D. Smith

Ben Gooding · October 16, 2015

I'm hoping I'm not the only one who caught Chico's press conference comment about the receivers dropping balls. Said something along the lines of "They're gonna have to get used to catching the ball this fast, they're not used to the ball hitting them so quickly." Straight up dogging McNuggets. I loved it

It's true. The ball is now on top of them on their breaks. The ball use to float into them 5 steps after their break like a loaf of bread.

MeanGreenTexan · October 16, 2015

I'm hoping I'm not the only one who caught Chico's press conference comment about the receivers dropping balls. Said something along the lines of "They're gonna have to get used to catching the ball this fast, they're not used to the ball hitting them so quickly." Straight up dogging McNuggets. I loved it

Why? It's one thing to be happy that DS is in now, but why piss on AM?

Mean_Green09 · October 16, 2015

Why? It's one thing to be happy that DS is in now, but why piss on AM?

He didnt piss on AM. It was just a statement of fact.

MGNation92 · October 16, 2015

Why? It's one thing to be happy that DS is in now, but why piss on AM?

He didn't come out and say "McNulty sucks. DaMarcus Rulez. lolz" but it was a subtle shot at the guy. Chico probably didn't even realize it, but he was basically saying "This is what happens when you have a qb that has arm strength"

MeanGreenTexan · October 16, 2015

He didn't come out and say "McNulty sucks. DaMarcus Rulez. lolz" but it was a subtle shot at the guy. Chico probably didn't even realize it, but he was basically saying "This is what happens when you have a qb that has arm strength"

I agree with what Canales was saying, and subtly pointing out the difference between the two.
The question was more directed at you and anyone else who would enjoy that kind of comment as "dogging" McNulty though. Why would that bring you any kind of satisfaction?

Again, McNulty has given this school everything he has. It's not his fault McCarney kept throwing him out there to be devoured by D-1 defenses.
He wasn't very good. I think we all can agree, but there shouldn't be any kind of satisfaction from his failure.

Or maybe I'm mis-understanding your previous post. If so, sorry.

MGNation92 · October 16, 2015

I agree with what Canales was saying, and subtly pointing out the difference between the two.
The question was more directed at you and anyone else who would enjoy that kind of comment as "dogging" McNulty though. Why would that bring you any kind of satisfaction?
Again, McNulty has given this school everything he has. It's not his fault McCarney kept throwing him out there to be devoured by D-1 defenses.
He wasn't very good. I think we all can agree, but there shouldn't be any kind of satisfaction from his failure.
Or maybe I'm mis-understanding your previous post. If so, sorry.

Yeah, bad wording on my part. I guess I was just trying to get at the fact that Mac, for the longest time, kept shoving mini-mac down our throats saying "he's the guy. he's the guy. Iowa, Florida, National Championships, he's the guy". Chico and everyone else on the team knew Smith had a better arm, and finally he was able to say so, because the better arm was showcased in real game action. So, to correct myself, it was not dogging mcnulty by any means, just reiterating what everyone already knew.

DaMarcus was and is a better athlete, and has a better arm than McNulty. Pure and simple.

Cr1028 · October 16, 2015

He was 9 of 26 and 2 TDs when they finally pulled first team. That's a 34% completion rate against first team D. I think that, above all conspiracy theories, explains why he never started for Mac.

You know Mac was right, 40% completion percentage with zero touchdowns for a total of 57 yards against a FCS team is light-years better.

GrandGreen · October 16, 2015

Smith made plenty of mistakes and given McCarney's aversion to turnovers, I can see why McCarney didn't feel comfortable with him. Saying that I agree with most that he should have been there from the beginning.

He brought excitement to the game and his running made the offense much more dangerous. As far as those that state that most of his damage was done against the second team. I was at the game, and frankly didn't notice a lot of subs until til a little before the fourth quarter. However, WKU second team defense is a lot better than NT's first; so although it maybe a valid point, the offense looked much more dangerous than it has all this year and you can add last year to that.

