Saturday Scrimmage

[Midwest13]

I am new to this site but I am a big UNT football fan. I was hoping to see some opinions, thoughts and highlights from the scrimmage on Saturday but only found a string debating the schedule and world politics. I would like to start a new one that would allow some of the members/fans that were at the scrimmage to enlighten us on what they saw Saturday. I wish I could have been present but was unable to go. Did anyone make it Saturday? What did you think?

[rws69]

Welcome! I am relatively new to the blog myself, but not new to UNT sports. There are already a couple of strings that start with observations of the scrimmage.

[SilverEagle]

I think that the teams overall size, strength, and speed is noticeably better than last year.

Until Brown (#84) went down yesterday we were real deep at the DE spot. I am hoping that his knee is just a sprang, but the father of a former player who was sitting next to me interpreted the body language going on between Brown and the trainer. A first the trainer put his hand on his shoulder and seemed to be giving works of encouragement....not a good sign according to the football player dad. Then the trainer later came back over and put his arm around Brown's shoulder and put his head next to browns' whilst talking to him....Uh Oh, says football dad, when they put their arm around their shoulder like that, it's almost always bad news. I hope not, because it's been very clear from observing this young from day one in practice that he REALLY wants to play football for North Texas. If there is rehab involved, then I hope he goes at it as hard as he has been practicing. We need someone with his ability......and fire.

QB's- DT may have lost some weight, but I don't see the noticeable increase in speed that others (including Vito) have observed in him. He took off on one run with about 20 yards of open field in front of him. He got close to 20 yards before the LB's and DB's made him take a slide. But if you had inserted McNulty or Gill (the only other two QB's really practicing on Saturday) in the same play, I believe they would have gotten further down field. In other words, Mr. Thompson looks pretty much the same to me. When he is having a day when he is "on", he looks great. But the problem has always been that someone else seems to show up the following week wearing #7 that isn't near as good. Maybe a taller and healthier receiving corp will help change that pattern.

McNulty looked pretty good thowing the ball, and (as always) he looked good running the ball.

Our walk-on QB, Gill (#6) also looked good. He has quicker feet than all the other QB's and he has an arm that is almost as strong as McNulty. He had a couple of good runs as well. I seriously doubt that he is 6' however.

RB's Just as I was telling "former football player dad" about how quicker and faster Byrd looks this spring, he breaks a 60 yrd run by doing his best Lance Dunbar imitation. He stop-steps the defense at the line of scrimmage and then takes off straight up field through the gap that his move created.

Pegram looked ok, but he doesn't seem to be going at it quite as hard as in the first practices.

Lewis (#4) is looking good. He has good speed, good moves, especially running in traffic, and he doesn't go down that easily.

Wilhite (#21 in green) is also looking good. He is more of a speed back, but he can get some yards after contact.

Earlier in spring practice Rex Rollins (#20) was getting a noticeable amount of reps, and he looked pretty good. I didn't see him at all yesterday.......don't know what happened to him.

WR's #80 Darnell Smith is making a serious attempt to start. He had the most spectacular catch yesterday....and it was where it really counts....in the end zone. Teegarden (#10) continues to look good, as does Chelf (#31) and Caldwell (#83). Terrell (#11) and Pleasant (#17) had a pretty good day. I didn't see our other transfer Brown (#19) out there today.

Defense...everyone is looking better this year. BTW Accune has switched numbers from 52 to 7. Everyone who is out there playing defense is flying around and going at it pretty hard. The starting DT's (as of Saturday) seem to be Abbe and Lincoln. Abbe seems noticeably quicker than last year. Orr continues to get reps at DT, as does Wallce, but Wallace wasn't out there as much as I have seen him earlier in practice.

Polk (#42) looks great in his speed rush role, and Roberts (#30) is looking good at DE. When he was out there, he was around the ball a lot.

Horton and Mason (46 and 49 respectively) were suited up in pads, but they mainly jogged across and back on the field....no contact work. Can someone tell me how much playing time either of them had last year?

There are a bunch of DB's out there this spring. Right now, it looks like Evans and Lee will start at safety. Whitfield continues to develop and he looks really good out there. A belated Kudos to the coaching staff for moving him to DB.

As mentioned in another thread, there were several blocks during the practice....both punting and FG situations. I don't know if this is an improvement in our defensive special teams, or....well....something else.

Edited March 31, 2013 by SilverEagle

[Midwest13]

Great breakdown of the scrimmage. Thank you Silver Eagle! While I appreciate the evaluations that Vito supplys, I prefer hearing from fans that were in attendance. Reporters sometimes lean toward the company line while fans tend to tell it like it is. I appreciate the honest opinions of what you saw!

[GoMeanGreen1999]

Great breakdown of the scrimmage. Thank you Silver Eagle! While I appreciate the evaluations that Vito supplys, I prefer hearing from fans that were in attendance. Reporters sometimes lean toward the company line while fans tend to tell it like it is. I appreciate the honest opinions of what you saw!

