UNT Mean Green

Eddrick Gilmore could be a 'diamond in the rough' type of guy. Had some academic issues and digressed after getting to Denton. He was heavily recruited by UTEP and Houston during their good runs. However I think hes gotten lost in the shuffle and could turn out to be an above average prospect. Craig Roberson could also be a sleeper with that speed.

Out of the seniors, my personal opinion is Jamario and Weathers. On our whole squad, I think Sam Roberson...who we haven't even seen yet and A.J. Penson are pro-type guys. Both were part of the initial recruiting class for Dodge and Co.

Depth wise we also have Tomlinson and Johnson who will be redshirt freshman next year. And the big 6'8" kid from Pennsylvania. Yes we will have them, but neither has played a down of college FB and thus have no experience. They will be needed to sub for the 4 OG and 4 OT positions. I am working on an analysis for next year on all of positions, based on what we know now. Just don't know how to present it yet.

http://www.meangreennews.com/content/2007/...au-game-photos/ Look at above link, Picture #5, to the right of the FAU receiver...that will explain where Coach LaCroix is

gotta love the "Sexytime!" photos!

Absolutely it is a '2 horse race'. I do think though, if Riley is not the starter, he will be redshirted and then it will be Vizza/Meager/Johnson. (Johnson is the kid from SMU via Plano West who is sitting out this year. I believe he is kin to 2007 offensive lineman recruit J.J. Johnson.)

That competition is going to be fun to watch unfold next spring! I bet there will be a lot of buzz on gmg.com especially since that's a time when there's not a whole lot to talk about.

no photo, but thought it was awesome that he was there for Dodge's first win! Maybe that's a sign he needs to show up at all of the games!

I believe we return 4 of these 5 linemen next year huh?

Coach Archie does a good job of giving everyone on gmg.com insight from 'the other side' (coaches/players/team personnel).

Ha, yeah I'll second that. Heard a lot of that term recently from TD. He must be 'naive' to the fact that he is saying it.

Clemson is in the ACC.

Our offensive line is getting better, no doubt. Granted Vizza does take a lot of hits, but he's one tough kid!

Gameplan would be... Keep doing what we've been doing. These kids are beginning to learn the system, and 'turn themselves loose' a bit. Try to improve from last week. Everyone knows this game is going to be tough. That's a no brainer. I don't think we need to change anything dramatically for one game. However, I do like the comments of keeping pressure on Hougabook. He's the real deal and we need to keep him off balance. It could be a long day (and a lot of scoring for Troy) if we don't apply pressure from different angles on Omar. We did a nice job last week of countering defensively against the best rushing offense in The Belt. It will be interesting to see what we can do defensively this week to contain the best overall offense in The Belt. Offensively, last week, I liked us going into a trips set to the short side and giving the ball to Mosley on the Zone play back to the weak side. They way Monroe over-adjusted to trips opened that play up very nicely. Hopefully we can find tendencies like that against the Trojans. We need to be efficient, stay out of 2nd and long, and protect the football. If we do that, I like our chances. There's clear evidence this year: There's a reason why you line up and play the games. Anyone can beat anybody on any given day!

I regards to the OU game: "Sure I've been there before as a player and an assistant coach....but when their players stepped out on the field and started running around...they outmanned us a bit!" Funny Stuff! LSU, Alabama, Clemson coming up in the near future! I guarantee in 2 years we'll compete respectively with Alabama and Clemson. Riley will most likely redshirt. However, I can't think of a better guy to recruit for this offense in the country than Riley Dodge!

Trojan Delta Chi, That is a nice gesture to inform the Mean Green fans of what to expect when coming to Alabama! It's always nice to go to a place where the fans/community are hospitable. At this time, you guys are certainly the class of 'The Belt'. I look forward to some great matchups with Troy and North Texas as Coach Dodge continues to get this ball rolling here in Denton, TX. Sounds like that baseball stadium is going to be nice!

All this offense is concerned with is moving the chains. It's not really a 'bombs away' offense. It is about efficiency. If the run is working, he'll run the ball. If there are throwing lanes and guys getting open, he'll throw it. The neat thing is he will lull defenses to sleep with short routes, and then 'BAM', catch them sleeping and take a shot. There are no complaints with this offense. He'll stretch the field vertically, and stretch it horizontally. There are 6 weapons in this offense on every play, and all of them are contributing so far. It is working on the college level, and that is with 3 scholarship receivers that were returning. Imagine when the recruits who fit this system get here...it's gonna be fun! It certainly is an exciting brand of football. We are beginning to execute better and better each week. One thing that's fun to watch is Vizza when the protection breaks down. He's a good runner with the ball in his hands, and likes to make things happen.

How in the world can Casey Fitzgerald not be mentioned as one of the 10 best Sun Belt players in the first half? Also, top Freshman would have to include Giovanni Vizza and Micah Mosley as potential candidates, wouldn't it?

