MGB breaking news -- Alabama QB Alec Morris intends to transfer to UNT

[Cr1028]

8 hours ago, James said:

Lord have mercy. It's a miracle. 

Edited December 29, 2015 by Cr1028

[Eagle-96]

The big win is that he will be here in January and be here for spring ball. That is huge:

1. He will be able to get a playbook and have 8 months to learn it as opposed to Smith having 1 month last season.

2. He will be able to workout(on the side) with the current group of receivers, tight ends, and running backs. He needs to throw to these guys as much as possible between now and September.

3. He will get to be around the team for several months. Trust in your teammates cannot be underrated.

4. He will get to participate in Spring Ball and use the playbook in practice and scrimmage situations. Repetition, repetition, repetition is key in the Air Raid.

5. He will hit summer practice with a working knowledge of, and practice in, the Littrell's system.

[JesseMartin]

So much WTF in this thread.  Of course we have to be cautiously optimistic with anyone coming aboard, be they a coach or a player, but damn, don't everybody get all negative right off the bat.  Half of this is akin to, "Come on, Seth, why couldn't you get a STARTER from an SEC school to transfer here?  Stop being a lazy bum!"  We have a backup from Alabama and are being considered by one from Ole Miss.  That's a hell of a start.  Everybody chill the f out.

Edited December 29, 2015 by JesseMartin

[HoustonEagle]

Not a Driskel kind of get but well worth the scholarship and maybe he wins the position.  I do think Littrell will find/improve some talent in the guys we have as well. Miracles do happen!

[Hunter Green]

Great news!  Finally!

GO MEAN GREEN!

[Eagle-96]

11 minutes ago, JesseMartin said:

So much WTF in this thread.  Of course we have to be cautiously optimistic with anyone coming aboard, be they a coach or a player, but damn, don't everybody get all negative right off the bat.  Half of this is akin to, "Come on, Seth, why couldn't you get a STARTER from an SEC school to transfer here?  Stop being a lazy bum!"  We have a backup from Alabama and are being considered by one from Ole Miss.  That's a hell of a start.  Everybody chill the f out.

The negativity regarding the 3rd team status is odd. He is a 3rd teamer for an SEC team that is a NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP contender every year. From some accounts he was close to winning the QB job. He spends every practice playing against 2nd and 3rd team defenders on an Alabama defense that would START on every team in CUSA. He will be the most talented QB from day one at UNT. My main concern is that he will not have ANY competition from other QBs to push him to excel. If Littrell can flip a couple of 3-star high school QBs to provide some push then I will be a little more at ease. 

[Harry]

He's been a part of a big time system (Bama), playing against some of the very best talent in the country.

He's a big guy (6-3, 235), very strong with a big arm.  Watch the release on his videos.

Not making the starting spot at a place like Bama is no shame.  As someone else posted, he was a hair away from being the starter this past season.

Please understand, Bama will bring in two highly regarded QB's a year... you have to at that level.  So the competition is tough to say the least.

He immediately raises the level of competition in this program at the most important position.  We started last season with Andrew McNulty at QB.  This season we could have either Morris or Smith, both of who will go  through their first spring drills. 

Lastly, this shows the reach and impact Littrell, his staff and his offense will have on the recruiting process.  There is no way Mac would have landed a player like this.  If we can start to identify our program as a good place for elite players to get back home it could elevate us quickly. 

All this said, I am intrigued by what held him back at Bama, and what people close to their program perceive kept him from taking the lead spot.  I sense he was a hair away and it just works out that way sometimes.

GMG

[Hunter Green]

8 hours ago, Ben Gooding said:

Good news. Some of you are acting like we are bringing in a Heisman trophy finalist or something. He has talent, but is as unproven as unproven gets at the college level. 

Maybe we should just pass on him then.

[ChristopherRyanWilkes]

I can't imagine him not being an instant and huge improvement over what we currently have on the roster. 

Here's Alabama fans thoughts: 

http://www.tidefans.com/forums/showthread.php?t=260630&s=ecd85e0a21f9d588318a456dc2302f61

"I don't think there was anything negative said about the guy while he was here. Also, the last few years I think he's been the backup QB with the headset on the most...he's definitely been that guy this year with a seemingly active role in calling in the plays. Perhaps he plays a year at UNT then becomes a graduate assistant coach?"

"I think Alex was our most important QB. He is like a coach on the sidelines. I hate to see this but certainly understand. Glad he is staying through bowl games and glad he has graduated."

Edited December 29, 2015 by ChristopherRyanWilkes

[Army of Dad]

7 minutes ago, Hunter Green said:

Maybe we should just pass on him then.

That's not what I took from his post. It seems to me we have the usual overreaction in both directions.

[glick1980]

This is exciting no matter how you look at it.  We need talent and competition at every position. 

[Hunter Green]

2 minutes ago, Army of Dad said:

That's not what I took from his post. It seems to me we have the usual overreaction in both directions.

It's just that this kid is going to be a MAJOR upgrade to our most important position. After what has been thrown out there by McCarney for the last two years, you'd think everyone would look at this as a positive. But for some, the glass is still half empty

[Army of Dad]

1 minute ago, Hunter Green said:

It's just that this kid is going to be a MAJOR upgrade to our most important position. After what has been thrown out there by McCarney for the last two years, you'd think everyone would look at this as a positive. But for some, the glass is still half empty

And for some the glass is completely empty since they used it to drink the entire bottle of spiked kool aid and are (both understandably and unreasonably) deliriously happy. 

