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We're heading into year three of the Littrell era following his third recruiting class and third spring football practice season. The overall roster talent under Littrell has turned around from Mccarney's last year, as we all expected and as it absolutely had to. In year two we saw an impressive 9 wins, but we can all agree that it was not a loaded roster and that a few players, including an all-conference quarterback, really led the way and helped us to a lot of close wins. Now with our post-spring depth chart out to look at, we have something that roughly resembles what we will trot out on the field for year three. On paper, it reminds me a lot of last year's roster. On offense you have a really good QB, good receivers, offensive linemen who have experience but are likely not going to be preseason all-CUSA picks, and no Jeff Wilson but with a promising young backfield. On defense you still see not much proven depth, a few solid dependable players, decent amount of returning experience among starters, and mainly upperclassmen starting. One of the two exceptions to the last point was a big surprise in Tyreke Davis being listed over Ashton Preston. Imo that is very promising to see. My personal evaluation is that we have some star playmakers like Fine, Guyton, and Lawrence who can lead this team to a lot of wins but I'm not necessarily sold that this roster, top to bottom, is shaping up like a top-of-the-conference type roster. I like seeing Tyreke Davis pushing Preston out of the listed starting lineup because it shows the possibility of a recruited underclassmen locking up a starting spot early because of good play rather than lack of competition at the spot. NFL-type players are guys that come in and push legit D1 players out of starting spots. I would like to see more of that. Many of the young players who have played under Littrell so far have done so by default or because of lack of competition. Ozougwu starting over a walkon at Jack is an example of that. That's not a great look. So what do you guys think of the roster Littrell has built to this point? Do you see this roster becoming a top CUSA roster this year? Does this roster have the talent across the board to survive a key injury or two?

Been awhile since someone brought that back. Never gets old.

It's a formula in Excel at this point.

I may be remembering incorrectly, but don't they only put players who participate in spring training on the post-spring two-deep?

It's his freshman year--as of right now, he's in position to be the #2 his sophomore year and start his junior year. Of course, things could change with that; but as things presently stand, talking about Pearson transferring out has crossed beyond premature and into ludicrous.

Is this the first year in forever that we're not gonna argue the QB position?

These things are not cheap. If you do not drive it yourself you should budget about $86.46/hr. If you are the driver you should budget about $71.46/hr for operation. Here is the math for those who love to argue the minutia: Sample data in calculation 13 trips performed 78 total hours of service 1,450 miles of travel Associated hard costs Cost to “make ready” 13 washes/prep— $10/hour x 13 hours = $130 Driver wages (including pre/post trip) — $15/hour x 104 hours = $1,560 Fuel — 263 Gallons @ $2.60 = $683.80 Insurance (monthly premium) = $342 Associated soft costs Oil change ($150 per 6,000 miles) — .025 per mile x 1,450 = $36.25 Tire replacement — ($450 per 100,000 miles).0045 per mile x 1,450 = $39.18** Major tune-up — ($600 per 75,000 miles) .008 per mile x 1450 = $11.60 TOTAL BREAK-EVEN POINT = $7,060.43 Excludes employer payroll tax or workers’ comp premium **Based on six tires Hourly break-even point: $6,744.18 / by 78 hours of service = rate of $86.46 per hour OR $6,744.18 / 1,450 miles = $4.65 per mile Fuel Bus fuel capacity: 250 gallons Average MPG: 4 to 9 mpg Average fill-up cost: $950 Commercial truck stop required for large buses Maintenance Tire replacement: $400 — $600 each Lube, oil and filter service: $150 — $250 Turbo replacement (diesel): $1,500 — $2,000 Insurance Minimum: $5 million liability required Monthly cost: $280 — $500 Labor National average hourly pay School bus drivers: $10.19 — $18.32 Transit bus drivers: $9.57 — $23.09 Greyhound Bus Lines: $15 — $20.67 Source: Payscale.com

DRC: http://www.dentonrc.com/sports/mean-green/2018/04/06/follow-thoughts-unts-depth-chart-including-curious-case-bryce-english

DRC: http://www.dentonrc.com/sports/mean-green/2018/04/05/davis-starting-safety-among-surprises-unt-depth-chart

I still don't see a "one possession defense." In 2002 we had a one possession defense, and in 2013 we had a one possession defense. If either of those teams' offenses could get you ahead by one possession to start the 4th quarter, it was lights out. I still see a "three possession defense."

