GMG_Dallas

He'll be there Friday.

Player pages are still available long after they're gone. Example: http://www.meangreensports.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/brandin_byrd_847230.html

Good for them. Hopefully he works out for them and they can win some games next year (just not against us). 0-12 is not a good look for CUSA.

I think people are excited, they're just expressing their concerns with the OL group as a whole in the wrong thread. Once again, another thread derailed when a new topic could have easily been started. I can't wait to see what he does here.

Let's see what they can do.

I'm going to take a wild guess and say we aren't the only school with a coach that has decent connections but it's nice to see us join the party. If he can pull off something like that, let's do it. I think his youth (33) sets him apart from the others a bit so it'll be interesting to see how he uses that. Overall, we seem to have a young and energetic staff who players are excited to play for once they decide to come here. Quite the 180 from where we were 2-3 years ago.

Just thought I would mention, Coach Choice posted the video below. The video was retweeted by rapper T.I. so it's posted on T.I.'s official page and available to his 8.2 million followers. It was also retweeted by several NFL players. The ones I could find are Andy Levitre (OL, Falcons), Fred Jackson (RB, Bills for 8 years, now free agent), Brandon Boykin (CB, Ravens), CJ Spiller (RB, Chiefs) and NBA player Thaddeus Young (Pacers). Just thought I would mention it since it's quite a bit of publicity for UNT. All of these guys have pretty strong Twitter followings. This may not mean much to most of you, but any recruit or fan stumbling onto their pages will see UNT there.

I'm excited to see him perform at the next level. Now that we've signed 2 Illinois targets who the illini were pushing hard for, I can't help but think we might have had a legitimate chance at landing him. Regardless, I wish him the best. Plus I work in the area where Bishop Dunne is so it would be nice to see a local kid have some success.

@greenminer sorry for the inaccuracy. Still a lot to put on a kid with everything else they are required to do.

You're probably right. I was told by a few student athletes I knew at UNT and some I know now from other schools that they can't have jobs but what I'm finding is they are allowed to as long as the job is not based on athletic ability and they are paid comparable to the going rate for the industry in the area. What I'm assuming the people I know/knew meant is they did not have time to maintain a job and being a student athlete. During the spring they still have time consuming schedules and during the summer still have athletic requirements but I guess some can make it work.

I really didn't want to get into this but I will (to an extent) since you brought it up. I've seen people mention that they wish they had been offered a free education for playing a game and that the players are essentially taken care of. This notion is false. The stipends these players receive are so minimal it's not even funny. We're talking a few hundred a month usually totaling $2000-$5000 (per reports I've read) per academic year. These players need clothing, entertainment, and other experiences outside of just being a college athlete. They aren't allowed to have jobs, not even a part time job, yet work 40-50 hour weeks year round while having to maintain academics. Heck, they even play/travel holidays. What they "receive" is a $0 balance due at the end of the ride. Mostly every penny they "earn" is spent before they see it. So when it's all said and done, after work days usually starting around 6 am and having your entire day planned for you, travel and play on Saturdays, recovery Sundays, usually amounting to 40-50 hour work weeks (I will cite sources if requested), they make school education plus cost of living (room & board) and $5000 max a year with no ability to earn extra on their own during the summer. What does this look like, if you're at UNT or most Texas public schools? About $25,000 a year, or about $12/hour for 40 hour work weeks (no OT pay). I challenge people on this board to ask college athletes about the life of a D1 college athlete. I've talked to many. It's not as fun as it sounds outside of actually playing the game.

Like the poster before you said, we need G5s to consistently win these games for the national agenda against G5s to change. If every time a G5 has a perfect or near perfect season they lose their bowl game, we lose credibility. As much as people here don't like it, Herman's Houston was good for us. We needed Western Michigan to beat Wisconsin last year but they didn't and that hurt. We need UCF to win this year. Rooting against UCF is rooting against UNT down the line.

I'm sure the HC can pay for that final semester with the bonus money he got from his star player helping get the team to a bowl game. Surely 23 TFL and 10 Sacks had something to do with the 9-4 record.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think anybody said players *should* skip their bowl game. Speaking for myself, I understand and respect the decision even though I would rather the best players compete through the end of their college career. After all, it is their decision and their future. I used to disagree with the decision but seeing the financial impact late injuries have had on some of these guys, I really can't hold it against them.

Soooo would it be wrong to assume his interest in us is minimal? Also, should the staff pull back efforts to get him here and focus on others instead? Asking because I truly don't know how they should go about something like this.

