GrayEagle

We'll have good talent and depth here; so much so that it will be a real dogfight to see who starts. It looks as if at least six deserve significant playing time. Lawrence Brown 6-3 210 Lee Clay 6-3 212 Isaac Colbert 6-1 234 Ryan Davenport 6-2 225 Shawn Early 6-0 215 Phillip Graves 6-2 211 Maurice Holman 6-1 225 Richard Leary 6-2 208 Colt Mahan 6-1 205 Arthur McNac 6-0 260 Derek Mendoza 6-1 248 Brandon Monroe 6-2 220 Tobe Nwigwe 6-2 240 Travis Thompson 6-2 225 Jon Williams 6-0 210 Starters: Monroe, Mendoza, Early Backups: Graves, Thompson, Holman Sleeper: Davenport The Mean Green return the number 2 (Monroe). 3 (Early), and 5 (Mendoza) leading tacklers from last year. Since they are returning starters from last year, they should repeat, at least at the beginning of the year. If Travis Thompson is as advertised, he could very well bump one of the starters as the season wears on. Phillip Graves was 8th on the tackle list last year and had 42 solo tackles, tied for third on the team. Graves is great on special teams, often the first man down on kickoffs and punts. Even when he doesn't get the tackle he usually takes out the lead blocker. Holman had 19 tackles last year and should challenge for more playing time this year. The others, though talented, are unlikely to see much, if any, action at linebacker this year. That's not to say that they won't play. Several could letter on special teams. I think that Clay (who already has lettered on special teams), Mahan, Leary, and Davenport fall into this category. McNac is an enigma and should probably be moved to another position. As Harry mentioned, I believe that he should be tried at fullback. I don't know that he has the raw speed for a linebacker but he does possess som quickness so he might also be tried at defensive end. Because of linebacking depth, I'd guess that Nwigwe would be redshirted and walkon Williams will be hard-pressed to find any playing time. If it's possible to have a sleeper in this class, my pick would be Davenport. I was surprised at the ability that this freshman displayed in the spring.

I believe that I'm right here...Pat Boone was a KA at North Texas.

Yep, he did turn a few heads during spring drills but he's not listed on the roster on the website. Curiously though, his number (#71) has not been assigned as yet. Maybe the door is still open to him but he hasn't affirmed that he'll walk in. Could be that he won't show without the guarantee of a scholarship.

The inner defensive line for 2005, exclusive of walk-ons, should be: David Adams 5-10 265 Chris Miller 6-1 270 Joseph Miller 6-5 275 Robert Peachey 6-5 270 Chase Pistole 6-3 260 Sky Pruitt 6-2 295 T.J. Raymond 6-2 310 Monty Stevenson 6-2 267 Jonathan Stewart 6-2 260 Isaac Thomas 5-11 290 Starters: C. Miller, Pruitt Backups: Raymond, Thomas Sleeper: Thomas Adams is the only walkon in this group and appears to be a non-factor. J. Miller, Peachey, and Stewart are true frosh and these two positions seem deep enough that I expect them to be redshirted. Pistole is still an unknown to me. He didn't particularly distinguish himself at spring training and if he's only 260 that's a little light to try to be outmuscling 300 pounders. Stevenson, who was on the second unit at the end of spring, still seems out of place to me; I'd prefer to see him at DE. He still should get enough playing time to letter, whether he stays at 2 or falls to 3. Let's hope that this is the year that Isaac Thomas becomes dominant. I think that it will be and that he becomes a starter before year's end. 'Big Cat' Raymond can, at times, have some Brandon Kennedy plays. Other times, he can be handled. By year's end he should be consistently good. Pruitt has all of the tools to be top-notch (size, quickness, strength). Chris Miller is a little undersized but his experience overcomes a lot of that. He has the best moves/escapes of our defensive tackles IMO. My rating for this unit would be a 5. It has the potential to be a couple of notches higher but you know the definition of potential. How good they are depends on how quickly Pruitt, Raymond and Thomas can become Division 1-A players. Comments, additions or challenges?

