Harry

That sam adams light is pretty sweet I must say.

http://cougarblue2.com/modules.php?op=modl...rticle&sid=5139

You gotta know how much they love his heart. How cool would it be to see them to a Hard Knocks for the Pat's like they did for the Ravens a couple of years ago. Man I really enjoyed that show and having them talk about Patrick would be too cool.

BUMP!!

It must have been tough growing up for Jo-El Nwigwe! How would you like to have a younger brother (Tobe) that was bigger, stronger and meaner than you? Of course with Jo-El's speed it was probably pretty hard to catch him.

http://www.gomeangreen.com/mgr

This is really good information to hear and I appreciate you sharing it with us.

Grades. The good news is he has a redshirt year since he lettered last season as a true freshman. He can take this year to hit the books and weightroom and will have 3-years of eligibility remaining.

http://www.dentonrc.com/sharedcontent/dws/...ed.5819b98.html Football: Sun Belt coaches have discovered the Metroplex is a ... recruiting hotbed Six conference schools sport players from metroplex 08:57 AM CDT on Wednesday, July 26, 2006 By Brett Vito / Staff Writer NEW ORLEANS — Shortly after Rick Stockstill took over as coach at Middle Tennessee last winter, one of his new co-workers told him he needed to take a trip to Dallas. DRC/Gary Payne North Texas quarterback Daniel Meager (7) throws the ball to the sideline to avoid being tackled for a loss by Louisiana-Lafayette’s Mark Risher (4) in this Nov. 5, 2005, photo. Meager, a Richardson native, is one of five Mean Green starters that hail from the Dallas-Fort Worth region. MTSU track coach Roger Kerr was recruiting a sprinter from Dallas Kimball and liked what he saw in Phillip Tanner, a running back from the same school. That piece of advice led Stockstill into an area that resembles a Sun Belt Conference coaches’ convention in recruiting season. Dozens of teams from across the country recruit Dallas-Fort Worth each year, including just about every team in the Sun Belt. All but two squads in the eight-team conference have at least one player on their depth chart from DFW heading into the season and several have multiple starters who call somewhere in the area home. Only Florida rivals DFW in terms of recruiting in the Sun Belt. “[DFW] is pretty important to everyone in the country because everyone recruits there,” UNT coach Darrell Dickey said during the final session of Sun Belt media days on Tuesday. “There are excellent football players throughout the state of Texas and population-wise there are a lot more people in the Metroplex than a lot of places around the country.” UNT has six starters and five backups from DFW, but is not the only team in the conference with top players from the area. Four key members of Louisiana-Monroe’s offensive line are from DFW. Louisiana-Lafayette has four starters from the area, including defensive lineman Tony Hills, who earned a spot on the preseason all-conference team. Hills of Carrollton Newman Smith and UNT wide receiver Johnny Quinn of McKinney were the two DFW natives to earn a spot on the preseason all-conference team. Both Hills and Quinn play their college football close to home, which can be an advantage for Sun Belt teams that try to lure top players from the area. The conference has several teams that are within driving distance, including ULM, ULL and Arkansas State. “Dallas is only four hours away, so we can drive over there to recruit and parents can come and watch their sons play,” ULM coach Charlie Weatherbie said. “I have been recruiting the area since 1981 when I was at Wyoming, so it’s very familiar. Our No. 1 area is Louisiana. No. 2 is Dallas and East Texas.” Arkansas State coach Steve Roberts said the number of schools packed into a small area helps make DFW one of the most productive recruiting areas for his coaching staff. “The schools are within a proximity where you can have a very productive day, hitting seven to nine schools to locate prospects,” Roberts said. “The coaches there do a tremendous job not only preparing players, but also helping college coaches