Off-season questions series No. 2 — Can UNT rebuild on its defensive l

DT 90 · February 24, 2014

Well, Dan Kottman (6'1' X 245) and Mustafa Haboul (6' X 253) will be two obvious tests for this theory. They both better have a LOT of foot speed, and I hope they have a lot of great technique as well.

It also wouldn't hurt if either or both of them was the second coming of Rex Johnson.

Pay attention to Lincoln, Dutton and Orr.

SilverEagle · February 24, 2014

Pay attention to Lincoln, Dutton and Orr.

I'm not sure what you are implying. Considering my comment/concern about two underweight (by just about anyone's standards) DL's , I might assume that you are hinting that Kottman and Haboul are in the same weight range as Lincoln, Dutton, and Orr.

DT 90 · February 25, 2014

I think he was implying that they players he named are most likely to be the impact guys?

This would be correct.

UNT90 · February 25, 2014

This would be correct.

What about Syd Moore?

SilverEagle · February 25, 2014

I think he was implying that they players he named are most likely to be the impact guys?

And I guess, from the very beginning I wasn't quite clear. I only address the Kottman-Haboul situation because, EVERY team has to deal with injuries and so what about the guys who would quite possibly be plugged into the lineup when that happens?

DT 90 · February 25, 2014

What about Syd Moore?

He is also very much on the radar.

In regards to Silver Eagle's question, that will be answered on the practice field this Spring. It's even more wide open than the QB question.

Harry · February 25, 2014

To me Linc is a proven commodity. Orr is a little tougher to gauge and I worry, he's had some injuries. I also admire that Orr participated in the Stand even if it was only for a couple of plays. Watson could be a pleasant surprise -- remember, he was a very active defensive end in high school and showed good quickness and speed. He's been doing good in the weight program and put on some size. Moore is the enigma in he was so dominant in high school but he was usually one of the biggest guys on the field. He will not be a "big" player in FBS and how he can adjust his game to this will be critical.

One of our good fans emailed me an article about new UT coach Charlie Strong's philosophy on defensive linemen in their program. He said if he has 85 scholarships he wants 35 of them to be offensive and defensive linemen. Looking at the Heart of Dallas Bowl roster we were about 10 short of this and with the graduations plus the recruiting class we probably have lost ground since.

Why is this? Especially when Mac is known as a defensive lineman guy, as it was the position he played and coached. I know that all of the mid major programs struggle in getting the good ones and part of the issue is guys like Charlie Strong, Bob Stoops and Kevin Sumlin are taking so many.

I always admired Hudspeth at ULL's ability to land and retain quality defensive linemen. So - yes it can be done, even at a place with lesser resources and location as UNT.

I also think there are certain years where there a more quality defensive linemen than others. I sometimes wonder if the reason they took so few linemen in this last class was due to the fact it was an outstanding year for the skill positions and linebacker and they are looking for 2015 as a line heavy class?