In just three seasons on the Hilltop, Sonny Dykes has transformed SMU Football into a conference championship contender and launched them into the Top 25.
Dykes was named Head Football Coach at SMU on Dec. 11, 2017, arriving on the Hilltop after head coaching stints at Cal and Louisiana Tech.
Year three under Dykes saw the Mustangs earn a bid to the Frisco Bowl and finish 7-3, bringing Dykes’ record on the Hilltop to 22-14. He became just the fourth Mustang head coach to win 20 games in his first three seasons at the helm of the program (Matty Bell, Ray Morrison & Bobby Collins). The seven wins were the first in back-to-back seasons since the 2011-12 seasons, and the bowl bid was the second in three seasons under Dykes. The Mustangs reached No. 16 in both the AP and Coaches Polls during the season and were ranked or receiving votes in at least one poll every week in 2020.
SMU earned top-10 national rankings in fumbles recovered (8th, 10) and red zone offense (9th, .920) and were in the top 20 in total offense (12th, 494.5), passing offense (13th, 318.0), scoring offense (15th, 38.6) and third down conversion % (19th, .469). The Mustangs registered 500 yards of total offense in six of 10 games and finished 46-of-50 (92%) in the red zone, going perfect in seven games.
Brandon Stephens (3rd round, Baltimore) and Kylen Granson (4th round, Indianapolis) were selected in the 2021 NFL Draft, while Shane Buechele (Kansas City) and Chris Naggar (NY Jets) went on to sign as undrafted free agents.
In year two, Dykes led SMU to an historic season that saw the Mustangs go 10-3, winning the most games since 1984 and earning their highest national ranking (15/14) since 1985. The 10 wins doubled the Mustangs’ win total from 2018 and was just the sixth 10-win season in program history. The six conference wins (6-2) were the most in a season since SMU went 6-2 in 2010.
The Mustangs set season records in scoring (544), scoring average (41.8), total yards (6,368), total yards per game (489.8), total plays (1,037), rushing TDS (35), total first downs (322) and total TDs (73), while tying the passing TDs record (35).
Dykes led SMU to national rankings of seventh in scoring offense (41.8), ninth in total offense (489.8) and 13th in passing offense (309.0). The Mustangs' highest ranking in those categories the previous season was 27th in passing offense, while neither scoring or total ranked inside the top 50. Defensively, SMU was the FBS statistical champion for sacks per game (3.92), and ranked third in tackles per loss (8.5). SMU’s 51 sacks and 111 TFLs were program records.
Dykes was named one of nine finalists for the 2019 Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award by the Football Writers Association of America and one of 10 finalists for the Paul “Bear” Bryant Award. He was also a semifinalist for the George Munger Coach of the Year Award and was on the watch list for the Dodd Trophy Coach of the Year Award.
Following the season, James Proche earned second-team All-America honors from the FWAA, five Mustangs were named to All-Star Bowls and nine student-athletes were selected to All-AAC teams, the most since 2011. Proche (Biletnikoff, Earl Campbell), Shane Buechele (Maxwell, Davey O’Brien, Earl Campbell) and Xavier Jones (Doak Walker, Campbell) were all semifinalists for major collegiate awards, while Buechele was one of five finalists for the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award.
Proche was selected by the Baltimore Ravens in the sixth round of the 2020 NFL Draft, while Ryan Becker (Arizona), Rodney Clemons (Kansas City), Xavier Jones (LA Rams) and Delontae Scott (Green Bay) all agreed to terms as undrafted free agents.
In his first season on the Hilltop, Dykes guided the Mustangs to a 5-7 record, going 4-4 in American Athletic Conference play. The season included his first win as SMU Head Coach, a 31-30 overtime victory over Navy at home, and a 45-31 win over then-No. 17 Houston at Ford Stadium.
The Mustangs boasted one of the most explosive offenses in school history and a vastly-improved defense. Following the year, Dykes and staff inked a recruiting class that ranked among the best in the league.
Proche was named a first-team All-AAC selection, and finished the season ranked fifth nationally in receptions per game (7.8), seventh in receiving touchdowns (12) and ninth in receiving yards (1,199). Richard Moore registered 92 tackles and had a team-leading 5.0 sacks to earn AAC honorable mention accolades. He also added 13.5 TFLs, five quarterback hurries and a forced fumble.
