jdennis82

We know he won't be out worked and his pass protection skill should help him earn the trust of the coaching staff. If he can stay healthy and fix his ball security issues, I like his chances. The Niners play in Houston in Week 2 of the preseason. Would love nothing more than to see him show out 2.5 hours from his Elkhart hometown.

Hard to truly assess this class based solely on on-field production because their careers may have been those most impacted by the coaching change. I'm proud of the guys who have finished (or will finish) their careers wearing green and supporting the culture change we've seen in Denton. When I think of Brandon Garner, I see him as being one of the key members of the team who embraced the new staff and grew into a leadership position based on his willingness to do so. I assume many others in this class could be described similarly - only difference being Garner has been more featured in Beyond the Green.

Pretty creative way to "to help teams in the league improve their RPI and resume in advance of the NCAA tournament." I'm all for thinking outside the box here. Excited to see how it plays out.

An observation as we look to end our NFL draft drought, no Mean Green seniors on the first team. I think it only helps NFL prospects at a school like NT to have pre-season expectations that would invite the eyes of scouts who might not make regular stops in Denton. That said, from Athlon's teams this time last year, here's how the CUSA 2018 draftees stacked up... Marcus Davenport - First Team Will Hernandez - First Team Tarvarius Moore - Not Listed Joel Lyiegbuniwe - Third Team Ito Smith - First Team Mike White - Second Team Boston Scott - Not Listed Cornell Armstrong - Fourth Team Alex McGough - Not Listed Richie James - First Team Six of the conference's ten 2018 draft selections were not included on the first team in May 2017

I pointed out this Underdog Dynasty interview with Commissioner MacLeod a few days ago and she brings up a commitment made by each university to raise the level of their home broadcasts to allow the streaming model to have consistency in broadcast quality/standards. I think this is key to sustained success or even growth. Here's the interview: https://www.underdogdynasty.com/2018/5/18/17369154/underodog-pawdcast-a-conversation-with-conference-usa-commissioner-judy-macleod

Would be a great pickup and I'm thinking we have someone on campus who Layden's pretty...um...well-acquainted with

Didn't see this posted yet. Great read for any football fan to get inside the mind of an NFL linebacker as he diagnoses plays pre-snap...even better read as at fellow NT alumn. Proud of the career he's forged and the intellect demonstrated by this piece is a huge reason why he's been so successful.

Hadn't really heard much from her before so I was interested to give this interview a listen. Would have liked a better line of questioning to pull out more informative information but it's a casual SBNation podcast, so those hopes may have been a bit lofty. Either way, she does indicate that there's more information to come on additional broadcast options for the conference and addresses a few other issues as well. Worth the listen just to better know the perspective of our conference leadership...

For the benefit of the CUSA image nationally, I hope they can pull themselves out the cellar quickly. As for sustained success, given how long they've hoped for an invite to the MWC, I suspect that if they demonstrate that they're substantially improved across the athletic department by consistently challenging for division titles in football and conference titles in men's hoops, they will be very aggressive trying to find a way to saddle up with a new conference with a geographical footprint that better fits their needs

Hopefully, this is not an alternative but in addition to the statue that needs to be built outside of Apogee to recognize his significance to the University

Wasn't lying about the Ivy league showing interest - offers from Cornell, Brown, Dartmouth, Columbia, and Yale. Impressive kid, for sure...would be a great addition to the Mean Green family

Agree with those who anticipate liking the endzone changes and will wait to see the midfield logo in place before I form an opinion. Ultimately, the turf improvement seems to accomplish two goals that I can get behind fully: Helps keep the players and others performing on the field on game-day more safe and comfortable Demonstrates to recruits that we are committed to continuous improvement that directly supports them

Hadn't seen this posted but it appears McClain didn't end up in Oakland as was initially reported but has been at the Texans' minicamp... Glad to see him land an opportunity to continue pursuing his dream

This sounds like the exact kind of guy the staff must prioritize - slightly off the radar now, but possessing size and makeup to project as a quality prospect down the line. Once bigger schools come sniffing around, it's the long-standing relationship that will keep us in the game. In order to be successful with this approach, there's got to be well-developed relationships with high school coaches where trust has been earned both direction - in terms of HS coaches giving honest assessment of their players and NT coaches honoring commitments made to or expectations set for the recruits and their families. I've been impressed by how this staff has re-shaped their reputation across the state. Littrell on the board of the AFCA can only help in furthering these relationships.

