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Eric Morris was officially named as the 20th head coach of UNT football on December 13, 2023. That is 29 weeks or two hundred days ago. He has yet to coach a game but that will change in a couple of months. And yet there has still been a fair amount of analysis on how Morris has fared in terms of his short tenure, with a primary focus on recruiting. While many UNT football recruiting fan heads have been spinning with the advent of NIL and the Portal, Morris has put together a solid recruiting team that has had its share of success along with a normal amount of disappointment that was to be expected this early. The real tell on how good a recruiting class can be occurs years after the class is finalized. The recruiting databases, and school offers are typically the only data points we have. The recruiting services have never invested a lot of resources into analyzing borderline 3-star recruits and so you could argue that offer lists may be even more important. One aspect that could differentiate Morris from his predecessor in Seth Littrell could be how many of these classes and players inside these classes stick and stay with the program or leave, commonly referred to in the business world as attrition. Under Littrell, it was pretty bad. Just eyeing 2022, UNT showed twelve signees and nine transfers for a total of twenty-one. Of that total, six have already headed to the exits or 30 percent. Not to mention existing players who also have exited the portal, like Jyaire Shorter and Larry Nixon That 30% seems like a lot, but in this era of portal and NIL it will become a lot more commonplace. If Morris can keep that attrition down and lower the number of players entering the portal due to NIL, it could make a big difference for the program, but UNT will need to ramp up NIL funds to aid him in that regard. GMG

North Texas Mean Green Draft Prospects When the Tampa Bay Buccaneers chose receiver Jaelon Darden in Round 4 of the 2021 NFL Draft, it was the first time in 32 years a UNT player broke into the top 130 selections.On the contrary, it’s unlikely any player from the program is selected in the NFL Draft come 2022. Jyaire Shorter, WR | Grade: 3.38 | Projected Round: 6th Wide receiver Jyaire Shorter showed a lot of potential in 2019 but played in just two games last season and finished with 4 receptions. Shorter is a big-bodied, sure-handed receiver with reliable hands. I graded Shorter as a sixth-round prospect off the 2019 film, but the fourth-year junior needs a big year and must get his game back on track. Dion Novil, DL | Grade: 3.05 | Projected Round: FA Dion Novil is an explosive 3-technique tackle who showed great potential in 2019 then watched his game level off last year. He possesses a great first step off the snap and a burst of closing speed. That being the case, Novil shows limited strength in his game, gets handled by blocks, and really doesn’t play like a 310-pound defensive lineman. read more: https://www.profootballnetwork.com/conference-usa-draft-prospects-scouting-reports-2022-nfl-draft/

Top Challenger: North Texas Mean Green North Texas has ranked either first or second in Conference USA in passing yards per game in each of the past four seasons. Replacing Darden's 1,190 yards and 19 touchdowns from last season alone won't be easy, but the combo of Jyaire Shorter and Deonte Simpson will at least give the Mean Green a chance. Shorter missed most of last season, but he has averaged slightly better than 20 yards per reception in his career and had nine touchdowns in 2019. Simpson went for 20.7 yards per catch in 2020 as one of the top deep threats in the league. Keep an Eye on: SMU Mustangs SMU has three returning receivers who amassed at least 400 yards last season, most notably Reggie Roberson Jr., who had 474 yards in the team's first four games before suffering a season-ending knee injury. The Mustangs also bring in former Oklahoma tight end Grant Calcaterra, which should help soften the blow of losing Kylen Granson (1,257 receiving yards, 14 touchdowns over the past two seasons) to the NFL draft. He'll be reunited with fellow Oklahoma transfer Tanner Mordecai, who is (presumably) finally going to get his shot as a starting quarterback. read more: https://www.google.com/amp/s/syndication.bleacherreport.com/amp/2945279-projecting-every-conferences-best-receiving-corps-for-the-2021-cfb-season.amp.html

Does anyone know if Jyaire Shorter is recovered from his injury? @Brett Vito I’m curious if he will be participating in Spring ball. I assumed he would be, but never read anything officially.

February 2018 North Texas Signees Tim Faison LB 6'2" 225 Tallahassee, Florida (Independence CC) Alex Morris S 6'1" 188 Humble, Texas (Atascocita HS) Thomas Preston III OL 6'4" 290 Mesa, Arizona (Scottsdale CC) Derrick Shaw DT 6'0" 260 Broken Arrow, Oklahoma (Broken Arrow HS) Jyaire Shorter WR 6'2" 215 Killeen, Texas (Ellison HS) December 2017 North Texas Signees Jason Bean QB 6'3" 180 Mansfield, Texas (Lake Ridge HS) Cole Brown OL 6'4" 250 Conroe, Texas (Conroe HS) Keelan Crosby S 6'1" 175 Anna, Texas (Anna HS) Kevyon "KD" Davis LB 5'11" 200 Ennis, Texas (Ennis HS) Jaxon Gibbs S 5'11" 196 The Colony, Texas (The Colony HS) Jordan Hunt LB 6'2" 215 Wylie, Texas (Wylie HS) Dayton LeBlanc DL 6'1" 265 Lexington, Kentucky (Frederick Douglass HS) Kason Martin QB 6'3" 200 Manvel, Texas (Manvel HS) Darrian McMillan DL 6'2" 251 Mobile, Alabama (Butler CC) Larry Nixon III LB 6'0" 210 North Richland Hills, Texas (Richland HS) Austin Ogunmakin WR 6'3" 179 Alief, Texas (Hastings HS) Tuulau Saafi LB 6'3" 272 Euless, Texas (Mt. San Antonio College) DeAndre Torrey RB 5'7" 189 Gautier, Mississippi (Gulf Coast JC) Reggie Williams S 5'10" 180 Grand Prairie, Texas (Grand Prairie HS)

February 2018 North Texas Signees Tim Faison LB 6'2" 225 Tallahassee, Florida (Independence CC) Alex Morris S 6'1" 188 Humble, Texas (Atascocita HS) Thomas Preston III OL 6'4" 290 Mesa, Arizona (Scottsdale CC) Derrick Shaw DT 6'0" 260 Broken Arrow, Oklahoma (Broken Arrow HS) Jyaire Shorter WR 6'2" 215 Killeen, Texas (Ellison HS) December 2017 North Texas Signees Jason Bean QB 6'3" 180 Mansfield, Texas (Lake Ridge HS) Cole Brown OL 6'4" 250 Conroe, Texas (Conroe HS) Keelan Crosby S 6'1" 175 Anna, Texas (Anna HS) Kevyon "KD" Davis LB 5'11" 200 Ennis, Texas (Ennis HS) Jaxon Gibbs S 5'11" 196 The Colony, Texas (The Colony HS) Jordan Hunt LB 6'2" 215 Wylie, Texas (Wylie HS) Dayton LeBlanc DL 6'1" 265 Lexington, Kentucky (Frederick Douglass HS) Kason Martin QB 6'3" 200 Manvel, Texas (Manvel HS) Darrian McMillan DL 6'2" 251 Mobile, Alabama (Butler CC) Larry Nixon III LB 6'0" 210 North Richland Hills, Texas (Richland HS) Austin Ogunmakin WR 6'3" 179 Alief, Texas (Hastings HS) Tuulau Saafi LB 6'3" 272 Euless, Texas (Mt. San Antonio College) DeAndre Torrey RB 5'7" 189 Gautier, Mississippi (Gulf Coast JC) Reggie Williams S 5'10" 180 Grand Prairie, Texas (Grand Prairie HS)