Jimmerson leads talented running back group

Harry · April 6, 2015

Position: Running back

Key returnees: Antoinne Jimmerson (Sr.), Jeffrey Wilson (So.), Jarrod Lynn (Sr.) Erick Evans (So.)

Key additions: None

Key losses: Reggie Pegram

2014 recap: UNT has depended on a powerful running game to spark its offense for years under multiple coaches dating back to the Mean Green’s run of four straight Sun Belt Conference titles beginning in 2001. The Mean Green struggled to get their running game going on a consistent basis last season and saw their offense flounder as a result. UNT ranked eighth in Conference USA with an average of 153.2 rushing yards a game and ninth in yards per carry at 3.9 in a season it failed to score more than 21 points in six games. UNT finished with 1,838 yards after clearing the 2,100-yard mark in four of the previous five seasons.

Read more: http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2015/04/unt-position-series-jimmerson-leads-talented-running-back-group.html/

UNTLifer · April 6, 2015

Last year was a disappointment with our returning OL. I hope we can return to our previous levels of performance at RB, but the new OL will tell the tale. Oh, and the QB musts relieve the pressure of constant 8 and 9 in the box.

BillySee58 · May 10, 2015

Posted this in the recruiting forum roster spreadsheet, but Erick Evans, former walkon running back who had earned a scholarship, is no longer on the roster.

Ben Gooding · May 10, 2015

I wish our athletic department would report information like this to the public. They just keep everything under wraps like they are Cia operatives.

adman · May 10, 2015

Posted this in the recruiting forum roster spreadsheet, but Erick Evans, former walkon running back who had earned a scholarship, is no longer on the roster.

Wasn't he in the top 5 of fastest players on the team? Disappointing if he is gone.

GOMG2013 · May 10, 2015

Wasn't he in the top 5 of fastest players on the team? Disappointing if he is gone.

Fastest player on the team. 4.3 speed like his brother. I thought he looked decent out there. Heard about fumbling issues from some posters. That may have prevented opportunities. Maybe blocking or not knowing the offense was also keeping him out.

BillySee58 · May 10, 2015

I wish our athletic department would report information like this to the public. They just keep everything under wraps like they are Cia operatives.

Why would they announce a player leaving the team or just choosing to not play football anymore? They took him off the roster, so they aren't keeping it under the wraps that well. Edited May 10, 2015 by BillySee58

GOMG2013 · May 10, 2015

The RB position was a huge disappointment that has not gotten as much attention as other areas for some reason. QBs have been called out and even the OL has been labeled a disappointment, but barely a mention of the performance of our backs.

The question of if mcnulty could start for another team came up. I ask the same question of our RB. Has to be one of the worst in CUSA. I was a fan of pegram last season, before his injury. He did not come back 100% and he was very slow. Jimmerson dances too much, and for some reason, he did not get the nod as a starter. Something is wrong if pegram beat him out though. I never thought we would miss Byrd as much as we did.

And save all that "the QB hurt the running game" comments. It shows a lack of football knowledge. A good D1 running back is going to show something against CUSA competition. It's no excuse, especially with the depth of RBs and athletes in the state of Texas.

There are plenty of examples of where a good running back can succeed in spite of problems in other areas. How in the world can we be a run first team with the quality we had at RB last season. A strong running game is a new or young Qbs best friend, and we were horrible in this important staple for a football team.

Ben Gooding · May 10, 2015

Why would they announce a player leaving the team or just choosing to not play football anymore? They took him off the roster, so they aren't keeping it under the wraps that well.

Why would they not announce it? Just taking a player off of the roster isn't cutting it.

greenminer · May 10, 2015

I wish our athletic department would report information like this to the public. They just keep everything under wraps like they are Cia operatives.

There might be a reason to keep it unannounced, or it might be nothing worth announcing.

MeanGreenTexan · May 11, 2015

The RB position was a huge disappointment that has not gotten as much attention as other areas for some reason. QBs have been called out and even the OL has been labeled a disappointment, but barely a mention of the performance of our backs.
The question of if mcnulty could start for another team came up. I ask the same question of our RB. Has to be one of the worst in CUSA. I was a fan of pegram last season, before his injury. He did not come back 100% and he was very slow. Jimmerson dances too much, and for some reason, he did not get the nod as a starter. Something is wrong if pegram beat him out though. I never thought we would miss Byrd as much as we did.
And save all that "the QB hurt the running game" comments. It shows a lack of football knowledge. A good D1 running back is going to show something against CUSA competition. It's no excuse, especially with the depth of RBs and athletes in the state of Texas.
There are plenty of examples of where a good running back can succeed in spite of problems in other areas. How in the world can we be a run first team with the quality we had at RB last season. A strong running game is a new or young Qbs best friend, and we were horrible in this important staple for a football team.

Were you watching whenever Wilson was in last year? We're going to be just fine as long as he's healthy.

GOMG2013 · May 11, 2015

Were you watching whenever Wilson was in last year? We're going to be just fine as long as he's healthy.

i agree. going forward we look good. But when discussing what went wrong last season, RBs barely gets mentioned.

a true freshman looked like our best back season.

MeanGreenTexan · May 11, 2015

i agree. going forward we look good. But when discussing what went wrong last season, RBs barely gets mentioned.
a true freshman looked like our best back season.

Gotcha. I agree. But when you have a festering, open chest wound, you tend to ignore the sprained ankle.

