A look at North Texas key position battles this spring

97and03 · March 4, 2015

Maybe because there are countless threads more appropriate than a position battles thread?

So...any true candidate for OT? Which incoming recruits set to impact the defensive line?

BillySee58 · March 4, 2015

Maybe because there are countless threads more appropriate than a position battles thread?
So...any true candidate for OT? Which incoming recruits set to impact the defensive line?

True. But he wasn't harping on people for posting in an innapropriate thread. He was harping on the for being "arm chair" ADs.

Here are my top 4 position battles heading into spring:

4. Wide receiver - I'm sure we all want Tee Goree to step up here. Getting Kidsy to be more than just a dynamic athlete would be huge as well. It'll be interesting to see if those guys can lock down spots. Rutherford is also a guy to keep an eye on. With Thaddeous Thompson hopefully coming in for fall camp, it would be nice if some of these talented guys can emerge and lock down spots. Then have it where anything Thompson can give us is just a bonus.

3. Offensive tackle - we have to replace two tackles, and we've got about 5 legitimate candidates in Senior Michael Banogu, Juniors Ryan Rentfro and Connor Trussell, Sophomore Harrison Sorge, and RS Freshman Chris Miles. A lot of unknowns here, but also some talent. Chris Miles had the most extensive offer list of any offensive linemen we've signed during the recruiting website era. Can he beat out the older guys, or will they step up and prove they're more than just career backups?

2. Middle linebacker - Fred Scott and Anthony Wallace are both back but both struggled at times last year. We brought in JUCO All-American Cortney Finney to compete with these guys. This defense really needs playmakers to step up, and someone doing so here would be huge.

1. Quarterback - and not just looking for the starter. Until (if/when) Damarcus Smith gets here, Mcnulty is pretty much the undisputed starter at QB. I'm just as interested to see who steps up as our QB of the future. Between RS Sophomore Dajon Williams, RS Freshman Connor Means, and true Freshman Caleb Chumley. Someone needs to step up there. We can't just go through spring and have Dajon still having to sit out practices with injuries, or not being committed, or Means to still not at least throw his name into the conversation this year, or have Chumley not show promise as a QB. If those guys can't step up then giving Dillman a shot at QB in the fall does need to seriously be considered.

And then, of course, does Mcnulty build off of last year, does someone push him, or are we left like at the end of last spring where we didn't have a starter because we didn't really have a legitimate guy?

Edited March 4, 2015 by BillySee58

UNT90 · March 4, 2015

Maybe because there are countless threads more appropriate than a position battles thread?
So...any true candidate for OT? Which incoming recruits set to impact the defensive line?

Maybe not appropriate in this thread, but the fact that it keeps being an issue is a sign that fans are pissed off about underperformance and the continued lies and excuses for that underperformance.

The Tulsa lie is just that. A flat out lie. RV was graciously given the chance to get ahead of this twice by Harry in podcasts last year. The first time he gave the old "the schedule is still a work in progress," which was BS because we already had 2 money games and at SMU on the OOC, the second time was the trial ballon for the Tulsa excuse.

Both times he had the chance to tell the fan base that there were only going to be 5 home games, which he absolutely knew during both those interviews. He refuses to do so, not saying one thing about the 5 game home schedule until after that schedule had been released and after putting his head coach out to the media to comment about the 5 home game schedule.

Is that the kind of leadership you really want from your AD?