get all the information they need to make decisions in recruiting. I have been recruiting the area for 14 years. We want to work the area very hard.” The academic standards in Texas also make DFW an attractive option for Sun Belt schools. Players have to meet minimum standards to be eligible to play. The NCAA is instituting new standards, including the Academic Progress Report (APR), that track the levels at which schools retain and keep athletes eligible. The new rules make recruiting athletes who are academically prepared more important. Schools could eventually be penalized for not meeting academic standards. ULL coach Rickey Bustle named the academic requirements in Dallas as a key advantage for recruits in the area. UNT has made a few changes since the end of last season in an effort to land as many of the top players from the area as possible. Each member of the Mean Green’s staff that recruits now has a local area to work. Dickey said the move should help UNT sign more of the area’s best players because the Mean Green will be able to do a more thorough job of working in each city in DFW. That increased recruiting effort, combined with the attention the rest of the Sun Belt’s teams give the area, could help foster more interesting rivalries. Tanner’s decision to play for MTSU might help strengthen the Blue Raiders’ rivalry with UNT. The former all-district and all-region running back originally committed to Houston and also considered UNT before deciding to attend MTSU. “Being in the conference and going to play North Texas every other year, kids will be familiar with us,” Stockstill said. “We may be able to get a guy out of there every once in a while.” History shows Stockstill won’t be the only coach in the Sun Belt who will be trying. BRETT VITO can be reached at 940-566-6870. His e-mail address is bvito@dentonrc.com . SUN BELT RECRUITS FROM METROPLEX The Sun Belt Conference has several teams with players from the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The following is a rundown of players listed on the two-deep depth charts at each school. North Texas Starters (5) WR Johnny Quinn, McKinney FB James Mitchell, Aubrey QB Daniel Meager, Richardson FS Steve Warren, Burleson K Denis Hopovac, Dallas P Truman Spencer, Mesquite Backups (5) OL Chris Eidd, Euless Trinity RB Deavin Cox, Dallas DL Isaac Thomas, Mansfield LB Raifu Durodoye, Denton S Cliff Higgs, Sanger Louisiana-Monroe Starters (3) OL, Adam Hill, Arlington Lamar OL Aaron Schutz, Keller Fossil Ridge DE Travis Eickman, Garland Backups (3) OL, Kyle Kersten, Flower Mound OL Pat Avinger, Duncanville WR J.J. McCoy, Garland * Note – ULM has three other Dallas-Fort Worth natives listed third on their depth chart Louisiana-Lafayette Starters (4) OL Brandon Cox, Irving Nimitz DE Tony Hills, Carrollton Newman Smith DB Kyle Ward, Dallas Kimball DB Michael Adams, Dallas Kimball Backups (2) WR Phillip Nevels, Dallas Skyline DE Travis Ferguson, Dallas Skyline Arkansas State Starters (1) DL Prince Hickman, South Garland Backups (5) WR Gary Vincent, Arlington Sam Houston DL Reggie Green, Mesquite DL Curtis Bonds, Dallas Carter DB Kelvin Cox, Garland Naaman Forest RB Chris Easley, The Woodlands Troy Starters (1) LB Andre Morgan, South Garland * Note – Punter Adrian Vera is listed third on the depth chart Middle Tennessee Starters None Backups (1) LB Wes Hofacker, Allen Florida International None Florida Atlantic None COMBING THE REGION The Sun Belt Conference has several teams that feature players from the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The following is a rundown of the number of players listed on the two-deep depth charts at each school: North Texas (10) Louisiana-Lafayette (6) Louisiana-Monroe (6) Arkansas State (6) Troy (1) Middle Tennessee (1) Florida International (0) Florida Atlantic (0)

Couple of thoughts - They won't know about Shawn's mobility until 2-a-days. As of Spring he was not 100%. Ransom could potentially play the outside but he hasn't been in Denton this Summer and it concerns me if he will have a learning curve to learn that position. He also did not participate in the Spring.

