NT80

Another favorite part.

Kevin Sherrington Dodge ball will be a hit at UNT Proven track record justifies hiring a high school coach 11:50 PM CST on Tuesday, December 12, 2006 DENTON – The University of North Texas introduced a high school coach Tuesday in its never-ending quest for Hayden Fry's heir apparent. In many places, maybe most, the preceding paragraph might be construed as an indictment. But not if you know Todd Dodge. Not if you've seen his Southlake Carroll teams play. Not if you witnessed Rice's revival this year. Or Missouri's. Not if you ask Bill Parcells or Sean Payton or Mack Brown or Gary Pinkel. The Mean Green didn't just hire a high school coach. Rick Villarreal found answers to the direction of his athletic program. Need an entertaining offense that'll draw fans as well as recruits? Check. Need a coach with a lot of high school contacts, especially in the area? Check. Need a coach to sell the push for a $60 million stadium? Check. Need a coach who can turn it around fast? Check. Maybe you're still not so sure. Maybe you recall the last high school coach UNT hired. Dennis Parker came straight out of Marshall in the early '90s and won an average of four games in three seasons. His offensive coordinator? Todd Dodge. Hardly seems comforting, does it? Only if you know how far UNT and Dodge have come in the years since. Dodge took over Bob Ledbetter's excellent Carroll program in 2000 and did the impossible: He made it better, guiding it through the difficult transition from 4A to 5A. Guided it? The Dragons have dominated the state's top class like no team since Chuck Moser's Abilene teams of the 1950s. Get this: The Dragons have gone 77-1 since moving up to 5A. The only loss was by one point to Katy in the 2003 state title game. Of course, those were high school games. He's stepping up in class now, and some UNT boosters and alumni have already asked Villarreal: "How do you know he can do it at this level?" All you need to do, Villarreal tells the doubters, is talk X's and O's with the man. Or you could talk to the quarterbacks and receivers who come to his camp every summer, the most prestigious in North Texas, a likely base for North Texas recruiting the next several years. You could talk to Rice officials. They tried to interview Dodge for the job that eventually went to Todd Graham, who qualified Rice for its first bowl in 42 seasons. Graham wanted to hire Dodge, too. When he couldn't, he got Major Applewhite, who calls Dodge a mentor, and all Applewhite did was effectively run Rice's spread offense with Wishbone personnel. Moral: With the right coaches, you can get it done at this level, and fast. Ask Missouri coaches what they think. Dodge supplied the quarterback, Chase Daniel, and offense for the Tigers' turnaround season. Pinkel says Dodge's offensive knowledge and development of young quarterbacks is "as good as anyone I've ever seen." Talk to Bill Parcells. Called up Dodge out of the blue last year and asked if he wanted to talk about coaching tight ends for him. Even after he got an audience with the Cowboys' coach, Dodge still couldn't believe it. "What," he asked, "am I doing here?" Parcells told him he'd been watching his games. Had his eye on him as a potential assistant. Called him a "football guy," and a "good teacher of the game." Coaching is coaching at any level, Mack Brown says, high school or college or pros. "It will be a great fit for him," Brown says, "and North Texas is lucky to have him." Lucky that Dodge got to coach his son, Riley, this season, and can check it off his list. Lucky that Riley's only a junior, or Dodge might have left for a coordinator's job someplace else. Lucky that Dodge coached here once, and he can see how far the facilities have come since then. Darrell Dickey built a base here. He qualified UNT four times for the New Orleans Bowl, and Dodge hasn't forgotten. But he also knows it can be better. "The Metroplex's Team," is how he sees it. Frankly, Villarreal probably would settle for a program Denton and UNT's alumni base can finally embrace. If anyone can fulfill the Mean Green's long-lost promise, it's the man who plans on coaching a high school team until Dec. 23. After that, he's all UNT's. Christmas comes early. E-mail ksherrington@dallasnews.com

Well written, I like the quotes from Dodge.

Gee, thanks Rick for the vision of Plummer... I also liked Dodge's quotes about "Score points" instead of "keep it close till the 4th quarter" like we were used to hearing. Fans want entertainment on the football field...this will be different for us. As for the Ch. 4 coverage, they interviewed a mom in Southlake that said they were sad to lose him as a coach, that "all the players loved to play for him"

There is a buzz with Mean Green sports fans. Dodge is big in the media right now, and will be undefeated at UNT for at least the next 8 months. The time is NOW to open the Ticket Office and start pushing football Season Tickets for 2007.

Email RV and tell him you approve. He's taken a lot of heat lately in the media with the DD fiasco, and like he said has lost 25 pounds during this process.