Dykes spent four seasons at Cal (2013-16) and three seasons at Louisiana Tech (2010-12). He served as an offensive analyst at TCU in 2017.
At Cal, Dykes returned the school’s football program to national prominence and a post-season bowl game. Inheriting a team that went 3-9 in the season before his arrival, Dykes had the Bears at 8-5 just three seasons later, capping the 2015 season with a win over Air Force at the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl.
In his final season at Cal in 2016, Dykes led several Bears to national honors. Wideout Demetris Robertson earned Freshman All-America honors, as he hauled in 50 catches for 767 yards to break DeSean Jackson’s freshman school records. Fellow wide receiver Chad Hansen was a first-team All-Pac-12 selection, and at the end of the regular season, Hansen ranked second in the country in receiving yards per game (124.9) and third in receptions per game (9.2) as well as seventh nationally in receptions (92) and 11th in receiving yards (1,249) despite missing two contests due to injury. Quarterback Davis Webb was honored as Athlon Sports' Pac-12 Newcomer of the Year, was a Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award and Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award semifinalist, and made the cut to the final 15 for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award. Webb completed 382-of-620 passes (61.6%) for 4,295 yards with 37 passing touchdowns. He ranked among the nation's leaders in nearly every passing category and set Cal single-season records for passing attempts, completions and total plays, and equaled single-season school marks for most touchdowns responsible for and 300-yard passing games.
Cal’s eight wins in 2015 marked the school’s most victories since 2009. Cal began the 2015 season with five straight victories to mark the program’s best start since 2007 before dropping four of their next five games to teams that were all ranked in the top 10 at some point in 2015, including top-five foes Oregon and Utah, with four of those five contests on the road. Cal finished strong, though, with three wins in its final four contests. At one point, the Bears were ranked for four consecutive weeks, moving as high as No. 19 in the Coaches Poll and No. 20 in the AP Top 25 in Week 7. Cal’s national rankings were its first since 2010 (Coaches Poll) and 2009 (AP Top 25). Cal’s offense flourished in 2015, setting numerous records, including single-season school marks in passing yardage (4,892), passing yards per game (376.3 ypg), passing touchdowns (44), total offense (6,879), total yards per game (529.2 ypg), total touchdowns (63), first downs (341) and first downs passing (201), as well as a modern-era record for points (493), with all the marks previously set in 2013 or 2014 under Dykes. Cal ranked third nationally in passing offense, eighth in total offense and 17th in scoring offense, and became the first college football team in recorded history to have six players with 40 or more receptions and three 500-yard rushers in the same season. For his efforts, Dykes was named to the midseason watch list for the 2015 Dodd Trophy.
The 2015 season was also the last in the Bay area for quarterback and NFL No. 1 Draft pick Jared Goff, who set 26 school records from 2013-15, including career marks for passing yardage (12,220), touchdown passes (96), total offense (12,086) and completions (977). In 2015, Goff ranked second nationally in passing yards per game (363.0), one of 10 categories in which he rated among the top 20 nationally. Goff was the first Cal quarterback to earn first-team All-Pac-12 honors since Aaron Rodgers in 2004, was a semifinalist for the Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award and was Cal’s Most Outstanding Player in the Armed Forces Bowl.
Cal finished the 2014 season with a 5-7 overall record and set or equaled nine single-season school or modern-era school records on the offensive side of the ball. Cal established then-single-season records for passing yards (4,152), passing touchdowns (37), total yards per game (495.2 ypg) and first downs passing (188), as well as then-modern-era school records for points (459), scoring average (38.2 ppg) and touchdowns (61) that were all broken in 2015. In addition, the Bears became the first Cal team in the modern era to score 55 or more points in a game three times, including 40 or more on five occasions and 30 or more 10 times. Cal ranked in the top 25 nationally in a seven offensive categories including passing offense (6th, 346.0 ypg), scoring offense (10th, 38.3 ppg), total offense (13th, 495.2 ypg) and team passing efficiency (24th, 145.77). Cal was able to achieve all of this with 42 players seeing action for the first time in their Cal career including 23 freshmen and 19 other players appearing for the first time in their Cal careers.
Despite being an inexperienced unit that was the nation’s second-youngest to start the season and battling injuries that caused players on the preseason depth chart to miss 138 games, Cal still set then-school records in 2013 for single-season passing yards (3,977), pass completions (368) and total plays (1,046). The passing offense finished 10th in the nation with an average of 331.4 yards per game.
