Lashlee Co-Coach of the Year; SMU with 9 All-Texas honorees

[PonyPride]

From SMUMustangs.com:

Lashlee Co-Coach Of The Year; Mustangs Place Nine On DCTF All-Texas Teams

DALLAS (SMU) – No. 17 SMU and head coach Rhett Lashlee were rewarded for their historic season on Monday by Dave Campbell's Texas Football, having nine players make the DCTF All-Texas Teams along with a co-Coach of the Year selection.

The nine selections were second highest among all 13 FBS programs in the Lone Star State, trailing only Texas' 10.

Lashlee split the Coach of the Year award with the Longhorns' Steve Sarkisian.

The teams are split into first and second teams with 12 position players plus a specialist (kicker on offense, punter on defense) and consist of at least one player from each of the 13 teams.

Redshirt sophomore Isaiah Nwokobia was named Best Defensive Back by the publication, a first in his collegiate career.

Joining Nwokobia on the first team was Justin Osborne on offense, and Ahmad Walker on defense.

Second-team selections were RJ Maryland, Marcus Bryant, Logan Parr, and Branson Hickman on offense, while Elijah Roberts and Cale Sanders Jr. made it on the defensive end.

SMU has been dominant all season long on both sides of the ball, ranking in the top 20 in the NCAA in numerous categories including: third down percentage defense (3rd), defensive touchdowns (1st), fewest penalties per game (14th), first down offense (4th), passing offense (19th), passing yards per completion (6th), red zone offense (10th), rushing defense (18th), sacks allowed (13th), scoring defense (12th), scoring offense (6th), tackles for loss allowed (8th), team passing efficiency (17th), team passing efficiency defense (13th), team sacks (2nd), team tackles for loss (13th), total defense (12th) and total offense (14th).

On offense, both the 528 points scored and 40.6 scoring average rank second highest in program history. The 28 rushing touchdowns are tied for third most in program history. The Mustangs have scored at least 55 points four times this season, the most in program history for a single season.

Defensively, the Mustangs have been one of the best teams in the country this season. The 47 sacks rank second in program history for a single season. SMU took it to the conference opposition, posting an average margin of victory of 28.9 points (45.9-17.0) in conference games this year, the largest margin for any team in the NCAA in conference play in 2023.

[highlander]

Well, if we HAVE TO mention Lashlee in the same breath as Sark, this is the way to do it.

[SMU#92]

Love this for Isaiah. Super deserving.

[PonyPride]

Totally agree. He had an exceptional season, and the fact that he got ignored in the all-AAC voting was criminal.

[soccermom]

Congratulations to him. Well deserved!