2008 North Texas Spring Football Outlook: Offense

[Guest 97and03]

Just found this! It doesn't come up well, with a pic over the text, but that might just be my browser settings??

http://www.meangreensports.com/ViewArticle...;ATCLID=1436473

PS. On a side note just wanted to echo here what I messaged to Rick privately, that I was just teasing him in another thread and not trying to attack him for his views. I would have posted this apology in that thread, but it was locked.

[Mean Green 93-98]

The text was obscured in my browser as well, so I copied and pasted below the first 2 paragraphs:

2008 North Texas Spring Football Outlook: Offense

DENTON, Texas (4/9/09) - If offensive production was the only factor in a team’s success, the North Texas faithful would be feeling pretty triumphant falling the 2007 season. The Mean Green offense out-gained its opponent six times, but only won one of those games. The 4,901 yards of total offense by North Texas in 2007 was the most in North Texas history and the 298 points was the 10th-most in North Texas history.

The 2007 North Texas offense was led by many players who weren’t even on the radar for postseason awards coming into the season. Former walk-on wide receiver Casey Fitzgerald was a hidden gem for Dodge’s passing attack. In his first season as a starter, Fitzgerald broke nearly every North Texas single-season receiving record and earned first team all-conference and honorable mention All-America honors. Center Kelvin Drake was also a first time starter in 2007 and finished the season as a second team all-conference performer. True freshman quarterback Giovanni Vizza didn’t earn the starting nod until the fifth game of the season, but still managed to become the Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Year.

[trud1966]

DENTON, Texas (4/9/09) - If offensive production was the only factor in a team’s success, the North Texas faithful would be feeling pretty triumphant falling the 2007 season. The Mean Green offense out-gained its opponent six times, but only won one of those games. The 4,901 yards of total offense by North Texas in 2007 was the most in North Texas history and the 298 points was the 10th-most in North Texas history.

The 2007 North Texas offense was led by many players who weren’t even on the radar for postseason awards coming into the season. Former walk-on wide receiver Casey Fitzgerald was a hidden gem for Dodge’s passing attack. In his first season as a starter, Fitzgerald broke nearly every North Texas single-season receiving record and earned first team all-conference and honorable mention All-America honors. Center Kelvin Drake was also a first time starter in 2007 and finished the season as a second team all-conference performer. True freshman quarterback Giovanni Vizza didn’t earn the starting nod until the fifth game of the season, but still managed to become the Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Year.

The offense will return eight starters from 2007 and all eight should benefit tremendously from having played a year in Dodge’s system. Former All-America running back Jamario Thomas is gone, as is honorable mention all-conference wide receiver Brandon Jackson. While both had an impact in 2007, they both shared time with underclassmen that will now have invaluable game experience. The Mean Green also returns four of five offensive linemen from last season.

Today, we will preview the offense heading into the annual Green-White Spring Game this Saturday, April 12 at 2 p.m. Today, we will preview the spring defense and special teams tomorrow and will post the full spring prospectus on Friday. Just a reminder, the Green-White game will also be available free online via Mean Green Premium and can be heard on KNTU 88.1.

Quarterback

Dodge knew there would be some early tribulations when he decided to make true freshman Giovanni Vizza the starter only four games into the season. In his first four games, Vizza had nine interceptions with seven touchdowns and an efficiency rating of 112.7. In his last four games, Vizza improved his efficiency rating to 124.2 and had nine touchdowns compared to eight interceptions. His eight games as a starter were enough to make Sun Belt coaches realize his ability as they voted him as the conference Freshman of the Year following the season. His eight touchdown passes against Navy broke the NCAA single-game record for freshmen. His 2,388 passing yards in 2007 was the most ever by a North Texas freshman and the sixth-most by a quarterback of any classification. According to Dodge, the primary focus for Vizza this spring and heading into the fall will be increasing his accuracy. Having his top target back in All-America candidate Casey Fitzgerald and having all spring to work with him should make Vizza a legitimate awards candidate in 2008. Daniel Meager will be back for his senior season after spending the last three years as a part time starter. Meager will be the most valuable and experienced backup quarterback in the Sun Belt Conference with 20 career starts to his credit. Meager has helped in the development of Nathan Tune who was a redshirt freshman in 2007. According to Dodge, Tune has progressed to the point that he will battle for a spot in the two-deep this spring. The steady hands of Matt Phillips will also return for North Texas as the longtime field goal and PAT holder will be back for his senior season. In all, North Texas will have three quarterbacks on its roster who have been starters at one time during their career. Vizza and company will use spring to try and solidify their position on the depth chart as everyone eagerly awaits the arrival of highly-touted recruit Riley Dodge. The son of the head coach is perhaps the most anticipated freshman in North Texas football history after a standout career at Southlake Carroll High School where he was named the Texas 5A Offensive Player of the Year as both a junior and senior. The younger Dodge will be expected to compete immediately after arriving on campus for two-a-days in August.