Cr1028 · October 16, 2015

Sorry, I thought he was pretty awful. At one point as we were getting blown out, he was 4 for 16 with a few throws in the dirt. If that had been McNulty people would have been losing their sh*t.
But since we are being positive, he was much better of escaping the pocket that our woeful O-Line cannot make. Also good running the ball, and the ball moves fast and he does spread it around.
I've seen a lot of other teams have backups come into games and look a whole lot better against us (in years past) than he did tonight. I hope that it was because it was his first game and first practice with the 1's and because WKU is real good.
Dajon looked much better every time we saw him than DaMarcus did yesterday. Such a shame the coaches couldn't coach up the talent and kept going to the safe QB.
Hopefully that was the worst game he ever plays and improves because he was too amped up. He has some skills, and if (and it's a big if) the errors were because of rust/nervousness/hyped up too much, then he will help us a lot.

Here is a stat you might want to consider that McNulty couldn't dream of. D. Smith rushed 16 times for 122 yards. This is our second best individual rushing performance of the season behind only Jeffrey Wilson at Southern Miss. It was better than any individual rushing performance last season.

LongJim · October 16, 2015

I think Smith could be terrific. He’s definitely got the physical and mental tools, and he can make plays. A telling thing last night is that due to his ability to keep plays alive and get the ball (at least a few times) where it needed to be, there was much more involvement from a great number of receivers. That’s a big deal.

I think there were legitimate reasons for keeping AM at QB up until now, and those were alluded to in Canales’ interview pre-game. I sometimes wonder if people have lost their minds sometimes about putting in the “better player”, because it’s not that simple. One telling thing that Canales also said—and I’m paraphrasing—was essentially ‘It’s not just about being a great athlete. You have to be a great *quarterback*.’ There are a lot of components to that, and they are not all physical. But whatever. I think Smith could possibly be exactly what the team needs. I think this offense can be pretty good by the end of the year.

Having said that, the defense…wow. Cornerback is going to be a strength, IMO, but wow are they green. Where UNT is really struggling is at LB. Not sure what’s going on there, but unless the defense can get off the field more consistently and stop people on 3^rd downs, there is a real possibility of 0-fer.

Army of Dad · October 16, 2015

Smith made plenty of mistakes and given McCarney's aversion to turnovers, I can see why McCarney didn't feel comfortable with him. Saying that I agree with most that he should have been there from the beginning.
He brought excitement to the game and his running made the offense much more dangerous. As far as those that state that most of his damage was done against the second team. I was at the game, and frankly didn't notice a lot of subs until til a little before the fourth quarter. However, WKU second team defense is a lot better than NT's first; so although it maybe a valid point, the offense looked much more dangerous than it has all this year and you can add last year to that.

I always hated that explanation from Mac. Mini Mac has a negative TD:INT ratio, not sure how many fumbles so it's not like Mini was really taking care of the football...

Mean_Green09 · October 16, 2015

Sorry, I thought he was pretty awful. At one point as we were getting blown out, he was 4 for 16 with a few throws in the dirt. If that had been McNulty people would have been losing their sh*t.
But since we are being positive, he was much better of escaping the pocket that our woeful O-Line cannot make. Also good running the ball, and the ball moves fast and he does spread it around.
I've seen a lot of other teams have backups come into games and look a whole lot better against us (in years past) than he did tonight. I hope that it was because it was his first game and first practice with the 1's and because WKU is real good.
Dajon looked much better every time we saw him than DaMarcus did yesterday. Such a shame the coaches couldn't coach up the talent and kept going to the safe QB.
Hopefully that was the worst game he ever plays and improves because he was too amped up. He has some skills, and if (and it's a big if) the errors were because of rust/nervousness/hyped up too much, then he will help us a lot.

Look man Dajon got his first start against a junior high team and then got a bye week. Plus he was in the program for a 1yr and half at that point.

NT just asked DaMarcus to prepare in a short week to go up against a team better than team Dajon faced. We are talking about a guy who had a handful of reps with the 1st team and who doesnt have a full grasp of the play book. He also isnt playing behind an experienced OL. Top it off you asked him to go up against his old team in his first FBS start.

Dajon made his own choices that got him booted. He wasnt going to last at any school he went too. Its a shame. Mac didnt run him off

DaMarcus is more talented than Dajon. He is the most talented QB UNT has had in some time. Now he just needs to be developed.

Im not worried about the completion percentage. That will work its self out with some mechanical corrections and when he feels comfortable out there. He is a 50-55% completion guy.

He trys to force it because he has got away with that all his life. Any QB with that kinda of arm strength has an ego that they can fit it anywhere.

