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Bryce Saldi (son of former Dallas Cowboy, Jay Saldi) committed to UNLV on Sunday. He's listed at 6'3" and a little on the light side (IMHO) for a DE at 215 lbs. It's my guess that he'd be coming to UNT if TD really wanted him, but who knows? Best of luck to Bryce in Sin City. Jan. 29, 2007 Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal Defensive ends Saldi, Plante commit to UNLV recruiting class By MARK ANDERSON REVIEW-JOURNAL UNLV's football team received weekend commitments from two defensive ends who could make immediate impacts. Bryce Saldi of national champion Southlake (Texas) Carroll High School and first-team junior college All-American Luke Plante both committed Sunday. Saldi (6 feet 3 inches, 215 pounds) said he received a scholarship offer from Texas Tech and canceled next weekend's trip to Houston. He also said Colorado State and San Diego State were interested. "I love all the (UNLV) coaches, and it was a family atmosphere when they brought me in and made we feel welcome to the team," Saldi said. "I love the campus and the town." Last season at Carroll, which was selected the national champion by USA Today, Saldi made 19 tackles for loss, including 11 sacks. His dad, Jay, played tight end for the Dallas Cowboys and Chicago Bears from 1976 to 1984. His brother, John, is a linebacker for the Cowboys. Saldi said he hopes to play as a freshman. "Going into the season, I expect to play, but I don't really know about actual playing time," he said. Plante (6-3, 250) was named a junior college All-American by JC Athletic Bureau after registering 95 tackles, including 14 1/2 sacks, at Chaffey College in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. "(UNLV coaches) said I could come in and compete for a starting spot," Plante said. UNLV continued to recruit Plante even though some of his Chaffey credits would not transfer to a four-year college. He is taking morning classes at Riverside (Calif.) Community College and night courses at Chaffey, and said he will finish in May. The credit mix-up hurt Plante in recruiting. He said UNR, Texas A&M, Washington State and Idaho showed interest. Soon, though, he'll be a Rebel. "I liked the campus and the stadium," Plante said. "The campus is really nice. I didn't know it was that nice."

Ignoring the misspelling of Jordan Scoggins , there are some good, positive comments from Mr. Shaw. http://www.texasfootball.com/index.php?s=&..._article_id=897 While A&M is making an early jump on 2008, UNT is making a late push on 2007. Of course, credit Todd Dodge for the surge. UNT has skyrocketed up to 16 pledges, and I like the players Dodge has targeted. Recent commitment A.J. Penson of Lufkin is just the kind of player UNT needs. He wasn't widely recruited as others at his position, but coming out of Lufkin, you know Penson's both talented and benefited from great coaching. Penson is the stereotypical nose-for-the-ball kind of linebacker, and I'm guessing bigger programs will regret skipping over him down the road. UNT also scored a win over the Big 12 with Westlake's Bron Hager, who chose the Mean Green over a Baylor offer. And Dodge's offense of the future seems in place with six WR pledges, a commitment from SA Alamo Heights QB Giovanni Vizza, and a recent pledge from Euless Trinity TE Jordan Scroggins. Like Penson, Scroggins comes out of a program known for producing college-ready players. Dodge has indicated with this January push he knows how to recruit. This fall, we'll see how his coaching translates to the next level.

I noticed that he still shows Jordan Scoggins as uncommitted, so I wouldn't get too excited about Vernon Frazier just yet...it may just be a typo.

I've also heard a rumor that former Grapevine and current Wyoming QB, Steven Headley, will be transferring to UNT. Don't know how accurate that particular rumor is though.

:rolleyes: No, but these three recruits are probably more than DD and USU combined, have received from DFW in the last several years. I thought it was interesting that, not only is he recruiting DFW, but he's after some of the same players we are and I'd love to hear some of those conversations DD has with recruits considering UNT. If you didn't find it interesting...fine. People have different opinions...move on.

By my calculations, DD may be responsible for nearly half of Utah State's current commitments. Rivals reports the USU currently has six commitments and the DMN reports one in addition to those, for a total of seven. Three of those seven are from DFW: Carlos Cuevas, OL, 6'2", 315 lbs is from Plano (PSH) ranked #93 on DMN's Area Top 100 and two stars on Rivals David Disman, OL, 6'2", 247 lbs is from Mesquite (Horn) and two stars on Rivals Tim Wlodarczyk, LB/TE, 6'1", 200 lbs is from S. Grand Prarie not listed on Rivals I know of a few other UNT prospects (Colleyville Heritage QB, Casey Russell, and Plano West OL, JJ Johnson) DD is recruiting to USU. I don't intend this to be a DD bashing thread. I'm honestly surprised at how quickly he was able to attract recruits...to Utah State. The only one in which I question DD's involvement is Cuevas, who committed the same day DD was hired. I wonder if these were kids DD was recruiting to UNT and he's now convinced them to follow him to USU?