HTown in a perfect world yes the kids would take all of the responsibility but reality says that won't happen in every case. Every football school in the Big 12 has an academic compliance area that makes sure these kids pick the right classes, go to study hall and show up to class. When I see the #1 recruit from last year fail out in just 2 semesters it concerns me about the system we have in place.

http://www.dentonrc.com/sharedcontent/dws/...six.662665.html UNT places six on All-SBC team Mean Green to play on TV 3 times 09:08 AM CDT on Tuesday, July 25, 2006 By Brett Vito / Staff Writer NEW ORLEANS — Jamario Thomas received a big vote of confidence on Monday during the opening session of the Sun Belt Conference’s annual media days. The North Texas junior was one of two running backs to be named to the Preseason All-Sun Belt Team. That wouldn’t have been all that surprising a year ago, but seemed a little like an upset after Thomas suffered though an injury-plagued sophomore season. Thomas won the national rushing title in 2004 before a hamstring injury hampered him in a campaign in which he rushed for just 361 yards while spitting time with senior Patrick Cobbs last season. Thomas averaged 180.1 yards a game as a freshman. “There is no question Jamario is ready to go,” UNT coach Darrell Dickey said. “Last year two things hurt him. He was not as in as good a shape as he needed to be coming into camp and he didn’t know how it would go with him and Patrick. Now he knows he is going to carry the load unless somebody else really comes on or his play falls off. “Last year he was frustrated. He is very hungry and wants to put the most into the season so he can to get the most out of it.” Thomas was one of six UNT players selected to the team, which had a decidedly green tint, despite the Mean Green’s struggles last season during a 2-9 campaign. Wide receiver Johnny Quinn, offensive lineman Dylan Lineberry, defensive lineman Jeremiah Chapman, linebacker Phillip Graves and defensive back Aaron Weathers all joined Thomas on the team. No other team had more than four players selected. “It’s definitely an honor to get that preseason respect, but that stuff doesn’t matter,” Quinn said. Thomas was the only player out of UNT’s six preseason All-Sun Belt selections who was not either a first- or second-team all-conference pick at the end of last season. “The preseason all-conference teams are a reflection of what these kids have done in the past and the respect they have in this league,” Dickey said. “What counts is how they perform this year and if they are on the team after the season.” While UNT had more players named to the team that any other school, Louisiana-Lafayette quarterback Jerry Babb and Florida International linebacker Keyonvis Bouie took home top honors. Babb was the Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, while Bouie was the Defensive Player of the Year. Babb helped lead UL-Lafayette to a share of the conference title last season when Bouie finished with 118 tackles, including 11 for losses of 26 yards. UNT lands three TV games UNT’s season-opener at Texas on Sept. 2 will be carried by Fox Sports Network, highlighting a slate of three Mean Green games that will be broadcast. UNT’s home game with Middle Tennessee (Sept. 30) and the Mean Green’s game at Arkansas State (Oct. 21) will be shown on ESPN Regional. Comcast Charter Sports Southeast plans to carry UNT’s home games against Florida International (Oct. 7) and Florida Atlantic (Nov. 18) and its game at Troy (Oct. 28) in the station’s Atlanta-based market. Larry Haber of CSS said there is a possibility those games could be picked up by a station in the Dallas area. BRETT VITO can be reached at 940-566-6870. His e-mail address is bvito@dentonrc.com .

How does this happen in just 2 semesters of school? Was anyone helping this kid? This one is hard to explain and very disappointing.

The tackles are perhaps a little lighter but they are definately tall and have long arms. If you looked at the BCS conferences I would be the average height of their tackles was 6-5 to 6-6... the days of the fat o-lineman seem to have past. Now they are muscular and lean and encouraged to stay closer or even below 300.

Gray - I mentioned Eidd in an earlier post. I like him and think that he has potential. As a walk-on however he will have a little tougher row to hoe with all of the competition he will be facing this Fall (versus the Spring). We will be watching him closely in August.

Plumm I want to know where in print or sound byte Chancellor Jackson has ever said this. I just don't buy that he ever did. I see him at the games, he's wearing his green and seems to be having a good time. I like Dr. Pohl a lot. He is a good man. He was good for athletics and I wish him the best. Losing Dr. Pohl is tough for all of us. His loss does not mean that Jackson is looking to change the direction. If anything I expect that he plans on continuing the momentum that Dr. Pohl started. We need to have a little faith in our leadership here. These are the same leaders that hired Dr. Pohl. These are the same leaders that were on watch when the athletic center was built, the first significant athletic improvement in the last 20+ years in my opinion. I haven't given up on UNT Dallas either. The reality is until they widen I-35 we have some major traffic issues that will hinder our growth at the main campus. We also need to build more dorms. A UNT Law School in Dallas would be huge. There's more money in Dallas, more large corporations that we could tap into. Investing time and resources into UNT Dallas does not mean that we are taking anything away from UNT Denton. I think it would be a mistake to put our head in the sand and pass up opportunities for expansion into Big D.

