Another Recruit Miss

[DeepGreen]

Had an offer from UNT.

Recruit

[Eagle1855]

I don't really feel bad missing out on a recruit to a school like Rice. Can't fault the kid at all.

[DallasGreen]

Notice that we are not missing to BCS schools but the SMU, Rice, TCU's of college FB-- the miserable 2-10 showing of last year with a pathetic defense and furnishing SMU & FIU with their ONLY wins of the year is taking its toll. Recruits want to win NOW even if the fans seem content for a four year or longer rebuilding program.

[MeanGreen61]

Notice that we are not missing to BCS schools but the SMU, Rice, TCU's of college FB-- the miserable 2-10 showing of last year with a pathetic defense and furnishing SMU & FIU with their ONLY wins of the year is taking its toll. Recruits want to win NOW even if the fans seem content for a four year or longer rebuilding program.

All is lost

[Mean Green 93-98]

Notice that we are not missing to BCS schools but the SMU, Rice, TCU's of college FB-- the miserable 2-10 showing of last year with a pathetic defense and furnishing SMU & FIU with their ONLY wins of the year is taking its toll. Recruits want to win NOW even if the fans seem content for a four year or longer rebuilding program.

If winning were his main concern, he would not have gone to Rice. I assume he had other things in mind, and I can respect that--respectfully disagree, but respect that.

[GrandGreen]

Notice that we are not missing to BCS schools but the SMU, Rice, TCU's of college FB-- the miserable 2-10 showing of last year with a pathetic defense and furnishing SMU & FIU with their ONLY wins of the year is taking its toll. Recruits want to win NOW even if the fans seem content for a four year or longer rebuilding program.

If I remember correctly, NT got commits from some of its highest rated recruits last year after seasons end. I think the slower start is due to less scholarships and the fact that NT need areas are the most difficult to recruit. NT biggest need is defensive lineman which is the most competitive area of recruiting. TD's offensive reputation is not a lot of help recruiting defensive linemen. TD's first two classes although overall were excellent for NT, defensive linemen were clearly the weakest area. I am not concerned about linebacker recruiting, it is a relatively easy position to recruit and I think NT will do well getting impact linebackers. I think NT already has potentially very good young players at QB, RB, OL, WR and DB, going after the sub-blue chip recruit in these positions is not a priority.

[FirefightnRick]

All is lost

May be, but I know I'll see DallasGreen in the stands to suffer through it all with the rest of us this year, regardless.

Rick

[MeanMag]

Notice that we are not missing to BCS schools but the SMU, Rice, TCU's of college FB-- the miserable 2-10 showing of last year with a pathetic defense and furnishing SMU & FIU with their ONLY wins of the year is taking its toll. Recruits want to win NOW even if the fans seem content for a four year or longer rebuilding program.

Yea, screw us for wanting to go after kids with enough smarts to go to Rice, TCU and SMU after losing football scholarships for academic ineligibility.

Lighten up, there are other reasons for going to college other than to play football...

[The Fake Lonnie Finch]

I'm not so much worried about the 199 linbacker/safety that committed to Rice. It's the receiver/athlete that chose Baylor that bothers me somewhat. As posted before, Art Briles selling the same offensive idea at a school in a bigger conference is worrisome.

[DallasGreen]

I'm not so much worried about the 199 linbacker/safety that committed to Rice. It's the receiver/athlete that chose Baylor that bothers me somewhat. As posted before, Art Briles selling the same offensive idea at a school in a bigger conference is worrisome.

Sorta reminds you of June Jones and SMU doesn't it?

[GoMeanGreen1999]

Notice that we are not missing to BCS schools but the SMU, Rice, TCU's of college FB-- the miserable 2-10 showing of last year with a pathetic defense and furnishing SMU & FIU with their ONLY wins of the year is taking its toll. Recruits want to win NOW even if the fans seem content for a four year or longer rebuilding program.