Offensive Line

The Mean Green was very green on the offensive line last year, with two sophomores and two redshirt freshmen in the starting lineup. While North Texas will benefit from returning four of its five starters up front, only two of those starters will be participating in spring ball. Starting center Kelvin Drake and starting tackle Matt Menard are both nursing injuries that will keep them out of spring practice. Also on the sideline for spring ball is Chad Rose who has been a part time starter at both guard and center during his three years at North Texas. Returning starters Tyler Bailey and Esteban Santiago will be expected to anchor the line in the spring as the coaching staff hopes to get some good looks at the less-experienced trenchmen. Drake was a second team all-conference center in 2007 and will again be the leader of the offensive line. He made the adjustment from snapping under center to shotgun seamlessly and graded out as the top offensive linemen despite playing with a severely sprained ankle the last part of the season. Mendard and Santiago started every game for North Texas last year and improved dramatically in their first season in the lineup. Bailey and Rose shared time starting at left guard last year and both are versatile players that can play multiple positions on the line. Bailey will work at both guard and tackle this spring, trying the fill the void of his injured teammates. Dodge believes the spring season will be a good test to help determine the development of his backups. Victor Gill will get plenty of action at tackle after converting from tight end last season. Bryan Glass will get a chance to test his meddle at center with Drake out for the spring. Glass has spent his three years at North Texas as a backup seeing limited time in 2006 and 2007. Freshman J.J. Johnson redshirted in 2007, but is expected to see a lot of action this spring. Johnson was recruited as a center but the coaches want to see if he can work into the depth chart at guard as well. Matt Tomlinson is a big body that will work at tackle this spring, trying to earn a spot on the depth chart heading into the fall. Freshmen Troy Kokjohn and Jacob Kaiser will see a lot of action this spring which should help them fill in the depth during the fall.

Running Back

The top four leading rushers in North Texas history all made their careers in the last 10 years, including Ja’Quay Wilburn (1997-2000), Kevin Galbreath (2001-02), Patrick Cobbs (2001-05) and Jamario Thomas (2004-07). While Dodge doesn’t employ the type of running game that will churn out the nation’s top rusher, he doesn’t downplay the importance of a credible running game. In 2007, the combination of Jamario Thomas and true freshman Micah Mosely combined for 1,127 yards. Dodge thinks Mosely can be a 1,000-yard back in each of his last three years, which would put him in the elite company mentioned above. Mosely had 461 yards and five touchdowns while playing in all 12 games as a true freshman last year. He is expected to use the spring adjusting to the role as a starter and Dodge expects him to be one of the top backs in the Sun Belt Conference by the fall. Mosely will be pushed by Cam Montgomery who was a highly-regarded junior college transfer who spent the 2007 season injured. Montgomery has shown flashes of greatness in practice and is expected to share time with Mosely during the spring. Dodge would like to have either Mosely or Montgomery clearly separate themselves as the starter going into the fall, but is excited about the possibility of having either as such a quality backup. Kerona Henderson will also see a lot of action during the spring, and will try to find his place on the depth chart. Henderson is a converted fullback who has the advantage of being in the program for the last four years. True freshmen Lance Dunbar and Jeremi Mathis will join the team this fall after both were rated among the best high school backs in Texas last season.

Wide Receiver

Last year at the beginning of spring football Todd Dodge hoped to find a few good receivers to help take the load off senior Brandon Jackson. What he found during spring practice was a former walk-on who was looking for the chance to showcase his ability in Dodge’s new spread offense. In his first two years at North Texas, Casey Fitzgerald spent the majority of his time on the scout team, buried on the depth chart at a position that was often over-looked in a run-based offense. Prior to the 2007 season, Fitzgerald had played in 11 games in two years, totaling five catches for 92 yards and two touchdowns. After seeing him during spring practice last year, Dodge predicted big things for Fitzgerald in 2007, but even he didn’t know it would be this big. Fitzgerald broke every single-season receiving record at North Texas, catching 111 passes for 1,322 yards and 12 touchdowns. He finished the season ranked No. 3 in the nation in receptions per game and No. 4 in yards per game. He was a first team all-conference selection and an honorable mention All-America selection by several organizations. He ranks second only to Michael Crabtree of Texas Tech as the top returning receiver in the nation in 2008 and will be the main focus of every defense that North Texas faces during his senior season. Brock Stickler will also be a senior in 2008 after developing as big target at inside receiver last year. Stickler had 37 receptions for 391 yards and two touchdowns and is expected to flourish after having a full year to learn the offense. As a true freshman last year, it took Sam Dibrell nine games to break into the starting lineup, but after securing the position, he never looked back. Dibrell led the team in receiving against Middle Tennessee in the eighth game of the year and started every game after that finishing the season with 28 catches for 377 yards and two touchdowns. Freshmen B.J. Lewis and Breece Johnson also saw time on the field last year and will try to use spring practice to secure a spot in the depth chart. In the battle to replace Jackson, Dodge will look at Dibrell as well as freshman Marcus King who redshirted last year. The other outside receiver position battle will be held between freshman Sam Roberson and senior Roderick Johnson. Roberson spent the 2007 polishing his skills on the scout team while Johnson is a former walk-on that showed tremendous improvement throughout the fall. Freshmen Evan Walker and Alex Lott will also compete to make an impact at slot receiver. The primary difference at wide receiver this year compared to last year is experience. Going into the 2007 season, Jackson was the only returner with quality game experience. This year there will be at least four receivers who have earned valuable time on the field. Dodge hopes to come out of spring practice knowing who the top three outside and top three inside receivers are. North Texas also signed four wide receivers in its 2008 signing class that come highly-regarded.

Edited April 9, 2008 by trud1966