Interesting football quote in Daily article

[GMGEagle]

“I’m very confident in all the guys we’ve got,” junior running back Jeffrey Wilson said of North Texas’ wide receivers. “Any day I’ll put them up against any receiving corps that’s in the college league right now.”

Quite the endorsement....

 

Reece Waddell | Senior Staff Writer

@ReeceWaddell15

The stadium was raucous and all 52,882 fans were on their feet. Seconds remained on the clock with a chance at history on the line. In an instant, the ball was snapped and a pass was lobbed along the sideline. 

Caught five yards short of the goal line, wide receiver Michael Crabtree broke two tackles and scampered into the endzone to give Texas Tech University the win over No. 1 University of Texas at Austin.

The quarterback who threw the game-winning pass was Graham Harrell, the current offensive coordinator at North Texas. And standing along the sidelines as running backs coach for the Red Raiders was Seth Littrell, the current head coach of the Mean Green.

But there is more in common with the 2008 Texas Tech team and the 2016 North Texas team than Harrell and Littrell. One of the first programs to run an “Air Raid” offense, Littrell brings to Denton the same scheme the Red Raiders used during their 11 win season.

And the Mean Green wide receivers are licking their chops.

“We hit the jackpot as receivers with this offense,” junior wide receiver Turner Smiley said. “Before, we threw the ball, but nothing like this. I’m definitely excited.”

Unlike the pro-style scheme ran under former head coach Dan McCarney, the spread offense is an up-tempo attack that moves the ball to as many players as possible. Typically run out of the shotgun, the “Air Raid” opens the field up for big plays and chances to score on essentially every down.

For this to work, however, playmakers are needed at virtually every skill position. 

“Every position is big, to be honest with you,” Littrell said. “If you think about a position in this system, they’re all making plays. That’s what we pride ourselves on, spreading the ball to as many different positions as possible.”

Unfortunately for Littrell and North Texas, offense was not the team’s strong suit last season. In 2015, the Mean Green ranked 117th in the Football Bowl Subdivision in total offense, managing just 3,841 yards. Additionally, the Mean Green compiled only 19 offensive touchdowns last year, the third-worst mark in the FBS. The top team, Baylor University, had 85.

To add to Littrell’s conundrum, North Texas’ receivers are relatively inexperienced. Of the 11 wide receivers on the Mean Green’s roster, only four have played a game in a North Texas uniform. Tallied together, North Texas’ receiving corps has combined for 649 yards and three receiving touchdowns. 

For a scheme that requires numerous threats on the outside, those statistics are not exactly ideal.

“Every receiver wants the ball,” Smiley said. “And you’re going to get the ball. A lot. I definitely think we have the talent to [make it work].”

Because the spread offense is predicated on throwing the ball, route running for receivers is a crucial part of making the system function. In years past, receivers at North Texas were almost equally as focused on blocking for runners as getting open downfield and hauling in passes.

That mentality has changed since the Littrell arrived.

“Route running is very important,” sophomore wide receiver Tee Goree said. “If you don’t get your depth on the route and you don’t run the correct steps on a route, the defensive back can cover you. You have to be very detailed with your route just to get open.”

Despite Littrell’s offense being one of the most fast-paced in college football, receivers on the team say they do not find it difficult to execute. Instead, Goree attributes the scheme’s simplicity to Littrell’s coaching techniques. 

“In this offense, you know what you have to do,” Goree said. “Last year the offense was a bunch of difficult stuff. The coaches teach this offense so we can learn it. The offense itself isn’t simpler, but the coaches are better.”

To help ease the transition of implementing a new offense, Littrell took an unorthodox approach, which included doing away with something many teams use on a daily basis.

“We don’t have playbooks here,” Littrell said. “Really. We don’t use playbooks. It’s too simple. We don’t have enough [plays]. If you have those big, thick playbooks, you can’t play fast. So we don’t do them.”

Even though several of North Texas’ receivers have yet to play in an FBS football game, there is no shortage of faith in their ability to engineer the “Air Raid.” With an almost entirely new coaching staff and offense in place, the Mean Green is anxious to turn things around and put points on the board after a lackluster 2015 campaign.