Mean Green Preview, Part 6 O-Line Summary – This is a positional area that North Texas really needs improvement in for 2006. 2005 was nightmare for the Mean Green O-Line as they lost a key leader and performer in center Andy Brewster to graduation. UNT has also not had the same production from the tight end position as they did in past years which puts even more pressure on the line to perform. This season they will rely heavily on some new faces and hope for significant improvement from the lettermen. Depth is also a major concern this season - especially at tackle - a position that North Texas has experienced difficulty in recruiting. As things stand now, a couple of key injuries could be devastating. Under line coach Harold Etheridge North Texas has not signed a junior college o-lineman last year or this year. In prior years, they typically would bring in a couple of JUCO's to help bridge the talent and experience gap. This trend, along with the fact that Lineberry and Foster are graduating after this season makes it imperative that some new faces step forward to take over the reigns. Players to Watch Dylen Lineberry, Sr. (6-3, 310, Houston, Tx. Northshore) Can Lineberry become even more dominant? – Lineberry may well be the Sun Belt’s top offensive lineman but Coach Etheridge will ask him to take on more of a leadership role in 2006. Ajani Banks, RS Freshman (6-3, 320, Spring, TX) Can Banks produce as a redshirt freshman? – Banks has the size and athletic ability but is young and an unproven commodity. North Texas would love Banks to be the next Lineberry but just a solid first year would suffice. Joel Foster, 5th year Sr (6-4, 282, Austin, TX. Connally) Foster has been a fairly solid player for North Texas but they would like to see him improve in 2006. He is probably UNT’s best pass blocker against opponent rush ends. His ability to maintain weight and leverage against some of the better pass rushers will be important but improvement in his run blocking against bigger players will be a real key in 2006. Chad Rose, Soph. (6-4, 290, Austin, TX. Westlake) Will Rose be UNT’s center? – Rose struggled in his first year and so did UNT’s running game which had come to rely on star center Andy Brewster for so long. All the signs are there. He is very bright, has a tremendous work ethic, will play with pain and is very motivated to excel at the position. Etheridge will be watching Rose’s progression very closely as the staff desperately needs him to get better. *Projected Starters Strong Tackle – Joel Foster, 5th year Sr (6-4, 282, Austin, TX. Connally) No one questions his heart but he will always be undersized for this position. Will Foster be the run blocker that they need on the strong side? Strong Guard – Dylen Lineberry, Sr. (6-3, 310, Houston, Tx. Northshore) He’s the best in the Sun Belt but NFL hopes may make him even better. Center - Chad Rose, Soph. (6-4, 290, Austin, TX. Westlake) Chad needs to show he can get it done early or they will have to find someone who will. Weak Guard – Ajani Banks, RS Freshman (6-3, 320, Spring, TX) Has all the size, ability and skills. Mental aspects of the position are the remaining challenge he has yet to overcome. Weak Tackle – Jeremy Brown, Junior (6-4, 308 Tecumseh, OK) Has some ability but really struggled at times last year. Needs to get stronger upper body. OR Weak Tackle – Josh Alexander, Junior (6-3 289 Jr. Fort Worth, TX) Great feet and athleticism. Needs to get stronger in his upper body. Injuries have been a concern. His progression could be critical for the offense this season. Impact Newcomers Center - Bryan Glass (6-0 277 RS Fr. Paris, TX ) Will he overcome a serious back injury to help this team. Undersized, but salty. Will be waiting in the wings to swoop in if Rose should falter. Guard – Jack Crumes (6-4 266 RS Fr. Houston, TX) Jack was a project for North Texas, a basketball post that was converted to football in just his junior season. He needs to carry more weight and has not yet shown that he is ready to be a guy they can rely on. 2006 will be a critical year for him. Guard/Center – Kelvin Drake (6-2 300 Fr. Galveston, TX) Drake has the size and ability to help this team now. The biggest question is where? He could be the first guard off of the bench or possibly could play center. Guard – Nick Foster (6-3 340 Fr. Allen, TX) Conventional wisdom says that Foster is more of a project, but given his size and the fact he played at a pretty high level of high school competition it’s possible that he could make a spot in the rotation. Tackle – Robert Peachey (6-5 279 RS Fr. Georgetown, TX) Peachey has good size, with long arms and is the more prototypical body type for this position. With Foster graduating,and the shortage of tackles they need him to progress. Sleeper Guard – Adam Venegas (6-3, 293, Jr. Olathe Kansas) Venegas has size and skills. He also appears to have his head on straight after some setbacks early in his career. The former state championship wrestler will look to be the 6th man or possibly even start in 2006. *Projected starters are who we think should start based on what a player has shown to us in practice and in games. We are not trying to guess the coaches’ picks, but rather who we’d pick if we were making out the depth chart.

