OldTimer

It is my understanding that Carson Coffman's father is a close friend and was a teammate of DD. His 40 time is listed as 4.9 so if he has reduced it by .2 it would be at 4.7. Carsopn is 6'2, 171 lbs and is a pro style QB. He was HM all Kansas City area as a Jr.

The recruiting page has not been updated in a while. I currently have 49 prospects considering North Texas...which doesn't mean in all cases that Nt is considering them. Interesting there are two from states other than TX and OK , 1 from KS, 1 from Florida, and 6 from Oklahoma. There have been 5 instances where football prospects committed to other schools but had listed NT as recruiting them: 1 to A$M, 1 to TCU, 1 to Tulsa, 1 to KState and 1 to Prairie View(this last one was both a BB and a FB recruit who chose to play BB. These are not included in the 49 current prospects. We have never looked at recruiting this early, but it has run approximately 25 to 30 above where we started monitoring recruitment last year. Hope this helps.

We did not recruit a single football from Dallas ISD. We did sign recruits from Arlington, Burleson, Kennedale and Irving....but not Dallas Proper or the FW ISD. Dallas itself is equal in population to the entire State of Oklahoma in population. We did not sign a single player in the DMN top area 100 last year. We signed 4 from Houston 2 from Alief Hasting, 2 for Eisenhower. Its interesting that there are 21 High Schools in the Houston ISD and Bell was ASST District coordinating those 21 schools for several years immediately prior to returning to NT year before last.

We did not recruit a single football from Dallas ISD. We did sign recruits from Arlington, Burleson, Kennedale and Irving....but not Dallas Proper. Dallas itself is equal in population to the entire State of Oklahoma in population. We did not sign a single player in the DMN top area 100 last year.

Football: UNT’s Bell to retire at end of year Running backs coach has spent six years with Mean Green 08:40 AM CDT on Thursday, September 29, 2005 By Brett Vito / Staff Writer One of the key contributors to the North Texas football team’s success over the last few years has decided to end his college coaching career at the end of the 2005 season. Bruce Bell Running backs coach Bruce Bell, who has worked at UNT for a total of six years in two separate stints, has informed the rest of the Mean Green’s staff that he will retire at the end of the year. “I want to try some other things,” Bell said. “I am going to get involved with the NFL Junior Player Develop-ment program. I am looking forward to it and getting a chance to end my coaching career on the college level. It will be a lot of fun.” Bell’s departure will end his memorable run at UNT that has seen him contribute to the Mean Green’s success as a player, coach and recruiting coordinator. Perhaps Bell’s most lasting contribution has been his work with three of the best running backs in UNT history: Patrick Cobbs, Jamario Thomas and Ja’Quay Wilburn. Cobbs won the 2003 national rushing title with an average of 152.7 yards a game and is the school’s all-time leading rusher with 3,133 yards. Thomas won the 2004 national rushing title with an average of 180.1 yards a game while Wilburn ranks second in school history with 3,120 career rushing yards, a total he compiled from 1997-2000. Bell served as an assistant at UNT from 1998-2000 before leaving to become the assistant athletic director for the Houston Independent School District. He returned in 2003 and has served as UNT’s recruiting coordinator in addition to his duties as an assistant coach during his latest stint in Denton. The Mean Green signed one of their top-rated classes in recent years under Bell’s watch in 2004, when Thomas committed to play for UNT. Bell’s affiliation with the Mean Green began in the late 1970s when he played for legendary UNT coach Hayden Fry. Bell is in his 29th year as a coach, a tenure he split between the high school and college levels. Troy new to UNT’s defense Two years are all that separates North Texas from its last game against Troy. It just seems like longer than that for the Mean Green defense. UNT does not return a single starter back from the unit that stifled the Trojans during a 21-0 win in the 2003 season. UNT limited Troy to just 211 yards of offense on the night behind a pair of players now in the NFL. Cody Spencer, a linebacker with the Tennessee Titans, led UNT with 10 tackles. Defensive end Adrian Awasom, who is now with the New York Giants, also played for the Mean Green, forcing a fumble and finishing with two tackles. Defensive lineman Chris Miller is one of the few current UNT defensive players who played for the Mean Green defense in 2003. Thompson leaves team Travis Thompson’s star-crossed career at North Texas appears be at an end. The junior linebacker has left the team, ending what once appeared as if it might be a promising career with the Mean Green. Thompson was a member of the 2004 recruiting class, but saw his career interrupted when he broke his ankle in practice prior to UNT’s season opener last year. The former Northeastern Oklahoma A&M transfer battled back in time to play this season and entered the year as a backup middle linebacker. He played in just one of UNT’s first three games and finished with one tackle. UNT coach Darrell Dickey said he has left the door open for Thompson to return at a later date. Briefly … Sophomore defensive end Jeremiah Chapman sat out Wednesday’s practice with a sprained ankle. Tight end Robert Harmon practiced, but has been limited by a sprained medial collateral ligament in his knee. Both are expected to be ready for UNT’s game against Troy on Tuesday. BRETT VITO can be reached at 940-566-6870. His e-mail address is bvito@dentonrc.com.

