Charlie NT 73

For the offense, I will pick WR Sam Dibrell. The Vizza-Dibrell connection will jump start Dodge Ball and get the offense rolling! For the defense, I will pick DE Sam Owusu-Hemeng, who will break up the reverses Tulsa will run, and bust up their passing game attack.

I believe this North Texas team is sure a heck of alot better than the the University of Alabama B team, that put up 400+ yards of offense on Tulsa. UAB had 250yds rushing in the mix, and 21 first downs. Tulsa got several big plays, very much like K-State, that made the difference in the game. Tulsa on the other hand had 600yds of offense against UAB, which is scary. North Texas had 600yds against $mu last year, and Dodge Ball was rolling against Navy. I believe North Texas will match up against Tulsa. I am confident the offense will move the chains and score TD's. I believe the North Texas defense will be up for the challenge against what many football experts claim is the most powerful offense in the country. Our guys see almost the same offense every day in practice, and I am sure Coach DeLoach has a great game plan to defend against the Tulsa offense. I see a big upset developing, and the first big win for Coach Dodge and this North Texas team!

I cannot believe North Texas fans actually believe Coach Dodge and his staff were just playing it safe, being conservative, and not trying to win this game. Were the none believers on the side line seeing what was going on, or listening to what the coaches were trying to accomplish? Come on! The K-State defense had alot to do with how the NT offense was working. There were several NT drives that stalled out due to dropped passes, missed passes, and WR's being open but not seen by Vizza, so the pass game was out of synch. K-S was blitzing every play, against our young but learning OL. The NT run game took advantage of the blitzing, and came close to breaking some big runs. Having terrible field position all day long did not help matters either, against a good defense. The K-S offensive coaches went after our weak points, the DL and our true freshmen CB's. I though Hill, Williams, and Shorter played very good in their first college game. This team is mainly sophmores, red-shirt freshmen, and true freshmen, that are learning and will win, under the teaching and guidence of Coach Dodge and his staff. Was Coach Dodge holding back in this game, no, not at all. The whole staff was teaching this team on how to play the game against a good Big 12 team, and what it takes to win.

I went over to the Tulsa athletics site to review the game stats. Over all, Tulsa gave up 414 yds of toal offense to UAB, but, on the other hand, Tulsa had 619 yds of total offense. UAB had 21 first downs, Tulsa had 19. Tulsa's QB, David Johnson hit 20 of 24 passes, 332yds, 3 TD's including a 73yd TD pass. Looks like Johnson had plenty of time to pass. Rushing, Tulsa 258, UAB 248 yds. Tulsa punted 2 times for 51.5 yd avg. UAB punted 5 times with a 39.6 avg. UAB also had a KO return for a TD. All of UAB's points came in the first half, then Tulsa shut out UAB in the second half with the help of a few botched plays by UAB. Looks like both teams had good offense but no defense by any means. I believe the North Texas staff will put together a very good game plan for Tulsa, and our players respond both on offense and defense. North Texas wins by 10.

When deep snapper Christian Davidson went down with a injury on punt coverage, my first thought was who will handle the deep snap? Holy cow, what else can go wrong? In comes freshmman Troy Kokjohn, off the beanch, into a very hostile situation, very loud crowd, and a K-State team looking to block a punt. Kokjohn came in and handled the deep snapping very well. Good Job! I hope Davidson's injury is not to bad. Has anyone got a update on Davidson?

North Texas will be the under dog in all the OOC games. So what. I do believe this team will knock off one or more of the OOC games this year. As far as Tulsa, I would expect Tulsa to follow K-State's lead in developing their offensive and defensive game plans. Lots of blitzing, turning the DE's loose for the defense. Keep the pressure coming all game long, and do not let the Vizza have any time to pick up the receivers. For the offfense, pick on the young NT CB's, and use their TE alot.

Ron Price built the K-State game plan around two things. Stop Vizza from making plays and to shut down Fitzgerald. The K-State defense biltzed on every play, and their DE's really came hard. Vizza did not have much time to do anything. The receivers were getting open, but Vizza could not set up to pass. Seems like Vizza was on the run out of the pocket all game long. The run game worked because the offense caught K-S in some blitzing packages. I was impressed with both Mosley and Montgomery. Good tough running! After the Tulsa coaches finish watching the game film, I would expect Tulsa to develop their game plan to mirror the K-State game plan.

