MGNation92

True. But isn't a typical 3-tech like 280? I like the speed we have on defense but I wonder if the size deficiency in the line will hurt us in the run game

Interestingly that they also play with 3 down lineman the majority of the time. I guess Ekeler likes his experience playing a 3-tech/5-tech

Maybe those who have seen multiple practices can attest that Morris is miles ahead of Shanbour as Vito suggests. Otherwise I trust Littrell's words of "he's not far off". I think the staff will have a legitimate question as to who will start. Maybe the depth chart will motivate Shanbour and he pushes ahead in the summer/fall to start. That's what I'm hoping for. Color me unimpressed with Morris. He's Derek Thompson 2.0 and as much as DT did for us, he's not exactly Tom Brady

Love his knack for finding the end zone. Wilson is a great back no doubt but he doesn't seem to do well in getting TD's. Hopefully they can become a solid 1/2 punch in the running game. Kid shows good power and lower body strength to keep his legs moving.

Defensive line is way too thin for my liking.

I wouldn't call it falling in love. Vito is pushing the Morris narrative and I think Shanbour is better. One mans opinion to another

Calvin Minor at the Rover? Interesting. Hopefully Rutherford can put on some weight over the summer

Plus having arguably one of the greatest college QB's of all time to assist you in molding the offense can't hurt. Every member of the offense has coached/played in highly successful offenses on the college level. Couple that with defensive coaches that have been successful on the college level make the ceiling of this staff infinitely higher than dodge and his staff. Littrell was a great hire in his own right(IMHO). Once I saw the staff he assembled I'm near convinced they can be extremely successful at North Texas

Todd Dodge spread =/= Seth Littrell Air Raid. Both are technically spread offenses but the philosophies are very much different

GOODNIGHT, SAYS LARAMIE LEE

Gotta love the McCarney way of recruiting/Coaching. Is he an ogre freak 5 star athlete that threw one pass in high school on a trick play? Yes you can play QB here. As long as you don't mind waiting behind a smaller, less athletic kid that can't throw the ball, and never getting reps until we travel to #1 Alabama to play a road game.

I wonder how many of these "misses" we'll see bite us in the ass over the next couple of years

No not related in any way shape or form. I've posted about many other things on this board, Shanbour being the most recent topic of discussion. I think the staff and media crowned Morris early. Everyone assumed he was the guy and will be the guy. I'm not so convinced. I just think Shanbour is a better fit. If you would like I can talk about how inept RV is and how much of a failure North Texas athletics has been for the past 15 years. Just trying to have engaging offseason conversation

Yeah might've been a bit of a stretch, but he still has a decent arm. I don't think you have to have a cannon to be successful in this offense

1. Release - Shanbour has a lightning quick release that is unrivaled by any QB on the roster. In an offense predicated on timing, a fast release is probably more important than anything else. 2. Mobility - Shanbour is also quicker/faster than any QB on the roster. With a shoddy o-line at best, escapability becomes all the more important. 3. Intelligence - as noted by many on the board, Shanbour is probably the smartest QB of the bunch and has consistently shown academic prowess both in the classroom and film room. This intelligence also allows him to make better reads and audibles at the line. 4. Continuity - Shanbour has 2 years of eligibility left, meaning he can take the reigns this season and continue building through next season giving us an entrenched starter for 2 important early years of Littrell's tenure. 5. System QB - Shanbour has played in the spread his entire career on high school and at OK State before transferring to the Metamucil McCarney offense, where he was quickly shoved to the side for Andrew "Red Rocket" McNulty by a senile old man. 6. The read option/spread option - this kind of ties in to the mobility. Having a QB that can effectively run a read option attack can open up many more possibilities in the passing game (see 2015 Matt Davis) and makes more defenders account for the QB rather than focus on other players. 7. Arm strength - not only does he possess the quickest release of the QB group. He also has a strong arm. Strong enough to make every throw on the field. 8. Walk-on - see every successful walk-on at any school ever. His lack of recruitment gives him stronger desire and will to succeed. He has been pushed aside his entire career for subpar competition and continues to work hard and improve to silence the doubters (he's never been handed anything) 9. Moxie - call it guts, testicular fortitude, whatever term you may wish. That laser throw straight down the seam to a blanketed TE for a touchdown as well as his willingness to run for tough yards when it's needed prove this kid has balls of steel. I'd rather that kid lead me into battle every day. Not some kid from Allen who got crowned prematurely by the AD Suck it Vito I WANT TO BELIEVE

If Prater continues to develop we could end up having a very solid receiving corps over the next 3 years

Littrell and staff swinging for the fences. Might as well take a shot. Who knows

Pretty easy to throw the ball when the opposing defense has 9 guys keying on your Heisman winning running back to stop the run

But did he play at Alabama?

The others that have seen multiple scrimmages have said as such. He'll light it up one practice, then flop the next. Graham Harrell himself said he was "streaky" at the coaches show. What happens if he comes out against smut, goes 29/40 for 350 yards and 3 tds, then goes 15/40 for 175 yards and 3 int's against Bethune Cookman(highly unlikely, but that's what happens to "streaky" players)? We will still push the narrative that he's head and shoulders above Shanbour? Call me skeptical, but I'm not buying the hype. Hopefully Morris shuts me up come Sept 3rd and every game after.

I would almost argue that Shanbour's strengths fit this offense better than Morris. Quick release, ability to read the defense, mobility to mix in the read option. Morris might be bigger with a better deep ball but he seems very inconsistent

Looks like Vito finally got his parking pass. A few things of note: He's also a whole lot less mobile than Shanbour. If I have a shaky offensive line I want a Russell Wilson, not a Joe Flacco. La Tech has been running the air raid for years now. The players knew the system and had run it before they got there. This is Littrell's first year and doesn't have the players that La Tech did with Sokol and Driskel

I wouldn't be surprised to see him put on 20 pounds and the rest of the line lose 20 pounds over summer workouts. Fact is we don't need maulers for this offense and that's exactly what we have. We need agility on the line and that's exactly what we don't have. Hopefully that's stressed over summer workouts

I see it as Morris is only here for this year. Shanbour is here for the next two. Why not start Shanbour, let him grow in the system, that way we have an established starter going into the 2017 season? I don't think Morris/Shanbour will be the difference between 2-10 and 7-5, so why not let the guy who will be here next year have growing pains so he can better adjust for next year? Morris guarantees we hit the reset button at the most important position on the field two years in a row. Look at what smut did with Matt Davis, he grew as the year went on, made some plays with his legs, and now is firmly entrenched for this year.

To that point Shanbour had about a 60 yard breakaway run for a TD that was negated because someone barely touched him. That's probably to the house in a real game situation