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It’s been a busy summer for Brelan Chancellor, member of the class of CCHS 2010. Not only has he returned home to Copperas Cove to coach the very team he played for while at CCHS, he is being recognized by his college alma mater, the University of North Texas “Mean Green.” In his time at the University of North Texas, Chancellor had 324 rushing yards, 1,711 receiving yards, 3,468 return yards, 5,503 all-purpose yards and a total of 20 touchdowns, before a brief stint with the San Diego Chargers. Just this past week, Chancellor was informed that his alma mater is inducting him into their Hall of Fame. Chancellor talked about how he’s processing everything since the news broke. “It’s the same cloud-9 feeling as when we won the 2014 Heart of Dallas Bowl against UNLV (36-14), just full of emotions,” Chancellor said. “Before that game, we set individual goals and goals as a team to make sure we played our absolute best game ever. It has made me think back to all the people who helped me along the way and getting the stamp of approval.” When asked about his fondest memories at the University of North Texas, the Heart of Texas Bowl game came up again. “We came into that game and said how we wanted to change the way North Texas is remembered and did exactly that. The group of men we had that year was a special group of men and we all worked as hard as we could to get to that moment, we will all be brothers forever.” added Chancellor. read more: https://www.coveleaderpress.com/sports/copperas-cove-alum-coach-be-named-hall-fame

• On Wednesday, Clemmons was on the field at Carleton University to practise with the Redblacks, joined by fellow offensive lineman Jake Silas, receiver Brelan Chancellor and defensive back Lew Toler. Whether any of the newcomers would play in the Redblacks’ final pre-season game against the Montreal Alouettes on Saturday is unknown. There’s only one more full practice Thursday and a short “walk-through” on Friday before a bus ride to Quebec City. Chancellor, Toler and Dixon played at North Texas State, Rutgers and Washington, respectively. read more: http://ottawacitizen.com/sports/local-sports/redblacks-shuffle-training-camp-roster

Brelan didn't make it through the first roster cuts. It didn't appear that he got many opportunities in the actual preseason games to showcase his ability. I really hope he can latch onto a practice squad and get another chance to make a team. http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/sports/Chargers-Trim-Roster-272667331.html

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Brelan Chancellor, WR -- At 5-foot-9 and 188 pounds, Chancellor showed impressive ability as a return man at North Texas, finishing fifth in the country in punt returns with an average of 16.1 yards and 11th in kickoff returns with an average of 27.6 yards. Read more: http://espn.go.com/blog/afcwest/post/_/id/66729/chargers-rookie-minicamp-primer

Brelan Chancellor of North Texas could also fit the bill. Chancellor was one of just two players in FBS to rank in the top 30 in kickoff and punt return average last season (the other, Christion Jones, is still matriculating at Alabama). His 16.1-yard average on punt returns ranked sixth in FBS; his 27.6-yard average on kickoff returns was 19th. He scored each way last year and also has potential as a slot receiver. He's one of the most exciting players in this year's class, even if his likely draft spot -- somewhere in the 200's -- doesn't reflect that. read more: http://www.denverbroncos.com/news-and-blogs/article-1/Broncos-Position-Breakdown-Special-Teams/3c044afd-8783-4839-ad6d-2d824cfa1c36

Two of the best linebackers in recent North Texas history met just a few weeks ago during the Mean Green’s spring game and the festivities that surrounded it. Cody Spencer was back in town to be inducted into the UNT Athletic Hall of Fame and met Zach Orr, who followed in his footsteps during his career with the Mean Green. The hope for UNT is that the parallels between the two will continue sometime in the next few days during the NFL draft. Spencer began a his five-year NFL career after being selected in the sixth round of the 2004 draft. UNT has been waiting for its next player to be selected in the draft ever since. Read more: http://www.dentonrc.com/sports/colleges/north-texas-headlines/20140507-football-expectations-run-high-at-unt-for-nfl-draft.ece

I went by UNT’s Pro Day this morning and picked up a host of information and even some video. There were 20 scouts in attendance in one of the bigger turnouts in recent years. There were a lot of familiar faces in terms of scouts, former players and coaches on hand. Former UNT players Lance Dunbar and Craig Robertson were there. Former UNT player, assistant coach, recruiting coordinator and all-around good guy Bruce Bell was on hand. read more: http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2014/04/unt-pro-day-times-notes-and-thoughts-video-coming.html/

Chancellor goes out in style Chancellor had the chance to provide one final impactful performance for the North Texas Mean Green and he did just that in one of college football’s more hallowed grounds. The former Copperas Cove Bulldawg had touchdown runs from 3 and 15 yards out to go along with six catches for 74 yards in a 36-14 win over UNLV at the Heart of Dallas Bowl on New Year’s Day at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. Chancellor helped the Mean Green win its first bowl game since the 2002 New Orleans Bowl and win more games in 2013 than the previous five seasons before head coach Dan McCarney arrived in Denton last season. Chancellor entered the game as North Texas’ leading receiver with 718 yards and four touchdowns on 47 catches. Another former Cove standout, Brandin Bryd also rode off into the sunset with a win as he rushed for 52 yards on 20 carries against UNLV. He finishes the season with 1,075 yards and 11 touchdowns. Read more: http://kdhnews.com/kdhpressbox/former-area-standouts-shine-during-bowl-season/article_9247b614-7763-11e3-8263-0019bb30f31a.html