Edited March 4, 2015 by UNT90

MeanGreenTexan · March 4, 2015

True. But he wasn't harping on people for posting in an innapropriate thread. He was harping on the for being "arm chair" ADs.
Here are my top 4 position battles heading into spring:
4. Wide receiver - I'm sure we all want Tee Goree to step up here. Getting Kidsy to be more than just a dynamic athlete would be huge as well. It'll be interesting to see if those guys can lock down spots. Rutherford is also a guy to keep an eye on. With Thaddeous Thompson hopefully coming in for fall camp, it would be nice if some of these talented guys can emerge and lock down spots. Then have it where anything Thompson can give us is just a bonus.
3. Offensive tackle - we have to replace two tackles, and we've got about 5 legitimate candidates in Senior Michael Banogu, Juniors Ryan Rentfro and Connor Trussell, Sophomore Harrison Sorge, and RS Freshman Chris Miles. A lot of unknowns here, but also some talent. Chris Miles had the most extensive offer list of any offensive linemen we've signed during the recruiting website era. Can he beat out the older guys, or will they step up and prove they're more than just career backups?
2. Middle linebacker - Fred Scott and Anthony Wallace are both back but both struggled at times last year. We brought in JUCO All-American Cortney Finney to compete with these guys. This defense really needs playmakers to step up, and someone doing so here would be huge.
1. Quarterback - and not just looking for the starter. Until (if/when) Damarcus Smith gets here, Mcnulty is pretty much the undisputed starter at QB. I'm just as interested to see who steps up as our QB of the future. Between RS Sophomore Dajon Williams, RS Freshman Connor Means, and true Freshman Caleb Chumley. Someone needs to step up there. We can't just go through spring and have Dajon still having to sit out practices with injuries, or not being committed, or Means to still not at least throw his name into the conversation this year, or have Chumley not show promise as a QB. If those guys can't step up then giving Dillman a shot at QB in the fall does need to seriously be considered.
And then, of course, does Mcnulty build off of last year, does someone push him, or are we left like at the end of last spring where we didn't have a starter because we didn't really have a legitimate guy?

I think I'm more worried about the defensive backfield than WR. We know we at least have Harris & Kidsey back there.

But with the graduations of Jones & Lee, and the under-performance of Dash & Wade last year, we have 3 holes out of 4 to fill back there.

At QB, I can't help but recall 2013's offseason. Everyone on here was throwing their support behind a highly-regarded transfer (Berglund), but everyone knew that the starting spot was Thompson's to lose... even though he under-performed in 2012. Thompson wound up having a solid Senior year. Can McNulty do that? Is our hope in Smith misplaced, similar to Berglund? It's eerily similar.

97and03 · March 4, 2015

True. But he wasn't harping on people for posting in an innapropriate thread. He was harping on the for being "arm chair" ADs.
Here are my top 4 position battles heading into spring:
4. Wide receiver - I'm sure we all want Tee Goree to step up here. Getting Kidsy to be more than just a dynamic athlete would be huge as well. It'll be interesting to see if those guys can lock down spots. Rutherford is also a guy to keep an eye on. With Thaddeous Thompson hopefully coming in for fall camp, it would be nice if some of these talented guys can emerge and lock down spots. Then have it where anything Thompson can give us is just a bonus.
3. Offensive tackle - we have to replace two tackles, and we've got about 5 legitimate candidates in Senior Michael Banogu, Juniors Ryan Rentfro and Connor Trussell, Sophomore Harrison Sorge, and RS Freshman Chris Miles. A lot of unknowns here, but also some talent. Chris Miles had the most extensive offer list of any offensive linemen we've signed during the recruiting website era. Can he beat out the older guys, or will they step up and prove they're more than just career backups?
2. Middle linebacker - Fred Scott and Anthony Wallace are both back but both struggled at times last year. We brought in JUCO All-American Cortney Finney to compete with these guys. This defense really needs playmakers to step up, and someone doing so here would be huge.
1. Quarterback - and not just looking for the starter. Until (if/when) Damarcus Smith gets here, Mcnulty is pretty much the undisputed starter at QB. I'm just as interested to see who steps up as our QB of the future. Between RS Sophomore Dajon Williams, RS Freshman Connor Means, and true Freshman Caleb Chumley. Someone needs to step up there. We can't just go through spring and have Dajon still having to sit out practices with injuries, or not being committed, or Means to still not at least throw his name into the conversation this year, or have Chumley not show promise as a QB. If those guys can't step up then giving Dillman a shot at QB in the fall does need to seriously be considered.
And then, of course, does Mcnulty build off of last year, does someone push him, or are we left like at the end of last spring where we didn't have a starter because we didn't really have a legitimate guy?

And then we see another post about 5 home games and AD leadership..