I addressed this in response to somebody else a few posts up. Essentially, you are correct in that kids will do this even if they haven't officially declared yet. Your recent examples of players sitting out who had already proven themselves are Clowney (South Carolina 1st overall to Texans) and Fournette (LSU 4th overall pick to the Jags). Both of the aforementioned had "down" years their final year in college and even missed games for what appeared to be minor injuries or in some cases just laziness in the game. They weren't trying to get banged up and ruin their draft stock. Clowney even ended up having some question his motor. This happens throughout regular seasons more than you think from players and coaches at the pro and college level.

Quick answer is, no. We've seen it recently with Jadavious Clowney who was consensus number 1 pick before he played his final season at South Carolina. They knew they weren't competition for the championship most of the year and you could see it in his effort. Most scouts started to be concerned with his motor because of it. Unless the player plays for a top contender, I've seen several slow down as the year goes on once they are eliminated. Leonard Fournette is another who had a "down" final year at LSU. Look at him now in the NFL. That talent didn't wash away for a semester.

You're confusing regular season from unrelated random bowl game barely 2 months ahead of the NFL combine (next one is February 27th). If you can't understand the difference then I'm sorry. And in case you hadn't realized, pro teams do it all the time. Cowboys have placed Tyron Smith and Orlando Scandrick on IR. Packers placed Aaron Rodgers on IR 2 days after being eliminated from the playoff race (currently being investigated by the NFL at the request of other teams). NFL and NBA teams do it all the time before the playoffs when they've locked up their division/playoff seed. You're looking at it from a fan percpective. From a business perceptive you are wrong. That is, unless you know better than all the pros doing it. In case you hadn't noticed, this a business decision for those getting ready to be drafted.

Just checked and this guy seems to be a consensus top 10 or even top 5 pick just like Jaylon Smith was. Just not worth the risk for him.

I agree as a fan but from his perspective I understand why. Injuries can happen during any game but if you don't have to play the game and you're already viewed as a first round or high second round pick, why risk your future? He has the opportunity to provide for his family and set himself up financially for the rest of his life. An injury in a meaningless game takes all of that away. No amount of "injury insurance" or whatever they call it will make up for what they COULD get as a first round pick playing a full career. Yes, his teammates would appreciate him on the field one last time but they won't be the ones paying his bills in 10 years and neither will the school.

It's about being a decent human being and not wishing to turn the holiday season into a bad experience for him and his family. On top of that, coaching at the D1 level is about relationships. That's what has gotten SL multiple coaches from the P5 since he's been here and I'm sure if want more experienced coaches or if we want to eventually see SL have a successful career in the P5, burning bridges is not the way to go. I've never been critical of your posts, either because I didn't care about the subject or because to an extent I agreed but what you're requesting is simply irresponsible. Who's going to want to work for a guy who fires you during the holidays.

Especially with very few proven D1 contributors. We have no idea who of the the recruits from the past 2 years will actually stick and be D1 players.

Sorry in advance for the long post... Honestly, I feel much more comfortable with this class than previously higher rated classes (2014, 2015, 2016). Many of our B or better guys (even C+) from '14 through '16 either never made it to campus, left after a year, haven't contributed (still holding out hope for Dillman and Means while Chumley is showing progress but he was an A+ guy), or were kicked off the team due to discipline. The list of the afformentiomed includes (quick glance): 2014 - Greer, Andrew Jones (minimal contribution), Means, Jalen Adams, Fonzale Davis, Goree. 2015 - Grindle, McNair, Bradley, Bendy (C+, 3* 247), Dillman, Cinco Howard. 2016 - Johnson, not sure about Anthony and Thomas. In other words, we signed more talent but we didn't win more recruiting battles. The more talented kids who came here had baggage and were a risk to take on. Under Seth we aren't blindly taking chances as much since 2017's class (first class was a bit different due to the short time frame to fill up the class). I can't think of any Seth recruits who have been kicked off the team or transfered out other than Tyler Wilson but I don't believe he was a scholarship guy. His recruits are here, redshirting or contributing with the exception of the few high calibar JUCO transfers from year one (Raveon, William Johnson, and a few others). Obviously, things can change this off season since it's still so soon in his tenure but things look better in that aspect. We can't make progress signing only Bs and up if those guys just don't do anything for us. We need guys who will buy in and contribute. Guys who are here because they want to be here. In that sense of recruiting, SL is turning things around. It's just not as noticeable in the numbers. Yes we still need to improve for success to be sustainable but we also need depth which we can't create with Bs and up who don't show up.

40th per 247 and 36th per ESPN last year. Right now they're 21st per 247 and 16th per ESPN for 2018.

So far Baylor has a top 20 recruiting class this year so they'll be back to playing good football soon. Depending on the sanctions, it seems like teams are definitely able to bounce back from scandals quickly nowadays. Will be interesting to see if a G5 can do the same.