The fact that they went ahead and put Rod Young at DE tells me something. Last year, they had to put him back at DT when English went out. If T.J. goes down, we have a true freshman starting with no real depth...at DT?!? I don't think the coaching staff would put themselves in that position. Maybe I've been sniffing too much green model glue, but I see that depth chart as a sign the coaches expect English to be lining up to annihilate SMU's backfield.

The best ability is availability.

He's literally so far out of the football conversation my initial thought was, is Harry asking for some translation? Which is really sad.

Hello everyone, here's my lengthy breakdown of how North Texas won the CBI Finals and the adjustments that went into it. Plenty of clips in the story which I hope load for you. Let me know what you think, enjoy. -MB https://www.ntdaily.com/analysis-how-mccasland-and-his-staff-coached-their-way-to-a-cbi-championship/

No doubt. But we are more so Coach Bro Tech than Leach Tech. Leach's Tech teams could go swing for swing in spite of their defense in most seasons. Coach Bro's Tech teams get manhandled at the LOS on both sides of the ball against average and above average teams 10 out of 10 times thus almost always losing those games.

The physical issue concerns me. I can't get the way Troy basically bullied us physically in the NO Bowl out of my head...

It's amazing that we still don't have a senior starting skill position player.... This offense should be phenomenal in 2018 and downright terrifying in 2019

The defense is a big concern, but I have a tough time looking at the staff and killing them over it. Both sides were in bad shape when they got here and they prioritized offense over defense. If we continue to prioritize offense and let the defense suffer from here, then I can take the staff to task over it. Given the recent results, I am willing to give them a little leeway to continue to build and improve. They built and offense from nothing in a very short time, and defense can be more difficult to recruit to given the scarcity of players in those positions. Success on the field should allow us to get more of the higher quality defensive guys.

This was always the rub on Mike Leach's teams at Tech or Briles' teams at Baylor. Just never focused much on defense, only on offensive talent. They would have huge OLinemen, great skill players, but their defense was running out some lackluster talent. So when they played tams that had better talent on both sides of the ball, it generally turned into a massacre (see Tech's epic beatdown at OU in 2008) or just losing a huge lead late (see Baylor's epic meltdown in the Cotton Bowl against Michigan State in 2014)

Isn't QS a Senior this year? That would allow Pearson to be the backup in 19 as a RS Sophomore and the inside track to start his Junior and Senior years. I would think that would be attractive to him and a good reason to stick around.

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/23020822/amaad-wainright-kansas-state-charged-suspended-team

I think he’s upgraded the roster at a very high level with skill positions. But the lines still look lighter than we need them to be. And I think that we can’t be so aggressive with our DBs next season unless the pass rush has improved—that cost us greatly against teams that could pass (SMU, FAU, and Troy, as well as UAB). I do worry about next year being a return to the mean and that we don’t win all of those close games like we did this past year. But the schedule is helped by having both Liberty and Incarnate Word, as well as Rice, UTEP, and SMU at home with a new coach and without their first round WR. That should be five wins right there. Win 4 of the remaining 7 games and we get back to 9 wins, which is doable.

That wide receiver room is legit!

i'm still worried about the line on both sides of the ball... neither side has been very strong since '13 and it started to really show towards the end of last year

Well, sometimes it just takes more than a single game.

My question as well, Harry.

