Mules' Dibrell Landed In Denton Faster Than Expected

mgsteve · August 1, 2007

FORT WORTH — Sam Dibrell's high school career ended in a golden dog pile at the Alamodome, where he had just finished helping Alamo Heights claim the Class 4A Division I state championship in December.

A week later at the same site, his college career got started with a simple piece of paper from a well-known coach.

"It's pretty amazing how everything happened," said Dibrell, a 6-foot-2, 200-pound wide receiver who is on the South roster for tonight's Texas High School Coaches Association all-star game at Amon Carter Stadium.

After tonight, it's officially on to North Texas, where he'll be a freshman football player.

His journey to Denton started at the 5A state championship doubleheader at the Alamodome — a week after Dibrell's Mules won it all.

Dibrell's recruitment was one of the first priorities for new UNT coach Todd Dodge, who had just completed another state championship season at Southlake Carroll.

Dodge was walking off the Alamodome field after his final game at Carroll when Stevens coach Lee Bridges handed him a piece of paper.

There were two names on it — Dibrell's and Heights quarterback Giovanni Vizza.

"I was focused on Southlake Carroll," Dodge said. "Now I've won a state championship, and (Bridges) tells me these are two kids I'm going to be interested in. Right after our first staff meeting, we got on them.

"I'll never forget that as long as I live — asking him who they were just after we got off the field. And lo and behold, we end up signing them."

Dibrell committed in January, just two weeks before Vizza did. Vizza originally had committed to Nevada but switched to Dodge and the Mean Green.

After connecting 92 times for 1,556 yards and 20 TDs last season, the two are hoping for similar success at UNT.

"It's helped a lot that we're at the same school," said Dibrell, an Express-News All-Area pick. "Everybody is learning how he is, how he throws and his tendencies. But we've already gotten that down. He just throws it a little harder now."

Within a few days after Alamo Heights' graduation, the two became college suitemates and began working out at UNT. They said they have picked up Dodge's spread offense, which is a similar system to the one Heights coach Don Byrd runs.

"It's pretty similar except the terminology is different," Vizza said. "But there are a lot of the same plays."

While some college kids aren't going to bed until 5:30 a.m., Dibrell and Vizza have been getting up at that time every day for morning workouts.

But Dibrell said he doesn't mind because he's confident about his chances of immediately getting into Dodge's rotation of receivers.

And the possibility of playing time is worth the cost of a nice alarm clock.

"It's a very precise offense," Dibrell said. "When you run a 5-yard route, you can't go 6 yards. If you're off, the ball's where you were supposed to be and it's tagging you in the head instead."

Dibrell's work ethic and understanding of the new offense is all good news to Dodge.

"With Sam, the thing that we've seen is his versatility," Dodge said. "What we really like about him is how he's very strong inside or outside.

"With 92 catches and a state championship, you know he's competitive."

Charlie NT 73 · August 1, 2007

What a great story! I am very impressed with the fact that Coach Bridges

went right to Coach Dodge with information on Dibrell and Vizza.

The contacts that Coach Dodge has in Texas HS football will be a

huge factor in the success of Coach Dodge and North Texas football!

emmitt01 · August 1, 2007

"It's a very precise offense," Dibrell said. "When you run a 5-yard route, you can't go 6 yards. If you're off, the ball's where you were supposed to be and it's tagging you in the head instead."

This is what I think is the secret to Dodge's success. It's not an overly complex offense or even a cutting edge one. It's just an offense where everything is razor sharp and familiar.

gangrene · August 1, 2007

"It's a very precise offense," Dibrell said. "When you run a 5-yard route, you can't go 6 yards. If you're off, the ball's where you were supposed to be and it's tagging you in the head instead."

Of course, that's all dependent on the QB being able to throw the ball with a high degree of accuracy too. If the 5-yard out pass is thrown for 6 yards, it's an easy pick for a TD for the other team. I won't mention any names , but I don't have a whole lot of confidence in the accuracy of the QB that saw the majority of the playing time last year.

Dodge2007 · August 2, 2007

Good artice on a nice looking WR. Nothing like kids coming right out of graduation to summer school and summer workouts. I bet Dibrell and Vizza are just what the new staff are looking for..........kids that are committed to winning and used to winning. TD must be happy with that.