I think that I have to put OT pretty much at 1A. Obviously QB play HAS to be #1, but the inability to fill the OT spot that Lemon ended up taking was a close second for me on why things went wrong last year. I love Cyril Lemon, but he was not an All-Conference Tackle. I think that if someone from that pool of current players was good enough, they would have played. McKinney was not as good as Lemon would have been at Guard by a long shot and Lemon at Tackle was not as good as a true Tackle would have been either. And now we are replacing both Tackle spots? Yikes! Hopefully one or two of those existing Tackles on the roster spent the year on the bench wisely and used it as a motivator to get good enough to start. Mac has recruited a LOT of offensive linemen in his time here and most have never seen the field, except for some last game mop-up duty. I think Trussell and Rentfro made it into the 4th quarter at Tulsa in 2013. Banogu has seem more meaningful time than any of the career backups (maybe combined) and he wasn't even a scholarship signee. Kirby was also a walk-on and McKinney a JUCO. And you saw how hard we hit the transfers and JUCOs to try to get a line assembled for this year. I am VERY concerned about the line for this year.

I have concerns about the WR position as well, but man we have talent and potential there. But...all high-rated WR recruits under Mac have been a bust. So who knows? We need some guys to step up, but we always seem to have someone do that. Not that the position has been a strength at all, but guys come out of nowhere at WR most years.

I think my #4 though is the safety position. We never adequately replaced Trice and now we are replacing his replacement and replacing Lee. Scary thought to me. And we are mainly relying on JUCOs and transfers along with a Sophomore (McClain, who does look pretty good so far in limited action). Really a lot of unknowns here that Spring ball will help clear up - to a point.

BillySee58 · March 4, 2015

I think I'm more worried about the defensive backfield than WR. We know we at least have Harris & Kidsey back there.
But with the graduations of Jones & Lee, and the under-performance of Dash & Wade last year, we have 3 holes out of 4 to fill back there.

There's concern about the defensive backfield, but the list was top 4 position battles. Not top 4 concerns.

At safety I think Kishawn McClain and James Gray are going to be our guys and I don't see it being much of a position battle. There's is going to be plenty of concern when we lace em up for real, since both will be first year starters on the FBS level, but I don't expect much of a competition there. Hopefully Jakii Moore, Shilleci, and Dash can push them. And at corner I think the competition to start opposite Buyers will come in the fall, when/if Xavier Grindle makes it in and will compete against Chad Davis to start as our short side of the field/boundary corner. But not position battle with Grindle in the spring, since he won't be here.

At receiver Smiley actually had more receiving yards than Kidsy. Plus we have Goree and Rutherford coming off Redshirt years. 2 spots for those 4 talented guys could be pretty interesting, IMO. And this team could really use a strong receiving core, especially if our QB play isn't much more than average.

GOMG2013 · March 4, 2015

I think I'm more worried about the defensive backfield than WR. We know we at least have Harris & Kidsey back there.
But with the graduations of Jones & Lee, and the under-performance of Dash & Wade last year, we have 3 holes out of 4 to fill back there.
At QB, I can't help but recall 2013's offseason. Everyone on here was throwing their support behind a highly-regarded transfer (Berglund), but everyone knew that the starting spot was Thompson's to lose... even though he under-performed in 2012. Thompson wound up having a solid Senior year. Can McNulty do that? Is our hope in Smith misplaced, similar to Berglund? It's eerily similar.

I share a similar feeling about the QB situation. In 3 of the losses that McNulty started, he faced veteran secondaries...Rice, UTEP, and UTSA. They have lots of turnover, so it wouldnt surprise me if he had success against these teams next year. He should be at least average.

this time last year we had Warner and zed Evans in the mix at safety. By the start of the season, both were gone and Wade started. He played decent at the beginning, but got hurt. We had to play a true freshman and a hurt Lee was thrown out there all year.

2013 was a good year as far as injuries. 2014, injuries played some part in the losses. No major injuries, but a few nagging ones that contributed to below average play.

