Baby Arm!

Tune plays way to UNT scholarship Walk-on shines at QB during first scrimmage 11:14 PM CDT on Thursday, August 17, 2006 By Brett Vito / Staff Writer When Nathan Tune decided to walk on at North Texas earlier this summer he set a goal to earn a scholarship at some point in his college career. That time arrived sooner than he -- or just about anyone else -- expected. The former Celina quarterback led a UNT offense that was stagnant most of the morning in its first scrimmage of fall practice on Wednesday on drives that resulted in a touchdown and a field goal -- not to mention a scholarship offer. Tune was put on scholarship shortly after Wednesday’s scrimmage. “Everything about Nathan went into the decision to put him on scholarship,” UNT coach Darrell Dickey said. “He has a lot of upside and raw ability because he hasn’t played the position for very long. He is intelligent, comes from a good football program, knows how to work, is tough and football is important to him. “We are tickled to death that he ended up coming to North Texas.” UNT has a pair of sophomore quarterbacks in returning starter Daniel Meager and Matt Phillips competing with junior college transfer Woody Wilson for the starting job. Wilson missed UNT’s scrimmage with a minor knee injury while Phillips sat out for a short time after a hard hit. Dickey said after the scrimmage that Tune, 6-3, 195, would have a chance to compete for the starting job if he continues to develop. “I was happy with the way I played,” Tune said. “I was not sure how much I would get to play. When Matt got hurt and Woody didn’t play, it gave me an opportunity. I tried to run with it when I had a chance.” Tune still has a long way to go to become the Mean Green’s starter with three experienced players in front of him, but his development could be a good bode well for the Mean Green’s future. UNT did not sign a high school quarterback for its 2006 recruiting class after its top target, Carson Coffman of Peculiar, Mo., passed on a scholarship offer from UNT to attend Kansas State. TCU and SMU both offered Tune an opportunity to walk on while several Division II schools and junior colleges offered scholarships. Dickey said he told Tune he was not sure of what the Mean Green’s situation would be in terms of scholarships during recruiting season last winter. “After TCU and SMU mentioned walking on, they didn’t really talk to me,” Tune said. “I didn’t feel like they were interested and I thought I might have a role here.” Tune’s stock has gone up since he committed to the Mean Green. He had a solid showing in the Texas High School Coaches Association All-Star Game, throwing for 108 yards and accounting for two touchdowns. Tune scored on a 1-yard run and also threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to Clint Renfro. “The all-star game helped me,” Tune said. “We ran a spread offense. That opened my eyes to some of the mechanics of playing quarterback and working with players with more speed.” Tune’s performance in the all-star game was all the more impressive considering he hasn’t played quarterback for long. He played wide receiver as a junior at Celina before moving to quarterback as a senior. “Not a lot of colleges thought I would be able to play quarterback because I played at a 2A high school that didn’t throw the ball that much,” Tune said. “I was done at halftime of most of my high school games because they were blowouts.” Tune has fit right in at UNT and said he was more comfortable the longer he played in the scrimmage. Celina coach Butch Ford isn’t surprised by Tune’s rapid rise with the Mean Green. Tune was named to the Class 2A all-state team as a senior when he led Celina to a 16-0 record and the Class 2A Division II state title. “I tried to tell the college coaches he could play,” Ford said. “He has the size, the arm, the speed and the smarts to play college football. Nothing shakes him very much. He is as good as any quarterback we have had as far as a college prospect.” Briefly … Wilson returned to practice on Thursday and wore a red non-contact jersey after missing UNT’s scrimmage on Wednesday. Wide receiver Joel Nwigwe also wore a non-contact jersey. … Offensive lineman Dylan Lineberry was held out because of a minor shoulder injury and should return in the next few days. … Redshirt freshman tight end David Collins and senior linebacker Shawn Early suffered injuries during the scrimmage and missed Thursday’s practice. … Linebacker Willie Ransom, center Chad Rose and defensive back Roderick Cotton also did not work out. … Defensive back Dominique Green and wide receiver Brock Stickler returned to practice. … Dickey said he was pleased with UNT’s effort and energy during practice a day after what he described as a tough scrimmage. BRETT VITO can be reached at 940-566-6870. His e-mail address is bvito@dentonrc.com.