Would there have been 250+ there with any of the other coaches we were looking at hiring? I think not.

If you lived closer to DFW you would know that although he is a high school coach he is well known and constantly in the media here. The best part of his hiring: Today I already had 3 former UNT alums who haven't followed UNT sports in years tell me they are excited about this!

Did Bobby Ray call him coach Dodd a couple times on the intro? This appears to be a win/win for him and UNT. No contract details given that I heard. TD seems very anxious to get a staff together (someone mentioned he may already bring 4 with him). He said he was very knowledgeable and has many contacts with local and state high schools. I'm looking forward to see him recruit with his contacts. I hope he is allowed to coach the all-star game. I wish he would have mentioned the future new stadium in his talk about being the Metroplex's team. Overall, I'm pumped for spring "Dodge Ball"!

Well, I found some info. Would you believe the starting SLC offense has only 3 seniors...the rest are juniors... You can also access the whole roster from this site, but no sizes listed: Southlake Carroll football website

SLC is full of average-sized players that play beyond their size, because of repetition and coaching. Dodge does not have the "best" players in the region, maybe the richest, but not an overstock of best players.

Many high school programs with feeder systems use the same base varsity offense down to lower levels. It wasn't started by SLC.

Eight In-State Contests and Games Against Seven Bowl Opponents Highlight 2007 Arkansas Football Slate Courtesy: Arkansas Release: 12/11/2006 The Razorbacks play seven games next year against teams earning bowl bids this season. FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Eight games in the state of Arkansas, including six in Fayetteville and two in Little Rock, and seven games against bowl teams highlight Arkansas’ 2007 football schedule, which was released on Monday. The 2006 Southeastern Conference Western Division champion Razorbacks have home conference games against Kentucky, Auburn and South Carolina in Fayetteville while facing Mississippi State in Little Rock. Arkansas opens the season on Sept. 1 with a Fayetteville game against Troy. Following an open date, UA begins SEC play with a trip to Alabama, then returns to Fayetteville for games against North Texas (Sept. 22) and Kentucky (Sept. 29). A non-conference game against Chattanooga in Little Rock follows on Oct. 6 before Auburn visits Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium on Oct. 13. The Razorbacks travel to Ole Miss on Oct. 20 and play their final non-conference game on Oct. 27 against Florida International in Fayetteville. UA ends the year with four straight SEC tilts in Fayetteville against South Carolina (Nov. 3), at Tennessee (Nov. 10), MSU in Little Rock (Nov. 17) and at LSU (Nov. 24). The No. 12 Razorbacks are 10-3 this year and preparing to meet No. 6 Wisconsin in the Capital One Bowl in Orlando at noon on Jan. 1. Seven of next year’s opponents are playing in bowl games this year. Troy (7-5) is in the New Orleans Bowl, Alabama (6-6) is in the Independence Bowl, Kentucky (7-5) the Music City Bowl, Auburn (10-2) the Cotton Bowl, South Carolina (7-5) the Liberty Bowl, Tennessee (9-3) the Outback Bowl and LSU (10-2) the Sugar Bowl. 2007 ARKANSAS RAZORBACK FOOTBALL SCHEDULE DATE OPPONENT SITE Sept. 1 Troy Fayetteville, Ark. Sept. 8 Open Sept. 15 at Alabama* Tuscaloosa, Ala. Sept. 22 North Texas Fayetteville, Ark. Sept. 29 Kentucky* Fayetteville, Ark. Oct. 6 Chattanooga Little Rock, Ark. Oct. 13 Auburn* Fayetteville, Ark. Oct. 20 at Ole Miss* Oxford, Miss. Oct. 27 Florida International Fayetteville, Ark. Nov. 3 South Carolina* Fayetteville, Ark. Nov. 10 at Tennessee* Knoxville, Tenn. Nov. 17 Mississippi St.* Little Rock, Ark. Nov. 24 at LSU* Baton Rouge, La. * - Southeastern Conference games All Times TBA

In-depth Todd Dodge Q&A coaching bio/article

That response from him really leaves out a lot; like did he apply?, did he receive a response after his application was received?, did they call for more info?, and it does NOT even say he wasn't contacted. None of that can be determined from his answer....it's all conjecture.

I think it would be much easier for TD to leave as coach of SLC this year if he wins State with son as QB. Nothing left to accomplish next season except a repeat.

The timing of this request does seem a bit odd; to conflict with the buzz of hiring a new coach and wanting the BOR at their special meeting with RV to consider this change again?