Hate to say it.... LSU 45 North Texas 7 Until I'm shown that we care a whit about an out-of-conference game

I thought that it might be enjoyable to look at the 2005 squad by position or groups and find opinions on the abilities and chances of starting and playing time and the ability of the unit overall. Here are the candidates at defensive end: Blake Burruss 6-7 252 Jeremiah Chapman 6-4 245 David Collins 6-4 210 Chad Cooley 6-2 228 Raifu Durodoye 6-1 237 Ronnie Hull 6-3 258 Eli Hutchinson 6-4 240 Willie Ransom 6-3 250 Tye Rexrode 6-3 200 Starters: Chapman and Hutchinson Backups: Burruss and Ransom Sleeper: Hull I think that the only true freshman, Collins, will be redshirted. Cooley is the only walk-on and he seems too light this year. Durodoye is probably the strongest of the group but he appears to be a little light for defensive end and a little slow for linebacker. Rexrode is way too light for a defensive end if his weight is true. He might find a spot on some of the special teams, however, and still letter. I'm not sure that there is a sleeper in this group but if there is, I'd nominate Ronnie Hull. He has put on 40-50 pounds since he was recruited and just might have a breakthrough year. Burruss was so solid in spring training that he was listed as #2 on both sides; but that was before Ransom came. The biggest question may be can Ransom start ahead of Hutchinson. Chapman is a 2nd team All-SBC preseason and I believe is our best. On a 1-10 rating system I'd give this group a 6 now but I'll expect a 7 as the season wears on. Does anyone have disagreement or any tidbits of information to add about these players? Talk about defensive tackles/nose guards tomorrow.

I don't have any basis of fact, just a gut feeling, but I think that DeMario Thomas will end up a grayshirt at North Texas. If he, too, is dyslexic (and I certainly don't know that he is) then he would be better served at North Texas scholastically. Should he choose to do that, he would have two years as the lead back after his brother graduates and he would still get to play with him two years as well. If he goes to Kilgore (or any JC) he loses that year of eligibility.

There's part of the key DG. If we make the same mistakes we'll get the same results. But, if we LEARN from history not to make identical mistakes then we can be successful. Or, vice versa, if we had a success (i.e. the Baylor home game of 2000 which had a very large number of Dentonites attending), then we should see if we can do the same thing with the same results. In other words, if our staff can't do it, then hire someone who can get it done.

My $.02. Dismissals are announced soon after they occur but Byerly has not been dismissed from the squad. There shouldn't be any announcement until officially reported by the school or the player announces his leaving. There could be further eligibility questions that need to be resolved before any official announcement can be made. As to injuries, those are not announced before games to thwart the changing of Vegas' gambling lines. Schools could affect odds by overstating the severity of injuries or not reporting serious injuries. While it does appear that there's too much smoke not have some fire, we will just have to wait until something official comes from the administration.

The past is past. We can either bitch about it for the rest of your life or we can try to do something about it. When's the last time we made a concerted effort to involve the townspeople? As best I can remember it was the Denton Chamber of Commerce supported game against Baylor. The results? Our all-time record Fouts Field crowd of (borrowing a page from Plummer) nearly 30,000. When I first came to Denton it had a population of 12,000+. North Texas had about 4,000 students. Yet, it was the rule, not the exception, that half that combined number attend NT football games. Plumm's right in that half of the population of Denton has been here a relatively short time. They undoubtedly know of North Texas' existence but has anyone appealed to them to attend a North Texas game? I doubt it. We need to continue making the effort to include as many Dentonites as possible. Eventually, the new breed will catch on

According to this morning"s Dallas Morning News, the House version of the bill would give universities authority to issue bonds, which would be repaid by students' tuition. The state will pay the interest on the bonds. The construction money is allocated as follows: University of Texas System $1.1 billion Texas A&M System $683 million Texas State University System $295 million North Texas System $161 million University of Houston $158 million Texas Tech University System $89 million

You're forgetting late signee Matt Phillips who was signed to play quarterback. Not saying that he is the answer but I believe that he has better stats than Warren. And, Washington better than either and went deeper into the playoffs. Soooo......we haven't heard anything official yet but if Byerly can't go it appears that Meager will be healed by August 8, or thereabouts. Meager is supposed to have pretty good speed so he could also be something of a running threat also. If Meager can't go, then I'd feel more comfortable with Washington. He's extremely fast and appears to be an adequate rollout passer. That means that his height won't be as much of a disadvantage. I'd wager that our receivers are a cut above his Timberwolf group as well. Dang, I believe I'd run the Air Force offense if it were me. Warren and Phillips both came from bi-district participants so they've got some ability. It's hard to feel really sorry for us at quarterback.