I tend to think the Vito evalutions come closer to what we can expect in the fall. We tend to over evaluate the spring and then get to fall and wonder why we look so bad.

[UNTLifer]

Vito isn't near as thorough.

[KRAM1]

An excellent re-cap. Silver...great job!

[DallasGreen]

Dead wrong about DT. He will be the senior starter come 8/31. Berglund thinks he can rest on his laurels of three years ago. DT knows the offense ,now has the confidence of his receivers ,is quick enough to be mobile (he does not have to run it forty yards just be positive yard threat to keep the defense honest). DT is a proven commodity ( see @ Troy in 2011 & @ KSU in 2013). McNulty was pitiful starting the Tulsa game in 2011. For all the pre spring talk look at Coaches' Mac & Chico's remarks after Sat. Scrimmage, and it's obvious that DT is doing good things!!!

[MeanGreenTexan]

Dead wrong about DT. He will be the senior starter come 8/31. Berglund thinks he can rest on his laurels of three years ago. DT knows the offense ,now has the confidence of his receivers ,is quick enough to be mobile (he does not have to run it forty yards just be positive yard threat to keep the defense honest). DT is a proven commodity ( see @ Troy in 2011 & @ KSU in 2013). McNulty was pitiful starting the Tulsa game in 2011. For all the pre spring talk look at Coaches' Mac & Chico's remarks after Sat. Scrimmage, and it's obvious that DT is doing good things!!!

The offense is changing per Chico, and if you think Berglund doesn't know the offense (he was here last season) then you must really think he's stupid.

We'll see what Derek does in the spring. If he works hard and improves, he could possibly beat out Berglund, and maybe that wouldn't be a bad thing.

If Berglund actually does "rest on his laurels", then we'll know by the end of the spring. I just don't get that out of him.

Be prepared to be shocked DG.

[greenminer]

9-15

[untjim1995]

Dead wrong about DT. He will be the senior starter come 8/31. Berglund thinks he can rest on his laurels of three years ago. DT knows the offense ,now has the confidence of his receivers ,is quick enough to be mobile (he does not have to run it forty yards just be positive yard threat to keep the defense honest). DT is a proven commodity ( see @ Troy in 2011 & @ KSU in 2013). McNulty was pitiful starting the Tulsa game in 2011. For all the pre spring talk look at Coaches' Mac & Chico's remarks after Sat. Scrimmage, and it's obvious that DT is doing good things!!!

If you're correct, then the magazine that predicts us to go 2-10 will be spot on. That dude cannot play QB at this level as a starter. He doesn't have an accurate arm. He's a really nice backup, but that's about it.The two games you mentioned that he played ok in are nullified by the dozen other games that were avearage to bad. Troy in 2012 was one of the worst games I've ever seen a UNT QB play...and that is saying something.

If Berglund isn't the guy here in 2013, then we are staring down the barrel of a 2 win season, in my opinion. If Brock can play at QB anywhere near what his talent suggests (and what Chico and Coach Mac believe) we will win 5-6 this year.

[SilverEagle]

If you're correct, then the magazine that predicts us to go 2-10 will be spot on. That dude cannot play QB at this level as a starter. He doesn't have an accurate arm. He's a really nice backup, but that's about it.The two games you mentioned that he played ok in are nullified by the dozen other games that were avearage to bad. Troy in 2012 was one of the worst games I've ever seen a UNT QB play...and that is saying something.

If Berglund isn't the guy here in 2013, then we are staring down the barrel of a 2 win season, in my opinion. If Brock can play at QB anywhere near what his talent suggests (and what Chico and Coach Mac believe) we will win 5-6 this year.

If he's the super QB that everyone thinks/hopes he is, there should be more wins than that. Especially if the WR's continue to develop, and the defense gets healthy by opening day. We really need the defense to get (and stay) healthy.

[greenminer]

How deep are we at DT/DE? When healthy? When injured?

I think the DL and play at QB will spell out our success.

[untjim1995]

If he's the super QB that everyone thinks/hopes he is, there should be more wins than that. Especially if the WR's continue to develop, and the defense gets healthy by opening day. We really need the defense to get (and stay) healthy.

Well, the step up in competition is why I think 6 wins is about as high as I can go. But I think we beat Idaho, Tulane, UTEP, and UTSA. If we win 1-2 others out of Ball State, MUTS, La Tech, and Southern Miss, then that is where get to 5-7 or 6-6. I don't see us beating Ohio, Rice, or Tulsa, but none of those are completely out of the question, unlike the Georgia game, which is only successful if we don't get anyone hurt badly and their check doesn't bounce after the game.

[DallasGreen]

9-15

. Hayden Fry's record after his first two years. 7-12-2 so what is the significance of 9-15? DT does not play defense nor can he control when receivers quit on their routes. Berglund has yet to take a snap as a D-1 QB. Let this be settled on the field not in a fan message board. The competition will make both better, but to anoint a guy who has not played in three years over a senior starter and captain is way premature.

[BillySee58]

I have a feeling that this qb competition won't be settled this spring or in the fall.