UNT notebook 02:23 AM CDT on Thursday, September 29, 2005 By BRETT VITO / The Dallas Morning News Junior linebacker Travis Thompson has left the team, although he could return at a later date, coach Darrell Dickey said. The former Northeastern Oklahoma A&M standout played sparingly in the Mean Green's first three games, posting one tackle. ... Running backs coach and recruiting coordinator Bruce Bell will retire at the end of the season, his sixth at the school. ... Sophomore defensive end Jeremiah Chapman (sprained ankle) sat out practice. Tight end Robert Harmon (sprained knee ligament) practiced, but has been limited. Both are expected to be ready for UNT's game against Troy on Tuesday. See later posted DRC full article on Bruce Bell. Bell is one of the "good" guys, he reallly had good connections in Houston (he was asst AD for the Houston ISD where he coordinated the efforts of 23 high schools from 2001 to 2003) and his departure will be a loss for North Texas. I wish him the best, he will be missed.

It is my hope that Thompson leaving in these circumstances does not hurt our recruiting at NEOklahoma . He had 3 years of elgibility when he came to NT and did not play his first year here because of his injury before the season started. I wish him the best.

I have heard it was from lack of playing time and when he didn't play in the Tulsa game that was a factor.

First time I have ever heard DD say he would like to get to the point he could play 10 OL..that we can play 7 now. He's been here 8 years and still doesn't have 10 OL he can play and depend upon? Many of those years he played the same 5 OL the entire game, the entire season unless an injury occurred. You don't develop reserves if they don't play and they can't help if they are undersized in weight.

6-7, 220, chose Prairie View over UH, OK St, Utah, NT, UNC Wilmington, basketball over football....ranked # 46 on TX Hoops He was a NT FB prospect also. Rivals tickler blurb: Coach Darrell Hawkins and staff just might have found their future and a huge piece to a SWAC Championship Title by snagging Senior Anthony Harris from Fort Worth O.D. Wyatt. While football is in full swing, Harris didn't wait to hit the hardwood before making a decision. With many schools showing interest from both sports, it was a school that came in late with an offer that Harris couldn't pass up.

