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DRC-Tune plays way to UNT scholarship

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Tune plays way to UNT scholarship

Walk-on shines at QB during first scrimmage

11:14 PM CDT on Thursday, August 17, 2006

By Brett Vito / Staff Writer

When Nathan Tune decided to walk on at North Texas earlier this summer he set a goal to earn a scholarship at some point in his college career.

That time arrived sooner than he -- or just about anyone else -- expected. The former Celina quarterback led a UNT offense that was stagnant most of the morning in its first scrimmage of fall practice on Wednesday on drives that resulted in a touchdown and a field goal -- not to mention a scholarship offer.

Tune was put on scholarship shortly after Wednesday’s scrimmage.

“Everything about Nathan went into the decision to put him on scholarship,” UNT coach Darrell Dickey said. “He has a lot of upside and raw ability because he hasn’t played the position for very long. He is intelligent, comes from a good football program, knows how to work, is tough and football is important to him.

“We are tickled to death that he ended up coming to North Texas.”

UNT has a pair of sophomore quarterbacks in returning starter Daniel Meager and Matt Phillips competing with junior college transfer Woody Wilson for the starting job.

Wilson missed UNT’s scrimmage with a minor knee injury while Phillips sat out for a short time after a hard hit.

Dickey said after the scrimmage that Tune, 6-3, 195, would have a chance to compete for the starting job if he continues to develop.

“I was happy with the way I played,” Tune said. “I was not sure how much I would get to play. When Matt got hurt and Woody didn’t play, it gave me an opportunity. I tried to run with it when I had a chance.”

Tune still has a long way to go to become the Mean Green’s starter with three experienced players in front of him, but his development could be a good bode well for the Mean Green’s future.

UNT did not sign a high school quarterback for its 2006 recruiting class after its top target, Carson Coffman of Peculiar, Mo., passed on a scholarship offer from UNT to attend Kansas State.

TCU and SMU both offered Tune an opportunity to walk on while several Division II schools and junior colleges offered scholarships. Dickey said he told Tune he was not sure of what the Mean Green’s situation would be in terms of scholarships during recruiting season last winter.

“After TCU and SMU mentioned walking on, they didn’t really talk to me,” Tune said. “I didn’t feel like they were interested and I thought I might have a role here.”

Tune’s stock has gone up since he committed to the Mean Green. He had a solid showing in the Texas High School Coaches Association All-Star Game, throwing for 108 yards and accounting for two touchdowns.

Tune scored on a 1-yard run and also threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to Clint Renfro.

“The all-star game helped me,” Tune said. “We ran a spread offense. That opened my eyes to some of the mechanics of playing quarterback and working with players with more speed.”

Tune’s performance in the all-star game was all the more impressive considering he hasn’t played quarterback for long. He played wide receiver as a junior at Celina before moving to quarterback as a senior.

“Not a lot of colleges thought I would be able to play quarterback because I played at a 2A high school that didn’t throw the ball that much,” Tune said. “I was done at halftime of most of my high school games because they were blowouts.”

Tune has fit right in at UNT and said he was more comfortable the longer he played in the scrimmage.

Celina coach Butch Ford isn’t surprised by Tune’s rapid rise with the Mean Green. Tune was named to the Class 2A all-state team as a senior when he led Celina to a 16-0 record and the Class 2A Division II state title.

“I tried to tell the college coaches he could play,” Ford said. “He has the size, the arm, the speed and the smarts to play college football. Nothing shakes him very much. He is as good as any quarterback we have had as far as a college prospect.”

Briefly …

Wilson returned to practice on Thursday and wore a red non-contact jersey after missing UNT’s scrimmage on Wednesday. Wide receiver Joel Nwigwe also wore a non-contact jersey. … Offensive lineman Dylan Lineberry was held out because of a minor shoulder injury and should return in the next few days. … Redshirt freshman tight end David Collins and senior linebacker Shawn Early suffered injuries during the scrimmage and missed Thursday’s practice. … Linebacker Willie Ransom, center Chad Rose and defensive back Roderick Cotton also did not work out. … Defensive back Dominique Green and wide receiver Brock Stickler returned to practice. … Dickey said he was pleased with UNT’s effort and energy during practice a day after what he described as a tough scrimmage.

BRETT VITO can be reached at 940-566-6870. His e-mail address is bvito@dentonrc.com.

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KingDL1 Mentor

KingDL1

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Dickey said after the scrimmage that Tune, 6-3, 195, would have a chance to compete for the starting job if he continues to develop.

Holysh#t!!!

Man, the way this is going he will be starting against SMU!

Congrats Nathan on the scholarship we're glad to have you in the Mean Green Nation.

GO MEAN GREEN!!!!!

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SCREAMING EAGLE-66 Rookie

SCREAMING EAGLE-66

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Wow.

This kid's stock is on FIRE! The only question left is exactly when does he take over the job: 2,3,4 or 5 games into the season?

