Sun Belt Spring Football Preview

MeanGreen61 · March 2, 2006

Sun Belt Conference

http://www.collegefootballnews.com/Default.htm

Spring Story Lines #5

5. The return of Jamario Thomas

Has one player ever gone from being one of the nation's best one year and then couldn't get off the bench the next? North Texas RB Jamario Thomas led the nation in rushing in 2004, and was hailed by some as a worthy Heisman contender after rushing for 1,801 yards and 17 touchdowns. He was able to see the field thanks to a knee injury to Patrick Cobbs, but when Cobbs returned last year, Thomas barely saw the light of day getting a mere 89 carries, with 26 of them coming in a blowout loss to LSU, with only 361 yards and no touchdowns. Now Cobbs has graduated as the greatest running back in school history and the offense will be turned back over to Thomas. After waiting his turn, the lightning quick junior should once again put up huge numbers. At least that's what North Texas is desperately hoping for.

Spring preview - North Texas

North Texas Spring practice starts February 13, Spring Game: March 9

The big spring question is ... Will North Texas be North Texas again? There has been a lot of shifting this spring with the coaching staff and positions to try to get more production out of both sides of the ball after a miserable 2005. The ground game will once again be strong thanks to the return of Jamario Thomas, while almost everyone returns on defense, for good or bad, except at corner where Ja'Mel Branch and T.J. Covington have to be replaced after a decent season.

The most important position to watch is ... Linebacker. North Texas is moving to a 3-4 defense to make up for the lack of size up front. It didn't help that Brandon Monroe tore the MCL in his knee and missed most of spring ball, but this move should be a showcase for all the teams' young linebackers. This isn't a big group, but it can run with several athletic, safety-like players for the outside.

Spring attitude... It was all about not accepting what happened last year. After dominating the Sun Belt for so long, going 2-9 and ranking near the bottom in the nation in most of the big categories, there was a lot of tinkering going on this spring to make sure that doesn't happen again. The 2005 team was young and in a transition period, but that doesn't seem to be used as an excuse. Better quarterback play and stronger run defense should be enough to get back in the Sun Belt title mix.

Green Lantern · March 2, 2006

I find it odd that none of these articles about Jamario fail to mention the fact that he's been hampered by injuries for the last year and a half. They all act like he just fell off the map last year and "couldn't get off the bench" because of poor play...when that's not exactly the case.

Edited March 2, 2006 by Green Lantern

drex · March 2, 2006

Giving the full story on Jamario would require some investigation and time spent....do you really expect sports writers to waste that energy when they could be out having a cold one with the boys?