More on Vizza, our DCTF Offensive Player of the year: http://www.texasfootball.com/index.php?s=&...hange_well_id=2 Verbal Commitments 2007: Vizza opts for UNT; OSU gets North Garland WR His stock rising after leading San Antonio Alamo Heights to the 4A DI state championship, QB Giovanni Vizza couldn't pass on the opportunity to remain in Texas. "Giovanni called coach (Todd) Dodge last night to inform him that he thought playing in the state and playing for coach Dodge was the right fit for him personally," Giovanni's father, Matt, said via e-mail. "Being the first recruited QB by coach Dodge and the chance to build something very unique at UNT were some of the positive factors." Vizza (6-2, 170) is the 12th pledge in a rapidly growing UNT class. He turned down offers from Army, Air Force, Nevada, and Rice and will reunite with teammate Sam Dibrell, a WR also pledged to UNT.

No, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense. If you sort by LB, we're ranked #84. All they show that's committed to us thusfar are 2 LBs, 5 WRs and 2 RBs which are respectively ranked #84, #45 and #55...add it all together and that equals #105 overall??!!! Sure...that makes sense to me.

But, of course, I had to sort it by the WR category to achieve that 45 ranking! http://www.rivals.com/teamrank.asp?Year=20...pe=9&Sort=0 We're #55 at RB. Overall, they have our class ranked #105 and they only show 9 total commitments. http://www.rivals.com/commitlist.asp?Year=...&School=163 But, who really cares what Rivals says anyway??

That, or his body finally thawed out...allowing his mind to question why he'd want to spend four years in Reno. In all seriousness, it sounds like teammate, Sam Dibrell, might have convinced Vizza to join him at UNT.

Vito's blog reporting the same, but stating that he hasn't confirmed it with Vizza. http://meangreen.beloblog.com/ January 24, 2007 Vizza to UNT We have yet to confirm it with the only source that matters, but it appears as if San Antonio Alamo Heights quarterback Giovanni Vizza could be about to back off his oral commitment to Nevada and commit to UNT. A UNT source said late Wednesday night that Vizza has told the Mean Green's coaching staff that he is coming to Denton. Vizza did not return messages seeking comment, but Sam Dibrell, Vizza's teammate and close friend, said that they would be coming to UNT together. If it all plays out as it appears it will, UNT will have another huge piece in its recruiting class. Vizza is rated a two-star prospect by Rivals.com and would be the quarterback Todd Dodge is looking for in his first recruiting class. Of course nothing is solid until Vizza goes on record as saying that he plans to play for UNT. Keep checking the Denton Record-Chronicle Web site for recruiting updates. A story on defensive lineman Jordan Scoggins is on the way shortly. Posted by Brett Vito at 10:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

UNT gets a QB Posted: Wednesday, January 24, 2007 Missing from UNT's list of recruits has been something noticeable. That's a quarterback. But new North Texas coach Todd Dodge may have that now, after San Antonio Alamo Heights quarterback Giovanni Vizza (6-foot-1, 195 pounds) committed to the Mean Green tonight. Vizza was named the All-Texas Offensive Player of the Year on Dave Campbell's all-Texas team for 2006, and helped guide Alamo Heights to the Class 4A Division I state championship. Vizza, who visited UNT on Jan.12, visited Nevada last weekend. North Texas currently has four quarterbacks, but if Vizza is able to master Dodge's no-huddle spread offense, he could be the Man from the beginning. — Trae Thompson

Jordan Scoggins is an excellent blocker and reciever. I hope TD finds a place for him on the offensive side of the ball. Jordan Scoggins

YES!!! I'm glad to see this news. I'm not sure if he'll be converted to DE or not, but I'm hoping TD can find a place for him on the offensive side of the ball...maybe as a fullback. Scoggins is an incredible blocker and he's tough to bring down once he has the ball.

They currently have our recruiting class ranked #97. http://insider.espn.go.com/ncf/recruiting/...fschoolId%3d249

I really wish Brett Vito would start spelling his name correctly!! It's Jordan Scoggins NOT Scroggins.