Totally agree. One would be fooling themselves if they thought our recruiting would be just as good this season as it was last coming off of a 2-10 season. I still believe this thing will get turned around, but I think to some degree, if you are a kid that is being recruited by UNT, TCU and SMU for sure, you have to say to yourself, "well with SMU and TCU, you at least have coaching staffs that have proven to a degree themselves on a collegiate level." If we start losing a lot of kids to Rice, I might be worried, but not one or two. Not knocking TD, and frankly, still 100% behind him, but a 2-10 season doesn't do a whole lot for your recruiting for the next season.

[Mean Green 93-98]

Totally agree. One would be fooling themselves if they thought our recruiting would be just as good this season as it was last coming off of a 2-10 season. I still believe this thing will get turned around, but I think to some degree, if you are a kid that is being recruited by UNT, TCU and SMU for sure, you have to say to yourself, "well with SMU and TCU, you at least have coaching staffs that have proven to a degree themselves on a collegiate level." If we start losing a lot of kids to Rice, I might be worried, but not one or two. Not knocking TD, and frankly, still 100% behind him, but a 2-10 season doesn't do a whole lot for your recruiting for the next season.

Well, much of the last recruiting class was solidified after the 2-10 season was over, and it turned out pretty well. However, if we do not see some improvement this season (preferably >5 wins), it will certainly hurt the next class. Potential only goes so far.

[GoMeanGreen1999]

Well, much of the last recruiting class was solidified after the 2-10 season was over, and it turned out pretty well. However, if we do not see some improvement this season (preferably >5 wins), it will certainly hurt the next class. Potential only goes so far.

Well true, but the two exceptions between last year and this year, is that now the "newness" of Dodge has worn off as well as much of the "excitement" in terms of media and has then switched to some degree to June Jones at SMU.

[Dodge2007]

Too many kids get recruited way too early. They have lousy senior seasons and whoever offered them is stuck. Look how many kids who play a position for the good of their high school team but it's not their ideal collegiate position. Look at how many kids who played WR last season but will play safety this season and were not or have not been recruited at all.

I guess what I am fumbling around saying, is that, their is a ton of talent not even known about until their senior season is over. So many kids mature at a different age, so many were not playing the best possible position for them for recruiting purposes. The list of players who can play at the collegiate level is a big number, but so many just get overlooked.

Texas Tech for many years took all the kids that no body else wanted (Big 12 and SWC foes got first choice) but they took the kind of kids with heart and a chip on their shoulder with something to prove.

Dodge got several kids from last year's class and this year's that could have played for bigger conference schools. Look at Casey, he is the prime example of kids being overlooked because of either the team they were on, the system they were in, or they were playing a position that was not best suited for the collegiate game. Therefore, they get overlooked.

Bottom line, we need OL and DL for the future, and mix in a LB. A lot of OL and DL kids just don't have the size to step in and play early but their are good ones out there. UNT will find its share.

[houstonmeangreen]

Yea, screw us for wanting to go after kids with enough smarts to go to Rice, TCU and SMU after losing football scholarships for academic ineligibility.

Lighten up, there are other reasons for going to college other than to play football...

Yea, like girls and beer.

[MeanMag]

Yea, like girls and beer.

That's what I majored in. Got me a decent job drinking beer and working in girls.

Edited June 19, 2008 by MeanMag

[The Fake Lonnie Finch]

Sorta reminds you of June Jones and SMU doesn't it?

Well, not exactly. Success in the Big 12 by Briles will be difficult to overcome. SMU...I just don't see it yet, but some will go for Jones. I think Jones will be more of a national sell than local. I suspect he'll draw alot of West Coast kids. If he doesn't do any better than Phil Bennett, I wouldn't fear him.

On the other hand...a bowl game for SMU and Baylor in Jones' and Briles' first year combined with another losing season for us would be bad. I've posted that before. But, since Briles is in the bigger conference, I fear him more at this point. He also has the smallest peak to climb - the coach before him was running the same type of offense; so, they're not starting from scratch on it the way SMU is this year and we were last year.

