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Season Recap: Sometimes when writing these previews, I have a glance at last season’s effort to see how the team looked in preseason. The prediction was for UNT’s lack of playmakers to limit them to another five win season, and lo and behold, that is what happened. It’s a pity too, as the offense had a lot going for it. The offensive line was outstanding, not just making holes for the backs, but allowing just 6 sacks all season! That’s tops in the country, for those making notes. This raises a question though – if QB Derek Thompson had all day to throw, how come he struggled to get the ball down the field? The junior was in his second year, and had some good targets, such as Brelan Chancellor (25-450-5 in 8 games). Thompson passed for 2691 yards, but threw just 14 TDs against 14 interceptions. The Mean Green often moved the ball between the 20s before bogging down when it mattered. Byrd, Antoinne Jimmerson and Jeremy Brown were a fine trio of backs, but found the going tough in the redzone with no aerial attack to back them up. The defense was tougher than its rankings suggest, but suffered due to the anemic offense, as well as its own lack of playmakers. With only 19 sacks and another 19 turnovers, UNT found it difficult to get opponents off the field, particularly late in games as the unit wore down. DEs Aaron Bellazin and KC Obi combined for 10.5 sacks, but there was little pressure from anywhere else. Between the four regulars at DT, they managed 10.5 TFLs and 4 sacks – that just isn’t good enough. Their lack of push up front made life harder for a good group of linebackers. MLB Zachary Orr was the leader in the middle, and I don’t just mean his 108 tackles – he was the glue that held them together. Akunne was a playmaker, while Jeremy Phillips missed some time with injury, but his experience made him a factor. The secondary suffered from the lack of pressure, but was a better unit than the stats suggest. Freshman corner Zac Whitfield showed he has a bright future after leading the team with 3 interceptions and 12 PBUs. The safety pairing of Laramie Lee and Marcus Trice was pretty good, but the team as a whole needs to make more plays. Zach Olen hasn’t matched the kicking heights of his freshman year, hitting just 11 of 16 FGs, but punter Will Atterberry was a gem. If he had one flaw, he let too many punts get into the endzone. The punt return game was one of the worst in the country (2.1 ypr?), and the kick return unit wasn’t much better. Both coverage units allowed a score. Read more: http://thenewsportsguru.com/college-fb/the-state-of-play-conference-usa-north-texas