[UNT TRANSFER PORTAL ACTIVITY]

21 minutes ago, MeanGreenTexan said:

I’ve been saying this for years.

Marcus Trice.    

That’s the list.  He’s the only difference-making P5 transfer we’ve had since I’ve been following this program.

And Trice was pushing for playing time as an underclassmen. Didn’t redshirt. Pegram pushed for playing time at Purdue. Enoch Jackson appeared to have pushed for playing time at Arkansas.

Latrell Neville, Tommy Bush, Cam Feldt (transferred from Arkansas same time as Trice) all did not push for playing time at all. Completely buried at their P5s, pretty much fared the same here.

I’m fine bringing in P5s as long as there is some semblance of pushing for playing time and they aren’t being relied on to be the best players on the team. 

[UNT TRANSFER PORTAL ACTIVITY]

1 hour ago, p_phelps said:

smu and utsa say different 

When we pay our players as much as SMU does, then we can have a different conversation.

And for UTSA, they brought in a few P5 transfers but I don’t think anyone would earnestly say they built their roster around them. Sure seemed like they built that thing around Sincere McCormick, Frank Harris, Franklin, Cephus, Jamal Ligon, and some of the other really good HS recruits that Frank Wilson and Traylor signed.

[UNT TRANSFER PORTAL ACTIVITY]

1 hour ago, Wag Tag said:

How many HS kids never made past the 3rd string at UNT? Maybe 1/2 of the 85 roster?  A player that has had 2 years of P5 weight training and nutrition can be a better option than a kid out of HS. If you can foresee a HS kid that can contribute quickly than great, now worry how you are going to keep him after his Sophomore season.  Long term development of a player is out the window.  Tulane coaches aren’t better the HS recruits aren’t better, the transfers are much better this year.

Right, but in a way when you get these P5 bottom of the depth chart transfers you are just about guaranteeing that you are getting an average at best but likely subpar player. They have proven to not be good college football players. They aren’t going to go from P5 3rd stringer to suddenly be all conference guys in the AAC.

This is the 5th offseason of the transfer portal. We have a sample size now. I’m fine getting P5 guys here and there who at least pushed for some playing time even if not as starters, but mainly I’d rather get FCS and DII all conference guys.

You aren’t going to get a KD Davis or Jyaire Shorter type player from a P5 portal because if a player of their caliber had ended up at a P5 out of high school, they wouldn’t be riding the bench at a P5. They’d be on the field there too and even if they did hit the portal they’d have P5 suitors.

[UNT TRANSFER PORTAL ACTIVITY]

8 minutes ago, Wag Tag said:

This is not the current idea at most schools. TP is still in the infancy stage. Their could be opportunity with HS players, because everybody is going after transfer players. You just need to figure out how you keep them once they develop. QB is a position I would not recruit out of HS. We could be in a great position with EM and players wanting to play coming from the P5 level.GMG

P5 transfers don’t excite me. Good P5 players transfer to other P5s. The P5s we get are 3rd stringers who have almost no experience and couldn’t cut it at the P5 level. Sometimes they can contribute, but for the most part they just aren’t good college football players. For example at receiver, there’s a reason Neville (Nebraska), Bryson Jackson (TCU), and Tommy Bush (Georgia) couldn’t get on the field and the guys we signed from high school were the ones making plays..

[DRC (updated with story: North Texas running backs coach Patrick Cobbs will remain on staff under new coach Eric Morris]

36 minutes ago, southsideguy said:

but I guess we lose Adaway now

I think there had to be an odd man out regardless. Maybe two. I don’t expect a 3 or 4 back rotation in Morris’ offense like we had this year. Ragsdale and Adeyi with a couple of the other guys providing depth should be plenty. If we can keep that much we’ll be good.

[UNT TRANSFER PORTAL ACTIVITY]

16 hours ago, Moobs said:

 

This is actually not a bad idea.  Catch players at their second collegiate stops and they have to sit out a year if they decide to leave you too.  That alone will probably keep most of them from leaving your program.

Make a name for developing the talent and this is a real viable recruiting strategy.

I wouldn’t count on the “sit out a year after transferring the second time.” The NCAA seems to have set a precedent that they are granting waivers to not have to sit out. Multiple QBs like JT Daniels and other players have and are doing it this offseason for a second or third time, presuming the NCAA will allow them to. Umoja Gibson transferred from UNT to OU two years ago and was immediately eligible, then transferred again this offseason and was immediately eligible at Depaul.

Also, I think the evidence we have still shows it’s best to build around high school players. Those have continually been our best players. Guys we had as freshmen. Portal guys have generally not been more than complementary players at best. Hopefully it gets better but I still think you’re more likely to get all-conference guys as high school players than rely on P5 washouts or lower level guys moving up.

[Some Positive Thoughts as NSD Approaches]

9 minutes ago, El Paso Eagle said:

 

But I think it would be to have been while we were in CUSA, and not starting out in the American

Yeah, it would’ve. And a decent chance we have Cam Ward as our QB. But point is, eventually the new coach will turn the roster over and that’s what we’re signing up for. A new coach who can take the program to the next level. And that eventually means the program will be all his and all his own players.

[Some Positive Thoughts as NSD Approaches]

2 hours ago, El Paso Eagle said:

Agree. This is why I wish we had done this reset last year.

It would have been the same thing, just with last year’s guys.

[Some Positive Thoughts as NSD Approaches]

I’ll never understand people freaking out about commits from the old staff decommitting or career backups transferring. When you make the decision to fire a coach, that’s what you sign yourself up for. 

[Commit Keith Smith hits the portal]

2 hours ago, TheReal_jayD said:

Hearing the UNT offer was no longer valid. Think Morris will let DC bring in his own recruits 

Any concern there with this being a bad look early on for him?