BillySee58 · March 4, 2015

I think that I have to put OT pretty much at 1A. Obviously QB play HAS to be #1, but the inability to fill the OT spot that Lemon ended up taking was a close second for me on why things went wrong last year. I love Cyril Lemon, but he was not an All-Conference Tackle. I think that if someone from that pool of current players was good enough, they would have played. McKinney was not as good as Lemon would have been at Guard by a long shot and Lemon at Tackle was not as good as a true Tackle would have been either. And now we are replacing both Tackle spots? Yikes! Hopefully one or two of those existing Tackles on the roster spent the year on the bench wisely and used it as a motivator to get good enough to start. Mac has recruited a LOT of offensive linemen in his time here and most have never seen the field, except for some last game mop-up duty. I think Trussell and Rentfro made it into the 4th quarter at Tulsa in 2013. Banogu has seem more meaningful time than any of the career backups (maybe combined) and he wasn't even a scholarship signee. Kirby was also a walk-on and McKinney a JUCO. And you saw how hard we hit the transfers and JUCOs to try to get a line assembled for this year. I am VERY concerned about the line for this year.

I have concerns about the WR position as well, but man we have talent and potential there. But...all high-rated WR recruits under Mac have been a bust. So who knows? We need some guys to step up, but we always seem to have someone do that. Not that the position has been a strength at all, but guys come out of nowhere at WR most years.

Completely agree about the concern at OT coming out of last fall. The move of Lemon to OT was one made out of necessity. We still hadn't developed anyone the coaches thought were ready to start at OT, in year 4. Chris Miles is a much more highly recruit OL signee than the other guys Coach Mac brought in, so hopefully he'll be able to contribute early, and the other guys can step up.

At receiver we have a lot of talent, and I'm hoping for some good competition there. If you look at the past receiver busts under Mccarney, they were very risky to begin with. In 2012 we signed two 3-star receivers in Rod Lancaster and Nick Schrapps, but Lancaster didn't have any other offers and Schrapps was only offered by an FCS school and a a service academy. They really weren't great prospects to begin with. And Chaz Sampson had a decent offer list, but his high school production was not good for a FBS signee, and that didn't change with us. Tee Goree was on a completely different level from the standpoint of being offered and having amazing prosecution. Even Kidsy was on another level as a prospect. Rutherford also had good production and would've been recruited harder had his grades been better (he had to double sign with Kilgore). So we have a promising crop. I hope to see good, high-level competition here.

Cerebus · March 4, 2015

So many arm chair coaches and AD's on here that it just amazes me that mine of you have left your current profession and hung your shingle at some D1 program. Comedy gold.

We've already had this discussion:

I am really tired of this argument. Let me explain once again. We are customers, the coaches are contractors we have hired. Now I hire contractors because they have skills I don't have. I don't know how to do major plumbing, but if the plumber I hire does some work that causes the toilet to flush directly out of the shower head, despite the fact I am not a plumber I have every right to complain about the work and fire the contractor.

I don't know how to coach college football, I am helping to pay paying for a contractor to come in to do that. I am very unhappy with the work the contractor has delivered so far.

The sub contractor (MAC) had better figure out how to fix his crew (other coaches/recruiters) or I am going to lose faith in that subcontractor, and start to wonder why the general contractor (RV) doesn't get more blame for hiring so many subpar sub contractors (Dodge, Benford, etc).

FirefightnRick · March 5, 2015

Here are my top 4 position battles heading into spring in no particular order:

1. Right Defensive Tackle

2. Left Defensive Tackle

3. Right Defensive End

4. Left Defensive End

Rick

Ben Gooding · March 5, 2015

You got to have teeth to eat pizza. Being from Arkansas, that's going to be tough.

Uhhh...OK...

Called my bank today for that loan on a pizza shack...should be AD material in no time...

97and03 · March 5, 2015

Here are my top 4 position battles heading into spring in no particular order:
1. Right Defensive Tackle
2. Left Defensive Tackle
3. Right Defensive End
4. Left Defensive End
Rick

I agree in some ways, but I think the D-line will be at worst the same as last year and likely better. I hate that we lost Watson to injury though. Wallace really stepped up his game the end of the season and Orr is solid more or less. We have played our best with a strong rotation, so my question is how will the depth be? I would love to see 3 deep at each position you mentioned. It would be great if at least one of these big freshmen are ready to go from day 1 - as well as Tauaallo and Haboul. Really need Haboul (2012 class) to step up and provide some of that depth.

