SMU locks up key assistant ahead of College Football Playoff
12/12/2024 06:04 PM
SMU football has established new momentum heading into its historic first College Football Playoff appearance. The Mustangs locked in a key assistant for years to come.
Defensive coordinator Scott Symons agreed to a multi-year contract, per ESPN college football insider Pete Thamel Thursday. The move comes nine days before SMU takes on Penn State in the first-ever 12-team playoff format.
Retaining Symons becomes the first major coaching move head coach Rhett Lashlee has made following SMU’s 11-2 season. SMU nearly completed the epic comeback against Clemson with the Atlantic Coast Conference title on the line. But the Tigers won off a walk-off field goal 34-31 in Charlotte.
SMU has mostly been led by a high-powered offense with quarterback Kevin Jennings at the controls. But Symons emerged as a popular figure on the Hilltop. He built one of the nation’s best defensive units in such short timing. The Mustangs rose to top 30 status across the nation through both scoring and total defense.
His unit bottled opponents to under 20 points in six of the Mustangs’ 13 games this season. Four of those contests came against ACC competition: Florida State (held to 16), Stanford (10), Virginia (seven) and California (six). Only TCU was the lone offense that scaled the 40-point mark facing Symons’ defense.
SMU players who’ve thrived under key assistant
Symons’ multiple 3-4 defensive scheme brought havoc to offensive lines and quarterbacks. Sixteen different SMU defenders collected a sack under his watch. That includes sack leader Jahfari Harvey, who led the way with seven. SMU grabbed 40 sacks total as a team.
Symons also witnessed nine SMU defensive players grab six tackles or more behind the line of scrimmage. Harvey led with 12, while Elijah Roberts followed by swooping up nine tackles for a loss. Isaiah Smith, Jared Hunte-Harrison and Ahmad Walker each collected eight stops behind the line of scrimmage.
Lastly, Symons created multiple ballhawks in his secondary. Safeties Ahmaad Moses, Isaiah Nwokobia and Jonathan McGill grabbed three picks apiece to lead the team. Eight different Mustangs in total snatched a pick.
Symons has witnessed a steady rise among the coaching ranks. Along with improving the Mustangs’ defense in 2024, he emerged as a Broyles Award semifinalist.
SMU hired the Hurst, Texas native in Dec. 2021. He came to Dallas via Liberty, where he served as the Flames’ defensive coordinator. Symons’ other CFB stops include Memphis, where he coached inside linebackers.
Symons, Lashlee, and the rest of Mustangs enter the playoffs as one of two ACC representatives. The SMU/Penn State winner will trek to Glendale, Arizona to take on the No. 3 seed Boise State on New Year’s Eve. The Nittany Lions are currently an 8.5-point favorite by BetMGM heading into the first round postseason contest.
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