2nd highest ranked G5 quarterback - with only UCF's Melton ranked higher. Hard to complain. According to this ranking, we should have the decided QB advance every single week in 2018. Next step is for Fine to cut down the turnovers while maintaining offensive explosiveness. With what I feel is a receiving corp with more play-making potential, I'm expecting this is exactly what we'll see - provided the OLine comes together quickly.

Thank you, JayD, for making the effort to land this interview and thank you, Garrison, for taking the time! Excited to hear his vision of the direction the program is heading. Having recruits recognize that "New Denton" is a reality - not just a slogan - is critical and Garrison's comments appear to confirm that the program's reputation is improving. Could definitely see a talent like Garrison coming to town and having a LaDainian Tomlinson level impact for the Mean Green - vaulting him and the program into a national awareness we've not seen to date.

With the news this week of Jeff, Trevor, and Kishawn heading to NFL camps, I thought I'd check in on recent grad Antonio Johnson. After spending time in the Saints' camp, he seems to have found a home in the CFL with the BC Lions.... https://www.cfl.ca/2018/01/12/lions-sign-antonio-johnson-two-year-deal/

Saw this in today's update on The Athletic's Transfer Tracker... Anthony Tarke, F, NJIT: Tarke tells The Fieldhouse that he plans to visit South Alabama on Friday. He’s also considering St. Bonaventure, San Diego State, South Florida, UTEP, Texas Tech, North Texas, Cincinnati, UNC-Greensboro and Louisiana-Lafayette, but he has yet to schedule any other visits. Tarke, a 6-6 sophomore wing, averaged 15.1 points and 6.0 rebounds in 2017-18. Looks like Kansas State may also be in pursuit but had been scouring their tracker to see any mention of NT. Hadn't heard his name mentioned before.

Obviously, it appears there's a lot of work ahead of the staff to hold on but there was really no reason to make this announcement if it wasn't a strong lean. A well-deserved reward for the staff at this point in the 2019 recruiting process. However this plays out, having him on board now should be helpful to the recruiting efforts on the whole. High level players will give greater consideration to playing at North Texas when they see other high level players are heading to Denton.

Glad for these guys to get their shot. My thoughts... Jeff Wilson - Approx 60% of the Niners' RB carries in 2017 are gone. They signed McKinnon to big money butthe depth behind him should be up for competition. They have draft capital invested on Joe Williams but he's got as much experience as our JW does. Great opportunity and I trust Leigh Steinberg placed him in San Fran with this in mind. Kishawn McClain - Brand new coaching staff in Oakland so fringe players are all having to earn their spots. Special Teams coach Rich Bisaccia came from DAL...maybe he got a look at or heard talk of KM while in the area. Treavor Moore - Since making headlines trading up to draft Roberto Aguayo in the 2nd round of the 2016 draft, the Bucs' kicking position's been in flux. They were near the bottom in FG% in 2017. Should be an open competition and I like Moore's chances in that scenario.

No indication that Cleveland's expressed interest (though, reportedly even the coaching staff isn't clear about who their GM is interested in) but Jeff was listed by the Cleveland Browns Fansided blog as being a late round "dark horse"... https://factoryofsadness.co/2018/04/18/cleveland-browns-6-dark-horse-players-to-target-in-the-2018-nfl-draft/3/

Well-deserved spotlight shone on Nwigwe. He's worked hard on his craft. Also provides a good excuse to re-live one of the most exciting moments on the field for the team while he was here... "The Convoy"

Here's an extremely detailed analysis of one play from 2017 against SMU...

Based on his personal background, I was pretty excited about what the Wren Baker hire would mean for our basketball programs and this is yet another evidence of his impact to date. In general, the positive momentum of this athletic department continues to impress and Wren has only earned complete confidence that he's capable of carrying it forward Onward and upward...

Ja'Michael Brown ended up at Angelo State... Started 19/24 games played and led the team in mins/gm: http://angelosports.com/cumestats.aspx?path=mbball&year=2017 Pts/Gm: 13.4 Assists/Gm: 4.96 Reb/Gm: 3.2 Looks like he settled in well and found a place where he could be featured