we got a lot of work to do.”
SMU opens the 2024 season at Nevada in a Week Zero matchup before returning home to face Houston Christian in Week 1. Spring Practice concludes with the spring game on April 5 at Highland Park’s Highlander Stadium.
