Thoughts on the importance of highly-rated players, walk-on

Harry · August 22, 2013

UNT has made a point of emphasizing its walk-on program and talking a lot about it this fall. It’s a smart move. UNT has had a lot of success with walk-ons through the years and has become something of a safe haven for second-chance (transfer) and no-chance, at least not out of high school, players (walk-ons).

It’s one area where UNT really has an advantage. It’s a whole lot cheaper for a player to pay his way at UNT as opposed to SMU and TCU, the two other Dallas area FBS teams.

UNT has a huge plaque in the football offices recognizing walk-ons that have earned scholarships. It’s pretty cool.

I bring it up because I ran across a list of the this year’s CBS Sports Preseason All-America Team that goes through where those players were ranked coming out of high school.

Read more: http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2013/08/thoughts-on-the-importance-of-highly-rated-players-walk-ons-and-a-gyrotr-update.html/

Danish43 · August 22, 2013

Harry, is there somebody on staff whose main purpose is to look for disenchanted student/athletes that want to transfer somewhere else and contacts them? Or is it done differently whereby the student/athlete has to initiate the intention? Say for instance, the QB from Plano at UCONN who may be going to Okie St.?

UNT90 · August 22, 2013

I believe the student must initiate contact.

Don't think I would want a guy that quit after 2 weeks because the competition was too tough.

Aside from the commitment issues, the kid just Doesn't sound like much of a competitor

DT 90 · August 22, 2013

I believe the student must initiate contact.
Don't think I would want a guy that quit after 2 weeks because the competition was too tough.
Aside from the commitment issues, the kid just Doesn't sound like much of a competitor

Ask Baylor about a certain Navarro JC Defensive Tackle that is on their team this year.

Edited August 22, 2013 by DT 90

KRAM1 · August 22, 2013

Yep...I think I'd let the coaching staff determine if a player had the proper motivation or not. Lots of reasons go into the decision to transfer. hared to make that call from the outside looking in. Lots of transfers and walk-ons have gone on to great success...even at the next level. On the other hand, many have not panned out as well. Tough call, that's why those that do this sort of evaluation for a living should be the ones making the call. Really really tough to make the "motivation" call on an 18 year old kid. heck...even some athletes with great skills and potential have had "motivation" challenges.

The Fake Lonnie Finch · August 22, 2013

I have something to say here that has been said before at other times: why the emphasis on Texas?

Think about this, most of the walk-ons and transfers are from Texas. Okay, fine. There are many great football players from Texas. And, Texas is the second highest populated state in the union.

But, what has that really meant in terms of football? Since 1969, only one national title in football, the Longhorns' 2005 masterpiece. Before that, you have to dig back to segregated, pre-face mask Texas A&M and TCU in the 1930s to find a footballl national champion from the state of Texas.

Florida, Florida State, and Miami all have won at least one national title over the past 15 seasons. Why don't schools in Texas, which undoubtedly has as good a prep athlete base as Florida (or California, Ohio, Pennsylvania, etc.) deliver more national title-worthy schools?

I think the problems with a school like ours gets too overly focused on recruiting Texas. Yes, we must recruit Texas. No question about it. But, at some point, do you not look around you and try to go somewhere else once the best in Texas are committed to other places?

We have only 11 players on the roster who are not from the state of Texas. And, of those, six transferred from other schools outside of Texas. We really only have five players on the roster who went from high schools in other states to North Texas.

I hate to keep comparing us to Tulsa, but what else can you do? They are regional and we should be able to compete with them. Their rosters is just about 50/50 Oklahoma kids versus out of state kids.

I've preached this before and I'll preach it again. I fully realize that we are not Nebraska, Oklahoma, Alabama, or Oregon, schools in states with small populations, so they must recruit out of state to survive. But, I do think, at some point, we have to take on that mentality of recruiting outside the state to survive.

Talent is for sure in Texas. But, it is for sure in other states surrounding Texas. We need the best players we can get, and it shouldn't matter where they played high school ball.

What did being in the Sun Belt really do for us? The last seven national title winners in football have been from the SEC. So, you know the is talent all over the South. And, there we were, for a decade, playing football all over the south - from Lousiana to Florida. What did it net us? What were our coaching staffs doing to capitalize on us being among that talent?

