{"id":27035,"date":"2025-10-30T20:42:11","date_gmt":"2025-10-30T20:42:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/27035\/"},"modified":"2025-10-30T20:42:11","modified_gmt":"2025-10-30T20:42:11","slug":"what-long-awaited-acc-showdown-means-for-coaches-players-involved-in-miami-smu-pipeline","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/27035\/","title":{"rendered":"What long-awaited ACC showdown means for coaches, players involved in Miami-SMU pipeline"},"content":{"rendered":"

UNIVERSITY PARK \u2014 Rhett Lashlee<\/a> made a quick, 23-month stop at Miami in between his two stints at SMU<\/a> \u2014 and his time as the Hurricanes\u2019 offensive coordinator shaped the program SMU would become when he returned to the Hilltop.<\/p>\n

Almost Lashlee\u2019s entire offensive staff at SMU is made up of coaches who followed him from Miami. SMU has recruited more players out of the transfer portal from the Hurricanes since Lashlee arrived than any other program. Four are still on the roster, and three have gone on to the NFL.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou want to be with good people who you know you can trust and who understand you and you understand them,\u201d Lashlee said. \u201cYou just create bonds with those guys. When I came here, I didn\u2019t know how many of them would come.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lashlee\u2019s move from one ACC program to one that would join the conference two years later has created a pipeline that, for the first time, will get to head-to-head with their former program Saturday at 11 a.m. at Ford Stadium. Miami enters Ford Stadium as the No. 10 team in the nation.<\/a><\/p>\n

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Saturday\u2019s game was one with major ACC title implications before SMU\u2019s 13-12 loss to Wake Forest last week.<\/a> Many thought it would bring ESPN\u2019s College GameDay to town. <\/p>\n

While it lost some luster for fans, it\u2019s still an opportunity for SMU to earn its first win over a ranked team this season \u2014 and for those who spent time in both programs to get a meaningful win. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a great opportunity for us just to display things that we couldn\u2019t display at Miami,\u201d SMU wide receiver and former Miami transfer Romello Brinson<\/a> said.<\/p>\n

Related<\/p>\n

\"PhotosStaff built in Miami<\/p>\n

Lashlee and his staff helped transform the Miami offense rapidly in their two years with the program.<\/p>\n

In the 2019 season, before he arrived, Miami ranked 90th in the nation in scoring offense (25.7 points per game) and 52nd in total offense (248.2 yards per game). <\/p>\n

The Hurricanes jumped to 26th in scoring offense (34 ppg) and 32nd in total offense (440.3 ypg) in their 8-3 season with Lashlee leading the offense in 2020. In his second year, the Hurricanes finished 7-5, but the Hurricanes\u2019 offense improved to 23rd in the nation in scoring (34.1 ppg) and 19th in yards per game (449.9). <\/p>\n

\u201cManny Diaz did a great job with the culture there and got the culture back to winning and expecting to win,\u201d Lashlee said. \u201cOffensively, when we got there, that was the thing we tried to turn around, and a guy like D\u2019Eriq King<\/a>, who\u2019s here now, deserves a ton of credit for coming in and changing the mindset and culture offensively, which I think has carried over to what they\u2019ve been able to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last season, Miami, led by No. 1 overall NFL draft pick Cam Ward, had the best offense in the nation. <\/p>\n

Becoming a head coach for the first time, Lashlee wanted to bring staff members along whom he was familiar with. But Lashlee departed for SMU in November 2021, and many of his coordinators would have to decide whether to leave with him.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen he knew, I knew,\u201d SMU running backs coach and special teams coordinator Kyle Cooper said. \u201cI knew that it was destined for me to follow him here. He had mentioned that he didn\u2019t know what side of the ball I would go work for him on but that he wanted to offer me an on-field position somewhere, and I said, \u2018I don\u2019t care. I want to be your Swiss Army Knife. Let\u2019s go to Dallas.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

For others, it became an easy decision when Manny Diaz was fired in December and replaced by Mario Cristobal. <\/p>\n

