Former SMU head coach Chad Morris may have made the ultimate prediction when he took the Mustangs job, about how long it would take for the program to turn around.

"Well, you know, when I got there, the circumstances were a little bit different," Morris said Wednesday morning on the SEC coaches teleconference. "We took over a program that was 0-11, and won the last game after we got hired. I felt, as I mentioned as they hired me, that I felt it was gonna be a five-year flip."

That five-year flip has happened, though Morris is now in Year 2 of his new job as the Arkansas head coach, where he's a combined 4-13 with a recent home loss to San Jose State. His response above was to a question about if he ever thought it would be possible that SMU would be ranked.

The No. 24 Mustangs jumped into the national rankings this week for the first time since Oct. 25, 1986. Morris took over a 1-11 team in 2014, and spent three years getting the program relevant. He left after SMU went 7-5 in 2017.

"We were recruiting kids and selling a vision," Morris said. "We couldn't sell success there, we could sell previous success at other spots. We had to sell a vision, and that's what we did. And we went to work and we recruited. And it's great to see those kids really that bought into that vision having the success they're having."

Morris made sure to give the current coaching staff, led by Sonny Dykes, credit for what they've done.

It is true that some of the top contributing seniors and juniors on the team were recruited by Morris. And while he didn't outwardly say he deserved credit, his comments make it clear he believes he and his staff set the foundation for where SMU currently is, a 5-0 team that's got a chance to do even better.

"I don't want any of that," Morris said when asked if he felt he deserved credit. "I'm just excited for those players that bought into the vision, and the direction that we had for that program when we were recruiting them. Because that's all they had to go on."

Twitter: @SamBlum3