In all, Cal’s turnaround off the field was just as impressive over Dykes’ tenure, as evidenced by a single-season Academic Progress Rate (APR) score of 997 in 2016. After successive one-year scores under 930 in the two years before Dykes arrived on campus, the rates for the football program under Dykes were 969, 946, 997 and 991, registering Cal Football’s best-ever four-year APR with a score of 978, up 33 points over the his four years at the helm.
Dykes came to Cal after spending three seasons at Louisiana Tech where he directed an offense that led the nation in both scoring offense (51.50 ppg) and total offense (577.92 ypg) during his final campaign at the helm in 2012. He spent three seasons as head coach for the Bulldogs, compiling a 22-15 overall record and winning 16 of 17 regular-season games during one stretch over the 2011 and 2012 schedules.
The Bulldogs were 4-8 the year before he arrived in 2009, then proceeded to finish 5-7, 8-5 and 9-3 in successive campaigns. In 2011, Louisiana Tech won seven consecutive games to capture the Western Athletic Conference title – the team’s first league championship in a decade – and a berth in the Poinsettia Bowl. For his work, Dykes was named the WAC Coach of the Year.
Dykes’ 2012 Louisiana Tech team had road victories over Illinois, Houston and Virginia. The Bulldogs also lost a narrow 59-57 decision to a Johnny Manziel-led Texas A&M team that later defeated top-ranked Alabama and earned a spot in the Cotton Bowl. Louisiana Tech reached as high as No. 18 in the national polls according to USA Today and was No. 19 in the AP Top 25 after jumping out to a 9-1 start. Bulldog quarterback Colby Cameron was named the 2012 WAC Offensive Player of the Year and earned the Sammy Baugh Award that is presented to college football’s top passer by The Touchdown Club of Columbus.
Dykes’ high-energy style of offense produced a prolific unit that, in addition to leading the nation in both scoring offense and total offense in 2012, produced the fifth-highest per-game scoring average ever by a team in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The squad also finished among the NCAA’s top 20 in passing offense (3rd, 350.75 ypg), sacks allowed (7th, 0.83 per game), turnover margin (10th, +1.08 per game) and rushing offense (17th, 227.17 ypg). The Bulldogs scored more than 40 points in 11 of 12 games and over 50 points on eight occasions.
Dykes, the son of former longtime Texas Tech coach Spike Dykes, boasts a resume that includes additional stops in the Pac-12, Big 12 and SEC, where he served under head coaches Mike Stoops (Arizona), Mike Leach (Texas Tech) and Hal Mumme (Kentucky).
As offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Arizona for three seasons from 2007-09, Dykes helped the Wildcats to the 2008 Las Vegas Bowl and 2009 Holiday Bowl after Arizona had not reached the postseason for 10 years. Arizona posted marks of 8-5 both seasons and tied for second in what was then the Pac-10 in 2009 with a 6-3 league mark.
Under his direction, Arizona offenses established five single-season records. The Wildcats ranked 10th nationally in passing yards in 2007 (308.50 ypg), as well as 16th in scoring (36.62 ppg) and 33rd in total offense in 2008 (402.38 ypg).
Prior to his tenure at Arizona, Dykes spent seven seasons at his alma mater Texas Tech, serving as receivers coach from 2000-04 and adding the title of co-offensive coordinator from 2005-06. The Red Raiders made seven straight postseason appearances and won 56 games during the span, including four postseason victories over his last five seasons in the Tangerine, Houston, Holiday and Insight bowls. In 2006, Dykes received the Mike Campbell Top Assistant Coach Award from the American Football Coaches Association, the same year he was recognized as one of the top 25 recruiters in the country by Rivals.
Dykes began his collegiate coaching career with a two-year stint (1995-96) at Navarro College in Corsicana, Texas. He also was a baseball assistant at Monahans High School in Texas in 1994 and a football assistant at Richardson’s J.J. Pearce High School in 1995.
Born in Big Spring, Texas, Dykes received his bachelor’s degree in history from Texas Tech in 1993 and was a member of the Red Raider baseball team for two seasons. He is married to the former Kate Golding and they have two daughters, Alta (Ally) and Charlotte (Charlie), and a son, Daniel.