Improved significantly defensively against a (previously) successful rushing attack from the Warhawks. Defense played a good physical game. Contained a very good backfield combo of #7 and #22 for the entire first half. Vizza is one tough guy and is really improving! Micah Mosley continues to impress...no doubt he's out-performing J-Mo at this point. Downhill runner who flat out gets it done. He has deceptive speed. Brock Stickler had another good game. He's got great hands. Casey Fitzgerald is extremely reliable. Week in and week out he's doing great things for our offense. For the second week in a row, the Defensive Tackles played exceptionally well. I thought Gilmore did a pretty good job on the edge. Craig Robertson brings a good athlete who can force the ball back inside instead of letting teams get to the edge. He's a good player in space and one of the faster LB's we've had in a while. Aaron Weathers is a difference-maker. ?He made one play last night that should get the attention of some scouts. Less false starts/procedure penalties on the O-line. Of course, the spirit and attendance was impressive considering our start prior to that game.

Great win for all of North Texas! Congratulations to Coach Dodge and his staff. They did a remarkable job. I really like what they are doing with these players. It is totally about 'team' and not about 'me'. They all play for one another, not for themselves. Obviously, they are good X's and O's coaches in my book, however, they do a lot more with these kids than that. These kids are learning how to be a family. They are learning values. Did everyone see the enthusiasm on the sidelines last night from the 2nd and 3rd stringers and the redshirts? They were encouraging their teammates all game long. The attitude on the sidelines is totally different. You have to credit that to the coaches, and that comes from the top, all the way down. There are a lot of positives with Coach Dodge and his staff. The direction this program is going is visibly positive.

I'd bet if this kid plays at Cedar Hill he has something that we need...speed! That district down there with DeSoto, Cedar Hill, Arlington Bowie, Duncanville, etc...is like the Dallas/Ft. Worth version of the SEC...speed all over the place. Alot of people get caught up in measurements of the 40 and all that, but the true definition of speed out there is football speed. It's simply a game of "Read & React" on defense. The play Aaron Weathers made last night from his safety spot to drop the QB behind the LOS...that was football speed. Giovanni Vizza's ability to do things with his feet...he has football speed. Neither one of those guys will blow you away with their 40 time, however, they play fast. You know Coach Dodge and his staff are going to recruit several kids with good football speed who can be game-changers.

I get the impression Bigntex may be a relative or close friend of Giovanni Vizza. His comments about attending Quarterback Camps with Giovanni that also had Riley Dodge in attendance, in addition to being quick to defend Giovanni leads me to believe that. With that being said, how can you not be a Giovanni Vizza fan, or a Riley Dodge fan for that matter? Both are fearless leaders, and are outstanding Quarterbacks for this system. I've said this before, but it tells you the direction this program is headed when we land the reigning 4A and 5A players of the year at North Texas! And the good news is, they touch the ball on every play, and we have both for at least 3 more years! The QB competition will be interesting for the next couple of years, but for right now, Giovanni Vizza is the guy that the coaching staff has full confidence in that he can help this team win ballgames.

Hopefully getting AJ Penson and Robertson on the field more at the OLB spots will eliminate our vulnerability on the edge. Desoreaux and Fenroy from LaLa made our guys on the outside look like they were running in quicksand. At least Penson and Robertson can slow that down with their athletic ability and the way they play in space. 3 big plays for 190 yards kind of puts it in perspective. Sounds to me like if they can eliminate the big plays, they will significantly improve.

...and we still have to play the #1 rushing team in the country in Navy! Yikes!

5 Positives to Last Night: 1) Defensive Tackles did a good job getting penetration most of the night. They forced LaLa to run to the edge for most of the night, where we did not contain well. 2) Micah Mosely is going to be a good, reliable back in this system. He hits the hole in a hurry, keeps his shoulders square, and goes downhill. Always moving forward, thus always gaining yards.That was a nice pickup by Dodge & Co. in February. 3) Giovanni Vizza showed flashes of being great last night. Zipped some balls right on the numbers that were mishandled. Threw balls away from the defender for the most part. Lowered his head and got some tough yards running the ball. Showed nice arm strength after double clutching and throwing a rope downfield to Jackson, and on the out route to the wide side of the field. Threw 2 very nice balls into the back of the endzone: 1 was caught, 1 wasn't, but they were put where only the receiver could get them, if not they went out of bounds. Did a good job managing the clock. 4) Brock Stickler has great hands, and we finally got to see them on display last night. He had a big game last night. 5) On the same note as point #4, I love this offense. There are 6 guys who contribute, touch the football, and get a chance to make plays. Thats the 4 WR's, QB, and RB. Each week, someone different is having a big game. I like how the opposing defense cannot just key on one guy. What else I like is that Coach Ford and Dodge don't care who touches it. They are going to give everyone a chance to help the team. Not to mention, it's one of those offenses where opposing teams are under the impression that they have to play 'keep away' in order to keep our offense off of the field. Gosh, I can only imagine in 3-4 years when all of the players have been recruited by Dodge & Co. and fit this system. That is going to be so much fun!