MeanGreenHoops · October 16, 2015

It's only one game, so he hasn't proven he is a better decision maker, yet. I do think he sees the field better and he looks like the game is moving slower than Dajon made it look. Dajon wasn't ready for that speed. Part of that is that Dajon was a redshirt freshman, and Smith is in his fifth year out of high school. Smith also has a stronger arm, although Dajon had a good one too, and I think Smith is a better runner (don't know who's necessarily faster). Smith's accuracy issue is a big one, though.

Thanks for the take. Really good point on seeing the game slower than Dajon, and one I hadn't considered. That would explain the no terrible decisions like what Dajon did throwing to UAB out of his own endzone without even looking. I'm hopeful that his accuracy can be resolved with coaching and getting that 1st game over.

Here is a stat you might want to consider that McNulty couldn't dream of. D. Smith rushed 16 times for 122 yards. This is our second best individual rushing performance of the season behind only Jeffrey Wilson at Southern Miss. It was better than any individual rushing performance last season.

Yeah, he was better running the ball than i think any of us expected.

Look man Dajon got his first start against a junior high team and then got a bye week. Plus he was in the program for a 1yr and half at that point.
NT just asked DaMarcus to prepare in a short week to go up against a team better than team Dajon faced. We are talking about a guy who had a handful of reps with the 1st team and who doesnt have a full grasp of the play book. He also isnt playing behind an experienced OL. Top it off you asked him to go up against his old team in his first FBS start.
Dajon made his own choices that got him booted. He wasnt going to last at any school he went too. Its a shame. Mac didnt run him off
DaMarcus is more talented than Dajon. He is the most talented QB UNT has had in some time. Now he just needs to be developed.
Im not worried about the completion percentage. That will work its self out with some mechanical corrections and when he feels comfortable out there. He is a 50-55% completion guy.
He trys to force it because he has got away with that all his life. Any QB with that kinda of arm strength has an ego that they can fit it anywhere.

I really hope you are right. I reread my post and depending on the little voice in your head, it could sound like I thought Damarcus wasn't going to be any good. I was trying to say I didn't think he was good last night. And agree with you that he had a lot going against him for his 1st start. But Billy's point about seeing the game slower was obvious to me thinking back and gives me hope.

I agree he has the most talent we've had at the position. He was just so inaccurate it worried me quite a bit. I read this thread and it seemed that many were overhyping what wasn't a very good performance just because the ball zips out of his arm. I was guilty of the same last night, until i realized he was 4-16. I then questioned myself thinking, well maybe we've just been treated so poorly at the position for awhile that anybody who can pitch it like that, we fall in love with despite the performance.

Good news is he has 10 days for the next game and we'll get a much better idea. I'm hoping he really takes a huge leap forward like you said because the defense needs a high scoring offense.

Edited October 16, 2015 by MeanGreenHoops
typos

Matt from A700 · October 16, 2015

I'm just so in love with the fact that we finally have a playmaking QB who will keep the play alive. He didn't get sacked once, but was tackled maybe a yard behind the line of scrimmage on a scramble. #DaMarcusForHeisman

foutsrouts · October 16, 2015

Here is a stat you might want to consider that McNulty couldn't dream of. D. Smith rushed 16 times for 122 yards. This is our second best individual rushing performance of the season behind only Jeffrey Wilson at Southern Miss. It was better than any individual rushing performance last season.

And the most telling stat is that it was the most yards by an NT QB in 25 freaking years.

Cr1028 · October 16, 2015

Having said that, the defense…wow. Cornerback is going to be a strength, IMO, but wow are they green. Where UNT is really struggling is at LB. Not sure what’s going on there, but unless the defense can get off the field more consistently and stop people on 3^rd downs, there is a real possibility of 0-fer.

It's because I'm the DC AND linebackers coach.

Mean Green Eagle · October 16, 2015

We have a long way to go but at least it was fun at times tonight. It makes me very mad that DMac hasn't been given all the snaps up to this point as he clearly is the most talented QB on this roster. I also like that he gets other WRs involved in the game. Seemed like mini always wanted only to throw to Carlos.

I liked that too. Spreading it around is a good thing. Carlos was looking mighty frustrated on the sideline last night. At one point while he was on the exercise bike I saw and heard Canales hugging him and yelling for him to stay POSITIVE.

