GrayEagle

I'm fine with DiBiase shifting to the class of 2017. He may be competing with even more talented quarterbacks and his chances of being selected will be even dimmer. However, due to the loss of Morris and the possible moving of Chumley to wide receiver, it's possible that two quarterbacks will be chosen since Shanbour will be a senior. It's Littrell and/or Harrell's call so if they're good with it so am I. It's okay to have an opinion but think positive first until you see who he will competing against.

Maybe, given the stature and expertise of the guest, the team could've picked his brain about ideas for advertising our new football product. After that, the three hosts (or even just Harry, if he's the only one that's observed a practice) could've spent the rest of the time talking about players and coaches; especially those who are participating in spring drills.

Look on the bright side of the Reddy Ice box...no wind noise. I was able to understand every word that Fred Scott spoke. By the way, a very articulate man and a good interview.

Unfortunately, no is the probable answer unless he gets a role as a receiver. I think that could happen unless other receivers develop. Ivery is a terrific running back but the majority of the carries will go to Jeffrey Wilson. In addition Nic Smith might also get some carries because he is such a talent. However with Ivery's speed he can get downfield fast and has good hands and great yards after catch moves. Personally, I'd like to see him take on both roles. He could be a nightmare for opposing defenses.

I believe that part of the line's problems was due to the absence of Kaydon Kirby. I don't believe that either Rice or Henson did much (if any) snaps last year. Henson has supposedly played center, guard, and tackle in the past; not sure if Rice has. So, a few off-target snaps were to be expected. Mostly, Dilonga seemed to be giving the first team quarterback fits. Kudos to the secondary for the coverage this morning. There was no more laying ten yards off of the receiver and the results showed. Davis, Minor, whoever #40 was (Brooks?), were especially effective covering the receivers. Morris, Shanbour, and Means had some good throws that were just well-defended by the secondary. One thing that caught my attention also was that after the scrimmage Harrell had the offense running wind sprints and ran offensive plays long after the defense had left the field. I presume that this was because the defense dominated them.

I think that LB will be the most improved position this year. It will start with better coaching. Also, our most touted linebacker, Will Johnson, will be here for fall practice. We'll also have a highly rated freshman, Ladarius Hamilton reporting then as well . Finney seemed to improve with every game. Fred Scott has been a pretty solid player for the last two years. Brandon Garner is another player who began finding his role last year. Throw in Calvin Minor and maybe Montgomery; then add the possible development of newcomer Ejiya and we could have a very active group.

Don't sell McClain and Gray short. Maybe it's because we were weak defensively last year but they each had more than 100 tackles. Because Trice was such a ballhawk his senior season, he and Lee had more interceptions and passes broken up. About the same in forced fumbles. I hope that McClain and Gray won't have that many tackles this season, meaning that the stop troops in front of them will be doing their job. Also, the 36 referenced with the linebackers is not Maki; it is Jalen Montgomery. Connor Maki is on offense.

It's the wind. Same as last year. I'm hard of hearing and I just give up on the field interviews. Brett needs to either get out of the wind or get a different mic.

I'm not sure who was missing because there should have been 8 DEs and 6 DTs. The eight DEs are 30 (Roberts), 56 (Dilonga), 7 (Combs), 95 (Wheeler), 90 (T. Johnson), 50 (D. Smith), 90 (Ozougwu, and 99 (Flusche). There are six defensive tackles...44 (S. Moore), 15 (Tuaalo), 49 (Young), 98 (Wegmann), 93 (Combes), and 34 (English). I believe that the only ones not mentioned from various writeups were Dakota Smith, Tillman Johnson and Julius Combes. Unless there is a PWO this fall, all of the defensive line are eligible to participate in spring drills.

Don't sell McClain and Gray short. Maybe it's because we were weak defensively last year but they each had more than 100 tackles. Because Trice was such a ballhawk his senior season, he and Lee had more interceptions and passes broken up. About the same in forced fumbles. I hope that McClain and Gray won't have that many tackles this season, meaning that the stop troops in front of them will be doing their job.

I was about to say the same thing. The irony is that high school was good enough here to be in the Texas Sports Hall of Fame.

And hasn't thrown a pass since high school.

I'm old school and not all GIFs impress me but this one is a classic.

While he didn't return two for touchdowns against K-State, he did have back-to-back games where he returned a kickoff for a touchdown (ULM and Kansas State). Then he went all the way to the Georgia game before he returned another for a TD.

I'm under the weather and can't make this one. I hope that there are a bezillion posts of tidbits about the scrimmage. Any positives on any players is good news.

I would imagine that he's being recruited as a running back. He averaged 154 yards per game last year while playing quarterback. But as a quarterback while he had a decent completion percentage (50 of 85, .588) he only threw 3 TD passes which equaled his number of interceptions. By the way, in answer to djohnnie...Benny Cherry is VP of a financial services company in the metroplex. However, Willie is about the right age to be a son of Benny but that would mean a divorce and his ex-wife would have then moved to Wichita Falls, so I believe that the chances are remote. Cherry is a little more common name than most people realize.

