Monkeypox

Well, for one, we didn't get Olawale out of high school. We got him out of junior college, and I believe were his only offer. North Texas DID take notice of his size and speed and strength, but Dodge doesn't use Tight Ends/H-backs, so moved him to WR (of course). And if you'll recall, we had some guy named Lance Dunbar at running back. I don't really know what the expectations were for one year with a position move and another year with a new coach. Everybody misses on guys or has guys that never find a position. Happens in college. Happens in the pros. I'm just happy for Jamize.

That's always been the case. Was decades of futility supposed to make it better?

Except what we have had in the past is just small, because if they were fast, they'd be at another school, too. And you're making my point, since Boutwell never made it to the 275-280lbs they wanted him to play at, proving you can't just add size to any frame. And he spent a 3rd of the season injured. He's starting here at DT because we have zero depth and quality there. Me, I'll take big and fast and strong and football smart. But we're North Texas taking table scraps. So I've got no problem taking a flyer on a guy with good size and strength. Small school guys get overlooked all the time. And I'm not reading too much into highlight reels from high school.

And what other offers did Boutwell have? OF COURSE if this guy had both the size and abilities and measurables he needed, he wouldn't even be sniffing us. So would everyone on our roster right now. Welcome to North Texas. That's why I said we'll have to take a gamble on some aspect or another. And we've been building undersized rosters forever, so you'll have plenty of guys to point to for that. What we have not done much of, though, is recruit players of appropriate size. TCU was beating out Oklahoma and Purdue and BYU and Texas Tech for recruits early on. They had 3 and 4 star recruits in every class since 2002. Even back then, they recruited on another plane from us entirely. And they never had an issue with money. So if you're waiting for us to do it the magical TCU way, you'll be waiting a long time.

Based on his natural height/weight from what I'm reading, I don't know that he profiles at center. Just not sure he won't have a healthy playing weight in that 320-330 range - a more natural fit at OG. That's just my opinion. I'm sure if he gets an offer and comes here, the coaches will have their own, better-informed opinions. But a guard who understands how to call and set protections isn't a bad thing.

This has been my problem with designs based on that logo since day one. It just doesn't work at its current angle and proportions for the side of the helmet.

If the world were a closed system, maybe. But in the real world, with a defense that can't even run enough DBs out to cover and can't keep people from gashing us for 30 and 50-yd runs, then no, QB play would not be a difference. Instead, if we had better QB play, we'd be talking more about how bad our defense played, and how they were the difference between us being a bowl team and not.

Except that lacking a particular muscle type is an uneducated guess. Talent is a projection. But size is size, speed is speed, measurables are measurables. That's why for years we've had to always try and justify our recruits' lacking in the measurables department. That's why the NFL drafts project players. That's why most guys with this guy's size are gone well before we have a shot. Trust me, we get plenty of undersized guys. We'll always get them, because if they have size, speed, AND talent, they're going to a bigger program than ours. We're always going to have to gamble on some aspect. And you CAN'T add size to everyone. Not good, meaningful size anyway. Some guys will never develop that frame. Some guys get the size added, and can't actually play with it. Footwork, agility, and technique can be improved with coaching. Getting D1-sized beef has been more of a problem than anything else for this team. And Abbe is listed at 6'4", 315 (not far from what he was coming out of high school), so I wouldn't exactly call him undersized, and our defensive line is one of our worst units.

Though I'm as discouraged as anyone about the level of recruits we are generally getting... IF you are going this route, a guy with this size is the way to go. How many years have we (and our coaches) complained that we've not gotten athletes who are big enough and strong enough? I'm not nearly as concerned about a guy with slow feet or poor mechanics as I am a guy who's 6'1", 270lbs that we're hoping will grow how we want him. Yes, he's going to need work, which puts him on par with just about everybody a 4-8 Sun Belt/CUSA school is going to get. I would bet he'd move to OG, but yeah, interior D-line would also be possible.

QB wouldn't have been a difference this year, with our current defense.

Not sure exactly how you'd sell 4-8, given that they just fired a guy for going 3-9.

Has what happened again? Someone committing murder in Florida and driving away? Yeah. It happens like all the time.

Skeleton reach-around = hilarious.

Interesting to note that the 71% is our 2nd LOWEST Red Zone Conversion percentage since 2007, and the TD percentage at 50% is the worst in that same time span.

Exactly. Texas State doesn't deliver anything more than what UTSA is already giving you. It has nothing to do with their status, perceived or otherwise. There's really only room for one, IMO, and CUSA made the choice.

I agree that people are vastly overstating the conservative gameplan issue.

I saw ONE person say that Mac should be fired, IF we lose to a startup program next year in UTSA. Others have simply said that outside of moral victories, the football team has not been measurably better, and that recruiting in general has not seemed to progress meaningfully. MOST are giving him the benefit of the doubt and remain hopeful. It's just that a few people are content with moral victories and wishcasting, and some actually believe that production is the true measure of success. So I think you guys are the ones who should work on reading comprehension. Mac has a higher salary, better facilities, a new stadium, those "skins on the wall" that people keep referring to, and a move up to CUSA. IOW, he's had more than any other coach here in a long time to work with. I do not think nor wish that Mac will be gone any time soon. But the football team needs to improve significantly.

Next year's excuse is already built in in the move to a new conference.

Not religious these days, but, as an aside, I agree with you guys on the music. I've been known to wander into the occasional Christmas Eve service just for the hymnals. And I get irritated because a lot of my nephews' events are conducted within the "contemporary service."

Yeah, I've always liked TCU. My dad did a lot of work there when I was a kid, I used to work at the stadium for one of my first jobs, my brother went there, and, for the most part, the TCU fans I know are knowledgeable and polite. There's basically just a few TCU trolls here, which is sad, because a few ignorant primitives shouldn't be used as a gauge for an entire fanbase. But I don't believe they've got some kind of hold on Ft Worth. Alumni and family and people in the surrounding area are numerous, but they're not really an entertainment destination for people who have little to do with the school. There's probably a little room upward, and it's still a lot better than it used to be when I was working there. Regardless, they did it the hard way, and there's nothing to fault them for in that regard. So what if a few fans have a delusional outlook on their school? That's not a characteristic we're unfamiliar with here.

Chainsaw

Could there be TWO Sun Belt RB starting in an NFL game this Thanksgiving?!!! Will the universe collapse in upon itself? For those who missed it a couple of weeks ago, Garrett's thoughts on Dunbar: http://sportsblogs.s...his-chance.html Read more here: http://sportsblogs.s...l#storylink=cpy

Yep. Drained. And since he was the one out there practicing today, I think it bodes well for him... or at least better than the other guys.

Stay healthy. At this point, that's the key to winning the Cowboys backfield.

What a long 6 months it's been since my teen years.