In addition to Cooper, Lashlee brought wide receivers coach Rob Likens, offensive line coach Garin Justice, assistant quarterbacks coach and head coach analyst Sam Hullender and quarterbacks coach Jonathan Brewer. He then replaced Brewer, who left SMU to become the offensive coordinator at Duke in 2023 under Diaz, with D\u2019Eriq King, who played quarterback for Lashlee at Miami.<\/a><\/p>\n

By their third year at SMU, Lashlee and his staff had led the Mustangs to an American Conference title,<\/a> an ACC title game<\/a> and the College Football Playoff. They attribute much of that rapid success to their history together.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we know each other really well, if we know how every Tuesday of the season\u2019s gonna go and every Wednesday of the season is gonna go, there\u2019s no surprises,\u201d Cooper said. \u201cAny time there\u2019s a lot of staff continuity, the players that are in your program year in and year out, they feed into that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Related<\/p>\n

\"OklahomaHitting the portal<\/p>\n

SMU sophomore running back Chris Johnson Jr.<\/a> wanted to come to SMU after watching a player with a similar path achieve his goals.<\/p>\n

Johnson Jr. was still at Miami last year when Brashard Smith had transferred from the Hurricanes program to join SMU\u2019s and became the team\u2019s breakout star. He was the team\u2019s leading rusher and an AP All-American.<\/p>\n

Smith was drafted in the seventh round of the 2025 NFL draft by the Kansas City Chiefs.<\/a> SMU needed a new running back and brought in a few to fill his shoes, including Johnson.<\/p>\n

\u201cBrashard really impacted my decision,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat he did here last year. He didn\u2019t really get the opportunities that he wanted at Miami, so that was another push for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Johnson was one of 13 SMU players since 2023 who felt they didn\u2019t get the opportunity they hoped for at Miami and transferred to SMU to chase it. Before the 2023 season, it was players like Brinson, running back Jaylan Knighton, defensive end Elijah Roberts and offensive lineman Jakai Clark who made the move. A year later, it was Smith and defensive linemen Jahfari Harvey and Jared Harrison-Hunte. This season, Johnson Jr., offensive lineman Zion Nelson and quarterback transfer Tyler Van Dyke joined the Mustangs, though Van Dyke made a stop at Wisconsin after leaving Miami.<\/p>\n

Including Brinson, the Mustangs have four ex-Hurricanes on the roster currently. And most that they\u2019ve brought in have become key contributors.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt wasn\u2019t intentional,\u201d Lashlee said. \u201cWhen I took this job, not one player from Miami came here the first year. We didn\u2019t seek anyone out. I don\u2019t believe in that. We weren\u2019t trying to poach people off that roster to come here. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to make sense to gravitate to people they trust and they\u2019re confident and there\u2019s familiarity. Same thing for us as coaches: we knew what we were getting. I think it kind of was the perfect storm.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trust was especially important when bringing in Van Dyke, who could be a future starter for SMU after Kevin Jennings but needed to rehabilitate a torn ACL. He sought out a staff he could trust, and his time both playing with King and playing for Lashlee at Miami made it an easy choice.<\/p>\n

But many of the players and coaches say they\u2019ve maintained relationships with those in Miami\u2019s program despite all the turnover they\u2019ve had. Cooper said he\u2019s exchanged some texts with former colleagues throughout the week.<\/p>\n

For the large cohort of players and coaches who have been on both sides, a win on Saturday at Ford Stadium would be even sweeter. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe just really want to go out there and play ball,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cOpportunities that they didn\u2019t give us, we got those opportunities here, so we just want to go out there and make the best of the opportunities that we get.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Twitter\/X: @Lassimak<\/a><\/p>\n

Could UNT\u2019s Eric Morris, SMU\u2019s Rhett Lashlee soon depart for power conference HC openings?<\/a>SMU goes into 2nd ACC season, and 2nd with coach Andy Enfield, looking to end NCAA tourney drought<\/a><\/p>\n

Find more SMU coverage from The Dallas Morning News here<\/a>.<\/p>\n