I'll be using a DirecTV dish on a tripod. (with the expanded sports package)!!!! FYI- I've already checked the schedule and on Sept 9th ESPN's CollegeGameDay comes on at 9:00am. I'm thinking I'll be watching Herbstret, Fowler, and Corso in the Fouts Field parking lot followed by a day's worth of games and tailgating!

Well SMUt's attendance average is only 1100 more than ours. And thats with home games against Oklahoma State, UTEP, TCU, Baylor, and Texas Tech!!!!

So even if we sold out every game at Fouts for 3 years and had an average attendance of 30k, we'd still be in 76th place between Rutgers and Northwestern?

You're kidding right? I'm seeing it used everywhere. I have really grown to like SOW, and judging by the amount of differnt designs I've seen at Lids...this logo could really take off and fly (no pun intended) but to answer you specific questions... 1. Why is it not on the 50 yardline at Fouts?-- Im not sure but I'm guessing it's due to what most things come down to when tight budgets are involved....Money. Im sure it was a cost saving measure when they installed the new turf. Remember with field turf the logos, wording, yard lines and markers aren't painted on like on the old astroturf. Its actually a different color fieldturf that sewn into the green. I cant imagine that's a cheap process. 2. Why is it not on our helmets (rather than the "give-up" of Noth Texas in our new font.) -- I think this is the preference of RV or DD. They believe we get our name out there with the text. Personally I'd like to see SOW with the North Texas text attached to it. 3. Why can I not buy a chrome SOW for my car?-- See the discussion earlier this summer about auto emblems. As FirefightingRick said until some vendor is willing to invest in a lot of 1000 from autoemblem.com, they are not going to produce one. 4. Why do we insist on using the new font on everything rather than our SOW symbol. People will never associate it Noth Texas if we don't use it. - I know, we use the SOW with North Texas attached to it, but IMHO that looks "cheesier than just the SOW.--- How do you expect people to associate SOW with North Texas if its displayed alone? Remember its a new logo, people not familar with UNT aren't going to associate it us if they don't see it branded. Look at shutter's comment. People think he's a Philly fan. (but than again my favorite new hat is green with SOW on front w/ no text) I'm not saying any of this is the we ought to be utilizing the new logo, just giving some thoughts on the questions you raised.

I thought I saw CBS flash a stat he had 101 all purpose yards? Wonder why ESPN is showing 80?

Just wondering if anybody else was planning on watching the morning practice session tomorrow?

Let's not forget Toby Gowin. Former punter for the Cowboys and some other NFL teams. Remember, You can't spell punt without UNT!

I tailgated in the parking lot last year too. Will be doing the same again this year. I will be setting up shop near the Beerman stage.