Actually, per the DMN, the DMN's Area Top 100 list is "Compiled by SportsDay's Todd Willis in consulation with Rivals.com" so there is some real input by a DMN employee. If you search the DMN recruiting website you'll find this comment; Area Top 100 - Brought to you by The Dallas Morning News whereas the State and National Top 100 lists both state Brought to you by Rivals.com

Yes, it's funny how the DMN operates...these kids are good enough to be 1st and 2nd team all area, but fail to make the Area Top 100 list?? The DMN obviously feels that this foursome doesn't have the size and/or skills to make it at the collegiate level. I hope each and everyone of them proves the DMN wrong.

I was one of those complaining and for those very same reasons...but not anymore. No one can deny that this recruiting class flat out produced in HS. Some made all-state teams and played in all-star games. I am not a subscriber to the FWST so I don't know if our past recruiting classes have been ranked by that publication or not, but at least this class is being recognized by FWST. Rivals is not the be-all, end-all of college recruiting and, after watching the fluctuation of stars after a player commits to a particular school, I have little faith in their assessment of college football talent. Sure they can pick the four and five-star guys, but so can every other football "guru". The real talent is in the evaluation of two and three-star talent and nobody knows which players will excel in our system better than Todd Dodge.

Yes, thanks for the link. Check out this catch by SLC JR WR, Blake Cantu: SLC vs. LA Evangel Christian Also, SR DE, Kyle Russo (another possible UNT recruit) is highlighted here.

http://mb4.scout.com/futahstatefrm3.showMe...=21&stop=34 Whoever FYI is on that thread...not cool!! Why can't you just leave DD alone, now that he's no longer a part of UNT? I was not happy with him here either, but I'm not going to try to sabotage his new job before he even gets started. Just let it go man...let it go...

I wish DD the best, but is he flipping us off in the picture on USU's web site??

http://recruitingbuzz.beloblog.com/archive...the_market.html January 15, 2007 Allen QB is back on the market Allen QB Nathan Dick confirmed today that he is looking around and does not consider himself committed to Rice after head coach Todd Graham and offensive coordinator Major Applewhite both left the school in the last several days. Dick, who had meetings set up with Arkansas and Houston for today, has talked to Rice coaches since Graham and Applewhite left, but for now, he wants to weigh his options. "I'm OK with it," Dick said. "I wanted to go to Rice, but everybody has left." Dick is speaking of course of Graham, the former Allen coach who made what looks like a lateral move by going to Tulsa last week. And Dick is speaking of Applewhite, who continued his meteoric rise by taking an assistant's position at Alabama under new coach Nick Saban. Applewhite had been recruiting Dick at Rice and attended at least of one of Allen's playoff games when the Eagles defeated Spring Westfield in dramatic fashion in overtime. Dick said hasn't talked to Alabama or Applewhite since the former Texas quarterback left Rice. Dick did send a text message to Applewhite, but he has not heard back from him yet. Dick said he will not follow Graham to Tulsa because the Golden Hurricane has a stockpile of quarterbacks. It would be interesting to see if Dick ends up with the Razorbacks, where his brother Casey has been involved in a revolving door situation at quarterback with Arkansas schoolboy legend Mitch Mustain. Late in the season Mustain's mother, Beck Campbell, and other Springfield parents complained to Arkansas athletic director Frank Broyles about Houston Nutt's offensive scheme, which instead of the no-huddle was devised to take advantage of what might be the best two running backs in college football, Darren McFadden and Felix Jones. But alas, Mustain might leave Arkansas after offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn, Mustain's high school coach, bolted for Tulsa on Monday to join -- you guessed -- apparent long lost friend Graham. Will this soap opera ever end? Posted by Todd Wills at 12:56 PM (E-mail this entry) | Comments (0)

Troy's class looks decent so far, but it's laden with JUCOs (not necessarily a bad thing, but I personally prefer players with four years of eligibility). I'm sure you've all seen this same info on Rivals but I thought a side-by-side layout allowed for easier comparisons with our competition. Arkansas State and Florida Atlantic have no commitments listed yet. Just for grins, I added lists for some of the other schools we may be closely competing against for local talent. And one last note, we have exactly as many 4 and 5-star recruits as Baylor and Texas Tech COMBINED!

As I've given it more thought, I'm not nearly as concerned as I was. While only 4 commitments strong, this class is already head and shoulders above anything Dickey would have brought in this year. As some of you have already mentioned, I'm sure Dodge is pursuing those who have the best grasp of his system first, perhaps in an effort to reduce the learning curve we're sure to encounter. Maybe these receivers will have an immediate impact in the games or maybe they'll just be good examples (during practices) of what to do in Dodge's offense for the first year or two. At any rate, I'm delighted to have each and every one of the recruits that have committed thus far. I just hope that some of these WRs can bulk up and play OL if needed!