T-Rock, Glad to have you posting here. GMG is very addictive! I am at work too, and I can not concentrate on anything except North Texas football! Tell us about yourslf, NT history, favorite beer, anything ? Charlie

I have a couple of questions. When will the football team leave Denton? Friday or Saturday? Will the team fly up to Manhattan or ride a bus? Manhattan is about 480 miles from Denton, so a bus ride will be 9 to 10 hours driving time. I know I am tired after a long car trip, so I wonder if a long bus ride will affect the players the same way? Anyone know the team travel arrangements?

The K-State game is also important to North Texas for the same reasons. A North Texas win, would be a huge selling point with recruiting. I do not even want to think about how another big blow out loss would affect DFW recruiting.

So what is the big deal here? Padron wanted to be with his brother so give him your blessing and let him go. So what if his school of choice is $mu? I hope things work out for him. Remeber when J.J. Johnson's brother transfered from $mu to North Texas? Kids change their minds. Look at all the transfers that have come to North Texas. Does Padron's transfer dampen recruiting SLC? No, not at all. Does Padron's transfer dampen recruting Dallas, or the state of Texas? No, not one bit. Like I said, give Padron your blessings, wish him the best, and send him on his way.

What a big game for both Troy and MTSU, season opener and a conference game. I believe the game will be on ESPN, 630pm. I will go with Troy to win. The Muts have lost several OL guys to injury which really puts their offense in a bind. Troy is breaking in a new QB, but has a proven OL to work with, and another very solid defense. Troy 31, MTSU 10

Today is the day for the big "Football" section in both the FWST and DMN. I have not seen either one yet. I would like to know which football section of the 2 newspapers has the best NT review?

I cancelled my DMN subscription 3 years ago. Sorry sports ( except for Ray Sasser and his outdoors stories ) department. During the football season, if North Texas won their game, the DMN sports section would have the story buried somewhere in the HS game sections. If North Texas lost, the story was on the front page of the sports section. Hey, I did see a NT sports story on Channel 5 sports, Dewy Scruggs (?) interviewed Coach Dodge. The message Coach Dodge stated was something to the effect that this 2008 team will have alot more bullets in their belt this year vs last years team.

I have read many postings on the K-State boards, that have the same theme. All the K-State fans believe the game will be a run away, with predicted scores of 60 + points, 250 yds rushing, 400yds passing, scoring on the first play, and even winning the coin toss. Man, are the K-State fans in for a surprise! I do believe North Texas can win this game. Yes, win this game! #1: K-State will be over confident. All K-S knows about NT is from last years film work and Mendoza's defense. That was last year's old defense. The 2008 defense has the DeLoach factor, new schemes, aggressive attack, players and depth at key positions. K-S does not know anything about the DeLoach defense. I think K-S will start by trying to establish their run game first. K-S lost their 2 top RB's. Now the #3 RB, a JUCO transfer starts at RB. K-S believes QB Freeman is untouchable. Yeah right! Rattle this guy and their offense stops. Their top WR is gone, 2nd team guys move up. #2: K-S believes they can pass at will on every play. Hit the home run ball all day. Again, the DeLoach factor plus, NT now has the secondary talent to handle the K-S receivers. I believe our DE's and LB's can beat their big OL guys, and force turnovers. K-S is not Oklahoma or Texas. When a team signs 19 JUCO's- something is not right. Looking for instant success to fix problem positions? JUCO's do not always work out the way coaches expect. #3: K-S has run the same offense the past few years so I am sure the NT staff has studied how the K-S offense and defense work. I would bet the NT staff has developed a very good game plan, both on offense and defense. I think this game will come down to a battle of smarts by the coaches. Big advantage to Coach Dodge #4: K-S does not know how a full year of experience in Dodge Ball, has helped developed the offense, and the players. The players are all on the same page now. Plus, there are several offensive guys available, that were not around in 2007. Coach Dodge and his staff have new twists to Dodge Ball installed this year that could not be installed last year. The NT WR's are a very talented bunch. Vizza is ready for a big game! This is my take on this game. I like our team, our players, our coaches, and our ability to win this game. North Texas 31, K-S 24.

Why wait to announce the transfer until 2 weeks before the season opener? I wanted to see King play too, so this is a surprise. Opens the door for another WR to play Dodge Ball!

