The SMU football coach was one of 22 individuals selected to a midseason watch list for one of the most coveted awards for college football head coaches.
It's been a great year and a memorable run thus far for SMU coach Sonny Dykes, and the right people are recognizing the success.
Dykes was one of 22 college football coaches selected to the 2019 Dodd Trophy Midseason Watch List, which was announced via release on Thursday. The Dodd Trophy celebrates a college football head coach not only having a great year on the field but also stressing the importance of the legendary Georgia Tech coach's three pillars of coaching -- scholarship, leadership and integrity.
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Per the release, the midseason watch list "was created through a selection process by the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation and the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, taking into consideration each program’s current performance during the 2019 season, Academic Progress Rate (APR), and each coach’s commitment to service and charity in the community."
On the field, SMU is 6-0 and ranked No. 19 in the country, and it features one of college football's most prolific offenses. Off the field, the Mustangs already have seven players with an undergraduate degree and 21 seniors on the team collectively.
Dykes joins a handful of recognized coaches on this list, including Clemson's Dabo Swinney, Alabama's Nick Saban, Michigan's Jim Harbaugh, LSU's Ed Orgeron, Texas' Tom Herman and Oklahoma's Lincoln Riley. Dykes joined Cincinnati's Luke Fickell as the representatives of the American Athletic Conference.
"This group of coaches go out every single day and work hard to embody the scholarship, leadership and integrity that Coach Dodd cared about so much," Jim Terry, chairman of the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation, said via release. "This award is more than just winning on the field, and every one of these coaches cares deeply about seeing his players grow and mature as young men on top of winning football games. That is what The Dodd Trophy is all about."
The winner of this year's Dodd Trophy will be announced at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl in Atlanta during the College Football Playoff semifinal.
