Harry

Wow - not a huge surprise but those are going to be some huge shoes to fill! He will go very high in the draft in my opinion.

It’s been a whirlwind for interim Aggie head football coach Frank Maile the past two weeks. As Utah State prepares to take on North Texas in the New Mexico Bowl, Maile has been in charge of keeping the team together, running practices and making sure recruits have been contacted. The former Aggie defensive lineman wouldn’t have it any other way. “Our kids are awesome and if it wasn’t for the kids, it would be a lot harder than what it actually is,” Maile said Monday during a press conference. “They’ve made it pretty easy on me. Them handling their business on and off the field has allowed me to be able to prep practices and get them in a situation to be successful. It runs smoothly simply because of what the culture is like here and that’s the biggest thing.” Center Quin Ficklin and linebacker Jontrell Rocquemore were on hand Monday to talk about preparations for the bowl. Both were asked about Maile, who was appointed to be in charge of the team when Matt Wells took the Texas Tech job. Ficklin and Rocquemore both praised Maile, who is in his eighth season at USU as a coach. “I don’t think there’s anybody on this team who doesn’t look at Frank and not know for 100 percent fact that, that man loves me as an individual,” Ficklin said. “Not as a jersey. Not as a helmet. But, as an individual. That’s been great. That’s been exactly what we’ve needed here. He’s done a phenomenal job. He’s a passionate man, which I can appreciate. Frank has been exactly what we’ve needed these past few weeks. I don’t know what’s going to go on with him. I don’t make those decisions, but he’s a great coach and I’d follow him anywhere.” read more: https://www.hjnews.com/sports/usu/with-maile-at-the-helm-aggies-gear-up-for-bowl/article_6d5e8bb6-bde2-5e89-a130-f574d1d88c69.html

DALLAS - North Texas will take on Middle Tennessee and Charlotte in the 2019 and 2020 seasons as its divisional crossover opponents, Conference USA announced Wednesday. The cross-division opponents for the next two seasons are part of an eight-year rotation that will see every school from one division play every school from the other division home and away one time by the end of the cycle. UNT will host Middle Tennessee and travel to Charlotte in 2019, while heading to Murfreesboro, Tennessee and hosting the 49ers in the 2020 season. The Mean Green last hosted Middle Tennessee, the 2018 Eastern Division champion, during the 2016 season and North Texas is slated to make its first trip to Charlotte next season. Additionally, all 2019 intra-division games will take place at the opposite location of the 2018 meeting. Dates for all 2019 games will be announced sometime later this winter. The 2019 campaign is a 14-week playing season, beginning the weekend of August 31 and ending November 30. The league's 15th annual Championship Game is expected to be played on Saturday, December 7. Link: https://meangreensports.com/news/2018/12/12/football-2019-20-c-usa-crossover-opponents-released.aspx

Short answer - yes. From my understanding he owns south Dallas area and there is a ton of talent there. KU has had moments in the past where they popped back up on the DFW radar screen and caused us some issues. They just have never been able to do it consistently.

I think this tells us that sometimes we overestimate money and underestimate relationships. The KState AD worked directly with this coach and knows him well.

With adulation comes criticism:

Pointing out how the assistant pool has become an important part of retaining a good coach.

If there weren't any changes in the final class versus what we show at this time it would be unusual from a historical perspective.

LOGAN, Utah (Sunday, Dec. 9) – Utah State University Vice President and Director of Athletics John Hartwell announced Sunday that Gary Andersen is returning to be the Aggies' head football coach. Andersen, who was also USU's head coach for four seasons from 2009-12 and named the Western Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in 2012, will be the first of 27 coaches in school history to serve in that capacity multiple times. A press conference to formally introduce Andersen will be held on the third floor of the West Stadium Center at Maverik Stadium, on Tuesday, Dec. 11, at 11 a.m. The event is open to the public and free parking will be available in the lot west of the stadium. The press conference will also be streamed live online at UtahStateAggies.com/watch. "We welcome Gary and Stacey and their family back to the Utah State family," said Hartwell. "His care-factor for his players, coupled with his recruiting philosophy and plan to win, are keys to the continued success of Aggie football. His knowledge of the state of Utah and our program are unparalleled and we feel those attributes will greatly aid in the continued growth and success of Aggie football." In all, Andersen has been a Division I head coach for 10 years and brings 30 years of coaching experience with him back to Utah State. He has been involved in 12 bowl games, including four New Year's Day bowls. "Stacey and I are thrilled to be back at Utah State University," said Andersen. "This is a special place and we are excited to meet these young men and play a part in seeing them succeed off and on the field academically, socially and athletically. We are grateful to reconnect with many great friends and supporters in Logan and want to thank John Hartwell and President (Noelle) Cockett for the opportunity. Go Aggies!" read more: https://utahstateaggies.com/news/2018/12/9/gary-andersen-returning-to-utah-state-as-head-football-coach.aspx

Iowa State AD Jamie Pollard announced Sunday that Campbell has agreed to an extension keeping him in Ames through 2024 with a $1 million increase to his assistant coaches salary pool. Iowa State’s assistant pool was $2.982 million in 2018 according to the USA Today salary database, putting the Cyclones 49th in the country. Adding another million would boost the Cyclones to 27th, based on 2018 figures. read more: http://footballscoop.com/news/iowa-state-signs-matt-campbell-contract-extension/

What Dickey was able to do in recruiting at the mid to latter years he was here was simply remarkable given all of the issues he faced. It was common knowledge that most recruits on official visits were not even driven by Fouts. Every time we had an assistant that excelled in recruiting he would get hired away for more money and we would never have the budget to fight to keep them. They did the best they could with the resources they had. We would sweat out recruits that would visit us and then places like Houston who had just completed an amazing athletic center. We landed Jamario because we had a particular academic program that Texas Tech didn't offer. Once Dickey started winning the Belt consistently, he pretty much got the cream of the crop juco's in the conference. Dodge landed some nice skill position players and got some guys we didn't normally get initially, but he would stockpile certain positions and leave other spots thin. As he continued to lose games, his recruiting started to suffer and his last season (which he had no reason to be coaching in) was heavy juco. Mac sort of did the same thing although he did have the bowl season where it all seemed to come together. Mac's sins were more painful because he had Apogee and higher assistant salaries than Dickey and Dodge could ever hope for.

He's alive and well! He's not posting as much on the board anymore but is at pretty much all the games and continues to be a great fan. Congrats on a great season for your team and looking forward to the bowl game.

I think just being in a recruiting hotbed in itself is not enough. You have to build facilities, you have to have the support of your administration, Board or Regents, big money donors, invest in coaching salaries and most of all you need to win. I think all other things being equal North Texas has an advantage with its location. That said, we haven’t always supported the program in the other areas and La. Tech and WKU have.

I am absolutely thrilled about this pickup! Welcome to the Mean Green family David!

How many times did Benford beat UTA?

63-61 UNT wins! Whew!

Score? 55-53 - very close!

I just don't get it....