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  1. Me reading “small school” in reference to North Texas:
    11 points
  2. You guys wanted transfers. At cornerback we have: Tyrae Thornton, former starting CB at Rice John Davis, Texas Tech transfer Jordan Rucker, Purdue transfer Logan Wilson, ULM transfer and 2019 Kansas State signee
    10 points
  3. Remembering. 50 years ago. February 11, 1971. #75 Joe Green. #33 Ray Renfro. #28 Abner Haynes. #55 Richard Gill. At every home game, we see those names on the Apogee Stadium wall. The names of our titans of the gridiron. The best of the best, on and off the field. Some of us have been around long enough to have seen all four of them play. Whether it was for North Texas or in the Pros, they gave it their all. And now we have a fabulous statue of Joe and talk of one for Abner. I hope that Ray gets one, too. And Coach Mitchell. We still get to see Joe and Abner on game days and special occasions. Ray lives on in surviving Cleveland Browns game film. Five years ago, someone started a forum post about the fourth player on the wall, #55 Richard Gill. I was glad to see him remembered. #55…the first jersey number retired by North Texas and I guess the least known of the four. So, I thought I’d share a few remembrances from an event at Fouts Field that occurred on this date 50 years ago. The entire North Texas campus was shocked when we learned of the sudden passing of Richard on September 27, 1970. A young man in peak physical condition. A husband, a father. A blood clot caused by knee surgery. It was very hard to make any sense of it all. But there was a family, Richard’s wife, Marva, son Richard, Jr., and a daughter on the way, to be taken care of and the whole of the North Texas student body pitched in to do what they could. “The Last Time We Donned the Pads” One of the fund-raising ideas a few months later was to have a game at Fouts Field. “The Richard Gill Memorial Football Game.” To be played on Thursday, February 11, 1971. A game pitting the best of the fraternity men, the “North Texas Greeks” against the “Ex-Marines”. One small problem became evident immediately. There weren’t enough Ex-Marines on campus to field an entire team, so the call for volunteers went out. Anyone who had ever played and was willing was welcome. After practice started and the injuries began piling up the squad became ever smaller. Guys who hadn’t had on the pads for three or four years and whose weight was up 20 or 30 pounds from their “glory” days were finding that their body wasn’t like it had been in high school. Knees of the linemen were the biggest problem. I was one of those volunteers, my wife very reluctantly agreeing to let me have one more game on the gridiron with the boys. We all did what we could in the week or two that we had to practice. As game day approached, our coaches, 1970 North Texas football players, Jimmy Franklin and Wilmer Levels, saw that they had to back off of full-contact practices to save enough guys for the game. Let’s face it, how much better were we going to get in that period of time. Heck, it had taken us several years to get out of shape, two weeks wasn’t going to miraculously return us to our former selves. I was a DB so I don’t really know how many plays Coach Franklin was able to teach my teammates on the other side of the ball. On the defensive side, we had three or four coverages, all of which proved insufficient to stop the passing attach combo of Jerry Atherton to Jerry Colella. We certainly hadn’t made any defensive plans for a player like Colella who was the best player on the field and the fastest. Well, at least it appeared so from my safety position. All too late we finally had to double cover him. We did have “The Play of the Game” when, in the 4th quarter, we completed a screen pass to our FB, Jack Crowther, who lumbered 55 yards for our only score. I don’t remember Jack returning to the game after his “dash” to the end zone. I think his gas tank was empty. Hey, it put us back in the game. I think that every player on the field that day was glad for one last chance to don the pads and to remember our friend and classmate, #55 Richard Gill. The combined efforts of the North Texas family raised over $8,000 (over $50,000 equivalent) for the Gill Family, with our tussle at Fouts Field bringing in $600 of that total. #55 – Richard Gill. We were blessed to have known him. On September 30, 1970, three days after Richard died, his freshman coach at North Texas, Gary Ness, wrote a long and moving letter to Richard’s son, one-year-old Richard Earl Gill, Jr., telling him about his father. Here are the last two paragraphs: “Those students and faculty members at North Texas State University who never knew Richard are the unlucky ones. At a time when everyone, to some degree, is bought and sold, it is unique to meet someone totally unpretentious, dedicated to principles and purely sincere. Your dad was a winner. He was and is an inspiration to his teammates, coaches, and fellow students. If you and your yet unborn brother or sister can approach his wisdom and stature, this world will be so much richer…so very much richer. You can be sure your father watches from a lofty perch. When you get ready to attend college, I hope you consider North Texas State University. Your father struggled for admission in 1967. If you need help in any capacity there, any of us who knew your father will be grateful for the opportunity to be of service. Begin with me.” Sincerely, R. Gary Ness Asst. Football Coach It was a letter that Richard, Jr. never got to read. Just one year later, on September 5, 1971, in Spurger, Texas, a small East Texas town outside of Woodville, a car accident claimed the life of two-year-old Richard, Jr. and two aunts. Both Richard, Sr. and Richard, Jr. are buried in the Town Bluff Cemetery in Woodville, Texas.
