Unt Needs To Bulk Up This Summer

Dan McCarney and his new staff at North Texas did a little research over the last few weeks to determine just how the Mean Green stacks up in the Sun Belt Conference.

What he found was another indication of how far UNT has to go heading into summer workouts that began Monday at the Mean Green Athletic Center.

McCarney added up all the heights and weights of players at Sun Belt schools and came up with an average that he compared to the players on UNT’s roster.

He wasn’t pleased with the results.

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For those of you who think we just play in the Sun Belt, not the SEC, listen to what Coach Mac is saying. The depth and strength is going to take awhile to build up here. He is getting the academic stuff back where it needs to be and now he is going to get after the strength and conditioning program for this team. That stuff will pay great dividends in 2012 and beyond, esepcially as the guys get more used to Coach Mac and his staff and their expectations. 2011 may not be a great year, but the foundation is being poured for the future, which is brighter than it has been here in Denton in the last 35 years.

Our LB's average 200 pounds? So for every 210 pounder we have a 190 pounder. Geez...someone must have neglected to inform Dodge that he was no longer at SLC.

I don't get it. This is a coaching staff with decades of experience coaching in conferences of the highest level, and they had to add up the numbers for the other teams in the Sunbelt to know that their team was undersized? Coach McCarney should have been able to make that assessment when he met with all the players right after he was hired.

I don't get it. This is a coaching staff with decades of experience coaching in conferences of the highest level, and they had to add up the numbers for the other teams in the Sunbelt to know that their team was undersized? Coach McCarney should have been able to make that assessment when he met with all the players right after he was hired.

I completely disagree. Coach Mac needed to evaluate OUR team first and then look at where it sits against the rest of the Sun Belt conference. I would guess he knew right away the team was undersized but did not know about how it stacked up against the rest of the Belt.

I don't get it. This is a coaching staff with decades of experience coaching in conferences of the highest level, and they had to add up the numbers for the other teams in the Sunbelt to know that their team was undersized? Coach McCarney should have been able to make that assessment when he met with all the players right after he was hired.

Each and every time I heard Coach Mac speak, from the day he arrived, he has talked about the "undersized squad" UNT has at the moment. He knew from the start that UNT, as a rule, was a tad "undersized". Looks like he just now took the time to figure out on average just how undersized. I am sure this has something to do with player goals set for the summer conditioning program.

Coach McCarney had most definitely already made this assessment. Maybe now he just put some actual numbers "on average" to the matter. Nice to have some goals for his players in the summer, right?

Each and every time I heard Coach Mac speak, from the day he arrived, he has talked about the "undersized squad" UNT has at the moment. He knew from the start that UNT, as a rule, was a tad "undersized". Looks like he just now took the time to figure out on average just how undersized. I am sure this has something to do with player goals set for the summer conditioning program.

Coach McCarney had most definitely already made this assessment. Maybe now he just put some actual numbers "on average" to the matter. Nice to have some goals for his players in the summer, right?

If I remember correctly, at the Denton coaches caravan stop, coach McCarney said there were 2 players that needed to lose weight. A handful were at optimal weight, and the rest of the team needed to gain.

I don't get it. This is a coaching staff with decades of experience coaching in conferences of the highest level, and they had to add up the numbers for the other teams in the Sunbelt to know that their team was undersized? Coach McCarney should have been able to make that assessment when he met with all the players right after he was hired.

He did, and mentioned it IIRC at his first press conference. Now he's establishing a baseline, sounds like. Good for him, and what a good coach does, IMO. Beats the smoke and unicorns by previous regimes and internet know-nothings, and is proof positive (if that was even an issue any more) of one--THE MAIN--reason why UNT has struggled defensively in the past 7 years.

All the blather in the past few years about "we need to get some COACHES up in here who can coach these kids up and put them in POSITION TO SUCCEED" is so much nonsense when discrepancies in size and conditioning is in black and white. However, I'm sure that that old saw will continue to be pulled out at some point if/when the MG struggle against the run and getting a pass rush. We'll see.

I guess many of the injuries last year kind of speak for themselves on this subject. I imagine that Denton High would lose half their team to injuries as well if they were to join the SBC. Not a lot of time left here to get bigger, so I sure hope these guys really get serious over the next couple of months.