I have a feeling that CUSA will be keeping an eye on the SMU game in Denton this year. I know that Rice, UofH, Tulsa, Tulane heck even UTEP would love to play a game in DFW every year as it would help their DFW recruiting. As it stands now they only come every other year in football. In a way TCU leaving opened up some opportunity for us.

Good ideas Eric but one request - we gotta chip in and get a meat chopper. My hands are still sore from using those knives!

The Sun Belt has given us some very nice opportunities that we just haven't been able to take advantage of. Is it the Sun Belt's fault that we didn't make the most of our opportunities in the 4 bowl games we have particpated in? Is it the Sun Belt's fault that we haven't fared better in our non-conference slate?The Sun Belt certainly isn't the solution conference that CUSA could be but it sure isn't the source of all that ails us either.

See I think the UT performance is really not a factor I mean let's be real they are the national freaking champions. SMU is huge. It's a lot like Tulsa last year. We will have a LOT of people in the metroplex hungry for football coming to that game. There will be a lot of fence sitters much like Tulsa last year. I wouldn't be surprised to see it sell out although the endzone seating is so god awful at Fouts I think it would be hard to get a devout Big 12 team fan to sit out there. It's a huge game and the coaches and adminstrators know that. If we play well and win, I think you will get a rollover effect for the rest of the season especially from the student population which in our situation is key. Every year it seems we are building more dorms and there are more students staying on campus. I predict this to be a 20+K attendance year because of 2 reasons, 1). the SMU game is so early for both teams that losses against Big 12 teams won't matter and 2). the La Tech game. The Techsters have a pretty big population in the DFW and they will come out to support their team. It is imperative that we play well against SMU. An ugly loss would be distaterous attendance wise. If you look at our history we haven't faired well in our openers, particularly as a D-I program. Last year (2005) we lost our home opener against a very good Tulsa team. In 2004 we lost our home opener to Florida Atlantic (ouch). In 2003 we had a HUGE win against Baylor that led to one of our best seasons ever (9-4). In 2002 we beat a pretty salty Nichols State team in a game no one really cared about. In 2001 we lost a hard fought opening game against TCU. In 2000 we lost our home opener to Baylor. In 1999 we lost our opener to UNLV and John Robinson. In 1998 we lost our home opener (at Texas Stadium thank you) to Texas Tech. In 1997 we beat IAA Indiana State in our home opener, another game like Nichols State that noone cared about. In the 1996 home opener we beat non I-A Illinois State in another game noone cared about. In 1995 as an independent we lost our opener to Kansas (at Texas Stadium) in a game we should have won. In 1994 we were IAA. Here's my point: Since our return to I-A (1995) we have had a total home opening record of 4-7. Only 1 of those 4 wins came against a I-A opponent (Baylor). The other three wins came against IAA's Illinois State, Nichols State and Indiana State. The 7 losses came against Tulsa, Florida Atlantic, TCU, Baylor, UNLV, Texas Tech and Kansas. I think we had an opportunity to win all of those 7 games with the possible exception of Tech in 1998. We didn't and we still to this day are paying the price from an attendance perspective. It was essentially 7-years of lost opportunities. In a market that is dominated by pro sports it is imperative that you win games especially at the start of the season in front of your home crowd. Let's hope we fare better in our home openers starting this year against SMU.