Long after death penalty, SMU still lifeless 01:32 AM CDT on Wednesday, September 28, 2005 UNIVERSITY PARK – At Southern Methodist University, Land of Diminishing Football Expectations, the Mustangs are getting ready for a road game, which is another way of saying they are preparing for another defeat. That's not what coach Phil Bennett has in mind, of course, but he knows Marshall is a difficult place to play. And he knows the Mustangs have lost 13 road games in a row. And he knows his record since replacing Mike Cavan is 7-32, but he can't say exactly why. And he knows that his athletic director, Jim Copeland, said after a rather embarrassing 31-10 home loss to a homeless Tulane team that Bennett's job is not on the line. Why would that be the case? In the business world, isn't everyone's job pretty much on the line at all times? If a salesman was good two years ago, does he get to stop selling and keep collecting salary? Unfortunately for Bennett, a genuinely good man, he has been little more than a salesman since he arrived at SMU and promised his team would contend for conference titles right away. SMU hasn't contended for anything. Bennett has produced two seasons of three wins and one of none. The Mustangs are 1-3 this year, should be favored to beat Rice for a homecoming victory, might sneak up on Tulsa on the road or trip up East Carolina at home. That's it. Three-and-out, for most teams, is a bad offensive series. For SMU, it's a season. Bennett said Tuesday he is surprised that success has been so far from his grasp at SMU. "I knew this was a tough job," he said. "A lot of things you don't know until you get here. But this is a good place. It's a place where you can build. I never go into games expecting to lose. I just haven't got it on track yet." Bennett said there is more talent at SMU now than when he arrived. That may be true. Probably is. But it's not better enough to make a tangible difference. Five games into the season, he's unsure of which quarterback to play and might make a second change at that position before long. It's hard on a young team when there is no understood leader at that spot. It's even harder when those quarterbacks are both seniors. If either Jerad Romo or Tony Eckert finally grabs the reins of this team, it's going to be in their final weeks of eligibility. We are 17 seasons removed from the death penalty at SMU. Forrest Gregg and Tom Rossley combined to win seven of the team's first 39 games after the NCAA shut down the program. More than a decade later, Bennett has managed to do no better than that. Rossley was dismissed by Copeland after his second five-win season. Cavan, who replaced Rossley, had his best year (6-5) with Rossley's leftovers in 1997. After that, he had two four-win seasons in four tries and was shown the door. If Bennett gets SMU to four wins this year, it will be progress. It may also be a miracle, given what we have seen thus far. He never sounds that way, of course. Bennett sounded as surprised to be 1-3 this year as he is surprised to have a winning percentage under .200 since coming here from Kansas State. "I'm not up here to make excuses," Bennett said. "We've got to start playing better on the road. After the way we played Saturday, we've got to be ready for a challenge." Marshall, which barely lost to Kansas State, will be a challenge. So will UAB, a seven-point loser at Tennessee. So will Houston. So will UTEP. If he doesn't get SMU to four wins, I'm not saying he should go. Bennett seems to have the right ideas about how to get SMU at least on the map as a contender in Conference USA. But what he says and the optimism he conveys never seem to translate into much on Saturday afternoons. If that doesn't start happening next season, then we need to ask if the man whose first three big hires were Cavan, Mike Dement and Bennett really has this coach-finding thing figured out. E-mail wtcowlishaw@dallasnews.com

Thomas shows signs of improvement 08:37 PM CDT on Tuesday, September 27, 2005 By BRETT VITO / Denton Record-Chronicle DENTON – Coach Darrell Dickey said Jamario Thomas' performance against Kansas State could be a sign the sophomore is finally getting over a hamstring injury that has hampered him this season. Thomas rushed for a season-high 62 yards and broke free for a 39-yard run.