Howard, you are making some pretty bold statements about how the FAU seagulls are going to defeat the Univ of Texas at their house down in Austin, Texas. I think you should sit down in the shade for a while, and have a cool drink.

Another full week of work is all that is left, because game week is creeping up fast. Saturday Aug 30th will be here before you know it. Next week just may be nut cuttin time. The competition will really heat up for certain positions. I just hope none of the players get hurt, and the team will be at full strength. Just read the blog regarding DE, Mack Cole. Maybe he is a better player than we expected. I have been wondering how he was doing. There does not seem to be any real seperation between players at the DT/DE positions, well, not yet. I am sure the coaches are testing the skills and abilities of these guys daily. The competition for the starting DL positions will be very interesting to watch, and see who earns the right to start on the DL this season.

I read Vito's blog regarding Wed's practice and noticed a few interesting points. The first point is Casey Fitzgerald returning punts. Casey is a great athlete no doubt, so looks like Coach Dodge wants to use Casey to return punts. I think this is the best option and will give Casey new opportunities for his skills. Next point, the second team defense, has 5 true freshmen starting second team. Freshman B. Akpunku, alias AK 47, along with former starter Steve Warren and Colt Mahan at LB. All four true freshman, Cook and Hill at CB, and Shorter and Williams at Safety. These 5 true freshman prove the talent level of the 2008 class. (who will miss Edwards?) The DE's are Sam O-H, and Russo, both red- shirt freshmen. The DT's are vetran Thomas and redshirt-freshman Scoggins, from the 2007 class. So with all these true freshmen and red shirt freshmen, making the second team defense, indicates to me the talent pool is getting deeper, and the future looks a hell of alot brighter now! Last point, if this is the second team defense, who will be the first team defense? I am interested in the first team DL competition. I do not think the first team DL is settled yet, with more battles continuing on. DT/NG has Miller, Ross, Brown, Desoto, and Franklin battling. DE has Cole, Stewart, Sykes, Davenport battling (there may be a couple other candidates at DE too) Brown and Kale Krider can play both DT/DE, maybe these 2 are in the mix at DE. I predict the starters will be Miller at DT, Ross at NG, Skyes and Davenport at DE. The remaining guys will be in the rotation of the position starters. Looks like several positions may have 2 guys that could start the same position, which is good. Nice to have some depth for a change!

Regarding Jenkins and Hollivay, I was surprised at their reporting weight too. I would think these two guys would have paid close attention to their off season diet and conditioning work outs before fall practice started. These two JUCO's were recruited to come North Texas football to make a improvement in the OL. No one seemed to complain when they commited to North Texas, so lets give these guys a chance. I am sure the NT coaches see what is going on as far as conditioning, and I am sure the coaches can motivate these guys. I do like the idea of Jenkins and Hollivay moving to the guard positions, and sliding Santiago over to tackle. Bailey, Johnson, and Rose as the rotation. Hopefully Tomlinson can help out later on too. Look at K-State, which recruited 19 JUCO's for 2008. Maybe all of their JUCO's need conditioning too. Does this point give us a edge for the season opener?

I was thinking about moving Jenkins and Hollivay to the guard positions just like good ken mentioned. The hole in the OL is RT. With Franklin going to the DL, and Tomlinson still out healing from off season surgery, that leaves Victor Gill, Jacob Kaiser as OT candidates. Other possibilities at R-OT could be Chad Rose, Tyler Bailey, or Esteban Santiago. If Jenkins takes the RG position, then slide Santiago over to RT. I read where the coaches are working Rose at RT too. Bailey would be a good RT choice because he is strong, mobile, and has game experience. The tackle position requires mobility and quickness to fight off the fast DE's so why not move a quicker OL guy to tackle? Gill has game experience but may be too light. Kaiser has the size but he may still be in the developmental stage. So for now, I do like the idea of Rose working the RT position but I would like to see how Bailey could handle the RT position too. One thing for sure, Jenkins and Hollivay gives OL Coach Spencer Leftwich several options with the OL players this season that were not available last year. Maybe true freshman Coleman Feeley could work his way into some playing time too. J.J. Johnson will be a hugh plus because of his ability to play guard and center. I do believe this OL is going to be one of the best OL's we have had in several seasons. Best of all, the coaches have options and depth for a change.