[untjim1995]

Well, not exactly. Success in the Big 12 by Briles will be difficult to overcome. SMU...I just don't see it yet, but some will go for Jones. I think Jones will be more of a national sell than local. I suspect he'll draw alot of West Coast kids. If he doesn't do any better than Phil Bennett, I wouldn't fear him.

On the other hand...a bowl game for SMU and Baylor in Jones' and Briles' first year combined with another losing season for us would be bad. I've posted that before. But, since Briles is in the bigger conference, I fear him more at this point. He also has the smallest peak to climb - the coach before him was running the same type of offense; so, they're not starting from scratch on it the way SMU is this year and we were last year.

I agree to some extent with Baylor, but I will believe that they will go to a bowl game when I see them get an invite. Them getting to 6 wins with who they play every year would be just a great accomplishment. They rarely beat anyone in the Big XII South--maybe one win every 2-3 years. The have beaten a north team here and there, but they usually lose most of their non-conference games. If they start scheduling very weakly (i.e, SBC/MAC schools in Waco only, a FCS school, and maybe a rotation of Rice and SMU every year) then they may get to 6--maybe. My worry really is more with June Jones and SMU. They have pretty much sucked for decades now. If they start winning, the local media will pay big-time attention to what they have overcome and how great Jones is as a rebuilder. And in CUSA, it is very feasible to see them get to bowl eligible very soon. CUSA has spots available for bowls, has very mediocre teams, and SMU has the name to recruit to in Texas. That, to me, is where we could be in trouble.

If I were recruiting against Dodge and UNT, I would focus on two things about Dodge--if he loses badly again this year and next year, will they be able to recruit against these teams mentioned above--especially if we are still in Fouts? If Dodge does what we think he will, though, and turns it around over the next two years and we get back to New Orleans, there are going to be some big-time programs ready to scoop him up. Will UNT be able to pay up then? If you are Patterson at TCU or Jones at SMU, you can actually say with much confidence that my salary and my facilites make this the place to put down my roots for a long time. Since I don't think either of these teams will play us again anytime in the next decade, I wouldn't be surprised if this is what is already being told to recruits. Of course, if Dodge does start winning soon and we do build a new stadium soon, then UNT would be extremely wise to extend his contract for many years with a hefty buyout. And we do have the advantage of Riley being here for him to coach until he graduates, even though he left him behind when he came to UNT from SLC. I guess we'll see how it plays out.

[The Fake Lonnie Finch]

I agree with the media angle and SMU. We didn't get a ton of play when we went to the four straight bowl games. But, when SMU wins...you get stuff like the Pony Express from the media.

As far as Dodge getting scooped up, I think that's a card that's way overplayed here. He hasn't done anything spectacular in the eyes of the national folks. For example, Jim Harbaugh at Stanford knocking of USC in Los Angeles in his inaugural year. The Cardinal wasn't great. But, they improved from 1-11 in 2006 to 4-8 last season, and knocked off bowl teams USC and Cal in the process.

When Dodge was hired, I said it, and I'll say it again - alot of teams throw the ball around at this level. They've been doing it out west since the 1960s. It spread across the country in the 1980s. And, really became the norm in the late 1990s and into this century. So, you don't meet many defensive coordinators who haven't defensed a spread offense. So, there's nothing more outstanding about Dodge than any other coach who runs the spread.

What he'll have to do is win. And win. And win. And, not just Sun Belt games. He's got to find a way to hunt down the big game. Based on last year, I don't know if he has it in him. TCU's Patterson and June Jones have a history of skinning some of the big boys. Briles got a downtrodden Houston program to a conference title and four bowl trips in five years. He also took down BCS conference teams (Mississippi State - twice, and Oklahoma State).

Patterson's the one that got to be happy. While everyone's out getting receivers, he'll be snapping up running backs and run-pass option QBs. He basically has no other competition for that anyone locally. He's skinned big boys and had teams on the brink of BCS bowl seasons. TCU pays him over $1 million a year. I think he's probably happy where he is.

But, I digress. Dodge is, to some, a local hero. But, he's have to climb a big hill before anyone is chomping at the bit to snap him up.