Posted on Wed, Sep. 28, 2005 NORTH TEXAS FOOTBALL NOTES No silver lining if it's 108-9 By JEFF WILSON Star-Telegram Staff Writer If consecutive losses by a combined 108-9 weren't sobering enough for North Texas fans, coach Darrell Dickey gave them another cold shower Tuesday when asked about the state of the Mean Green. "We're not clicking, not even close in any area," Dickey said. "Our biggest problem ... is we're making entirely too many mistakes in every area to beat anybody." He followed that cheery outlook with, "We've got a long way to go." And like the Jerry Reed tune, UNT has a short time to get there. The Mean Green (1-2, 1-0) has six days until it plays again, resuming Sun Belt Conference play at 6:30 Tuesday night at Fouts Field against Troy (1-3, 0-0). UNT, the four-time reigning Sun Belt champ, has a 26-game league winning streak. But UNT ranks last in the eight-team conference in total offense (188.0 yards per game) and seventh in total defense (482.3) and scoring offense (7.7 points per game). It's not for a lack of effort, Dickey said, but an abundance of assignment errors. He said he'll spend the week determining if he's asking his players to do more than they can handle. "The number of mistakes we're making, that lies with me," Dickey said. "It's my job to make sure our guys know what they're doing so they can turn themselves loose and play." Meager improves Among the few bright spots in the 54-7 loss Saturday to Kansas State was the play of redshirt freshman quarterback Daniel Meager, Darrell Dickey said. Meager's final numbers -- 8-of-18 for 49 yards -- don't tell the whole story. Dickey said UNT receivers dropped five passes, but, most important, Meager put the ball where it was supposed to go. "Just his composure and knowing what to do with the ball," Dickey said when asked how Meager improved. "He pretty much went where he was supposed to go with the ball every time." Meager will remain the starter against Troy, but Dickey said backup Matt Phillips, a true freshman who threw for the Mean Green's lone touchdown against Kansas State, will continue to be in the fold. LB leaves team Senior Travis Thompson, who was second on the depth chart at middle linebacker the first two games, has left the team after a disagreement with coaches over his playing time, Darrell Dickey said. Thompson, a junior-college transfer who suffered a season-ending injury before last season, saw action in the first two games but did not practice last week or travel with the team to Kansas State. "He decided if he wasn't going to play a lot, he was going to go on with life," Dickey said. Briefly Sophomore running back Jamario Thomas has almost fully recovered from a lingering hamstring injury, Darrell Dickey said. Patrick Cobbs became UNT's career rushing leader. He has 3,133 yards, 13 more than Ja'Quay Wilburn. IN THE KNOW TROY AT NORTH TEXAS 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Fouts Field, Denton TV: ESPN2 Radio: KWRD/100.7 FM, KNTU/88.1 FM Records: Troy 1-3, 0-0 Sun Belt; UNT 1-2, 1-0 Tickets: $16 reserved, $8 general admission; (800) 868-2366 or meangreensports.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jeff Wilson, (817) 390-7953 jwilson@star-telegram.com

UNT lineman Alexander to get added time 03:10 AM CDT on Tuesday, September 27, 2005 By BRETT VITO / Denton Record-Chronicle DENTON – Offensive lineman Josh Alexander will receive additional playing time during the Mean Green's game against Troy on Oct. 4, UNT coach Darrell Dickey said. The sophomore has served as UNT's backup left tackle during the first three games of the season. Dickey said giving Alexander additional time is one of a series of moves UNT is considering on its offensive line. The Mean Green is averaging 103 rushing yards a game, despite featuring Patrick Cobbs and Jamario Thomas, the last two national rushing champions. For those who don't remember his time will come at the expense of starting LT Joel Foster, another soph who weighs in at 268...Alexander weighs in at 282 lbs. an additional 12 lbs...but still undersized.

"You can try to skew the numbers all you want but the fact remains that during all 4 years of winning the SBC we do have a winning record. By the end of this year we will have another winning record." Didn't the first year winning the conference we went to the NO Bowl with an overall losing record? I seem to remember it lead to a chance in NCAA rules to prevent that from happening in the future.

" I don't know why you mention the Florida Atlantic coach in your post when they got their hides tanned by another Sun Belt team." Because he took a non existant program and in a couple of years .............beat North Texas last year.

Price took a terrible fb program...the season before he came they were 2wins 8 loses. His first year he won 8 lost 2 and went to a bowl. This year he has beat U of Houston and New Mexico University...to full stadiums....a very exciting offensive team I have watched those two games on TV...Dish has CSTV. If you are correct that he is getting $200,000 that is less than DD makes at NT. STill wondering on the Florida Atlantic Coach and Todd George and how they compare.

nfm

NT stack up in comparison?

Lets see: This year we brought in a JC TE who conerted from a OL Chaney, a 3*DEWillie Ransom, a CB Oubre, a Safety.. Weathers a DT Pistole That makes 5 this year. Last year a 3* CB TJ Covington who starts , a LB Travis Thompson 2nd team after an injury redshirt. There are several others on the team from prior years. THE MAJOR TRANSFER WE NEEDED WAS AN EXPERIENCED QB.