I was on the sideline for 3 seasons worth of UNT games (06-08) and being down on the field I definitely noticed the size difference, even compared to our fellow SBC teams. There were two positions that really stood out to me. First was the defensive line. But second and the one that got my attention the most was receiver.

Our receivers looked like high school athletes compared to other schools, and not just when it came to their heigth. Our receivers, with the exception of a few, were all skinny without any definition.

Occasionally we'd get a Sam Roberson (6'4") or a Forrest Rucker (6'6"), but they didn't have that thickness and definition that I noticed other schools had. Maybe they didn't stick around long enough for the effects of the weight room to pay off??

But even our studs like Casey Fitzgerald and Johnny Quinn didn't have size. Both did happen to be two of the hardest workers I've ever seen though.

He did, and mentioned it IIRC at his first press conference. Now he's establishing a baseline, sounds like. Good for him, and what a good coach does, IMO. Beats the smoke and unicorns by previous regimes and internet know-nothings, and is proof positive (if that was even an issue any more) of one--THE MAIN--reason why UNT has struggled defensively in the past 7 years.

All the blather in the past few years about "we need to get some COACHES up in here who can coach these kids up and put them in POSITION TO SUCCEED" is so much nonsense when discrepancies in size and conditioning is in black and white. However, I'm sure that that old saw will continue to be pulled out at some point if/when the MG struggle against the run and getting a pass rush. We'll see.

Just about any halfway knowledgeable member of this board has known for years that our team is undersized and slower than most of their opponents.

That's why my main comment after Dodge's first recruitment class was......WHERE'S THE BEEF"? And I wasn't the only one.....and I wasn't paid 400K for that opinion either.

If the coaching staff wants to do busy work to show someone they are doing their job, that's fine with me. Just don't try to present it as some great insights/revelation on their part.

Just about any halfway knowledgeable member of this board has known for years that our team is undersized and slower than most of their opponents.

That's why my main comment after Dodge's first recruitment class was......WHERE'S THE BEEF"? And I wasn't the only one.....and I wasn't paid 400K for that opinion either.

If the coaching staff wants to do busy work to show someone they are doing their job, that's fine with me. Just don't try to present it as some great insights/revelation on their part.

I don't think the fact we're undersized is the revelation, but by exactly how much. Yes, half the people on the board realized we were undersized but until you have an exact number, you can't develop a successful plan to fix it. The numbers are part of that process. It provides more transparency to the players and gives them specific targets. In any business environment this would be due diligence. I think the real question is why didn't previous coaches do this?

Again.......either the online roster is lying or someone is misinformed here. Calculate the LB's average weight and it is 219.25 so less than a pound underneath said "Sunbelt norm"

Again, this is stating the obvious. There is a purpose behind a lot of what Coach Mac is saying. While it may or may not be true, it does nothing but lower expectations for a new coach to say these things in public. A new coach, taking over a struggling program, is always going to try and lower expectations for his 1st year. If this team goes 3-9, Coach Mac can point to all of the issues he brought up in preseason as the reason for the record. If this team goes a TFLF predicted 8-4, well all those preseason issues the coach spoke about just make that coach look all the more the genius.

It's PR, folks. And pretty smart PR at that, which gives me hope for this season.

Edited June 7, 2011 by UNT90

The average linebacker weight is closer to 216. You need to remove Daniel Prior (now a TE), and then add in Will Wright. I would assume there are also either unlisted walkons or incoming freshman that factor into the equation as well.

If anything we need to have oversized linebackers if we are going to keep running out an undersized Dline. Having the entire front seven undersized is killing us. Small and slow on defense is trouble.

Again.......either the online roster is lying or someone is misinformed here. Calculate the LB's average weight and it is 219.25 so less than a pound underneath said "Sunbelt norm"

Unless of course our roster is still employing the Riley Dodge Scale of Weights and Measures. When you add in our larger (listed) linebackers, we would have to have more than a couple sub-200 pound LB's to bring the average down to around two hundred pounds a piece. I sure hope that our DL is somewhere close to their listed size.

