MeanGreenTexan

You’re pretty new around here (at least, this handle is). It makes sense why you would think this way. I will tell you (with receipts if you want them) that thought has proven to be false outside of 2, yes, only 2 players. The dudes who tear it up at the lower levels, then bring that work ethic with them up to NT are the ones who do better. Carry on. Go Mean Green!

Being “impressed” would be to do something we weren’t expecting (in a good way). “Very impressed” would be beyond that. Maybe I just have a different definition of that than others. The most important ability is availability. I’m rooting for Morris & Morris.

“Big Name”? Sheesh. Can Morris come in and execute the offense against AAC opponents? Sure! I believe! Is he going to have a better season than Rogers (especially including rushing stats)? Doubtful. He’s not the guy that’s going to lure a bunch of big time players here.

The qualifier in () is maddening. This kind of mindset is why NT fans should never expect anything more. A 9-win season every once in a while, sandwiched between a bunch of 5 or 6-win seasons (or worse!). Forgive some of us if we’re only “somewhat satisfied” instead of “very impressed”. “Very impressed” would be for Cam Ward to come to Denton instead of Miami. Morris lost his job on a struggling team to a true Freshman. We’d better hope Cash McCollum is the real deal.

Be patient GMG brothers. When the announcement is made, we’re all going to overreact anyway.

The trek through that section of Highland if there was even a slight breeze from the West: The perfect amplified wind tunnel. Thanks for the bone chilling memory! 😂

I hope he has a fun time and enjoys Denton!

In before the "What-does-this-have-to-do-with-NT-Football???/??/?/?//?" guys show up. Risky move for Deboer IMO. Replacing the GOAT is not really the position you want to put yourself in. That 'bama fan base is insane. Fail to make the playoff next year, and they'll call for your head.

Let's take a blind look at Morris, Purdy, & Pavia over the past 2 years: Candidate A: 322-of-456/4,423yds/39TD/15INT - 1,436Rushyds/13TD Candidate B: 151-of-230/1,677yds/13TD/5INT - 127Rushyds/3TD Candidate 😄 53-of-104/529yds/2TD/6INT - 62Rushyds/0TD Who do you like? It's really a no-brainer. And Candidate C's TD/INT ratio is extremely scary if that's the guy we're all excited about... nevermind him being a non-factor in the run game.

That is a sad statement based on his career so far. By the way, I think Morris would be a better option, if it's just down to those two. I don't know if Pavia is a real option, but he would obviously be far & away the best option of those 3... again, based on his career so far.

I like the HS connections coach O has, and the brand he's created. I'm not sure we're seeing a lot of the upside that we were hoping for with opening doors to high-profile recruits. IMO, there's a more important recruiting presence on staff:

7.5 - 8 Right around the same. At least we knew what we had with Aune (he started majority of the games the previous season). We can't really say the same for Earle. Look, if everyone is honest with themselves, we all knew Bloesch's offense could move the ball. It's not like last year's offense went from atrocious to amazing like it did from McCarney/Chico to Littrell/Harrell. Aune's 2022 season was a pleasant surprise. Actually, it was VERY SIMILAR (with the glaring difference being the 10 more interceptions) to Rogers' season last year.

There appears to be a lot of confidence based on Morris' reputation/history. Fair. I would think that if that same reputation/history preceded him on the recruiting trail, we might have a laundry list of high-caliber QBs knocking on our door. This simply does not appear to be the case. The system is good. Can we win some games with Stone Earl or Chuba Purdy at QB? Probably! Are we going to get heroic performances to dig out some additional tough wins with either of them (like we would from guys like Pat Mahomes/Cam Ward... you know, the guys his reputation is based on)? Probably not. Until we get some kind of game-changing QB in here to elevate this system, I'm worried. Again, 6-6 is only barely acceptable... and we couldn't even get there with a guy like Chandler Rogers.

Worried Scale of 1-10: 1, being - Mason Fine returning with Guyton, Bussey, Darden, & Graham Harrell as OC. 10, being - We're starting Greer with McNulty backing him up in Chico's offense. I'm at a solid 8.5 right now.

Don’t you remember how successful Gary Patterson was at recruiting HS puzzle pieces & converting them to other positions?

<forgot to check UNT’s defensive rankings - currently #3 in D1> “I can’t believe we’re not scoring against UNT like we usually do against other teams!!1!1!”

Edward’s today:

So is it more about the $ boosters were paying Littrell? He made 4-fold what Dickey made, so he should be winning 4-fold as well? If so, that's not really his fault. He took what was offered, which was the going rate at the time. Then, his agent drove Baker & Smatresk like a rental car. That's not Littrell's fault either.

I don't know how Kaidon grew up. Maybe his folks are wealthy. But, in general, do you understand what a $500k check would do for a kid from Cedar Hill? He's going to get "education" anywhere. A scholarship is a scholarship. And do you mean to tell me that if somehow Cam Ward decided to come play for UNT that he wouldn't immediately be considered a "team leader"? Get outta here. You guys taking out your frustrations with NIL on the players need to step back and look at the big picture a bit. What the kids are doing is completely understandable. Your problem is not with the kids. It's with the new system.

What's the difference between 2014 (the year after NT's "greatest" season) VS 2017 (the year Littrell's squad won C-USA West)? The schedule is virtually the same... except that we won 9 games under Littrell. So the expectations changed to expecting to win them. Yes, Fine is great, but Littrell didn't "luck" into him. He was friends with Fine's HS coach. Who knows what the Dickey teams would have done with the 2017 schedule? We did lose 3 out of 4 bowl games to C-USA teams under Dickey, so I truly don't know.

It's so weird... When you expect to win, the schedule suddenly becomes "easy". This, most-certainly, has not been the case for very long around here. Seth Littrell's tenure elevated our expectations. That's a good thing! Prior to Littrell's first 3 years, our (the fans') expectations were not nearly as high. I mean, #Hit6 was a thing for crying out loud. So, finishing 6-6 versus basically the same schedules as Dodge & McCarney was considered a failure for Littrell's final 3 seasons. That's a good thing! Compare that to finishing 7-5 with a HoD Bowl win in 2013, which is considered by fans as the greatest season UNT football has had since coming back from 1AA (this is a sad reality). Do you not see the difference in fans' expectations from 1995-2015 (pre-Littrell's successes) VS 2019-2023 (post-Littrell's successes)? If yes, who would you say is responsible for those raised expectations? If no, and you think we, as fans, would still consider 7-5 a "GOAT" season, I can't help you. And to clarify/reiterate, I don't think he should still be here. It was time for him to go, as his tenure had grown stale.

I guess I'm confused here. If you mean "the way he left North Texas" to be: a middling, uninspired, .500 coach who has difficulty getting his teams fired up for big games... then yes, I agree. If you mean "the way he left North Texas" to be what some here are insinuating: that he was a bitter/spiteful coward who ran off with cash and didn't express gratitude to fans who were calling for his head, & those who fired him... then no, I don't agree, because I don't think that is entirely true.