Calvin Thibodeaux was named defensive line coach in December 2021. Thibodeaux came to the Hilltop after six seasons at Oklahoma.
The defensive line helped the Mustangs reach new heights in 2024, advancing to the program’s first CFP berth along with an undefeated mark in the first season in the ACC.
SMU became the first team to go 8-0 in conference play after moving to a Power 4/5 conference from a Group of Five conference. The 2024 season also marked the first time the Mustangs went undefeated and untied in conference play in back-to-back seasons.
The Mustangs were elite defensively once again in 2024. For the second straight season, they finished in the top five in defensive touchdowns with four. The mark was also the best in the ACC. SMU posted the second-best rushing defense in program history, allowing just 100.2 yards per game on the ground. The mark was good for seventh best in the FBS and tops in the conference.
SMU got to the quarterback at a high clip again in 2024, earning 43 sacks, the third most in program history.
The unit helped the Mustangs defense be elite in all three facets during the historic season, ranking in the top 25 in the FBS in multiple different categories including: defensive touchdowns (5th, 4), rushing defense (7th, 100.2), team sacks (10th, 3.07), fourth down conversion pct. defense (17th, .415), tackles for loss (18th, 7.1), third down conversion pct. defense (19th, .332) and red zone defense (24th, .767).
Jared Harrison-Hunte earned first-team All-ACC accolades, and Elijah Roberts and Kori Roberson Jr. picked up Honorable Mention All-ACC honors.
Roberts and Harrison-Hunte also earned first-team All-Texas honors by DCTF.
Roberts, despite missing a game due to injury, ranked sixth in the country in quarterback hurries with 44, while Harrison-Hunte finished tied for 13th with 36.
The Mustangs took their game up a notch in year two in 2023, posting an 11-3 mark, resulting in the first conference championship in program history since 1984, while posting an undefeated record in conference play (8-0).
SMU’s 11 wins and nine-game winning streak in 2023 were the most since the 1982 National Championship team. The Mustangs also finished out the year ranked 22nd in the AP Top 25 Poll, the first time appearing in the final poll since 1984.
Thibodeaux’s work on the defensive line was some of the best in the entire country, resulting in the team finishing with 47 sacks, second most in program and third highest in all of FBS for the year. The unit was led by Elijah Roberts, who earned All-America First Team honors by the Action Network after recording a career-best 10.0 sacks.
Roberts was one of five SMU players to record at least four sacks in 2023 under Thibodeaux’s watch.
The second-year coach saw both Elijah Chatman and Roberts earn All-Conference honors from the AAC with Chatman being a first-team selection.
The dominance up front from the Mustangs played a critical role in the whole defense’s elite-level play all year, with the team ranking in the top 25 in the FBS in several categories including: defensive touchdowns (1st, 5), sacks (3rd, 47), third down defense (4th, .281), team passing efficiency defense (9th, 115.28), scoring defense (11th, 17.8), total defense (12th, 304.1), passing yards allowed (13th, 182.2), TFLs per game (16th, 7.1), blocked kicks (21st, 2) and red zone defense (25th, .778).
The success up front saw three Thibodeaux’s players sign with NFL teams shortly after the 2024 NFL Draft in Elijah Chatman (New York Giants), DeVere Levelston (Seattle Seahawks) and Jordan Miller (Denver Broncos).
In Thibodeaux’s first season at SMU, the Mustangs posted a 7-5 regular season record, and the season culminated with a trip to the New Mexico Bowl, to face BYU. Under Thibodeaux’s leadership, Elijah Chatman earned All-American Athletic Conference second-team honors and was a member of the Bronko Nagurski, Outland Trophy and Rotary Lombardi Award Watch Lists. Chatman finished the regular season with 37 tackles, including four for loss and three sacks. He added one fumble recovery for a touchdown and a blocked PAT. DeVere Levelston also ranked sixth nationally in blocked kicks with a pair.
Thibodeaux was named one of Rivals' top-25 recruiters of 2018 and 2019.
The 2021 Sooners finished the regular season 10-2, ranking in the top 25 nationally in tackles for loss (7th, 7.6), turnovers gained (18th, 22) and rushing defense (24th, 123.8), while a pair of Thibodeaux's linemen, Isaiah Thomas and Perrion Winfrey, earned second-team All-Big 12 honors.
Thibodeaux's 2020 line helped the Sooners to rankings of seventh nationally in sacks per game (3.4), ninth in rushing defense (105.1 ypg), 22nd in TFLs (7.4) and 29th in total defense (350.6 ypg).
The 2019 season saw OU improve to 38th in total defense (356.4), up from 114th in 2018, and to 32nd in rushing defense (134.1), up from 59th. The line was led by AP first-team All-Big 12 selection Neville Gallimore, second-team all-league pick Ronnie Perkins and Big 12 Defensive Newcomer of the Year LaRon Stokes. Gallimore went on to be a third-round draft pick by the Dallas Cowboys in 2020.
Thibodeaux took over the full defensive line in 2018 after previously working with defensive ends. Amani Bledsoe, Gallimore and Kenneth Mann were named honorable mention All-Big 12 picks, and Perkins was named an ESPN Freshman All-American.
His 2017 group featured Walter Camp First-Team All-American and Co-Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year Ogbonnia Okoronkwo, who ranked second in the Big 12 with 17.5 tackles for loss and third with 8.0 sacks, as well as D.J. Ward, who earned second-team all-league accolades.
He arrived in Norman after stints at Kansas (2015), Tulsa (2012-14) and Dartmouth (2011).
At Kansas, he led defensive end Ben Goodman to honorable mention All-Big 12 honors after totaling 51 tackles, 9.5 TFLs and 5.5 sacks.
He helped the Golden Hurricane to an 11-3 record in 2012 and a win over Iowa State in the Liberty Bowl. That same season, he coached Derrick Jackson to All-C-USA honors after Jackson combined with Daeshon Bufford 17.5 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks. His 2012 squad registered 53 sacks on the season, compared to only 27 the season prior to his arrival.
At Dartmouth, the Big Green posted its first winning season in Ivy League play in seven years. The Bulldogs registered 41 sacks while ranking 11th nationally in rushing defense and 12th in total defense. He tutored NJCAA All-American and Championship Game Defensive MVP Toby Jackson and coached first-team All-Ivy League and first-team All-New England defensive tackle Eddie Smith.
Thibodeaux spent the 2010 season at Navarro Junior College where he helped the Bulldogs to an 11-1 record and the 2010 NJCAA National Championship. As a graduate assistant at Houston (2008-09), he coached defensive end Phillip Hunt to Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year honors.
As a student-athlete, Thibodeaux was part of three Big 12 Championship teams and helped the Sooners to appearances in a pair of BCS National Championship Games (2003, 2004), as well as the 2003 Rose Bowl, 2005 Holiday Bowl and 2007 Fiesta Bowl. An All-Big 12 selection in 2005, he registered 44 tackles, 17.0 TFLs and a league-high 10.0 sacks, the sixth most in school history. He finished his career with 90 tackles, 28.5 TFLs and 13.0 sacks.
He went on to sign with the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League in 2007.
A 2006 graduate of OU, he and wife, Terrika, have three kids – Kamiah, Camar and Camsen.
