Mean Green Preview Part 6

Harry · July 25, 2006

Mean Green Preview, Part 6

O-Line

Summary – This is a positional area that North Texas really needs improvement in for 2006. 2005 was nightmare for the Mean Green O-Line as they lost a key leader and performer in center Andy Brewster to graduation. UNT has also not had the same production from the tight end position as they did in past years which puts even more pressure on the line to perform. This season they will rely heavily on some new faces and hope for significant improvement from the lettermen. Depth is also a major concern this season - especially at tackle - a position that North Texas has experienced difficulty in recruiting. As things stand now, a couple of key injuries could be devastating. Under line coach Harold Etheridge North Texas has not signed a junior college o-lineman last year or this year. In prior years, they typically would bring in a couple of JUCO's to help bridge the talent and experience gap. This trend, along with the fact that Lineberry and Foster are graduating after this season makes it imperative that some new faces step forward to take over the reigns.

Players to Watch

Dylen Lineberry, Sr. (6-3, 310, Houston, Tx. Northshore)

Can Lineberry become even more dominant? – Lineberry may well be the Sun Belt’s top offensive lineman but Coach Etheridge will ask him to take on more of a leadership role in 2006.

Ajani Banks, RS Freshman (6-3, 320, Spring, TX)

Can Banks produce as a redshirt freshman? – Banks has the size and athletic ability but is young and an unproven commodity. North Texas would love Banks to be the next Lineberry but just a solid first year would suffice.

Joel Foster, 5th year Sr (6-4, 282, Austin, TX. Connally)

Foster has been a fairly solid player for North Texas but they would like to see him improve in 2006. He is probably UNT’s best pass blocker against opponent rush ends. His ability to maintain weight and leverage against some of the better pass rushers will be important but improvement in his run blocking against bigger players will be a real key in 2006.

Chad Rose, Soph. (6-4, 290, Austin, TX. Westlake)

Will Rose be UNT’s center? – Rose struggled in his first year and so did UNT’s running game which had come to rely on star center Andy Brewster for so long. All the signs are there. He is very bright, has a tremendous work ethic, will play with pain and is very motivated to excel at the position. Etheridge will be watching Rose’s progression very closely as the staff desperately needs him to get better.

*Projected Starters

Strong Tackle – Joel Foster, 5th year Sr (6-4, 282, Austin, TX. Connally)

No one questions his heart but he will always be undersized for this position. Will Foster be the run blocker that they need on the strong side?

Strong Guard – Dylen Lineberry, Sr. (6-3, 310, Houston, Tx. Northshore)

He’s the best in the Sun Belt but NFL hopes may make him even better.

Center - Chad Rose, Soph. (6-4, 290, Austin, TX. Westlake)

Chad needs to show he can get it done early or they will have to find someone who will.

Weak Guard – Ajani Banks, RS Freshman (6-3, 320, Spring, TX)

Has all the size, ability and skills. Mental aspects of the position are the remaining challenge he has yet to overcome.

Weak Tackle – Jeremy Brown, Junior (6-4, 308 Tecumseh, OK)

Has some ability but really struggled at times last year. Needs to get stronger upper body.

OR

Weak Tackle – Josh Alexander, Junior (6-3 289 Jr. Fort Worth, TX)

Great feet and athleticism. Needs to get stronger in his upper body. Injuries have been a concern. His progression could be critical for the offense this season.

Impact Newcomers

Center - Bryan Glass (6-0 277 RS Fr. Paris, TX )

Will he overcome a serious back injury to help this team. Undersized, but salty. Will be waiting in the wings to swoop in if Rose should falter.

Guard – Jack Crumes (6-4 266 RS Fr. Houston, TX)

Jack was a project for North Texas, a basketball post that was converted to football in just his junior season. He needs to carry more weight and has not yet shown that he is ready to be a guy they can rely on. 2006 will be a critical year for him.

Guard/Center – Kelvin Drake (6-2 300 Fr. Galveston, TX)

Drake has the size and ability to help this team now. The biggest question is where? He could be the first guard off of the bench or possibly could play center.

Guard – Nick Foster (6-3 340 Fr. Allen, TX)

Conventional wisdom says that Foster is more of a project, but given his size and the fact he played at a pretty high level of high school competition it’s possible that he could make a spot in the rotation.