Brelan Chancellor, WR, North Texas (vs. UTEP): Chancellor has been an inconsistent player this season. He's had big games, usually resulting from big plays, and some games where he has done very little. However, UTEP has allowed an average of 41 points per game, so it doesn't seem like a team that is going to stop Chancellor. All he needs is to break off one long play, which he is more than capable of, and he should get an abundance of chances against the Miners. Read more: http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/story/24199121/week-11-start-em-and-sit-em

DENTON, Texas Senior Brelan Chancellor, one of the most prolific return specialists in the nation, was named to Phil Steels 2013 Midseason first-team All-American as the kick returner. Chancellor, who was named to the magazines All-C-USA team in three different positions earlier this week, is one of only two players from Conference USA on the first-team. Chancellor is averaging 31.6 yards a kick return that includes a 99-yard touchdown return against No. 9 Georgia. He is averaging 19.3 yards a punt return with returns of 62, 55 and 48 yards this season. Chancellor is the only player in the nation in the top-10 in both kick and punt returns this season. On Tuesday Chancellor was named to All-C-USA first-team as a kick returner and second team as a wide receiver and punt returner. Chancellor has three kickoff returns for a touchdown in his career. He is the active career leader in multiple categories nationwide. Chancellor is the nations active leader in kickoff return yards a game (78.5) and kickoff returns per game (3.2). Chancellor is second in the nation among active players with 2,747 kickoff return yards. http://www.meangreensports.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/101713aad.html]

In their years as teammates, Brandin Byrd and Brelan Chancellor have made numerous trips to various high school and college stadiums to represent both Copperas Cove and the University of North Texas. But, there is one thing that the duo has yet to do, go bowling. At least in terms of the college football postseason. They aim to change that this year as the senior running back and wide receiver look to lead the Mean Green (3-3, 1-1 Conference USA) to its first bowl berth in nearly a decade. “The main goal for my senior year is to try and get us to a bowl game because we haven’t been to one since we’ve been here,” Byrd said. “That’s the key goal and to do whatever I need to do to help my team win ball games.” “I feel like I owe this university a lot,” Chancellor said. “They gave me a chance to play football and get a great education.” North Texas hasn’t made a bowl appearance since the 2004 New Orleans Bowl. The Mean Green’s last bowl win came in 2002 when it beat Cincinnati 24-19 in that same bowl game. The Mean Green would be bowl eligible with three wins in their last six games. UNT is currently in third place in the Conference USA West Division behind co-leaders Tulane and Rice. The Mean Green visit Louisiana Tech on Saturday. Read more: http://kdhnews.com/kdhpressbox/duo-aims-to-lead-mean-green-to-bowl-game-this/article_96429e66-36e8-11e3-81ac-0019bb30f31a.html

Well my friends, I've had some time to process this and really think about what we witnessed on Saturday and count me in with the "happy" camp. Granted, I'm not planning any parade routes or anything ridiculous like that, but I am feeling overall "pretty decent" about what took place in Athens. And while I'm feeling pretty "not sucky" about the whole thing, there are definitely some areas for concern. Here are some things I took from that game. 1. Jub Jub can make one heck of a football call. Due to a family trip on the bride's side of the family that was planned several months ago, I listened live while cruising down I-20 towards East Texas. While I was disappointed that I couldn't see it as it happened, I knew George would not disappoint me with making me feel like I was there. His call of Brelan's kickoff return was greatness. The signal gave way moments after our blocked punt, which was kind of fitting since that's where our chances started to give way. 2. Brelan Chancellor is electric. If there's not one already, we need to get a nickname for this dude. Considering Apogee is an electricity provider, and we play at Apogee, something like "ABC" (Apogee Brelan Chancellor) or something like that might be nice. I dunno, I was never really good at the nickname thing. 3. We MUST get better man-to-man coverage. This was our glaring weakness. We keep leaving the corners alone on islands and they have to learn the first thing I learned as a defensive back -- WATCH FOR THE BALL!!!!!! (I realize this has been stated quite often around here, but what's one more time, right?) It was literally the first thing I learned as a young Jr. High DB -- if you turn and look for the ball, you can literally land on the receiver backwards and not get called. Why? Because if you position yourself right, you can actually make the receiver try to go over YOUR back. PLAY THE BALL. I know it's sometimes easier said than done, but if you see a receiver put his hands in the air, TURN AROUND!! 4. This team has guts. For that brief period of time after the blocked punt, I felt like we had a shot to take this thing. I'm not going to lie -- there was a bit of doubt there, too. But man, it felt really good to be playing meaningful football late in the third quarter against a top 10 team! And not one single time did they give up out there. I truly feel like they left it all on the field Saturday, and for that I am dang proud of our guys! I don't know how many heard the sideline reporter talking about Coach Mac's halftime speech, but it was exactly what the guys needed to hear. And out of the gate, it looked like they took it to heart. 5. We need depth. I believe this was another key difference Saturday. And in FBS football, it's typically what separates the big guys from the smaller guys. I believe in Coach Mac though, and think he'll get us there. Let him keep recruiting his kind of players and keep coaching them and I think we'll like what we see. 6. It's easy to over-react. As many have already said in the past 50-something hours, Saturday's performance meant nothing if we don't take care of business from here on out. "One game at a time" needs to be this team's mantra, and I think it will be. There's still a lot of football left. Some think that's a lot of opportunity to screw things up. Some think it's a lot of opportunity for good things. I believe in the latter. 7. I'm proud to be a Mean Green fan/student! That's all I've got to this point that hasn't already been said. I did get to watch this last night after we made it back home. I want to see that same energy in two weeks against Tulane. And then again here against MTSU . . . etc. I think they can do it. I think the good far outweighed the bad Saturday. Let's hope the boys in green prove me right from here on out!