The JUCO kid can plug in at one DE slot (likely). All 5 returning guys at DE played at least some last year so that is a plus.

I look for modest improvement.

Ben Gooding · March 5, 2015

I think DL will honestly be a bright spot on this years team. Surprisingly bright.

GOMG2013 · March 5, 2015

I think DL will honestly be a bright spot on this years team. Surprisingly bright.

Our DE play fell off dramatically from bellazin and McCoy...we didnt have too many areas that played average or better. We had some good individual players like akunne and Harris.

It was a total team loss.

Only unit that played at least average were the corners.

UNTLifer · March 5, 2015

We've already had this discussion:

Just as we have had all of these discussions, but it doesn't keep us from continuing to kick these dead horses. I just find it interesting that my comment gets called out because you share a differing viewpoint.

UNT90 · March 5, 2015

It's what we do. Don't be so touchy.

97and03 · March 5, 2015

I am interested in the assumption I see here that Buyers is secure at one corner. I'm not so sure about that really. He is a helluva tackler but I can see a better cover guy taking his starting spot.

FirefightnRick · March 5, 2015

I am interested in the assumption I see here that Buyers is secure at one corner. I'm not so sure about that really. He is a helluva tackler but I can see a better cover guy taking his starting spot.

If we don't find a pass rush he and the rest of the secondary will again be exposed and looking like they don't know what they're doing.

Rick

Edited March 5, 2015 by FirefightnRick

GOMG2013 · March 5, 2015

I am interested in the assumption I see here that Buyers is secure at one corner. I'm not so sure about that really. He is a helluva tackler but I can see a better cover guy taking his starting spot.

If that were the case, his spot probably would have already been taken. Buyers will start the season, and unless Davis gets hurt or looks terrible, he will start the other corner. If grindle was there this spring, he could have had a shot, but his best chance is nickel. Mac isnt putting a new D1 starter out there over someone with experience. Its going to be like 2013 when whit and Jackson started, even though it was known they had issues. It took them getting beat a few times to get replaced.

Only thing that can change the way unt operates is cosh. He's old enough and has enough experience to where Mac may trust him. Hopefully he wont be scared to shake some things up on defense.

UNT90 · March 5, 2015

If we don't find a pass rush he and the rest of the secondary will again be exposed and looking like they don't know what they're doing.
Rick

This.

Pray that JUCO makes it to campus and pray he is the real deal.

Aldo · March 6, 2015

I think the most exciting positional battle for me will be WR. Talented core group that will be pushing each other. There are many different XYZ formations you can throw out there with Harris, Kidsy, Smiley, combined with Goree, Thompson, Rutherford. Follow that up with the defensive secondary. RB group usually follows the veteran backed up by the up-and-comer formula.

The more concerning for me? QB always, but for the sake of something else, probably LBs and OL. Lots of unknowns.

D-line is relatively the least of my concerns.

Harry · March 6, 2015

I think we all understand this is McNulty's job to lose. I think we all hope that the coaching staff will keep an open mind. Very player including DaJon and Greer should have a clean slate.

We cannot have 10 QB's coming out of spring. We need to evaluate what we have quickly and have the courage to tell these guys where they stand.

The act of stating the QB is wide open heading into Fall just doesn't work. We need to identify the guy and give him the majority of the reps. We need no more than 4 QBs coming out of spring and the 4th will have to deal with the fact that his spot is variable based on smith's eligibility status.

UNTLifer · March 7, 2015

If there isn't marked improvement in the QB's, then Canales should be held accountable. His resume always touts Phillip Rivers yet Rivers has been in the NFL for like a decade or so.

UNT90 · March 7, 2015

If there isn't marked improvement in the QB's, then Canales should be held accountable. His resume always touts Phillip Rivers yet Rivers has been in the NFL for like a decade or so.

Holy crap! Lifer is calling for accountability!