    8 points
  4. 6 points
  5. Ability to do and ability to teach are two different things.
    6 points
  6. I get your frustration but if you look at college coaching experience, Cobbs was even less experienced when hired than Passwaters is but we overlooked that because we love the guy.
    6 points
  7. Bloesch is going places. Glad he's here. Not sure how long though.
    5 points
  8. Thanks, Eagle71. I love these kind of posts. We have to keep our UNT history alive for the younger fans & alums. Many of us have stories from our respective eras at UNT to share; otherwise they go to the grave with us. 🦅❇️🦅GMG!
    5 points
  9. Hopefully Coach Passwaters is that guy. Hell, Ive had some players come to me and say they want images of them during games. All I would say to them was do something and I will find them and get their shots, guess what, it definitely motivated them.r Now apply that logic to a high energy guy who knows how to motivate and teach some of the best recruits in CUSA for the past 3 years. I cannot wait to see what these new coaches will do to get the best out of our players.
    5 points
  10. As I understand it, he's already gotten other offers and this move was precisely done to keep him here. Hope y'all are ready for the Briles offense. Fast as hell, deep shots, bubble screens, and power/trap run game.
    4 points
  11. Not as rare as you might think. Mike Leach was an OLine coach/OC before he moved to QBs and OC. Also Mike Sherman was a big OC who was an Oline coach.
    4 points
  12. Completely agree with you about Coach Ness! We had a bunch of great coaches at NT at that time. Chuck Mills was a friend as was Cedric. I gave Joe Greene more than one ride to class so he wouldn't be late. Always fun watching him load his 275 lb. frame into my Mustang. Shoot Joe even threw the shot for my intramural track team. Oh, he made one throw and won by over 10 feet. Great memories.
    4 points
  13. 1. Just idle curiosity. Is 71 the year you graduated, or your number on the team? 2. I finally see where Cedric Hardman was from originally. I knew that he transferred from a small college in Oklahoma, but I never knew where his home town was. 3. Glynn Hachtel (who, along with his twin brother Lynn, was often called "Hatchet" by game announcers...at away games) once described Richard Gill to me with great awe in his voice. He had never seen, or played with, an athlete of his speed and size. And this was coming from a pretty exceptional athlete in his own right. He was a great RB and LB in High School until his senior year when he was asked to switch to QB, because the guy who inherited the job was not getting it done. Glynn had never played QB in his whole life......but his twin brother had when they were in Jr. High. By the end of the year, he was either second team all-district at QB, or honorable mention...I can't remember. He still played LB (most of the team played both ways), where he was at least all-district if not all-region. He was also an all-conference, or at least honorable mention, LB in the MVC.
    4 points
  14. https://247sports.com/college/north-texas/Article/North-TExas-mean-green-basketball-the-future-Abou-Ousmane-eager-to-improve-as-Zachary-Simmons-mentors-160706539/ “For me, I didn’t have too much of that [mentorship] coming in, so i’m just trying to do what I can for [Abou],” Simmons said. “I want North Texas to be a great team for the rest of my life, so I’m just trying to help out.” “It is special, “McCasland said. “Zach has endured a lot of coaching and now he can apply it and give it away. That’s what you love about the maturing process and it’s fun to see what all he’s learned and he’s able to impart it to Abou. “It has a lot of substance to it and there’s a genuine interest in the program. North Texas means a lot to Zach and he sees the future of our program with Abou being a significant part of it.”
    4 points
  15. Did you see how many 5-Star college recruits played in this years Super Bowl? Precisely - 1
    4 points
  16. I get your point and you make it well. I will just say if I have my choice between Bowen/Mathies or Reffett/Yellock and Bennett/Passwaters I’m taking the Bennett combo every time. Whether it was a condition of his hiring or not, you take Phil Bennett for $350k every time you can get him. On paper he wouldn’t even sniff our DC job but whether it was the Passwaters deal or his connection to Seth, we got a steal that is beyond what we would typically be able to snag.
    4 points
  17. Will come in as a redshirt junior. Made 11 starts at cornerback in 2019 as a redshirt sophomore, 4 starts as a redshirt freshman in 2018. Put his name in the portal before the season started. https://riceowls.com/sports/football/roster/tyrae-thornton/5014
    3 points
  18. Nope. He was calling a lot of the plays last year and Im sure Seth will still be heavily involved. He also probably got a raise with the new title. Hope we can keep him for a couple of years.