Lets see: This year we brought in a JC TE who conerted from a OL Chaney, a 3*DEWillie Ransom, a CB Oubre, a Safety.. Weathers a DT Pistole That makes 5 this year. Last year a 3* CB TJ Covington who starts , a LB Travis Thompson 2nd team after an injury redshirt. There are several others on the team from prior years. THE MAJOR TRANSFER WE NEEDED WAS AN EXPERIENCED QB.

Brett Vito: Mean Green still searching for answers 08:18 AM CDT on Monday, September 26, 2005 Brett Vito A few weeks ago, it was easy to assume the status quo would continue at North Texas. The Mean Green entered the season having won four straight Sun Belt Conference titles and had an unprecedented asset in running backs Patrick Cobbs and Jamario Thomas, the last two national rushing champions. Throw in highly regarded freshman quarterback Daniel Meager and a few other key returning starters and it seemed safe to assume that nothing much was going to change for the Mean Green. After a rough first three weeks of the season, those assumptions seem precarious at best. UNT is going to be in a dogfight for the Sun Belt title, a winning season and just about any other goal it set for this season. The latest reminder came Saturday when the Mean Green suffered their second straight shellacking, a 54-7 loss to Kansas State at KSU Stadium. The KSU game and the others before it have made it painfully clear that this team still has questions to answer heading into its game against Troy a week from Tuesday. “We just have to go back, practice hard this week and get ready for our next game against Troy,” UNT safety Aaron Weathers said. “I have no doubt that we can come back and win this game. We have experience in this locker room. Everybody wants to get better every day.” UNT will need to put that attitude into practice to fix a few key problems the Mean Green face this season, beginning with a once potent running game that now just seems passive. It was easy to overlook in the avalanche of points the Mean Green gave up to the Wildcats, but for the third straight time this season UNT has not exactly mowed over an opponent with its running attack. Patrick Cobbs became the Mean Green’s all-time leading rusher against the Wildcats, but he needed 12 carries to squeeze out 34 yards. Jamario Thomas picked up 62 yards, a deceiving number considering he accumulated his total in the fourth quarter after KSU coach Bill Snyder called off his troops. KSU controlled Cobbs up to that point and threw Thomas for a total of 3 yards in losses on four carries. Three games into the season, UNT is averaging 103 yards rushing a game, well off last year’s average of 186.4. That total this year can be attributed at least in part to the Mean Green’s offensive line, which is still struggling to come together. UNT never gave its running backs much room to run and also gave up a pair of sacks against KSU. “We’ve got to run the ball to be successful around here,” UNT wide receiver Johnny Quinn said. “When we run the ball it opens up the pass and that’s something we haven’t done as well as we need to.” Until then, UNT’s opponents are going to stack the line of scrimmage and dare Meager to beat them. The former Richardson Pearce standout is capable of breaking through this season. His high school credentials are evidence of that, but the redshirt freshman has been thrown into the fire during his first season as a college quarterback. UNT won’t ask Meager to win games, but the team’s coaches will demand that he learns to manage the game and become an efficient passer. An 8-for-18 night that resulted in just 49 yards passing is evidence Meager still has a long way to go. With Meager struggling and the Mean Green’s running game in slow motion, UNT’s defense has been stuck on the field for extended periods of time. The unit held up in a 14-7 season-opening win over Middle Tennessee, but has broken in the Mean Green’s last two games. The latest example came against KSU. UNT allowed just three points in the first quarter before the Wildcats exploded for 51 the rest of the night. Does UNT coach Darrell Dickey have the answers? He has in the past, but who knows if this year will be the same when Sun Belt play kicks back in against Troy. If UNT’s game against KSU is any indication, Dickey certainly won’t be afraid to experiment to find the answers he is seeking. The Mean Green moved Brandon Monroe back into the starting lineup, this time at middle linebacker after he spent last year on the outside and the first two games of this season as a backup. Robert Harmon started at tight end against KSU. By the end of the game, converted high school quarterback and true freshman Steve Warren was in at safety, Ajani Banks had played along the offensive line and freshman Dominique Green was in at cornerback. And those were just a few of the freshmen and other inexperienced players who saw action. On a night when nothing much else went right, getting a chance to see if those players could be the answer to its questions was one of the few bright spots for UNT. “We were still playing hard in the fourth quarter and got a lot of young guys in the game who we think can help us,” Dickey said. “We are still in the process of finding out who our best players are.” BRETT VITO can be reached at 940-566-6870. His e-mail address is bvito@dentonrc.com