To me, a defensive lineman is about quickness and strength in that order. Not many are going to out-muscle an offensive lineman. Offensive linemen need less quickness or speed to simply cut off the rusher's angle of pursuit. Some players can adapt to changing sides of the ball but most cannot. Back in the days of the two-way player almost everyone was better at either offense or defense even though you did both at every practice. In one of the few times when the switch actually made the team better, I remember Richard Abbe. Abbe was a big (around 6'4", 315) tackle who was playing, but not excelling, on offense. He was switched to defense his junior year without a great deal of success. But, in his senior year he came alive. I don't remember a defensive tackle, other than Booger Kennedy, who had a better year. He was good whether they were running at him or away from him. What I'm trying to say is if you're going to switch sides of the ball, do it early.

It's true that we don't have much experience on this year's squad but I believe that this squad will be in pretty good shape talent-wise. There are at least eleven receivers that averaged over ten yards per catch their senior season and a few had pretty impressive TD totals. Turner Smiley 60 catches 873 yards 14.6 avg. 12 TD Tee Goree 89 catches 1740 yds 19.6 avg. 28 TD O'Keeron Rutherford 64 catches 1048 yds 16.4 avg. 16 TD Rodney Bendy 27 catches 457 yds 16.9 avg. 6 TD Daniel Khan 39 catches 522 yds 13.4 avg. 4 TD Thaddeus Thompson 11 catches 117 yards 10.6 avg. 3 TD Gavin Culberson 23 catches 340 yards 14.8 avg. 3 TD Tyler Wilson 48 catches 770 yards 16.0 avg. 13 TD Rico Bussey 74 catches 833 yards 11.3 avg. 7 TD Mike Lawrence 73 catches 1154 yds. 15.8 avg. 18 TD Jason Pirtle 92 catches 1702 yds. 18.5 avg. 19 TD In addition, we have two three-star athletes, Kevin Dillman and Caleb Chumley, that could be a part of the receiving corps. If approximately half of these can get substantial playing time, this position could be a big + rather than a ?. I have more concern about keeping Alec Morris healthy than I do finding six or seven receivers that can contribute.

Because of Littrell, his coaching staff, and the players I will continue my Mean Green Club donation and a couple of season tickets for this year. However, this will be my last year unless there is a wholesale change in the Athletic Department. I hope that Hank Dickinson is retained by the new staff but I haven't been impressed by the rest of the current staff (unless the fund raiser is responsible for at least some mega-donors). I appreciate the facilities that RV has been able to put in place during his tenure. But, like everyone else, I believe that his revenue sports coaching hires record has been abysmal. The poor performance in football and women's basketball and the mediocre record of men's basketball (despite some above average players) are losing fans at a rapid pace. Something has to give. I have been a fan since I saw my first game almost 70 years ago and have seen more than 300 football games in person. But, the only other time that I've felt this low was when we were forced to drop to 1-AA. Change is definitely needed and this may be the only way to get the message through to President Smatresk.

Finney was actually the sixth leading tackler last year and moves up to fourth returning behind McClain, Gray and Scott. He really isn't what I'd call a sleeper. But, I do agree that he'll be one of the better ones this year. For someone who was a redshirt last season and has yet to play my pick is Taylor Robinson. He's going to have it tough getting much playing time this year what with Buyers, Davis and Brooks having had good years at corner. So, my hope is that he is made a safety and gets some playing time behind McClain and Gray. As for those who played last year, I like Tuaalo who did very well in a non-starting role.

You can say most anything as long as it's a question. For those of you that say Morris has lost his skills, dare I say that if that were the case he would not have remained on scholarship at Alabama. For those of you enamored with ranking numbers, Alec Morris had a 247 composite average of .8701, the third highest on the team. Only Texas Tech transfer Trey Keenan (.8798) and incoming JC linebacker Will Johnson at .8707 have had a higher number. After Morris comes Bryce English at .8556, almost a point and a half lower. By the way, note that #5, Kevin Dillman, as well as the four above have not played for North Texas yet. Those and Nic Smith (#7) are part of what I base my hope for improvement this coming year.

I think that we'll have a 20 win roster next season. The problem is that we seem to have a 10 win coach. RV, if you can't afford to buyout the fifth year of a losing coach, then only sign him for four.

Last year the minimum salary for a rookie was $435,000 and I'd imagine that LD is above that. But, having said that, I'd imagine that his family came away with virtually nothing while escaping Katrina. He may be the only breadwinner and he has a lot to rebuild. Plus, as someone noted, he may feel obligated to repay others for past services. Lance seems like a quality guy and I believe that when (and if) he feels ready he will do what he can to help the North Texas program.

I noticed that Dominick Walker is still on the list. And, I could be wrong, but I thought that Daniel Khan had been given a scholarship by McCarney. Maybe his injury delayed that and that promise hasn't been fulfilled.

It's just Michael; not Michaels. Bill Michael was the Defensive Coordinator under Matt Simon and stayed the first three years of Dickey's tenure. All that I could find out was that he died Friday, March 4 in Columbia SC.