Again, this is stating the obvious. There is a purpose behind a lot of what Coach Mac is saying. While it may or may not be true, it does nothing but lower expectations for a new coach to say these things in public. A new coach, taking over a struggling program, is always going to try and lower expectations for his 1st year. If this team goes 3-9, Coach Mac can point to all of the issues he brought up in preseason as the reason for the record. If this team goes a TFLF predicted 8-4, well all those preseason issues the coach spoke about just make that coach look all the more the genius.

It's PR, folks. And pretty smart PR at that, which gives me hope for this season.

Agree 100%. Very astute maneuver by Mac. The good thing about it, is that it's a maneuver that simply addresses facts, instead of tossing wishing powder in the air and ignoring the emperor's nudity.

I will add that the proclamation puts Mac on the hook to begin to fix the issue with the next recruiting class.

That's why my main comment after Dodge's first recruitment class was......WHERE'S THE BEEF"? And I wasn't the only one....

You weren't the only one, and neither was I, but "it wouldn't take long to call roll."

And you damn sure wouldn't have heard the last 2 staffs make the proclamation 'we're undersized as a division 1 football team', which is my paraphrase of what Mac said in one of his first interviews.

I will add that the proclamation puts Mac on the hook to begin to fix the issue with the next recruiting class.

Yep. Don't tell me about the obvious, fix the obvious.

Linebackers are not a good example. The only "linebacker" who is that light (202) is Blake Dunham and I think of him as a deep snapper and special teamer unless/until he gains enough weight to play that position. The next closest is Will Wright at 204 and he's a converted safety who I predict will be 10-15 pounds heavier by fall.

To me, the average for all conference linebackers means little. The average for the best conference linebackers might be more telling. Zach Orr, one of our best, if not the best, linebacker weighs in at 240 so, as one poster said, there must be multiple sub-200 pounders somewhere.

The premise is simply not factual. In addition, speed is another measurable factor that should also be included.

It's very possible that some players have shifted weight.

DMac could be using a more true/current weight than what we see online at MGS.com.

Or he may actually be off.

The players are going to be in the weight room anyways working to bulk up.

I have about 35-40 extra pounds I would gladly donate to the cause.

Did anyone else catch that one of our most heralded recruits (Troy Franklinn) is no longer on the roster. He will remain a student at NT but is not on the team? Wasnt Franklinn supposed to be a corner-stone player for the future? I apologize if I am really this far behind on our players, but what happened? Coach Mac is having to make a LOT of changes quickly, and I know that's what we brought him here for. Still, Noble AND Franklinn off the roster.. I think Harry is going to have to suit up and play for Coach Mac this year!

So no hitting Harry at the GMG.com Bowl!

GMG!!!

Did anyone else catch that one of our most heralded recruits (Troy Franklinn) is no longer on the roster. He will remain a student at NT but is not on the team? Wasnt Franklin supposed to be a corner-stone player for the future? I apologize if I am really this far behind on our players, but what happened? Coach Mac is having to make a LOT of changes quickly, and I know that's what we brought him here for. Still, Noble AND Franklin off the roster.. I think Harry is going to have to suit up and play for Coach Mac this year!

So no hitting Harry at the GMG.com Bowl!

GMG!!!

LOL, don't worry in the shape im in I will likely be on the sidelines too much to be hit.. Hey lookit, Troy was a good kid and I like his parents a lot..his dad has posted on the board from time to time. I appreciate him giving his all but maybe he was just ready to finish things up academically. People need to understand this is a very physical game and injuries are difficult to deal with. I know Troy had some tough injuries he was dealing with seemed like the day he walked on campus. Noble, very bright kid but the truth was he was a considered a project player that had some height and ability. Dodge's regime had fallen so far off course that he had to look at a lot of projects and we are feeling the ramifications of this now. With Mac it's a different story. He is looking for guys that can play right now and have the D-I size and speed. I think it is great that these guys are continuing on with their education! But mark my words, you will see a dramatic change in the physical makeup of this team in the next 2-3 years.

But mark my words, you will see a dramatic change in the physical makeup of this team in the next 2-3 years.

Med, there's your answer. Harry has confirmed he will suit up.