“I’m very confident in all the guys we’ve got,” junior running back Jeffrey Wilson said of North Texas’ wide receivers. “Any day I’ll put them up against any receiving corps that’s in the college league right now.”

Here's the link to the whole write-up

http://ntdaily.com/north-texas-football-confident-implementing-new-offense-despite-wr-inexperience/

Edited April 7, 2016 by GMGEagle

[Ben Gooding]

8 minutes ago, GMGEagle said:

“I’m very confident in all the guys we’ve got,” junior running back Jeffrey Wilson said of North Texas’ wide receivers. “Any day I’ll put them up against any receiving corps that’s in the college league right now.”

Quite the endorsement....

 

Reece Waddell | Senior Staff Writer

@ReeceWaddell15

The stadium was raucous and all 52,882 fans were on their feet. Seconds remained on the clock with a chance at history on the line. In an instant, the ball was snapped and a pass was lobbed along the sideline. 

Caught five yards short of the goal line, wide receiver Michael Crabtree broke two tackles and scampered into the endzone to give Texas Tech University the win over No. 1 University of Texas at Austin.

The quarterback who threw the game-winning pass was Graham Harrell, the current offensive coordinator at North Texas. And standing along the sidelines as running backs coach for the Red Raiders was Seth Littrell, the current head coach of the Mean Green.

But there is more in common with the 2008 Texas Tech team and the 2016 North Texas team than Harrell and Littrell. One of the first programs to run an “Air Raid” offense, Littrell brings to Denton the same scheme the Red Raiders used during their 11 win season.

And the Mean Green wide receivers are licking their chops.

“We hit the jackpot as receivers with this offense,” junior wide receiver Turner Smiley said. “Before, we threw the ball, but nothing like this. I’m definitely excited.”

Unlike the pro-style scheme ran under former head coach Dan McCarney, the spread offense is an up-tempo attack that moves the ball to as many players as possible. Typically run out of the shotgun, the “Air Raid” opens the field up for big plays and chances to score on essentially every down.

For this to work, however, playmakers are needed at virtually every skill position. 

“Every position is big, to be honest with you,” Littrell said. “If you think about a position in this system, they’re all making plays. That’s what we pride ourselves on, spreading the ball to as many different positions as possible.”

Unfortunately for Littrell and North Texas, offense was not the team’s strong suit last season. In 2015, the Mean Green ranked 117th in the Football Bowl Subdivision in total offense, managing just 3,841 yards. Additionally, the Mean Green compiled only 19 offensive touchdowns last year, the third-worst mark in the FBS. The top team, Baylor University, had 85.

To add to Littrell’s conundrum, North Texas’ receivers are relatively inexperienced. Of the 11 wide receivers on the Mean Green’s roster, only four have played a game in a North Texas uniform. Tallied together, North Texas’ receiving corps has combined for 649 yards and three receiving touchdowns. 

For a scheme that requires numerous threats on the outside, those statistics are not exactly ideal.

“Every receiver wants the ball,” Smiley said. “And you’re going to get the ball. A lot. I definitely think we have the talent to [make it work].”

Because the spread offense is predicated on throwing the ball, route running for receivers is a crucial part of making the system function. In years past, receivers at North Texas were almost equally as focused on blocking for runners as getting open downfield and hauling in passes.

That mentality has changed since the Littrell arrived.

“Route running is very important,” sophomore wide receiver Tee Goree said. “If you don’t get your depth on the route and you don’t run the correct steps on a route, the defensive back can cover you. You have to be very detailed with your route just to get open.”

Despite Littrell’s offense being one of the most fast-paced in college football, receivers on the team say they do not find it difficult to execute. Instead, Goree attributes the scheme’s simplicity to Littrell’s coaching techniques. 

“In this offense, you know what you have to do,” Goree said. “Last year the offense was a bunch of difficult stuff. The coaches teach this offense so we can learn it. The offense itself isn’t simpler, but the coaches are better.”

To help ease the transition of implementing a new offense, Littrell took an unorthodox approach, which included doing away with something many teams use on a daily basis.

“We don’t have playbooks here,” Littrell said. “Really. We don’t use playbooks. It’s too simple. We don’t have enough [plays]. If you have those big, thick playbooks, you can’t play fast. So we don’t do them.”