    3 points
  19. Great story. Gary Ness was one of the nicest men you could ever know. He worked for my Dad at then NTSU and was over at our house a time or two. There are some great names on that team with Gill, Hardeman, Shanklin, Ramsey, Gill, Dunlap, Mills, Holloway, etc...
    3 points
  20. At the end of the day, what happens on the field is all that matters. I'll hold judgment until we see what the D-Line looks like next year. You guys act like you've never worked a personal relationship to help you get a job you might or might not be the best candidate for. That's just kind of the way the world works. Honestly, it doesn't even bother me. Relationships are important. He'll have his shot to prove himself, just like any of us would. At the end of the day, one thing that's always stood out to me with coaches is that they're always going to hire who they know and trust. That's just kind of how the business operates. They get paid the big bucks to win. They know that. If they don't, they hit the road.
    3 points
  21. The passwaters hire does not look great but I am willing to give it time to play out. Hopefully it’s a moot point in 7-8 months from now
    3 points
  22. Zach has really stepped up this season and become a true leader on this team. Also crazy the transformation that Ousman has had, not even fully through his first season here. It was clear early that he was out of shape but he has really transformed himself and brings so much more energy now. Keep putting in that work
    3 points
  23. https://www.downtownrams.com/single-post/2021/02/10/2021-nfl-draft-top-vertical-threat-wide-receivers-for-the-rams/
    2 points
  24. No sir, I did not serve. Draft number was 131, so I missed being called by just a few numbers. No, there just weren't enough Ex-Marines on campus at that time so I, and several others, was asked to play by the Ex-Marines. Lots and lots of injuries. We were pretty thin (in numbers only) by game day. I graduated in '71 and after my wife finished up her five-year BFA I took a job teaching and coaching under Eddie Joseph in Wharton, Texas. And if you follow HS football I would just add that Gary "Bear" Joseph, the HC at Katy, was Eddie's son and played at Wharton while I was there.
    2 points
  25. 71 is the year I graduated. My only hope was that NT would start a baseball program. I'm still waiting.
    2 points
  26. @Eagle71 Thanks so much for that great tribute to Richard Gill. To go along with @PlummMeanGreen these are my favorite kind of posts. I love hearing the history of North Texas football! Very few people know the great history and stories associated with our institution. With that being said, I'm curious to know more about you. You were on the ex-Marines squad. When and where did you serve? And did you play football in the Corps?
    2 points
  27. If we indeed move to a 4-man front, and Bennett's defense shows improvement in the secondary (his position to coach) and LBs, but a failure to apply pressure to opposing QBs, or keep opposing RBs from consistently getting to the 2nd level, then DL play will be a glaring issue... which would reflect on Passwaters.
    2 points
  28. I agree with this comment and also, oddly enough, with the comments that followed. Many times, those that are great at "doing" aren't good teachers because being great came naturally and they never really had to think about what they were doing. They just did it and it turned out great. For example, I was driving to work the other day listening to the Dan Patrick show and he had Tony Boselli on as a guest. They were talking about the Super Bowl and the discussion came around to Mahomes. They both talked about what a great QB he is because of his freakish natural ability. On the flip side, Boselli talked about how terrible Mahomes' footwork is but that he gets away with it because of his natural ability. Mahomes, because of this, may have difficulty being a coach that would teach the mechanics, footwork, arm position, etc... Where he would be effective would be teaching how to read coverages and different defensive schemes and what to look for. I think of baseball, for instance. Many of the top managers were not great players. Johnny Oates was a great manager of the Rangers and Orioles but he was a backup catcher for most of his career. Not sure if I am being as clear as I think I am on this subject. Regarding Cobbs, I think he is effective because he relates to the kids, he had great ability, but his hard work and discipline served him well, all things that can be impressed upon young players.
    2 points
  29. I don’t recall Cobbs being a GA. I thought he wasn’t straight from NFL retiree to Ryan as the RB coach. Please don’t construe this as a slight at PC. I like the guy and think he has done a good job. I am simply saying that if Passwaters name was Andy Brewster or Mason Y’Barbo with the same experience, you guys would look at this completely differently.
    2 points
  30. After 3 near the top 247 recruiting classes in CUSA Coach Bennett will have “D” talent to work with. Again, UNT has never had such a high pedigree hire of an assistant coach (& this hire could not have been more timely). I’m stoked & cant wait for Spring football to begin! 🦅❇️🦅
    2 points
  31. While we're changing this stuff up, can we please get Take Me Out to the Ball Game back for the 7th inning stretch at Rangers games. Been putting up with God Bless America now for almost 20 years.
    2 points
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