[/quote

----Hello TI-001... sort of late for you..... If you have checked email you are now #1 in our Lotto system.... who will you get??

Edited by SCREAMING EAGLE-66
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SilverEagle Mentor

SilverEagle

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It's a joke.  Just a joke.  You just have a knack for pulling for the underdog/walkon player.  Wissle,Maldonado,Tune....

You forgot Russell McQuiston.

Besides, they gave him a "ship" after the Wednesday practice. That doesn't say underdog to me. I never really regarded him as such.

I like what I've seen of him, but IMHO it's too soon to talk about him in terms of being in the rotation, much less being the starter. He has a long way to go.

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mad dog Newbie

mad dog

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I liked Tune a lot, too. But just tap the brakes a little bit here, he had one really good scrimmage. If he does this tomorrow at 8:00 AM (make sure you are there if you can, it'll be a VERY telling practice), and then next Saturday, as well as look amazing in practices between them, you might be able to make a legitimate case for him playing some this season. If not, we have another hungry player waiting in the wings should one of the more experienced guys give him a shot.

I'm not dogging the kid. I really liked the way he played. Heck, if he is what he showed on Wednesday, what anyone says won't really matter, because we'll be seeing a lot more of it in the next few weeks. What I mean to say is that, if Wednesday wasn't a fluke or just a really good performance, we'll know by next Saturday.

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buff64 Newbie

buff64

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The awarding of the scholie to Tune is a very good move, not only because of his talent, but from a recruiting aspect. Two kids have now earned a scholarship in the past couple of weeks. This will aid in attracting future walkons in the future.

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KingDL1 Mentor

KingDL1

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I am really starting to believe in Nathan Tune.

All summer I have been hearing about Tune from "Mean Green Doc" and a couple other friends that are in the Prosper & Celina area. They told me he was incredible that it would not surprise any of them if he was starting this year,

I took it with grain of salt, but the reports from practice keep coming in, and maybe I am just excited about Patrick Cobbs and his fantastic reports he is getting in NE. But with Nathan's "mentor's" comments and all the guys on the board were noticing this kid, seems he is living up to the hype so far.

Best of luck Nathan.

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DeepGreen Grand Master

DeepGreen

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I am really starting to believe in Nathan Tune.

All summer I have been hearing about Tune from "Mean Green Doc" and a couple other friends that are in the Prosper & Celina area. They told me he was incredible that it would not surprise any of them if he was starting this year,

I took it with grain of salt, but the reports from practice keep coming in, and maybe I am just excited about Patrick Cobbs and his fantastic reports he is getting in NE. But with Nathan's "mentor's" comments and all the guys on the board were noticing this kid, seems he is living up to the hype so far.

Best of luck Nathan.

Is Nathan no only a student of X's and O's, but also a student in the classroom? I remember a time when I was so pumped up about Joey Byerly being our starting QB some day, especially after his redshirt season. Well, we all know how that story ended. dry.gif

Good luck to Nathan. I watched him in the All Star game and was impressed.

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VideoEagle Mentor

VideoEagle

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The awarding of the scholie to Tune is a very good move, not only because of his talent, but from a recruiting aspect. Two kids have now earned a scholarship in the past couple of weeks. This will aid in attracting future walkons in the future.

Looks like holding back some scholarships last Spring might have been a good idea. wink.gif

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bigrobdsp Newbie

bigrobdsp

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as the co-proprieter of the wildly successful fan group "Johnny Quinns Hoolagins", I am not at liberty to join or create a new fan group. I would, however, like to suggest the establishment of "Tune's Loon's". please take my concept and run with it.

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TIgreen01 Mentor

TIgreen01

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I liked Tune a lot, too.  But just tap the brakes a little bit here, he had one really good scrimmage.  If he does this tomorrow at 8:00 AM (make sure you are there if you can, it'll be a VERY telling practice), and then next Saturday, as well as look amazing in practices between them, you might be able to make a legitimate case for him playing some this season.  If not, we have another hungry player waiting in the wings should one of the more experienced guys give him a shot.

I'm not dogging the kid.  I really liked the way he played.  Heck, if he is what he showed on Wednesday, what anyone says won't really matter, because we'll be seeing a lot more of it in the next few weeks.  What I mean to say is that, if Wednesday wasn't a fluke or just a really good performance, we'll know by next Saturday.

No need to crap in our cheerios, illuvius! I (and all my season ticket buddies) are just excited that someone other than Mayday or Wilson Phillips might give us some hope this year! Who cares if he is a freshman if he moves the sticks?!

Ok...back down to earth. The thought of a true freshman QB scares the crap out of me. I saw him play in the TX all-star game and will be there tomorrow. If he looks good again, could we really start seeing starting possibilities for this kid?....and how soon?? Seems like Hall (most similar situation to Tune) was starting by the 3rd or 4th game of his Freshman season (that was a miserable campaign, btw--which is why I'm scared of a true fresh qb). What's the precedent here?

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