Even though several of North Texas’ receivers have yet to play in an FBS football game, there is no shortage of faith in their ability to engineer the “Air Raid.” With an almost entirely new coaching staff and offense in place, the Mean Green is anxious to turn things around and put points on the board after a lackluster 2015 campaign.

“I’m very confident in all the guys we’ve got,” junior running back Jeffrey Wilson said of North Texas’ wide receivers. “Any day I’ll put them up against any receiving corps that’s in the college league right now.”

Here's the link to the whole write-up

http://ntdaily.com/north-texas-football-confident-implementing-new-offense-despite-wr-inexperience/

Pow-pow. Shots fired. 

[emmitt01]

40 minutes ago, Ben Gooding said:

Pow-pow. Shots fired. 

Translation: Didn't nobody care about your rings and rah rah speeches while we were getting skull drug

[MeanGreen13]

1 hour ago, Ben Gooding said:

Pow-pow. Shots fired. 

My thoughts exactly... That was the quote that stood out the most. 

[greenminer]

3 hours ago, GMGEagle said:

But there is more in common with the 2008 Texas Tech team and the 2016 North Texas team than Harrell and Littrell. One of the first programs to run an “Air Raid” offense, Littrell brings to Denton the same scheme the Red Raiders used during their 11 win season.

Here's the link to the whole write-up

http://ntdaily.com/north-texas-football-confident-implementing-new-offense-despite-wr-inexperience/

This offense goes way back to Hal Mumme.  I don't understand the disconnect: why does the media do this?

This offense is nothing new.  Litrell got it under The Pirate.  The Pirate learned it (and tweaked it) under Mumme.

[Ben Gooding]

2 minutes ago, greenminer said:

This offense goes way back to Hal Mumme.  I don't understand the disconnect: why does the media do this?

This offense is nothing new.  Litrell got it under The Pirate.  The Pirate learned it (and tweaked it) under Mumme.

Most understand this. Well, most of the real CFB fans. 

[UNTLifer]

Good article. Reece is a good writer. 

[FirefightnRick]

3 hours ago, greenminer said:

This offense goes way back to Hal Mumme.  I don't understand the disconnect: why does the media do this?

This offense is nothing new.  Litrell got it under The Pirate.  The Pirate learned it (and tweaked it) under Mumme.

...and Mumme from Mouse Davis who was running it at Portland State and so on and so forth.....all the way back to Pop Warner and the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in 1893,....when a hiked ball was rolled to the QB and an incomplete forward pass was a penalty.

 

Rick

Edited April 8, 2016 by FirefightnRick

[akriesman]

I still remember Mumme's short reign at NM State.   It was not a good one.

I am excited about seeing what Littrell can do.  But, since he was hired, a few times I have thought about Mumme's first season at NM State (0-12).

Edited April 8, 2016 by akriesman

[North Texas Shep]

I like the attitude and confidence of these guys. They are ready to win. Now get out there and earn those wins.

[greenminer]

12 hours ago, FirefightnRick said:

...and Mumme from Mouse Davis who was running it at Portland State and so on and so forth.....all the way back to Pop Warner and the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in 1893,....when a hiked ball was rolled to the QB and an incomplete forward pass was a penalty.

 

Rick

You could say that to water down any discussion of schemes.  Kind of a weird post.  

Just my opinion but I don't identify run-and-shoot with air raid under the same lineage, despite some similarities.

If you are aware of a connection between Davis and Mumme, I would love to know about it.

EDIT: further reading attributes the spread (not just the run-and-shoot) to Davis.

Edited April 8, 2016 by greenminer

[southsideguy]

the problem at NMSU is UNM gets the money and the NMSU program has to have bake sales to fund their athletics.  

[edcollopy]

new mexico high schools produce very few div 1 athletes in football.  Texas doesn't have that problem.

[oldguystudent]

No playbook?  Simple offense?  Does Brock Berglund have a brother?  I'm sensing undefeated season!

[North Texas Shep]

3 hours ago, oldguystudent said:

No playbook?  Simple offense?  Does Brock Berglund have a brother?  I'm sensing undefeated season!

We will be his 3rd collegiate stop, if he does.