Sorry the source was from 2015... Gas would be $683.80 at $2.60 a gallon. So with fuel cost today it would lower the hourly cost by $3.21. So $86.46/hr or $71.46/hr respectively. Thanks for keeping me honest. I corrected the math above

According to the federal Energy Information Administration, the "levelized cost" of new wind power (including capital and operating costs) is 8.2 cents per kWh. Advanced clean-coal plants cost about 11 cents per kWh, the same as nuclear. But advanced natural gas-burning plants come in at just 6.3 cents per kWh. I think I am buying from NRG at 7.8 cents per kWh right now. Again for the minutia hounds: The levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) is given by: {\displaystyle \mathrm {LCOE} ={\frac {\text{sum of costs over lifetime}}{\text{sum of electrical energy produced over lifetime}}}={\frac {\sum _{t=1}^{n}{\frac {I_{t}+M_{t}+F_{t}}{\left({1+r}\right)^{t}}}}{\sum _{t=1}^{n}{\frac {E_{t}}{\left({1+r}\right)^{t}}}}}} It : investment expenditures in the year t Mt : operations and maintenance expenditures in the year t Ft : fuel expenditures in the year t Et : electrical energy generated in the year t r : discount rate n : expected lifetime of system or power station

i'd love to help them out, but I would probably have to sell one of my fighter jets to make room for it.

What would be considered a step up? Is starting as a Jr or Sr considered a good recruit. I know all want fresh and sophomores starting because of better talent. What if a player is in the rotation as a Jr but isn’t a starter till a Sr. Fusche would be an example! Is that considered a successful recruit?

If we can turn into the Leach Tech (consistently win 8-10 games) then i will live with a few defensive struggles.

hmm... I'm not sure I completely agree with this. I see what you mean, but I also think a defense will always have to choose how to they want to defend. Yes, they can come up with a game plan that may be able to put a particular aspect of an offense at a disadvantage but in doing so they (the defense) also put themselves at a disadvantage. Only the special defenses have the ability to completely shut down an offense, and thankfully, we wont be playing to many of those teams. I think we are very close to having the type offense FAU had last year. Unstoppable, at least in CUSA.

If one of the younger guys leapfrogs him in the depth chart, his transferring would become a legitimate possibility. But every school signs at least one QB each class. Unless he wants to go to a school with far lesser talent on its roster, Cade's in a great position at UNT right now.

Don't get me wrong, I hope Cade stays and it works out like you say. However, it seems more and more in today's environment, players are transferring, especially if new players are added at their positions.

Ahhhh we have a coaching advantage! Great info. GMG

He's recovering from another surgery. Did not participate in Spring Practice, hence, he's not on the 2-deep. Not surprising. He'll be fine in the Fall & will battle with Tauaalo for the starting job at the nose.

Maybe to early but I was hoping the JUCO guys would have more of an impact. They have the size on defense I would like to see. Don't like a 6',1" 300lb DE, but I like Rod, also don't want to see an undersized freshman in the mix at nose. Red Shirt all freshman DL. We will always get the skill position guys, the trenches will always be a challenge and that is why we need to red shirt those guys! GMG

Possibly, but the majority of his tape shows him playing Jack or hand on the ground DE.

Faison? I thought he's more SAM like Ejiya?

One of the best basketball reviews I've seen in a long time with all of the video examples. Great job!

I am not sure what hotel uses but I did find the hotel that the Baylor recruits stay at.

The way I read the depth chart, Torrey, Johnson, and Easly are all "co-number 2's."

I believe I called Tyreke starting. Preston was exposed a lot last year. Glad to see him step up. That nickel spot is so important in this defense. Love the two deep at the WR position. We are absolutely stacked. Also glad to see King doing well. He looked great in the spring game

Good to watch the adjustments that the staff made there at the end. side by side really was something to see.

Its a good rumor to put out there, if you think of negotiating up your salary ;)

Thank you

This is exactly what we need! I was hoping for a Jordan Williams style player and this kid seems to fill that void with a little more height and versatility in the post. We land him and we will be dangerous next year (more dangerous than we already will be).

Your are correct. Baker got the liberty Christian campus done, got the stadium built, hired Littrell, Mitchell, stracke, kee, llama, hedlund....convinced Ernie to get on board, on boarded Westheimer for the golf practice facility...... it was time for r.v. to go, but don’t constantly call people who donated millions to move this thing along, and are still donating millions to keep it moving idiots. It’s old and tired two years down the road.