I read in a posting by "S Franklin" that Troy was weighing in at 298. This group of DL guys sure sounds encouraging, and each has their own special talents. The only thing lacking is real game experience. Joesph Miller and Ike Thomas are the 2 returning vets, so we start with these 2 players. Next up are these players. Ross, Franklin, Desoto, Scoggins, and Cantley sure have the size and speed play DL positions. What about these guys: Charlie Brown, listed at DT. DeLoach said Brown should get 40 snaps a game. I wonder if he will move to DE? Joe Hawthorne, was recruited as a DT, but is he a candidate for DE? Either way, there are 9 good interior DL guys to count on. When was the last time North Texas had this many good interior DL guys? Let the competition begin! No wonder Gary DeLoach was smiling when he was asked about how the defense was coming along!

Looks like a whole bunch of players have shrunk! Matthew Menard was 6-5, 275, now listed at 6-3, 305. Jesse Desoto did not gain any weight, still 6-2, 275. Joesph Miller, 269 ? Why is Jack Crumbs still listed? This roster is never right about height and weight of the players.

Bill boards- who will pay for these? How much money has been set aside for North Texas advertising? How many bill boards are needed? one, fifty, or a hundred? What bill boards are available? Bill boards are contacted for agreeded scheduled time, by the month or the year. Where are the available bill boards located? I hope available bill boards are located in recruiting hot beds! Do bill boards work? Sure they work. Becasue of bill board advertising, I know where Baby Dolls, the Lodge, and the Gold Cup are located! LOL! All kidding aside, I do like NT 80's promotional idea to bring fans to Denton. Maybe, promotional ideas are a better way to bring fans to Denton. But then, how do you advertise these promotions? TV? Newspaper ads? Again, who pays the advertising bill?

Ten questions- My take on these 10 questions. 1. Defense better, heck yes, 2 names, Gray DeLoach and Carlton Buckles 2. Defensive players, play makers. Talent level has improved, especially in the secondary, with Edwards, Adams, Garden, Bush, and several others. DL, Joesph Miller, Drayland Ross, and now Troy Franklin at DT. The play makers are here- just got to put these guys together. DE's- Just have to wait to see the candidates other than Mack Cole. 3.Pass Protection. With the addition of Gabe Hollivay, 6-3, 350 and Nate Jenkins, 6-4, 330, this will give OL Coach Spencer Leftwich several options. The OL did suffer last year, new players, new positions. These players learned alot, Matt Menard, Tyler Bailey, Estaban Santiago, and hybred TE/OT Victor Gill, and C Kelvin Drake are all back together again. new comers JJ Johnson and Jacob Kaiser looked good in spring ball. Matt Tomlinson, even though he has been cleared for contact drills, has alot of chatching up to complete. New recruits could factor in, Coleman Freely, Ethan McMillian, and Aaron Fortenberry. Pass protection will be alot better than it was last year. Vizza will have more time to find receivers, as well as the run game oprning up more. Geez, Vizza with more time! Not running for his life! Being able to read his receivers! Wow! 4. Turnovers- see above. Pass protection will cut down the turnovers. Plus Vizza has a year of experience against some very good teams, learned defenses, and has a ton of confidence. 5. Jeremy Knott, yes, huge addition. Strong leg, accurate. Gives the team a true weapon that was not available last year. With Truman Spencer's punting, this will be a very good 1-2 punch in the kicking game. 6.Receivers better- well this is a no brainer. Hell yes the recievers are better! Other than the starters, the 2 Sam's, as in Dibrill, and Roberson, BJ Lewis, King, Alex Lott and several others. 7. Riley- red shirt, at least I hope he redshirts. 8. RB's- Mosley is the starter, but Cam Montgomery will get his carries. Lance Dunbar, I think will play special teams. The RB position will be strong. 9. Coaches better, another no brainer, Heck yes they are better. Full year with the players, a full year in the SBC, and 2 very good recruiting classes to work with. 10. Lack of experience at LB. The LB's will be fine, with Robertson and Nwigwe, having starting experience, AJ Penson, is a raw talented player, that will adjust quickly. Colt Mahan and Steve Warren have alot of experience too. Marquese Davis and Bron Hager are in the wings. The LB position looks strong to me. The whole team is progressing alot better now that a year ago. I do believe this team will go past our expectations, and be right in the race for the SBC crown.