North Texas Daily

Southern Methodist University head coach Chad Morris, who took over the Mustangs’ program in 2014 after serving as the offensive coordinator at Clemson, has accepted the head coaching job at University of Arkansas.

Thanks for everything @coachchadmorris, and good luck with the @ArkRazorbacks. #PonyUp pic.twitter.com/cvY5fn0cNX

— #PonyUpTempo (@SMU_Football) December 6, 2017

The Mustangs are scheduled to play in the inaugural DXL Frisco Bowl at 7 p.m. Dec. 20 at Toyota Stadium against Conference USA’s Louisiana Tech University. SMU will now enter the game with associate head coach and running backs coach Jeff Traylor serving as interim head coach, according to Adam Grosbard of the Dallas Morning News.

Source: Jeff Traylor to serve as SMU interim coach as Mustangs lobby on Twitter for him to get full-time job https://t.co/CeqSVZS87Z via @sportsdaydfw

— Adam Grosbard (@AdamGrosbard) December 6, 2017

SMU, which is one of North Texas’ biggest in-state rivals, went 2-10 in Morris’ first year before bouncing back with a 5-7 campaign last season. Morris won seven games this year, getting the Mustangs back to a bowl game for the first time since 2012.

Morris had tremendous success on the recruiting trail while at SMU and was a thorn in the side of the Mean Green over the last few years. The Mustangs defeated North Texas 31-13 in 2015, 34-21 in 2016 and 54-32 this season.

SMU signed nine three-star high school recruits from Texas last year compared to five by the Mean Green. The Mustangs currently have the No. 5 ranked recruiting class in the American Athletic Conference for 2018, according to 247Sports.com. 13 of their 19 commits are three-star players from Texas.

43 of the 46 players signed by SMU in the last two recruiting cycles have been from Texas.

It remains to be seen how Morris’ departure will impact those numbers with the early signing period (Dec. 20-22) rapidly approaching.

Featured Image: North Texas senior defensive tackle Sid Moore attempts to sack Southern Methodist University quarterback Ben Hicks. Colin Mitchell