Tackle – Robert Peachey (6-5 279 RS Fr. Georgetown, TX)

Peachey has good size, with long arms and is the more prototypical body type for this position. With Foster graduating,and the shortage of tackles they need him to progress.

Sleeper

Guard – Adam Venegas (6-3, 293, Jr. Olathe Kansas)

Venegas has size and skills. He also appears to have his head on straight after some setbacks early in his career. The former state championship wrestler will look to be the 6th man or possibly even start in 2006.

*Projected starters are who we think should start based on what a player has shown to us in practice and in games. We are not trying to guess the coaches’ picks, but rather who we’d pick if we were making out the depth chart.

July 25, 2006

Harry, I need a little education here.

Back in my day, the guards were usually smaller and faster because the often were asked to pull and lead interference. Today it seems that the tackles are the smaller ones but I don't know why.

There was no mention of Chris Eidd. Yet, I believe that he was ahead of Peachey and/or Crumes in the spring. Do you think that he'll return?

BIG DAWG · July 25, 2006

The guard/tackle trend is going on all over.

This is usually a trait of the now very popular spread offense. NT I think is doing it out of necesity, it is what they have.

Usually in an offense like the one we run, you would use a line more like the one you were talking about, tackles bigger than guards.

Huff · July 25, 2006

You might also consider who the players are being asked to block. Offensive guards are often matched up against defensive tackles while offensive tackles are often matched up against defensive ends. Defensive tackles tend to be bigger, and perhaps a little slowerr. The defensive ends tend to be faster and put on a speed rush when rushing the passer. Offensive tackles need to be a little quicker to block those guys. That certainly might not be the only reason that things have changed, but it might be one of them.

GMoney · July 25, 2006

Back in my day, the guards were usually smaller and faster because the often were asked to pull and lead interference. Today it seems that the tackles are the smaller ones but I don't know why.

The reason this trend has turned around is because of the athletism of DE's. With quicker DE's (Javon Kearse, Julius Peppers, DeMarcus Ware), and the 3-4 defense with standup LB's, your offensive tackles must be quicker and more athletic. They're now force to block in space more often and pass blocking is no longer about pure strength but foot speed and position.

Another issue is that your are not seeing the pulling guard (toss sweep/pitch) plays of the past because of the speed of the defenses. You will see the quick trap plays, but not a bunch of time developing plays which defenses are now eating up because of their speed.

Edited July 25, 2006 by GMoney

Harry · July 25, 2006

Gray - I mentioned Eidd in an earlier post. I like him and think that he has potential. As a walk-on however he will have a little tougher row to hoe with all of the competition he will be facing this Fall (versus the Spring). We will be watching him closely in August.

LongJim · July 25, 2006

Frankly, I'm expecting some good things out of this bunch, and I think they are going to surprise. Just hope they can get into conference play without major nicks.

H-towngreen · July 25, 2006

One thing that surprised me this off season was Trent Stanley. He came in as a Juco All American and one of our more notable recruits. He got here and did nothing in spring, I'm not sure if he ever even broke the 2-deep. And then quickly quit the team following spring ball. A major bust.

I do really like some of the younger linemen we have brought in, Banks, Drake and Foster. Unlike in years past these kids already have the size. It seems like for several years signed several linemen who weighed 250-260. That just doesn't cut it. I look for Drake to be a major player as he seems pretty nasty out there. Like yall have mentioned though, it seems like we are deep at guard but could use some help at tackle. Why not try out some of the more fleet footed guards at tackle?

edcollopy · July 25, 2006

h-town...hope to see you at the bar for a few games this year when I'm not up in Denton.

Real shame about Stanley..I think every knows how big a difference there is between JC and IA football...it's not always a grade issue sending the players there.

megagreen · July 25, 2006

Thanks, Harry. It seems to me that this area of any team (along with the d-line) is always the most crucial. Games are won in the trenches. Especially at North Texas. I'm not saying that skill players don't matter at all, but they don't matter much if you can't control the lines.

GMG!

(Thanks for reading my post of the obvious)

Harry · July 25, 2006

The tackles are perhaps a little lighter but they are definately tall and have long arms. If you looked at the BCS conferences I would be the average height of their tackles was 6-5 to 6-6... the days of the fat o-lineman seem to have past. Now they are muscular and lean and encouraged to stay closer or even below 300.

Norwester · July 25, 2006

The spring two-deep listed someone named Nick Najarro as the backup center. I know nothing about him except he's a Juco and is 270 lbs. You guys know anything about him?