One of the brightest surprises in college football last season was the emergence of SMU football. Rhett Lashlee and the Mustangs were just a play or two from winning an ACC Championship and ended up in the College Football Playoff, where they lost to Penn State.

Now, Lashlee and company are trying to build off of that campaign and take it a step further next season. SMU has a lot of work to do to build another elite team next season, but it is working hard to do so in the transfer portal.

On Friday, SMU got a huge commitment from former UCLA running back TJ Harden, according to Billy Embody of On3 Sports.

“BREAKING: UCLA RB transfer TJ Harden commits to SMU,” Embody reported on X, formerly Twitter. “The Bruins’ leading rusher during the 2024 season heads to Dallas.”

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Harden struggled to produce in 2024 in part thanks to a UCLA offense that was submarining for most of the season, but he still finished with 506 yards and two touchdowns. His biggest impact as a junior was in the receiving game, where he caught 40 passes for 368 yards and a score.

You have to go back to 2023 to see Harden at his best. On a UCLA offense that was better under Chip Kelly than it was last season under Eric Bieniemy, Harden rushed for 827 yards and eight touchdowns.

The Los Angeles native will have big shoes to fill after SMU lost former starter Brashard Smith to the NFL. Smith was one of the best and most explosive backs in the country last season, running for 1,332 yards and 14 touchdowns while finishing with 327 yards and four scores through the air.

Harden will likely start next to new quarterback Tyler Van Dyke, who committed to SMU in the winter portal period. Van Dyke comes over from Wisconsin after starting his career at Miami (FL), but is coming off of a serious injury that he sustained early in the 2023 season. However, if he is healthy and firing on all cylinders, this is a very talented backfield that should have SMU football near the top of the ACC once again next season.