AWARDS & ACCOLADES
2025 AFCA 35 Under 35 Coaches Leadership Institute Selection
BIO
Sam Dunnam arrived on the Hilltop in 2022, entering his fifth season in 2026 and serving as the Mustangs’ edges coach.
Dunnam was previously promoted to defensive assistant and coached the edge players before the 2024 season.
In 2025, the Dunnam-led edge room played a critical role in the Mustangs’ 9-4 season and in SMU’s Trust & Will Holiday Bowl victory, the program’s first bowl victory since 2012. On the national stage, SMU ranked in the top 25 in multiple key categories: red zone defense (0.702, 5th FBS, 1st ACC), rushing defense (111.9, 19th FBS, 4th ACC) and team sacks (34, 23rd FBS, 4th ACC).
Senior Isaiah Smith enjoyed a career-best season in 2025. Smith notched 18.0 TFLs, leading the ACC and ranking 10th nationally. With a career-best 8.5 total sacks, the Washington, D.C., native tied for fourth in the league and 25th in FBS. Smith’s senior season was highlighted by his performance at Boston College on Nov. 8, posting a career-high 3.5 sacks, tied for the second most in a game in program history. Smith earned ACC Defensive End of the Week on Nov. 10 for his production against the Eagles. His breakout year garnered multiple postseason honors, including being named to the All-ACC Second Team and as a Phil Steele All-America Honorable Mention.
Senior Cameron Robertson also performed at an elite level for the Mustangs in 2025. The Texas native posted multiple career-highs this season, notching 52 tackles, 10 TFLs and five sacks.
In recognition of all Dunnam’s success throughout his career, he was named to the prestigious 2026 AFCA 35 Under 35 Coaches Leadership Institute. Selected as one of the premier, future leaders in the football coaching profession, Dunnam earned an invitation to attend the one-day institute that features a curriculum of interactive lectures focused on topics specifically tailored to emphasize leadership in the coaching profession, ethics, influential responsibilities, career progression, and family balance.
Dunnam had his edge unit deliver in its debut season in the ACC in 2024, resulting in the team posting an 11-3 record and going undefeated in conference play and making the College Football Playoff as an 11 seed.
The development on Isaiah Smith was on full display in 2024, who finished with a career-high 6.5 sacks. Smith’s success was part of a defensive line unit that got to the quarterback at a high clip earning 43 sacks, the third most in program history.
Also making an impact was Cameron Robertson, who finished with a career-best 4.0 sacks on the year.
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.
The Mustangs 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.
He helped play a key role in the Mustangs' dominance on the defensive end in 2023, resulting in the first conference championship for the program since 1984.
Defensively, the Mustangs were one of the elite teams in the country in 2023. The 47 sacks rank second in program history for a single season. SMU took it to the conference opposition, posting an average margin of victory of 28.9 points (45.9-17.0) in conference games on the year, the largest margin for any FBS team in conference play in 2023. SMU also finished first in all of FBS in defensive touchdowns with five. The Mustangs’ two shutouts during the regular season were the most by the team since 2012.
Dunnam served as a graduate assistant at North Carolina in 2018 and in quality control in 2019, where he helped the Tar Heels to the 2019 Military Bowl Championship. He was also a graduate assistant (2013-14) and defensive line coach (2014-18) at his alma mater, Ouachita Baptist.
While at Ouachita Baptist, Dunnam helped the Tigers to an undefeated regular season and GAC Championship in 2014 and the No. 1 seed in the regional rankings, as well as a second-round appearance in the NCAA Division II playoffs. In 2014, three of the top-10 conference sack leaders came from OBU, and a pair of student-athletes earned all-conference honors. In 2016, Dunnam mentored a pair of all-conference selections, and in 2017 OBU won another GAC Championship, advanced to the DII playoffs and produced a pair of all-conference defensive line selections.
Dunnam also previously served as defensive line coach at Trinity Christian Academy (2021), where he helped TCA to the TAPPS League State Championship, and at Bishop Lynch (2020).
A four-year letterwinner at Ouachita Baptist, Dunnam was part of the 2011 GAC Championship team and was a two-time team captain.