North Texas knows exactly what it has heading into the season with Brelan Chancellor. The senior is about as proven as a player can be at the college level after three seasons of highlight-reel catches and consistent production that has put him at the top of the scouting report for all of the Mean Green’s opponents. The concern for UNT heading into its Aug. 31 season opener against Idaho isn’t Chancellor — it’s the wide receivers the Mean Green is depending on to complement him. What wide receivers coach Mike Grant has seen during a little more than a week in fall practice has him and his players feeling better about the situation. Darnell Smith, who essentially fell into UNT’s lap last season after walking on following two years at Ellsworth Community College in Iowa, has emerged as a leader and likely starter. The return of Carlos Harris and the addition of transfers Darius Terrell and Carl Caldwell will provide UNT depth, while freshmen Darvin Kidsy and Turner Smiley are players whom UNT plans to develop. “We are going to be a strong group,” Grant said. “Brelan is the center of it, but we have some guys who are coming on.” Read more: http://www.dentonrc.com/sports/colleges/north-texas-headlines/20130813-football-unt-working-to-take-heat-off-chancellor.ece

As a North Texas fan suffering through a 4-win 2012 season it was pretty easy to lay the blame on #7. Derek Thompson (DT), in his junior year had his struggles throwing as many interceptions as he did touchdown passes (14 TD's-14 INT's). He also made some bad decisions at key points in key game like throwing an ill advised interception at the start of the 4th quarter against Western Kentucky when UNT was winning the game 24-10. Of course WKU came back to win that game and a big upset win on the road to end the season slipped through Dan McCarney's fingers like sand. Since then, UNT fans have seen the dream of future star quarterback recruit Brock Berglund taking the reins fade. Berglund came highly regarded as a three star transfer from Kansas. A pulled hamstring in the beginning of spring training limited his snaps and put him way behind Thompson heading into this season. It's not that Berglund doesn't have the skills - he does - but he has yet to put them all together and a turnover conscious McCartney isn't likely to roll the dice on him, at least early on in the season. Mac needs wins and he despises turnovers. With all the upside athleticism Berglund possesses he is basically a new quarterback to this system - and the FBS game itself. He will make some mistakes on the field as he earns his stripes. read more:

Brelan and Aaron were both named to the San Antonio Express-News All-Texas Team! Congrats! Read more: http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/college_sports/college_football/slideshow/2012-Express-News-All-Texas-team-and-honors-54335.php#photo-3941334

While we love to bash on Dodge for all his failures, one really sticks out to me is Dodge's overhaul of JUCOs, particularly in his 2010 recruiting class when he was given that 4th year. Even though those JUCOs are now gone or didn't pan out, we are left with 11 of the 12 high school players from that class. These high school players are (classifications for next year): Seniors - Zach Orr (4-year starter, probable 1st-team all-conference pick this year) - Will Wright (4-year contributor, started games in multiple years) - Aaron Bellazin (4-year contributor, 5 sacks this year) - Richard Abbe (4-year contributor, started games in multiple years) - Brelan Chancellor (4-year starter at returner, 3-year starter at wide receiver) - Brandin Byrd (4-year contributor, leading rusher this year) - Zach Olen (4-year starter at kicker) Redshirt Juniors - Antonio Johnson (4-year starter, potential all-conference honors) - Mason Y'Barbo (4-year starter, potential all-conference honors) - Derrick Teegarden (4-year special teams contributor, provides depth at wide receiver) - Blake Dunham (3-year starter at long snapper) While these players are not all all-conference players or even starters, the fact that over 90% of these guy are still here for their fourth year really speaks a lot towards Coach Mac, who didn't even recruit them. It goes to show that even if you are only getting two-star and occasional three-star players, as long as you are able to develop them and keep them at your school then you will have a chance. This senior class, plus the five 2009 class redshirt seniors (Thompson, Boutwell, Jackson, Prior, Anyiam) and walk-ons that have had successful careers and, in some cases, earned scholarships should provide for a solid senior class next year to go along with a solid core of underclassmen.