RV already advised us, after the Butler fiasco in the media, that no info would be given out to protect himself and the candidates. Should hear something soon on the hire.

Great, I'm off that day so I can be there while the wife is at work. Beats Xmas shopping.

Dickey, booster propose honoring Smith Coach, McIngvale suggest fields should be named for deceased quarterback 12:08 AM CST on Monday, December 11, 2006 Brett Vito/Staff Writer Former North Texas head coach Darrell Dickey and Houston businessman Jim McIngvale will ask the school to rename the football team's practice fields after Andrew Smith, a former UNT quarterback who died in a car accident on Aug. 7, 2004. The request will be the latest twist in a series of events that has seen the UNT Board of Regents approve naming the fields after McIngvale before honoring the booster's request that they be named after Dickey. The board is scheduled to meet on Tuesday. UNT athletic director Rick Villarreal did not return a phone call Sunday night seeking comment. "I want to honor Andrew for all he did for North Texas and make every kid who walks on that field realize how lucky he is to get the chance to succeed, play the game and live life," Dickey said. "All those things were taken away from Andrew in a tragic accident." McIngvale donated $1 million toward construction of the UNT athletic center in February 2004. UNT planned to recognize the contribution by naming the practice fields after McIngvale. Those plans changed shortly after Dickey was fired on Nov. 8. Dickey led the Mean Green to the Sun Belt Conference title and the New Orleans Bowl in each season from 2001-04 before UNT suffered a pair of down seasons. UNT finished 2-9 last year and was 2-7 when Dickey was fired less than a month after he suffered a heart attack on Oct. 12. McIngvale took out a full-page advertisement in the Denton Record-Chronicle a few days after Dickey was fired that detailed the reasons he believed Dickey's dismissal was unwarranted. McIngvale requested in the advertisement that the fields that were to be named after him be named after Dickey instead. UNT's Board of Regents voted to honor that request. "When all of that took place, I was in the middle of the season, trying to finish off and deal with my health," Dickey said. "I was honored, but I thought about it when I had time and had a lengthy conversation with Mr. McIngvale. We thought it would be appropriate to name the fields after Andrew. McIngvale got to know Smith during his time at UNT that reached its highpoint during the 2002 season. Smith was scheduled to serve as a backup, but was thrust into the starting lineup as a redshirt freshman when starter Scott Hall tore a pectoral muscle in the Mean Green's season opener at Texas. Smith struggled at times, but led UNT to a 6-0 record in Sun Belt Conference play and a win over Cincinnati in the New Orleans Bowl. McIngvale gave Smith a pep talk in the week before the Mean Green's 38-27 win over New Mexico State that clinched the Sun Belt title. McIngvale stayed in touch with Smith and gave him a job at Gallery Furniture, his store in Houston, the next summer. "Coach Dickey brought up naming the fields after Andrew," McIngvale said. "I thought it would be a great idea. He was a great young man whose life came to a tragic end. It would be a great way to remember him." Smith lost the starting job to Hall early in the 2003 season but decided to remain at UNT and compete for the position the next season. Smith was on his way to Denton for the beginning of two-a-day practices before the 2004 campaign when he died in the car accident just outside of College Station. McIngvale paid for UNT's entire team and coaching staff to travel to Bay City for Smith's funeral, an act of kindness that Andrew Smith Sr. said the family appreciated. Dickey and McIngvale have contacted the Smith family, which will support the proposal to name the fields after Andrew. "When coach Dickey told me that he and Mr. McIngvale decided to try to name fields after Andrew, I was blown away," Andrew Smith Sr. said. "For them to honor Andrew in such a manner is a wonderful blessing for our family. … Andrew has received a lot of honors, but this would top them all."

Snipe hunt.

Keep the best recruiter.

December 9, 2006 Final: Carroll 33, Colleyville Heritage 7 Another victory, another regional title, another state-semifinal appearance for the guys in green. Congratulations to both Carroll and Colleyville Heritage. RB Tre' Newton finishes with a monster game: 41 carries, 296 yards, two TDs. Carroll now awaits the winner of Allen and Spring Westfield. Word on the street is that the game will be at Texas Stadium in Allen wins, in Nacogdoches if Westfield wins. Read the paper for more information. Posted by Damon L. Sayles at 4:05 PM (E-mail this entry) | Comments (0)

It's going to take a lot of these BcS 1-loss team's Presidents to demand a playoff. One loss and done towards a national championship is making many fans of these programs unhappy. I'm in favor of any playoff system that allows all conferences access. The underdogs are always fun to root for in playoffs.