Demarcus and Carlos need extra reps together this week, and Marcus Smith needs a new can of spray tack.

MeanGreenTexan · October 16, 2015

I liked that too. Spreading it around is a good thing. Carlos was looking mighty frustrated on the sideline last night. At one point while he was on the exercise bike I saw and heard Canales hugging him and yelling for him to stay POSITIVE.
Demarcus and Carlos need extra reps together this week, and Marcus Smith needs a new can of spray tack.

Agree. At least in the first half. I think Carlos only had 1 catch in the first half. It was clear he and DS were not on the same page early on. Glad they connected in the 2nd half, especially on the 2 4Q TDs.

MGNation92 · October 16, 2015

I liked that too. Spreading it around is a good thing. Carlos was looking mighty frustrated on the sideline last night. At one point while he was on the exercise bike I saw and heard Canales hugging him and yelling for him to stay POSITIVE.
Demarcus and Carlos need extra reps together this week, and Marcus Smith needs a new can of spray tack.

I think I can understand his frustration. McNulty would lock into him as his first and only read 95% of the time. Hence why he was getting 8-9 catches a game with McNulty completing 13 passes a game. He was happy catching 8-9 balls a game. Now that we have a QB that actually goes through progressions and spreads the ball I wouldn't be surprised if his catches were cut down to 4-5 a game from here on out.

MeanGreenTexan · October 16, 2015

I think I can understand his frustration. McNulty would lock into him as his first and only read 95% of the time. Hence why he was getting 8-9 catches a game with McNulty completing 13 passes a game. He was happy catching 8-9 balls a game. Now that we have a QB that actually goes through progressions and spreads the ball I wouldn't be surprised if his catches were cut down to 4-5 a game from here on out.

He was still targeted a bunch. IMO, it's smart to get him the ball as much as possible.

Also, I hope Chico can write a few wrinkles in the playbook to put Carlos in motion with Wilson in the backfield & Smith in the shotgun. Run a few triple-option-type plays. Those are your 3 main weapons. Why not make the defense account for all 3 at once?

Army of Dad · October 16, 2015

I think I can understand his frustration. McNulty would lock into him as his first and only read 95% of the time. Hence why he was getting 8-9 catches a game with McNulty completing 13 passes a game. He was happy catching 8-9 balls a game. Now that we have a QB that actually goes through progressions and spreads the ball I wouldn't be surprised if his catches were cut down to 4-5 a game from here on out.

Maybe, but only for a game or two. Once opposing defenses realize they have to defend all receivers in the patten and not roll their coverages so heavily and so often to Carlos then it should really open him up to be more effective and explosive.

foutsrouts · October 16, 2015

1st item on the training list for D. Smith- learn to slide. PLEASE. I love the toughness but if he keeps taking hits head on we will see the backup QB very soon.

Yeah, he did his ACL when he was around 15 years old, so it's not as if he has a low chance of injury running like that. Hope that Chico works with him this week in that regard. We need him healthy and ready to go in the spring, unless we want to see Greer working with the first teamers then. We should probably give Greer a few series in upcoming blowouts. The second half of the Tennessee game might be a good time. Let's see if he can redeem himself for his debacle against the other UT last season.

GreenTexan13 · October 16, 2015

Yeah, he did his ACL when he was around 15 years old, so it's not as if he has a low chance of injury running like that. Hope that Chico works with him this week in that regard. We need him healthy and ready to go in the spring, unless we want to see Greer working with the first teamers then. We should probably give Greer a few series in upcoming blowouts. The second half of the Tennessee game might be a good time. Let's see if he can redeem himself for his debacle against the other UT last season.

Please... don't... ever mention Greer and him possibly playing ever again.

meangreendork · October 16, 2015

Please... don't... ever mention Greer and him possibly playing ever again.

He was like McNulty, but somehow worse. At least McNulty would attempt to pass.

GreenTexan13 · October 16, 2015

He was like McNulty, but somehow worse. At least McNulty would attempt to pass.

He just doesn't have the self confidence and the nerves to be given the responsibility of leading a team. It wasn't just the UT game in 2014 that he failed at. It was the LA Tech game later that year that absolutely gave me no hope for the guy. He couldn't even gain us any positive yards that game. McNulty actually sucks it up and gives it his best and doesn't look around like he's about to be executed like Greer. McNulty's best just isn't good enough for FBS league football.