Some of these hit close to home. I think he's talking about us.... New Rules: 23 steps to gridiron sanity By Pat Forde ESPN.com It's early August, which means most college football fans have regressed into 5-year-olds with a week left until Christmas. The suspense is killing them and the calendar is moving in cruelly slow motion. Labor Day weekend seems eternally out of reach, with too many soul-killing baseball games still to be played between now and kickoff. To pass this excruciating time constructively, I say it's time we get educated. In homage to Bill Maher, whose schtick is blatantly and unapologetically ripped off here, I offer the New Rules for College Football Fans, 2006 edition: New Rule: If the scoreboard says you lost, you lost. That's not going to change. Take an hour to vent postgame, then try to regain your sanity. Do not diminish your quality of life -- and the quality of life of those around you -- by spewing for days about the refs who cheated your team, the flagrant league bias against your team or the complete lack of class displayed by the team that beat your team. Your team l-o-s-t. Try to deal. New Rule: If you know the tailgate lot at the stadium like the back of your hand but wouldn't be able to find the campus library without joining a tour group, reevaluate your priorities. New Rule: It's August. Refrain from posting on your team's message boards that your coach needs to go. At least let him fall behind by a touchdown in September -- or if you really want to be patient, let him even lose an entire game -- before demanding regime change. New Rule: Try using your real name on a message board. It might be a liberating feeling to stand behind your words, instead of hiding behind the handle "GatrHatr88," or whatever lame nom de cyberplume you choose. New Rule: The offensive coordinator has feelings, too. Try to remember that. New Rule: Nobody else thinks his or her team gets enough respect from the media, either. You're encouraged to come up with a new complaint. New Rule: If you know the name of the long snapper but don't know the name of the school president, reevaluate your priorities. New Rule: By all means, have a couple of pregame beers if you want. Try to stop before 12, though. New Rule: If you didn't stop at 12, remember this: The people sitting around you in the stadium or standing next to you at the urinal don't think you're funny. And they don't want to hold you up when you tip over. Especially at the urinal. (Aside: colleges might want to study the new Bengals initiative: they have instituted a "jerk" hotline for fans to call to report abusive, profane and intoxicated louts in the stadium to authorities. Then again, considering the arrest record of Marvin Lewis' squad, fans could easily report a bunch of the guys in uniform.) New Rule: Yes, Notre Dame is different. Get over it. If your school were important enough to get its own NBC contract and thumb its nose at conference affiliation, do you really think it would decline? New Rule: If you spend more on face paint, clothes in school colors, tailgate accessories and an RV horn that honks the school fight song than you spend on charity, reevaluate your priorities. New Rule: If you insist on smugly condemning the complete lack of morality and ethics at Rival U when one of its players gets in trouble, prepare a good defense for when one of your team's players screws up the next week. Today's "great kid" could be tomorrow's armed robber. New Rule: Every other team in America says it had a great summer in the weight room, too. Every other team in America had great attendance at "voluntary" summer workouts, too. Every other team in America says the chemistry and attitude are better than last year, too. So don't get prematurely overconfident based on the usual August rhetoric. New Rule: When the hotshot freshman quarterback isn't playing yet, rationally consider the possible reasons why. I mean beyond the fact that the coach is an absolute moron. Maybe the kid is an absolute moron who cannot learn the playbook. New Rule: We know you have a brilliant, unique, surefire plan for an NCAA football playoff. Your barber, your bank teller and the kid working the espresso machine at Starbucks have playoff plans too. And Myles Brand isn't interested in any of them. New Rule: USC won a share of the 2003 national title, no matter what the BCS says about the LSU-Oklahoma Sugar Bowl being the title game. Quit being greedy, and quit talking about it three years later. New Rule: If you're on a voice-recognition basis with a call-in show producer or have your own call-in show persona and handle (like "Wolverine Mark"), reevaluate your priorities. New Rule: An 0-1 start is not the end of the world, especially with a 12-game schedule. Unless you start 0-1 with a buy game against what was supposed to be a guaranteed chump. Then you can pound the panic button. New Rule: Before your fan message board mounts an e-mail lobbying campaign to poll voters demanding higher rankings for your school, consider: Is it effective or obnoxious to send out 200 e-mails that all parrot the same "talking points"? And how silly is it for football fans to have "talking points"? After careful consideration of those questions, hit the delete button. New Rule: If you're over the age of, say, 14, beseeching players as they leave the field for a receiving glove is unseemly and best avoided. I mean, who other than Michael Jackson is going to get excited about a single glove? New Rule: Flying a car flag when your team is 5-0 is easy. Try it when your team is 0-5. New Rule: It is understandable and acceptable to wonder (out loud) why Temple is still playing Division I-A football. New Rule: If you turn to a sportswriter for guidance on how to be a college football fan, reevaluate your priorities.

Reiner isn't an UNT alumnus. He went to UTA.... Besides Reiner is dead

Whooosh (The sound of another up and comming program passing us by)

Well the Phonies are thrilled that SOMEBODY is actually looking forward to playing them. Afterall it's a unique situation for them. They're pretty used to being a college football afterthought. And for some reason they got some guy that thinks calling us NTSU and a teacher college are the ultimate form of insults. It appears that he can't get past the fact we have grown so far past those days. It seems to really bother him.

Hoping to see Cobbs get playing time? If you have the NFL Network you can watch the following Patriots pre-season games. All times are Central. 8/19- Ariz @ NE 7:00pm 8/27- Wash @ NE 11:00am 9/3- NE @ NYG 6:00pm

I'd love to see Bomar here. Not only for what he can do on the field but for the exposure it could give the program. (Just look what Randy Moss did at Marshall after he left Notre Dame and Fla. State) I'm not too worried about the feelings of the existing QB's, they're big boys and know a football team is a total meritocracy. The best players play...period. It doesnt matter how hard you work, how long you're in the program. If a player is more talented than you, he should be the one starting. That's the way it is (wheather it SHOULD be that way is another argument). Only problem is that OU could but the kabosh on this whole thing if they don't want to give a release for a team that's on their future schedule (we open at OU in 2007). However since Bomar wouldn't be eligible until 07, and the NCAA might have some addtional suspension games tacked on to that, he might not even be eligible for the 2007 opener.

