“But we can be new blood,” the Mustang football coach said Monday at the annual Texas High School Coaches Association convention and coaching school.

SMU, on the rise in college football, has gone a combined 31-10 in the last three years and qualified for the College Football Playoff in 2024. Lashlee’s success recruiting Dallas-area players and coaches has helped fuel SMU’s ascent. 

“[The Dallas-area has] the best players in America,” Lashlee said. “I think we signed nine of the top 35 players out of the Dallas metroplex last year, which was the most any Power Four school signed out of Dallas.”

Dodge, now SMU’s passing game coordinator and tight ends coach, went 107-10 in eight seasons at Carroll, which made two state championship game appearances and three trips to the state semifinals during his tenure.

“You look at what Riley did as a head coach. It’s tough to look at that record and figure out how that got done, but he was so special both as a coach and player in this state,” Lashlee said. “We’re so excited to have him, and he’s made a huge impact already.”

Ward, now the safeties coach for the Mustangs, helped build South Oak Cliff into a three-time state champion.

“When you talk about what Kyle Ward did with that South Oak Cliff defense over the last five years or so with all the state championships,” Lashlee said. “Just having those guys on our staff and having the opportunity to do that was big for us.”

Lashlee said SMU has engaged in various outreach efforts to build relationships with high school coaches in the Dallas area and across the state, highlighting how the program hosted over 500 coaches on campus this past spring.

Back in February and March, SMU held round tables with Dallas-area coaches so that Mustang staff could listen and learn from them.

“‘What can we do to help you and your program?’” Lashlee said. “‘What can we do to further make sure that SMU is the Dallas metroplex team?’”

Lashlee said when SMU signed the most players out of Dallas than any other Power Four program last year, that was the first time the program had done so.

“That needs to be more the norm and those coaches need to know …you come here, we’re going to do everything we can to help you be successful and we got your back,” Lashlee said. “Hopefully, just the more and more we can be consistent with that message and with our actions, it will continue to grow.”