In a presser Mac said that he would not be opposed to a rotation at quarterback. I think we could see a qb rotation at least for the Idaho game between DT and Berglund. Not Berglund as a wildcat qb to come in mid drive, but an old-fashioned rotation in which the qbs get a drive or two to conduct the offense, then the other qb gets his turn.

The coaches brought Berglund in to be their guy and changed the offense to better suit his abilities. DT on the other hand appears to not be giving up his spot without a fight but is not the fit as a running threat that Berglund is for this offense.

I'd be surprised if we only had one qb start every drive that first half against Idaho, especially if DT is the "leader" in the qb battle coming out of spring.

[UNT90]

Well, the step up in competition is why I think 6 wins is about as high as I can go. But I think we beat Idaho, Tulane, UTEP, and UTSA. If we win 1-2 others out of Ball State, MUTS, La Tech, and Southern Miss, then that is where get to 5-7 or 6-6. I don't see us beating Ohio, Rice, or Tulsa, but none of those are completely out of the question, unlike the Georgia game, which is only successful if we don't get anyone hurt badly and their check doesn't bounce after the game.

I would put Ohio, Tulsa. Ball St. down as losses right along with Geogia. If we don't find some depth up front defensively, you can also put down MTSU, UTEP, La. Tech and USM in that category, also.

Our best bet is to hope we can outscore our opponents a la La. Tech did last year. Not.a great option, considering we will be relying on many unproven players to spice up a 20 PPG offense.

Beown's injury hurt. The failure to recruit DTs. Hurts even more. No pass rush and a weak run defense aways equals a bad secondary , no matter what talent you have at CB and S.

Big challenges ahead.

[KRAM1]

Anyone counting DT out as the starter knows very little about DT's ability to compete.

Decision will be made one way or the other, but those thinking BB will just be handed the job don't know DT. I doubt anyone knows how this will settle out right now...not even the coaching staff. It will be settled on the field.

[UNTLifer]

I would put Ohio, Tulsa. Ball St. down as losses right along with Geogia. If we don't find some depth up front defensively, you can also put down MTSU, UTEP, La. Tech and USM in that category, also.

Our best bet is to hope we can outscore our opponents a la La. Tech did last year. Not.a great option, considering we will be relying on many unproven players to spice up a 20 PPG offense.

Beown's injury hurt. The failure to recruit DTs. Hurts even more. No pass rush and a weak run defense aways equals a bad secondary , no matter what talent you have at CB and S.

Big challenges ahead.

With your motivational ability, we would be 0fer in District 5-5A.

[GoMeanGreen1999]

Dead wrong about DT. He will be the senior starter come 8/31. Berglund thinks he can rest on his laurels of three years ago. DT knows the offense ,now has the confidence of his receivers ,is quick enough to be mobile (he does not have to run it forty yards just be positive yard threat to keep the defense honest). DT is a proven commodity ( see @ Troy in 2011 & @ KSU in 2013). McNulty was pitiful starting the Tulsa game in 2011. For all the pre spring talk look at Coaches' Mac & Chico's remarks after Sat. Scrimmage, and it's obvious that DT is doing good things!!!

I can't agree with this more. I have said all off season...DT will start come Fall.

[NorthTexan95]

The problem with DT is that he looks good in practice but it doesn't carry over into games. He may be the game one starter but it won't last long. I don't doubt his competitiveness but I do doubt his talent and skill.

[GRN-WHT]

Don't forget Mac's unwavering loyalty to DT during tough times last season. I would not be surprised at all if DT is the starter.

[Green Lantern]

I have a feeling that this qb competition won't be settled this spring or in the fall.

In a presser Mac said that he would not be opposed to a rotation at quarterback. I think we could see a qb rotation at least for the Idaho game between DT and Berglund. Not Berglund as a wildcat qb to come in mid drive, but an old-fashioned rotation in which the qbs get a drive or two to conduct the offense, then the other qb gets his turn.

The coaches brought Berglund in to be their guy and changed the offense to better suit his abilities. DT on the other hand appears to not be giving up his spot without a fight but is not the fit as a running threat that Berglund is for this offense.

I'd be surprised if we only had one qb start every drive that first half against Idaho, especially if DT is the "leader" in the qb battle coming out of spring.

I really hope not. 2 QB's rotating = No QB.

Give the job to the guy who wins it in practice. That's all I ask.

[BillySee58]

I really hope not. 2 QB's rotating = No QB.

Give the job to the guy who wins it in practice. That's all I ask.

I agree in the long term, but I don't think it's a terrible solution to the qb competition with our new offense, at least for the first game.

Idaho is a team we should put up 40+ points against at home. If I see a repeat of the Texas Southern performance from last year I'm just going to lose it.

[H-towngreen]

Don't forget Mac's unwavering loyalty to DT during tough times last season. I would not be surprised at all if DT is the starter.

I wouldn't call it loyalty, I'd call it not having any other options. Mac is looking to replace DT, no doubt about it.