This is good news but it's fine to tap the brakes a bit, IMO.

[Hunter Green]

1 minute ago, Army of Dad said:

And for some the glass is completely empty since they used it to drink the entire bottle of spiked kool aid and are (both understandably and unreasonably) deliriously happy. 

This is good news but it's fine to tap the brakes a bit, IMO.

Tap away, sir.

[Eagle-96]

3 minutes ago, Army of Dad said:

And for some the glass is completely empty since they used it to drink the entire bottle of spiked kool aid and are (both understandably and unreasonably) deliriously happy. 

This is good news but it's fine to tap the brakes a bit, IMO.

Here is an easy breakdown of the UNT QB position:

2015:

 

2016:

[Hunter Green]

1 hour ago, Eagle-96 said:

The big win is that he will be here in January and be here for spring ball. That is huge:

1. He will be able to get a playbook and have 8 months to learn it as opposed to Smith having 1 month last season.

2. He will be able to workout(on the side) with the current group of receivers, tight ends, and running backs. He needs to throw to these guys as much as possible between now and September.

3. He will get to be around the team for several months. Trust in your teammates cannot be underrated.

4. He will get to participate in Spring Ball and use the playbook in practice and scrimmage situations. Repetition, repetition, repetition is key in the Air Raid.

5. He will hit summer practice with a working knowledge of, and practice in, the Littrell's system.

And if Demarcus Smith is any kind of competitor, and I think he is, this should make him work harder to become better.

[Army of Dad]

2 minutes ago, Hunter Green said:

And if Demarcus Smith is any kind of competitor, and I think he is, this should make him work harder to become better.

I'm out of +1s at the moment, but I agree with you on this. More and better competition at every position is a very good thing.

[oldguystudent]

If nothing else, this is HUGE for the UNT psyche.  This isn't some Oklahoma castoff gone slinking around for a last chance.  This is a graduate transfer from a serious program who did all the right things through four years at Alabama.  Littrell is quickly showing he's not here to screw around.

[untjim1995]

6 minutes ago, Eagle-96 said:

Here is an easy breakdown of the UNT QB position:

2015:

 

2016:

This.

He will start here, day 1, barring any injury. No more FCS or D-2 QBs starting here anymore. With Morris and Damarcus Smith as a backup, we should be in the best shape at QB we have been in since the Dodge days.

Great pickup, Seth Littrell....

[ChristopherRyanWilkes]

10 minutes ago, Hunter Green said:

And if Demarcus Smith is any kind of competitor, and I think he is, this should make him work harder to become better.

To be honest, I don't think D.Smith is going to be much of a competition. We are still going to bring in a Freshman QB and perhaps two. Those will be Alec's biggest competition if Littrell is any kind of recruiter. D.Smith had his audition and did not live up to expectations. Might be why we were his only FBS offer coming out of JuCo, regardless of his high school rating. 

[Dr. Seuss]

After doing some creeping on twitter and facebook.  It looks like his girlfriend lives in Dallas too.  I'm still confused why Morris would choose UNT but I think dating his HS sweetheart or a girl from Allen really sold the deal.  

[NTAlum09]

33 minutes ago, Eagle-96 said:

The negativity regarding the 3rd team status is odd. He is a 3rd teamer for an SEC team that is a NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP contender every year. From some accounts he was close to winning the QB job. He spends every practice playing against 2nd and 3rd team defenders on an Alabama defense that would START on every team in CUSA. He will be the most talented QB from day one at UNT. My main concern is that he will not have ANY competition from other QBs to push him to excel. If Littrell can flip a couple of 3-star high school QBs to provide some push then I will be a little more at ease. 

What's the logic on being negative about this recruit? Prime example is look what La Tech accomplished with their QB transfers.

2014 -  QB Cody Sokol transfers from Iowa to La Tech - Heart of Dallas Bowl

2015 - QB Jeff Driskel transfer from Florida to La Tech - New Orleans Bowl

 

[p_phelps]

4 hours ago, UNT90 said:

You do realize that UNT starters are better players than Alabama 3rd teamers (with the exception of QB, where we have no FBS talent) , corrext? 

 

You realize we were got destroyed against Portland st this year so I'm not sure about that. All I'm saying is get talented players in the program.

[Mean_Green09]

3 minutes ago, NTAlum09 said:

What's the logic on being negative about this recruit? Prime example is look what La Tech accomplished with their QB transfers.

2014 -  QB Cody Sokol transfers from Iowa to La Tech - Heart of Dallas Bowl

2015 - QB Jeff Driskel transfer from Florida to La Tech - New Orleans Bowl

 

And Sokol was a 3rd stringer at Iowa

"HawkeyeReport.com reported that rising senior quarterback Cody Sokol has elected to transfer out of the program, possibly to either Louisiana Tech or Ball State. A junior college transfer who was part of the 2012 Hawkeye recruiting class, Sokol did not attempt a pass in his two seasons with the Hawkeyes, redshirting in 2012 and serving as Kirk Ferentz's third-string quarterback in 2013."

[ChristopherRyanWilkes]

4 hours ago, UNT90 said:

You do realize that UNT starters are better players than Alabama 3rd teamers (with the exception of QB, where we have no FBS talent) , corrext? 

Uhh... What? No, I did not realize that. Alabama 3rd teamers are still 3-star recruits with multiple FBS and P5 offers...