UNT RB Thomas shines in season's first workout DL Patton decides not to play for Mean Green 11:09 PM CDT on Monday, August 7, 2006 Brett Vito Jamario Thomas looked a little more like the player who won a national rushing title two years ago during the opening session of North Texas fall practices on Monday. The junior was listed in the Mean Green’s opening day roster at 210 pounds. Thomas had yet to weight in on the first day of workouts, but UNT coach Darrell Dickey estimated that Thomas had dropped 10-15 pounds since last season. “I feel a whole lot quicker on my feet,” Thomas said. “I did a lot over the summer to keep myself in shape. I did a lot of extra running, road my bike and did a lot of lifting. I stayed in Denton over the summer.” UNT is hoping that extra work will result in Thomas returning to his 2004 form. Thomas rushed for an average of 180.1 yards as a freshman in 2004, but struggled with a bad hamstring, added weight and finding his role while sharing the backfield with fellow former national rushing champion Patrick Cobbs last season. Cobbs has since moved on to training camp with the New England Patriots, leaving the starting job open for Thomas to handle on his own, just like he did as a freshman. The challenge is one Thomas appeared ready to accept on the first day of practice. Thomas caught a pass in the flat, turned up the field and weaved his way through UNT’s defensive backfield in a passing drill. At the end of workouts, Thomas was among the first in his group of running backs and other skill position players to complete a series of 100-yard dashes and looked comfortable on his hamstring. “Jamario looks like he did as a freshman,” Dickey said. Incoming defensive line class could be strong without Patton Defensive lineman Tim Patton has informed the UNT coaching staff that he changed his mind about playing for the Mean Green and plans to attend another school closer to his home near Tulsa. “When we recruited Tim we thought he was an excellent football player, and we still do,” Dickey said. “He has some issues and wanted to stay a little closer to home. We understand that and wish him well.” Patton was one of UNT’s top-rated recruits in its 2006 signing class and was expected to challenge for playing time as a freshman. Patton was one of two UNT freshmen who did not participate in the Mean Green’s first workout of fall practice. Defensive end Draylen Ross was waiting for paperwork to be filed before he can begin practicing with the Mean Green. Dickey said he anticipates Ross will join the team for workouts in the next few days. UNT still has seven defensive linemen in its 2006 freshman class that was heavy on players who could help the Mean Green on either line in the next few years. “I am very happy with the defensive linemen who are here,” Dickey said. “There is a lot of talent in this group. They need to do some work on their conditioning, but we are very pleased.” Freshmen arrive in solid condition UNT got a little more than it bargained for with freshman tight end Bryant Seidle. The former Cy-Fair standout was listed at 230 pounds when he signed with the Mean Green back in February and on the opening day roster, but actually came into camp at 245 pounds. Seidle was just one member in a freshman class Dickey said could contribute this season. “All I have been doing all summer is training,” Seidle said. “I know what I want and I want to help the team out in any way I can. My goal over the summer was to get ready.” Tight end is one spot on the roster where UNT could look to its incoming recruits for help this season. The Mean Green have two seniors atop the depth chart in Beau Davidson and Robert Harmon, but often use multiple tight ends. Dickey said he is unsure of who would emerge from the group that took a hit over the summer when sophomore Charlie Brown was lost for the year after having surgery on his shoulder. UNT adds walk-ons at QB UNT added eight walk-ons to its roster on the opening day of fall practice, including a pair of quarterbacks who will help fill a hole in the Mean Green’s incoming recruiting class. UNT did not add a high school quarterback on national signing day, but opened camp with freshmen Nathan Tune of Celina and Zack McLaurin of Irving Ranchview on the roster. Tune recently played in the Texas High School Coaches Association All-Star Game. “It was important to add a quarterback as a walk-on because we needed one in our freshman class,” Dickey said. “I was impressed with both of them.”

football MUST be just around the corner because the patented Green Grenade Wild Ass Preditions are back in season!!

