MeanGreenGlory

What's the rationale behind waiting until after spring to get defensive linemen in the portal vs. going after more in the previous portal window?

I want to agree with you. Truly, I really do... But I don't think anybody was looking at our run defense last year and thinking, "I'm worried about playing them."

Wait... You didn't expect him to say that we're merging with the SEC? This is the problem with UNT athletics! Our fanbase has such low expectations!

I hear you, but it’s business and he played it the right way. If he came off too proud and supportive of UNT, that could come back to bite him in irrational ways from Tech fans/admin… For example, ”You lost because you love UNT too much!” and other ridiculous accusations. A positive shout out to UNT and shifting focus to his current team is exactly what he needed to do.

I expected to see them bring in experienced defensive line players who could come make an immediate impact. We didn’t have a strong three man front last year, let alone any depth. If they don’t pull in some stud DL players late, I don’t understand how they think the defense will perform any better. Even then, would loved to have had some strong DL transfers here in the spring to learn the 3-3-5 system… I agree with a D grade on defense.

It's always been tough to root against Saban. He seemed to legitimately care about the development of his players as people while simultaneously setting exceptionally high standards and sustaining years of success. None of that is easy to do, and he managed to do it all with a great deal of humility. He'll go down in the history books (and for great reason). On another note, those are BIG shoes to fill. It's going to be challenging for Alabama to carry on like business as usual. They're likely going to experience some challenges as they go through an identity crisis finding their next long-term HC. It'll be interesting to see how the school and fans respond to that.

I don't understand why we keep recruiting the puzzle piece position... We already have at least 60 puzzle pieces on the roster and another 20+ puzzle pieces committed in this year's class... Can we please start recruiting positions of need?

He's proven he's an effective QB and knows the system. Why start over with an unproven QB if you have a proven player who can build off a productive year and move the team forward faster?

All true. However, I think Cobbs has shown he likes to play multiple RBs every game, so I don't think the comments are necessarily about one being better or trying to steal any thunder. Having both of these transfers lining up in green in the backfield next year is exciting.

Is my math correct in that we signed four defensive linemen, and all of them are coming from high school?

That was absolutely one of the best trick plays I've ever seen.

Wasn't a tougher schedule a natural part of moving to a better conference? I'd much rather have a tougher schedule with these teams than still being in CUSA or the Sun Belt... We should focus on elevating our program rather than wishing for an easier schedule.

It’s worth noting that having knowledge of media rights and having great relationships and negotiating skills with media outlets is an essential part of this job. All of this revolves around money now, and media deals are the biggest source of income and exposure for conferences. This is where Aresco did pretty well and where Judy fell very short. We need someone who will continue negotiating good media deals with high dollars and great exposure.

I’m not saying the money isn’t meaningful or that players shouldn’t pursue an opportunity to play at a higher level. I’m just saying it’s a gamble. We all make them in life. Sometimes they work out, sometimes they don’t.

That's the gamble players are taking with the portal. It was almost guaranteed that Shorter would have had an explosive year at North Texas if he stayed. Instead, he gambled and racked up a whopping 10 yards in one game at Auburn. The grass isn't always greener.

I don’t think Morris was a bad hire. His offense is doing well in his first season with room to grow as he recruits to his system. We’re putting plenty of points in the board to win games… Caponi, on the other hand, was a bad hire in my opinion. Not at all because of him personally…but why would you bring in an inexperienced DC to implement a scheme that the roster clearly isn’t built for and expect success in an elevated conference? I was optimistic at first based on his Iowa State experience and what they were able to do with the 3-3-5…but this is bad. I think it’s time to call it a failed experiment and bring in an experienced DC who runs a four man front and knows how to coach tackling and produce stops.

My top pick would be Bryant Haines, the DC at JMU. https://jmusports.com/sports/football/roster/coaches/bryant-haines/3449 Greg Gasparato — First year DC at Troy — has also been impressive. However, he’s still a bit inexperienced compared to Haines and Kehres, so I’m not as confident he could quickly generate similar success here.

Best of luck!

You have to give this staff and team credit. They have improved week after week, and I'm far more excited about the last stretch of the schedule than I was after the Cal and FIU games. I agree with others that Morris' aggressive playcalling has been a positive and, frankly, refreshing. It's still balanced, but we're stretching the field about as wide and far as I've seen us stretch it in a long time. I also thought the onside kick call in the Tulane game was brilliant. The defensive players seem to be getting more comfortable in the 3-3-5 scheme. They've made dramatic improvements since the first game. The run defense, which was our Achilles heel at the beginning of the season, has improved, and the number of interceptions we've forced this year compared to the past few has been impressive. With continued experience in the scheme plus another recruiting cycle for the staff to hit the portal and address personnel gaps/depth, I'm more confident than before that Caponi will field a stout defense next year.

It happened. The defense played well enough to beat Navy. The offense came up short.

Time to lock the gate… Time to go to work…

There's a lot of doom and gloom around here right now, but I just glanced at the scores of the first four games and noticed a positive trend line worth noting: Points Scored: Game 1: 21 Game 2: 39 Game 3: 40 Game 4: 45 Points Allowed: Game 1: 58 Game 2: 46 Game 3: 37 Game 4: 31 Each game, the offense has scored more points and the defense has allowed fewer points. You can argue that the last game against an FCS opponent should have been a bigger spread, and there's truth to that, but overall it looks like the players are getting more comfortable with the new schemes. Regarding Navy, I'm less concerned about our offense and more concerned about our run defense. If we can score 35+ and keep them to 28 or under, I think it'll be an indicator that we'll be competitive in the rest of conference play.