You guys have guts, alright. No question that Banks has the size to play right away but remember, he only played one year of high school ball. He's got a lot to learn and less than 30 days to do it. I agree that Foster should wear down early if he comes in at 268 or less. But, if he should begin fall drills at about the same weight as Rose (285) we could have a solid line. If he (Foster) should falter, we might find that Elmore might be an adequate replacement. I do think that Banks makes the second team (for what that's worth) and will be groomed early for a starting job, due to his size. I hope that you are right and that he's the real deal.

If Foster gains 20 pounds, he could be a stud.

I don't want to kill it, just defer it until my birthday (August 17). By then we should have a decent idea of who'll be #1 and we can discuss where we think that'll lead the team.

Florida International has an on-campus stadium although it only seats 17,500. It was made to be expandable (to 30,000) but I haven't heard any announced plans to enlarge it. Florida Atlantic has elaborate plans for an on-campus stadium in Boca Raton. Their success in that endeavor is dependent on Schnellenger's ability to win games and attract donors. They presently play in a stadium that's about 20 miles from campus.

Don't know how widespread the advertising was but it's disturbing if it only featured Jamario. To the best of anyone's knowledge, this is the FIRST time that any NCAA Division 1-A college (probably all divisions) has had two returning national rushing champions. That should be played to the hilt. Anything less is weak. This is truly newsworthy and should be blasted all over the Metroplex, at least. My preference would at least be all over Texas. It should be done even if it runs us $100,000 in the hole. First of all, it just might bring in two or three times that much in additional revenue. Secondly, it might even gain us a student or two in the future. I'm hoping that this is the tip of the iceberg for advertising this coming football season but it's good to know that they are at least doing something.

Well, sort of. There was a meeting conducted by Rick Villareal at the tour of the new AC whick probably served for the first and second quarter since there's little to be added. I suppose that he could give a progress report on the turf being installed at Fouts. Of course, he could give a progress report on contributions to the stadium fund but that might be self-defeating. Season ticket campaign is still ongoing for another couple of weeks and likewise for the Mean Green Club. There's little reason for input because we can always e-mail the AD, promotions, marketing, etc. I expect that we've seen the last of that program except for special occasions.

What Deep said.

Many may be reasonably close to where they'll likely end up but five are glaring to me...three projected first teamers and two projected fifth teamers. I don't see any incoming freshmen as starters, especially not at linebacker, tight end, or even defensive back. I can't believe that Tobe Nwigwe, Eddrick Gilmore and Kartay Agbottah jump to the first team. We have just as big (or bigger), faster and more experienced players. In time, they may be starters, or even stars, but I'll be shocked out of my gourd if they start their first year. You have two who were second teamers last year, Nevins and Davidson and push them all of the way to the fifth team. I don't understand that, either. I disagree with a number of others but hey, it's your opinion and you're entitiled to it and you could be right and I'm wrong. I really don't think so on the five above, though.

My sentiments exactly!

Let's see Karl, is there not a lot more money and time involved in flying two, three, five times that 400 miles? Travel is a HUGE detriment to getting central time zone members for the WAC.

They're both important but the alumni base is more important. Why? Because season ticket sales is money in the bank. If we sold 10,000 season tickets consistently we wouldn't have to be looking for the 'big donor'; we could issue revenue bonds for the new stadium. Also, the popularity of season ticket ownership is contagious. Student support is essential to future attendance and perpetuation of traditions, so it is also very important. But, ALL students pay fees that go to the athletic department whether they attend or not. It also used to be true for the Fine Arts series and possibly still is. To me, both are essential to creating a well-rounded student and those are the ones that are most likely to foster improved attendance and involvement. Any non-traditional student that we can involve in athletics is gravy, IMO.

If we passed a decent amount I would be excited about Kellen Haynes at quarterback. He was a passing whiz at Crosby but that wouldn't seem to translate into this style of offense. I'm thinking that the third string quarterback will be Matt Phillips, even though he's yet to enroll. He's not supposed to be very fast (4.9) but he seems to have a knack for knowing when to run.

I could see wasting a scholarship if he were immediately eligible...but he's not. We could have a qb with a hot hand by the beginning of next season and Battle might be further depressed if required to sit. He needs to go to Division 1-AA where he can play immediately and see if he can stay focused on school and football and not his off-field problems.