The news just keeps getting better and better... Two UNT players done for season Surgery cuts year short for Alexander, Brown 11:40 PM CDT on Thursday, August 3, 2006 By Brett Vito / Staff Writer Fall practice has not even begun and North Texas has lost a pair of players who were expected to be key contributors to season-ending surgery. Backup tight end Charlie Brown has already had surgery on his shoulder, while offensive lineman Josh Alexander decided Thursday morning, in conjunction with UNT’s training staff and doctors, to undergo surgery on his knee. UNT is set to open two-a-day practices on Monday in preparation for its season opener against defending national champion Texas on Sept. 2 in Austin. “At this point and time, it looks like Charlie and Josh aren’t going to be with us,” UNT head coach Darrell Dickey said. “Both were trying to rehab because that is what our trainers felt was the best thing to do. That didn’t work, so they are looking at surgery. … If we knew then what we know now, we would have gone ahead and had the surgery, but we didn’t so we will have to bear with it.” Alexander was a key contributor last season when he started six consecutive games at left tackle, beginning in the fifth week of the season. Brown caught three passes for 14 yards in a backup role as a freshman last season. “[Losing both players] really puts us in a bind because both of them were guys we were depending on to be possible starters,” Dickey said. Brown played as a true freshman and could redshirt during the upcoming season. Alexander spent the 2003 season as a redshirt. Dickey said Alexander had secured the starting role at left tackle for UNT, which was scheduled to have all but one of its starting offensive linemen return. Senior Joel Foster was UNT’s starting left tackle for the first four weeks of the 2005 campaign before a shakeup in the Mean Green’s lineup. Alexander became the starter at left tackle while Foster moved to right tackle to replace Jeremy Brown. Alexander remained in the starting lineup until an injury forced him to sit out the Mean Green’s finale against Arkansas State. The junior also missed most of spring practice. Dickey said UNT’s staff has yet to discuss how it might compensate for losing Alexander, but could consider returning Foster to left tackle and moving Brown back into the starting lineup at right tackle. “We will do some double-teaching so that they can play both sides,” Dickey said. UNT signed three offensive linemen in its 2006 recruiting class, but junior college transfer Trent Stanley has already left the program. Redshirt freshman Ajani Banks, one of the Mean Green’s top offensive line recruits from 2005, is expected to backup All-Sun Belt Conference guard Dylan Lineberry. Losing Brown could deplete the Mean Green’s depth at tight end. Seniors Robert Harmon and Beau Davidson enter the fall sharing a spot atop the depth chart. Brown was expected to serve as a backup. UNT signed tight end Brian Carlson from Kilgore College and Bryant Seidle from Cy-Fair High School as part of its 2006 recruiting class. “We have numbers at tight end,” Dickey said. “We just have to figure out who will lock down the position and if we will be able to play with two or three tight ends or if we will be better off with another wide receiver.” The Mean Green have used multiple tight ends frequently in a run-based offense under Dickey. Adding another wide receiver to the lineup could be an intriguing option. The Mean Green have perhaps their best group of wide receivers in the Dickey era returning, including preseason All-Sun Belt selection Johnny Quinn. UNT has now lost three veteran players during the offseason who were expected to compete for starting jobs. Linebacker Eddrick Gilmore did not meet NCAA eligibility requirements and will not play for UNT in 2006.

That's how jacked up the NCAA is. Bomar may be free to transfer to another school and play. It will be the OU program and the players left behind that will bear the brunt of NCAA punishment. Example: when SMU got the death penalty, all of the players were able to transfer and continue playing. However I've heard Bomar is also a baseball prospect and I believe been drafted in the MLB. I wouldn't be surprised to see him just sign a contract and go play baseball. BTW, I too think Bomar is way overrated as a QB. He's got the size and potential, but as Bear Bryant said all potential means is you haven't done anything yet. Bomar didn't do anything in high school, (his teams always had a losing record) and he hasn't done anything yet at OU. I tend to like the undersized, or less touted QB who always seems to find a way to move the chains and for his team to win. Someone like Mitch Maher, or Scott Davis!!

and I just happen to have Monday off next week....Hmmmmmmm

Since ol' Rhett Bomar has been dismissed from the OU football team on a permanent basis, he's more than likely going to transfer to another school. If you were the UNT head coach do you take him if he wants to transfer here? He'd have to sit out this year but he'd still have 2 years of eligibility left. Do you take a guy like that?

Video Interesting British documentary about Texans converting to Islam. (Although the texas stereotypes are pretty laughable) Some might find interest in the first 5 minutes where they profile an "American Football fanatic" and guess what his favorite team is?

No, but I am saying the more the merrier. These people definately add something to the atmosphere. But if I had my way all of them would go to the game.

Do you remember what game day was like before RV and tailgating wasn't allowed???

The one's that muse so, so gently.