GOMG2013 · May 11, 2015

Gotcha. I agree. But when you have a festering, open chest wound, you tend to ignore the sprained ankle.

going into the season we knew the QB spot was going to be questionable. we knew DTackle would be small. This was known ahead of time, but we still are in shock when these areas underperform and they get a majority of the blame.

going into last season, we thought our RB depth was nice and we were returning a veteran line. they were supposed to be the foundation of the team and offense. not the QB. not the passing game. the running game was supposed to ease the transition of having a new QB in there.

to use your analogy, the sprained ankle created a situation to where our chest got blown up. maybe its only a shoulder wound had it not been for the sprained ankle...

same with defense. our depth at LB was supposed to help an undersized DL. we had fred scott, who was a promising youngster that got a decent amount of reps. akunne who is solid, and some faster LBs in marshall, ellis, and minor. also the 4 star transfer that some preseason publications penciled in as a starter that would have an impact. other than akunne, this unit was a big flop.

im making a bigger deal about the RBs and LBs because at least those two areas were something that UNT has had a history of getting right from time to time. its more realistic repeating something you have achieved before, instead of wishing for something that has never happened at UNT, like a savior gunslinging QB.

Ben Gooding · May 11, 2015

Qb will fix a lot of problems throughout the team. A running back isn't going to sprinkle fairy dust on our qb's arm and allow him to have more velocity, accuracy, decision making, etc. Yeah, the windows will be a little bigger, but they are big as is givrn how teams defend our offense. We need a QB.

GrandGreen · May 11, 2015

I don't know why people insist that NT is deep at rb. Jimmerson has shown flashes, but going into his senior year, he still hasn't secured the number one position. All the rest, really haven't played enough to fully evaluate.

Deep was having two NCAA leading rushers back. It is not having a handful of basically unproven rbs that might prove to be good.

Mean Green 93-98 · May 11, 2015

Deep was having two NCAA leading rushers back.

A situation that never truly existed. Jamario was never the same after his freshman year, and didn't contribute at a level any better than some of these backups currently on the team.

GOMG2013 · May 11, 2015

Qb will fix a lot of problems throughout the team. A running back isn't going to sprinkle fairy dust on our qb's arm and allow him to have more velocity, accuracy, decision making, etc. Yeah, the windows will be a little bigger, but they are big as is givrn how teams defend our offense. We need a QB.

a top level QB will fix a lot of problems. an average QB wont.

i highly doubt we make the jump from having below average D1 QB play to All conference that could carry a team and cover holes.

GrandGreen · May 11, 2015

A situation that never truly existed. Jamario was never the same after his freshman year, and didn't contribute at a level any better than some of these backups currently on the team.

Yes, it existed; NT had two returning rushing champions. You are correct, Jamario never came close to his freshman year, but only few in the history of football have had years like that.

As far as the backups being as good, I will believe that when one gets 1764 yards rushing. What Thomas got his last three years at NT while sharing the ball.

MeanGreenTexan · May 11, 2015

Yes, it existed; NT had two returning rushing champions. You are correct, Jamario never came close to his freshman year, but only few in the history of football have had years like that.
As far as the backups being as good, I will believe that when one gets 1764 yards rushing. What Thomas got his last three years at NT while sharing the ball.

Jimmerson is already almost there (1579), and he hasn't been the starter the entire time he's been here.

Ben Gooding · May 11, 2015

a top level QB will fix a lot of problems. an average QB wont.
i highly doubt we make the jump from having below average D1 QB play to All conference that could carry a team and cover holes.

DaMarcus Smith has the tools to be an above average D1 QB. He has the tools to be the best QB in North Texas history. The talent is there, but he has to get himself on the field and the coaching staff has to utilize that talent to its full potential.

I'll call it right now...quote me.... If DaMarcus Smith is our starting QB going into Dallas on September 12th and stays healthy throughout the season we will be a bowl team.

With D. Smith as our starter we will start the season 4-1. We will then split games between WKU & Marshal to go to 5-2. The next 4 games of the season we will split those as well (possibly go 1-3) to go to 6-5 or 7-4 and win the season finale at home vs UTEP to end the season at 7-5 or 8-4. This is the kind of talent that we are potentially bringing in at QB. I am confident in 7-5 with DaMarcus Smith as our QB in this new offensive system (if they stick to the system). With AM as our starter throughout the season, I am confident we will be lucky to get to 4 wins. If I can see these things from afar, the coaching staff that has who knows how many years of combined coaching experience can see it up close.

greenminer · May 12, 2015

I don't know why people insist that NT is deep at rb. Jimmerson has shown flashes, but going into his senior year, he still hasn't secured the number one position. All the rest, really haven't played enough to fully evaluate.
Deep was having two NCAA leading rushers back. It is not having a handful of basically unproven rbs that might prove to be good.

I like Jimmy as our backup: he can be frustrating with occasional fumbles, but so can how we use him. I don't understand the runs up the gut when his talent is clearly on the edges.

We are definitely not at a level of Cobbs spelling Galbreath, but we have tons of talent that has the potential to score from many angles. And who is the kid we use for short-yardage that has seemingly never failed to convert? FFR, you've praised him a couple times.

Having said all that, we still need a guy taking snaps that can stretch the field and thus back the opposing D off our run game.

MeanGreenTexan · May 12, 2015

I like Jimmy as our backup: he can be frustrating with occasional fumbles, but so can how we use him. I don't understand the runs up the gut when his talent is clearly on the edges.

We are definitely not at a level of Cobbs spelling Galbreath, but we have tons of talent that has the potential to score from many angles. And who is the kid we use for short-yardage that has seemingly never failed to convert? FFR, you've praised him a couple times.

Having said all that, we still need a guy taking snaps that can stretch the field and thus back the opposing D off our run game.

The White Mamba: Jarrod Lynn.