I just remembered sitting there with a sold out crowd thinking man we really have something here! Of course this was post death penalty SMU but for a kid growing up in Houston, Texas I was a huge fan of of the Pony Express. They were still SMU and at that point the disasterous - and frankly unfair - effects of death penalty hadn't sunk in. My childhood idol was Craig James who played at Stratford High School in Houston in the same district I played in (17 5A). SMU was not Texas or A&M but they were damn good and our best athlete at Memorial chose to play there over UT and A&M. I remember the fight at halftime and the euphoria after the win. I remember seeing fans watching from outside the stadium around the fences. They didn't have the stupid endzone seats there at that time and there was truly a "sold out" feel. I was very proud to be a UNT student that night. It was a big game and we treated it that way both on the field and in the stands. Great memories, thanks for stirring them back Rick!

Welcome Aboard! Very reasonable goals in my opinion although to me Tulsa may be the most difficult non-conference game other than UT.

Welcome aboard!

Germain Dawson - Dawson is a sophomore reserve walk-on linebacker from Rockdale. He's listed at 6-1, 207 but he may be bigger than that. He started on the kickoff coverage team as a true freshman last year and has some pretty serious speed and isn't afraid to lay the lumber. Definately a guy to keep an eye on this season. Chris Eidd - 6-3, 306 - I met him at the GMG Bowl last Spring and he's lighter than 306. He redshirted last season as a walk-on and comes from a very strong Euless Trinity program. I was impressed with his knowledge of the game. He has good size and could turn out to be a gem. Richard Leary - 6-2, 200 - Leary tranferred in from Blinn JC and has been injured throughout last year, missing the season and all spring with some type of leg injury. He might be a candidate to help out at safety or outside linebacker if healthy. Steven Prince - 6-2, 205 QB transfer from Kilgore that was J-Mo's teammate. Prince has a decent arm and showed some good things before he was injured in the Spring. Cass Starks - 6-1, 205 - Starks (Denton Ryan) is a big physical athlete that has just struggled to learn the system. Could 2006 be his year at safety? Ronnie Hull - 6-3, 250 - Hull (Fort Bend) is a tight end that has battled injuries to get back on the field. He has shown sparks at times and may provide the most physical presence we have at that position. Josh Maldanado - 5-5, 173 a running back from Sachse appears to have made the cut as a walk-on this Fall. Very explosive runner that is fun to watch. Bryan Glass - 6-0, 277 - The Paris product redshirted last year and battled back problems. When he is healthy he is pretty nasty although undersized. They would love to see him provide depth at center. Ryan Davenport - 6-2, 248 from Fredricksburg transfer from Air Force - Davenport has a pretty solid start last year on special teams and then struggled in the spring at linebacker. The roster has him listed at fullback this year and he will battle Karonna Henderson for time. With his size and speed he could blossom there. WR - Guy Fernandez - 6-5, 198 - Possibly one of the most gifted players on the team from a raw athletic standpoint. Tall, athletic and can run like the wind. He's a junior now and this is probably his last chance to shine. He will have to do it with a plethora of quality wide receivers in front of him. WR - Casey Fitzgerald - 5-11, 174 - Red Oak product reminds me of Troy Redwine during practice at times. More polished than Fernandez but stuck in the same long line for playing time. LB/DE Lawrence Brown 6-3, 199 - athletic Northshore product struggled mightily in his first two years here but has stuck with it and is improving. Perhaps the 3-4 will give him a new opportunity. ? Chase Pistole 6-2, 255 - Listed at DE on the roster. Huge bust last season as he really was undersized and overmatched at DT. I sometimes wonder if he wouldn't be a better fit on the offensive line although his weight would probably be an issue. The guy has 2-years left of eligibility and needs to find a home.