UNT Saturday's result: Kansas State 54, UNT 7 Up next: Troy, 6:30 p.m., Oct. 4 Any injuries? None reported News and notes: UNT allowed 658 total yards and 305 rushing yards in its loss to Kansas State. Both totals are the most UNT has given up since a 65-0 loss to Texas in 2004 opener. ... UNT CB T.J. Covington intercepted a tipped pass by QB Allen Webb in the end zone in the second quarter. UNT has four interceptions, all deep in its end of the field. ... S Aaron Weathers led UNT in tackles for the third time this season with 12. Brett Vito

Football: Cobbs sets school record, but effort spoiled by loss 09:29 AM CDT on Sunday, September 25, 2005 By Brett Vito / Staff Writer MANHATTAN, Kan. — Saturday’s game against Kansas State was not the way North Texas running back Patrick Cobbs hoped to grab his own little piece of Mean Green football history. Patrick Cobbs Not on the road in front of a stadium full of screaming Wildcats fans. Not in a 54-7 loss. And certainly not on a night when KSU held him in check. Cobbs rushed for just 34 yards against the Wildcats, which proved to be just enough to push him past Ja’Quay Wilburn to the top of the Mean Green’s career rushing list with 3,133 yards. Wilburn rushed for 3,120 yards in a career that spanned from 1997-2000. Cobbs moved past Wilburn on a 19-yard run late in the first half and now has 3,133 career rushing yards. “I guess I got it, but it could have come at a better time,” Cobbs said. “The scoreboard indicates how good a game we had. I got the record, but we need to win some games.” Cobbs has helped UNT win more than his share during his tenure that began in the 2001 season, when the Mean Green won the first of their four straight Sun Belt Conference titles. He has been one of the Mean Green’s few consistent offensive threats this season. He rushed for 100 yards in each of the Mean Green’s first two games to set up his run at the record against KSU. The Wildcats made sure that Cobbs didn’t add a third 100-yard game on his way to the record book. “It was one of those games where we needed to find out how well we are against the run,” KSU linebacker Maurice Mack said. “We shut them down. All the credit in the world to North Texas; they’re a good team. Today we were just clicking on all cylinders.” Cobbs started, but shared time with sophomore Jamario Thomas, who led the team with 62 yards rushing. All of Thomas’ yards came in the fourth quarter after he lost three yards on four carries in the first three periods. Cobbs faced the brunt of KSU’s defensive surge in the first three quarters, when he posted all 12 of his carries. The outcome was particularly frustrating for both of UNT’s running backs. Cobbs won the national rushing title in 2003 with an average of 152.7 yards a game. A knee injury in the second game of the 2004 season forced Cobbs to turn his starting job over to Thomas. Cobbs elected to spend the year as a redshirt and help coach Thomas, who responded by winning UNT’s second straight national rushing title with an average of 180.1 yards a game. Cobbs is back at full strength this season, but has yet to find the success he enjoyed two years ago. UNT’s offensive line is struggling with a new mix of players and the Mean Green’s new starting quarterback, Daniel Meager, is struggling to make opponents pay for focusing on stopping the Mean Green’s running game. Those factors added up to a disappointing day for Cobbs. “It was a bitter way to get the record,” Cobbs said. “Our line has not jelled yet. But we can’t blame our passing game. We just have to capitalize on the opportunities we get.” BRETT VITO can be reached at 940-566-6870. His e-mail address is bvito@dentonrc.com.