[Good Luck to Caimon Mathis]

47 minutes ago, jtm0097 said:

Unfortunately, I know it all too well. I grew up 20 miles from Marshall. That's also where Phil Bennett and former North Texas head coach  Dennis Parker are from.

Figured you did. You are the king of East Texas. 

[Good Luck to Caimon Mathis]

On 12/17/2022 at 1:41 PM, jtm0097 said:

Yes, that is correct. 

Mathis also coached at Marshall. Had you ever heard of Marshall, Texas?

[CUSA NET & KENPOM Rankings 12/15]

That domination of UMass brought our NET ranking up 13 spots from 65 to 52.

[Massachusetts (12/17/22)]

We are 3-22 from three. Just terrible. Free throws are great, but it’s not sustainable ball to bank on 25 points from the line.

[Massachusetts (12/17/22)]

22 minutes ago, GMG24 said:

Someone wake Abou up please man he’s sleep walking through this one… missing dunks, dropping passes.  

Aaron Scott is fun to watch on the glass, dude is always near the ball. 

I love Abou but it feels like he’s trying to be something he’s not this year. Going for thunderous dunks but missing because he doesn’t have any lift (last year he lays them in) and forcing shots that are out of his range or not really in his bag. He was a damn good player last year. That’s Abou. Just be Abou.

[Massachusetts (12/17/22)]

3 minutes ago, outoftown said:

Can I say that Sissoko was in there for 2 minutes only, but I thought he did well and I wouldn't mind seeing him for 2-5 more minutes

Absolutely 

[You want to sit out of a bowl .....]

2 hours ago, Cr1028 said:

I don’t think the sitting out part in and of itself is what is bothering @El Paso Eagle. His major complaint seems to be that McBride got to travel to the Bahamas with the team under the guise that he was going to play. Once he got there, he okie doked them and chose not to play. My feeling is that he should have to reimburse the university for all travel and expenses for the trip since he is no longer there as a student athlete.

Right. Or maybe the University should just take it out of his enormous cut of the bowl payout that he receives as the National Rushing Leader.

[Morris Vision on What North Texas Can Be]

2 minutes ago, Udomann said:

He keeps saying all the right things...

Might actually make me like the choice. Lets see where this train goes

What reasons made you not like the choice?

[DRC: UNT football needs a salesman with a big personality, will that be Eric Morris?]

I don’t know why everyone has such a hard time grasping the relationship aspect to this. Vito’s going to be charitable to the people who maintained a good and respectful relationship with him. McCarney did, Littrell did, Derek Thompson did and he pays them all back with putting their names in a positive light. Thompson used to always do post practice interviews for Vito and Vito would always be charitable to him and call him a future Hall of Famer.

[DRC: UNT football needs a salesman with a big personality, will that be Eric Morris?]

When we’re talking about hiring a coach, we’ll often say “we need our version of this other coach.” Our football version of Grant Mccasland, our version of Jeff Traylor, etc.

One type of hire that I liked the idea of modeling ours after is PJ Fleck at Western Michigan. He got hired there back in 2014 and he really did a tremendous job of selling that program to recruits, fans, and media. The biggest key was that there was substance behind it. They went 13-1 in 2016 with their only loss being to Wisconsin at the Cotton Bowl.

He has been solid at Minnesota too.

[UNT hired Washington State offensive coordinator and former Incarnate Word head coach Eric Morris to take over its program on Tuesday]

4 minutes ago, NorthTexasWeLove said:

I hope it works out. I do have 2 worries...

Not sure it checks the box in recruiting and that's concerning. 

Another air raid guy means we will continue to be incompetent on defense. 

Like others have said, I don't love it and I don't hate it. But it appears to be, from a far, a status quo hire. As in I'm not sure what is going to be the wholesale difference between Littrell and Morris. 

 

 

I do love it but those are my concerns as well.

[UNT hired Washington State offensive coordinator and former Incarnate Word head coach Eric Morris to take over its program on Tuesday]

3 minutes ago, Mean Green 93-98 said:

One thing I like about this hire is that it is not a reactionary hire.  Over the past 20 years, every hire we have made has a reaction to the previous head coach.  Dickey was ground-and-pound?  Our next hire has to be offensively explosive!  Then McCarney was a reaction to Dodge, Littrell was a reaction to Mac.  This hire is well-situated to build on a foundation that has been laid for him.

Completely agree. This is a point I always try and make any time we talk about Coach searches. Don’t pick the coach before you pick the person. Don’t preclude certain coaches because you convince yourself before the interviews that it HAS to be an OC, or a coach with previous coaching experience, etc.

[UNT hired Washington State offensive coordinator and former Incarnate Word head coach Eric Morris to take over its program on Tuesday]

8 minutes ago, flyonthewall said:

Also this feels much like mccasland,  just didn't have a stop between the w. State (baylor for mccasland) and us.

Small overachiever in college (same as mac) high energy......let's go!!!!!

I never put that comparison together but I would bet Mosley did. How many times have members of our fanbase said “we need our football version of Grant Mccasland” over the last few years? This does feel like we are going for that.

[UNT hired Washington State offensive coordinator and former Incarnate Word head coach Eric Morris to take over its program on Tuesday]

@aztecskinsold me on this guy in 2018 when he interviewed him and then watching him take that UIW program from FCS infancy to FCS powerhouse (partially finished off by Kinne) made it clear this dude was for real. Also always seemed like he would be a good fit at UNT. Feeling really good about this. 

[Texas Arlington (12/6/22)]

1 hour ago, BigWillie said:

To be fair, this was changed in the 2020-2021 season as you have illustrated and removed scoring margin. Efficiency isn't quite the same thing.

Thanks for the heads up. I hadn’t seen a new formula, and even in an article (from this season) I was reading they were still referencing the one I had up.