I don't know how to do this, other than just hope some coaching staff someday does it: supplement whatever we get out of Texas much more heavily with out of state players. Transfer players are fine. But, they don't seem to pan out any better or worse, overall, than those we sign. So, let's throw the net out a little further in recruiting preps.

You can't catch a shark if you're always fishing at the lake.

Edited August 22, 2013 by The Fake Lonnie Finch

greenjoe · August 22, 2013

Well for one thing, a player from Texas is cheaper to put on scholarship. To say nothing of his mom and dad and grandparents and his next door neighbors wanting easy access to watching him play.

And I've always liked the notion of watching Texas kids play at a University called North Texas.

GO MEAN GREEN

untjim1995 · August 22, 2013

I have something to say here that has been said before at other times: why the emphasis on Texas?
Think about this, most of the walk-ons and transfers are from Texas. Okay, fine. There are many great football players from Texas. And, Texas is the second highest populated state in the union.

But, what has that really meant in terms of football? Since 1969, only one national title in football, the Longhorns' 2005 masterpiece. Before that, you have to dig back to segregated, pre-face mask Texas A&M and TCU in the 1930s to find a footballl national champion from the state of Texas.
Florida, Florida State, and Miami all have won at least one national title over the past 15 seasons. Why don't schools in Texas, which undoubtedly has as good a prep athlete base as Florida (or California, Ohio, Pennsylvania, etc.) deliver more national title-worthy schools?
I think the problems with a school like ours gets too overly focused on recruiting Texas. Yes, we must recruit Texas. No question about it. But, at some point, do you not look around you and try to go somewhere else once the best in Texas are committed to other places?
We have only 11 players on the roster who are not from the state of Texas. And, of those, six transferred from other schools outside of Texas. We really only have five players on the roster who went from high schools in other states to North Texas.
I hate to keep comparing us to Tulsa, but what else can you do? They are regional and we should be able to compete with them. Their rosters is just about 50/50 Oklahoma kids versus out of state kids.
I've preached this before and I'll preach it again. I fully realize that we are not Nebraska, Oklahoma, Alabama, or Oregon, schools in states with small populations, so they must recruit out of state to survive. But, I do think, at some point, we have to take on that mentality of recruiting outside the state to survive.
Talent is for sure in Texas. But, it is for sure in other states surrounding Texas. We need the best players we can get, and it shouldn't matter where they played high school ball.
What did being in the Sun Belt really do for us? The last seven national title winners in football have been from the SEC. So, you know the is talent all over the South. And, there we were, for a decade, playing football all over the south - from Lousiana to Florida. What did it net us? What were our coaching staffs doing to capitalize on us being among that talent?
I don't know how to do this, other than just hope some coaching staff someday does it: supplement whatever we get out of Texas much more heavily with out of state players. Transfer players are fine. But, they don't seem to pan out any better or worse, overall, than those we sign. So, let's throw the net out a little further in recruiting preps.
You can't catch a shark if you're always fishing at the lake.

If you'll remember, our recruiting budget was ranked in the bottom 5, if I remember correctly, by USA Today earlier this year. ULM spends more on recruiting than we do.

You can't catch anything if you don't even have the equipment to fish...you can wait for dead fish to wash up, but if you don't give the fisherman money to buy decent rods and lures, that's pretty much all youre gonna catch.

El Paso Eagle · August 22, 2013

Harry, is there somebody on staff whose main purpose is to look for disenchanted student/athletes that want to transfer somewhere else and contacts them? Or is it done differently whereby the student/athlete has to initiate the intention? Say for instance, the QB from Plano at UCONN who may be going to Okie St.?

If there is, with our luck on transfers, we need to be looking for an upgrade :phew:

Mean Green 93-98 · August 22, 2013

Well for one thing, a player from Texas is cheaper to put on scholarship. To say nothing of his mom and dad and grandparents and his next door neighbors wanting easy access to watching him play.

And I've always liked the notion of watching Texas kids play at a University called North Texas.

GO MEAN GREEN

I'm pretty sure students from other states on full scholarship, whether athletic or academic, are considered in-state for tuition purposes.