Many programs have found success for a year or two, but sustained success is harder to come by. That's where SMU football wants to be, and that was the message as fall camp began on Wednesday.

The Mustangs are coming off back-to-back 11-win seasons, two conference championship game appearances, winning one, and a trip to the College Football Playoff. That's not where fourth-year head coach Rhett Lashlee wants the story to end.

"There's not something where I say, 'Man, if we don't do this, this year is not a success.' We're not there yet," Lashlee said. "(Wednesday's) the infant stage of trying to get this specific team ready to be the best we can be. … A lot of people can have a good year here or there. How do we keep the momentum going? And that doesn't mean 11 wins, eight wins, 12 wins. I don't know if there's a number to it. We just have to keep the progress going on the national stage, and to do that, we have to compete well in the ACC."

While SMU does return some key players in key spots — like quarterback Kevin Jennings and others — it also lost a lot of leadership and talent from last season. The first part of the offseason was about replacing that talent.

On paper, this year's roster has the most total individual talent and depth across every position of any SMU team in recent history, if not ever. The Mustangs are ranked 16th in the Coaches Poll, the highest preseason ranking since 1985. Now, with everyone on campus and back on the practice fields, the next part is taking those pieces and making a team that can go out on Saturdays and win games.

"It's how do we come together as a team and have that character and chemistry and culture that some teams have had in the past as a brand new team," Lashlee said. "It has nothing to do with the past. This team has to become the best version of itself. So that's the big process we have over the next month."

Having talent isn't new at SMU. The program has produced 20 NFL Draft picks since 2010, including at least one pick in five of the last six drafts. But the volume has increased.

Another byproduct of success.

"That's part of the process we're in as a program, trying to build and become a sustainable winning program," Lashlee said. "If you can continue to win, you can continue to attract better players, and you're going to continue to have more NFL guys. We have a good history here at SMU of turning out really good NFL players, but the volume has a chance to increase. Instead of one guy a year or two guys a year, maybe there's three, four, five, six."

Some of that talent came through the transfer portal, but much of it came from the highest-rated recruiting class the Mustangs have had. There are true freshmen in just about every position group that will battle for playing time, a spot on the depth chart, or even a starting job.

"I just think that's what you've got to do to build your program. And it's exciting to come into a season knowing you've got young guys that can compete to either help a lot on (special) teams, getting on the two deep," Lashlee said. "Some guys play early, some guys may not play till next year, some guys may not play early, and then all of a sudden around Game 5, 6, 7, you're like, 'Well, where'd he come from?' Because he just clicks at a different time. But there's a lot of guys that are going to be pushing older guys ahead of them."

SMU began its campaign to be "Dallas' Team" in 2012. With the move to the ACC and the CFP appearance, that campaign has gone national. 

"SMU, we want to be a national brand. We want to continue to be Dallas' college football team," Lashlee said. "I think our city has embraced us. This is one of the best markets, if not the best, in the country, and we're the only college football team here, so we get a chance to be that team for this city. We want to continue to play at a level that we're embraced as that. And so I think we have big goals. We have all these things we want to do, but it all starts with taking care of the little things if this team can be the best version we can build it to be."

That means having goals like playing in another ACC championship game, making another College Football Playoff, and getting wins in both. But those things are rewards for the process.

The Mustangs have to take care of business in the nonconference slate and then the early part of ACC play in order to be playing meaningful games in November. That's the focus right now.

"When we turn the page, eight games in, and we get to November, eight games in and four conference games (left), are we still in the mix?" Lashlee said. "And that, to me, is where we've got to make sure our program is more years than not. If we can do that, then we have a chance to get back (to the ACC championship game) more times."

All of the pieces are there to make that happen. Fall camp is about taking all that talent, potential, and hope and turning it into wins on Saturdays, starting on Aug. 30.

"I told the guys this actually (Tuesday) night, this is my 18th year of coaching, and I've been excited most years, but I don't know if I've ever been more excited to coach a group than this group," Lashlee said. "We've had good success in the past. It means nothing moving forward.

"... How do we take a lot of that talent and become good football players and a good football team? That's where we are."