Son Of A Flying Worm

Played at Division II Shepherd University. He was selected to the 2024 All-PSAC East 2nd Team. Apparently there are two divisions, Eastern and Western, of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference - 17 total teams. The more you know.

https://www.hudl.com/profile/15957907/Julio-Madero He played one year at Navarro College and was selected All-SWJCFC (Southwest Junior College Football Conference) 1st team. His Hudl highlights show him playing LT and RG. Listed at 6'5, 315 on Navarro College's site.

This past season at FAU: 165 carries for 844 yards (5.1 Y/A) and 11 TDs; 40 catches for 466 yards and 3 TDs. He was selected to AAC All-Conference 3rd team. Spent three seasons, including redshirt, at Florida State prior to FAU. One year of eligibility left. Listed at 5'10, 202 on FAU's roster.

Starting LT the last two seasons -- 12 games in 2024, 10 games in 2023. Originally played at Gardner-Webb, including a redshirt year. He has one more year of eligibility. Listed at 6'9, 306 on FIU's website.

Just finished his freshman year. He started their last 4 games at LT. Per Tulsa's athletic department he's 6'6, 295 and participated in 10 games. Local product who went to Marcus in Flower Mound.

Committed to Oklahoma State.

Career 8.5 sacks, 22 / 23 TFLs (depending on source). His dad is in the Tulsa HOF and started for the Buffalo Bills as an offensive lineman.

He will deservedly get a ton of offers.

Committed to UTEP.

Committed to NC State.

Sounds great! That work is definitely very time consuming. Looking forward to them.

Nice work in the student section! Ugh. Yeah, the manufactured chant usually feels like you're back at a bad high school pep rally. Even worse when they butcher who's supposed to say what like they did at the Wyoming football game. 😂

Appreciate the thoughtful, nuanced analysis after each game. Any chance for some more film study breakdowns this offseason? Wyatt Young isn't a burner, but I think he has the size and ability to have some success at X / Z next year. Not sure if the coaching staff sees it that way. Rooting for the happy version of the fight song to be played after the Temple game!

I enjoyed the overall presentation too. One gripe kind of related to your second paragraph though. A spontaneous 'North Texas' chant broke out in the second half; I think it was right after Oregon St called time out when we went up 53-46. It would have been a really cool moment if the chant were allowed to get bigger. Instead it got drowned out by in arena music and the next paid promotion. So, just being more cognizant of those moments, and they don't happen too frequently, would improve the game experience. I should mention that they have stopped before to let North Texas chants build up; the game against Memphis last season comes to mind.

Awesome win. So happy that we got a win against a 'big name' school at home. It was a really good crowd for the Monday before Thanksgiving just like other people have said. One of my favorite moments: the standing ovation Delo got after he hurdled seats baseline out of bounds. The team has some glaring issues on offense in spacing, shot creation, and lineup combinations. But honestly I'm just so happy right now that screw it. Criticism can wait for another day.

Didn't he come in a play or two after the DPI call on the 3rd down pass to Conwright? I agree with you though that it was bizarre. I was searching for him on the sidelines and wondering why he wasn't in the game. It's a complete head-scratcher even after sleeping on it.

Interesting. Leke got benched for Paula Vaipulu last week but he still played on ST. He was listed as the projected starter at LG on the initial ECU game notes. Now Paula is listed as the starter on the updated version. I mention the projected starter bit because Morris has been playing games this year with the projected offensive line starters. Larry Moore III was listed as the starting LT for several games even after it was clear Morris had no intention of starting him any longer. So, I've been taking the projected OL starting lineup from the game notes with a grain of salt for awhile. However, that Leke was on the first version of game notes, but not on the second, suggests to me that the team was caught off guard by his departure. Otherwise why even mention him even if you weren't going to start him. Sucks about Blair but I suspected he wasn't coming back.

Listened to Hodge's postgame interview with Hank and Dave. A rough summary: Hodge takes the "lion's share" of the blame for the offense at the end. The offense and the inability to defend without fouling was the difference down the stretch. McNeese's ability to get to the FT line, finish around the rim and our inability to finish around the rim were big reasons why we lost. McNeese came out more physical than us. Dave complimented the bench's box score stats. Hodge mentioned that Jossell needs to stay out of foul trouble -- that's the second game in a row. We needed Jossell out there to match McNeese's athleticism. Jossell is one of the few players on the roster who can just blow by people. McNeese is the heavy favorite to repeat as Southland winners (I think we all knew that already).

My impression: Shooting better from 3, getting to the FT line more and making them, and less of the Walker / two bigs lineups that destroy spacing. Some poor FT shooting from McNeese has helped too. Of course McNeese is making a run as I typed this . . I'll quit typing.

Will Hodge open up the second half with a lineup that features Walker/Newell/Sissoko? That lineup has no spacing. McNeese doesn't respect Walker or Newell on the perimeter; Moulaye can't finish in traffic. I guess Hodge does subsitute quickly anyway but . .

Was the attendance much less than you expected? Hard to say? I got the impression that it was really good right when the signing period started. Chandler and DT were very cordial and professional. It looked like they were about to take a picture with a fan's kid when I bounced.

@BigWillie I got there later during the signing period, so I only saw a few obvious Mean Green fans. That included one fan who repeatedly assured me we would finish 7-5. However, I chatted with some folks and it sounded like there was a really good turnout. Apparently there was a long line of fans right at 2:00 for signatures. There was a large table area for mini helmets, and there weren't many North Texas helmets left when I bought one. That was encouraging too.

@MeanGreenDan Thanks for the heads up and free ticket. Enjoyed browsing the card vendors and of course getting a helmet with Chandler's / DT's signatures.