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Morris said. "I think you saw the athleticism, the accuracy, the decision-making. I wouldn't be surprised if in 15 years, Drew Mestemaker's playing football still." The way things are heading, he could also simply be alluding to new NCAA rule changes that will allow players to remain in eligible forever.

Every transfer was once a HS recruit at their first school. It seems to me like most transfers are guys who did not succeed at their first stop and transfered seeking playing time. Does that seem consistent with your observations? I'm wondering if getting good HS recruits AND giving them early playing time is the right formula to getting those guys to stay an extra year or two and ultimately building up a good roster for a special run.

My LSU buddies were talking about what we witnessed on Friday 24 hours later. As the story of DM kept unfolding on espn my friends marveled at what we had just seen. They had never ever seen that before. Didn’t think it was possible. To walk into a top tier college football game after 2 weeks of prep and ball out. It was a fun watch. He stated, “North Texas would not die.” I’ll take that fight every day. And yes I did think we were going to get blown out. I invited two alums for the Friday afternoon affair and they couldn’t be bothered. Showed zero interest. But I took 2 SEC diehards and there they were having fun supporting our Mean Green. I’m not giddy about the loss. Rather I believe there will be lots of fireworks and cannon fodder in a few short months in DATCU. Analyze everything. Every win every loss every missed opportunity every rarity. GMG

The first few on the list are situational dependent, so I will address the last two points. You don’t think it is problematic that our backup all season was a walk on that didn’t start in high school? I sure do given that they brought in Tisdale from TCU, a Juco, and a scholarship freshman who were not better. Maybe that speaks to their ability to spot a diamond in the rough walk on, but isn’t it also an indictment of the lack of evaluation of the other three recruits? On the final point. Yes, they were asking too much from the QB in his first start since ninth grade! For a hundred years coaches have simplified the playbook and leaned on the running game when the inexperienced backup quarterback comes in. Suddenly, Morris is smarter than all coaches in history and decides that this kid should attempt around 45 passes (41 attempts plus plays that ended up as scrambles/sacks). Completely out the game in the hands of an inexperienced 18 year old. He exceeded our expectations but of course the player is going to have turnovers! Some have said the first INT isn’t on the qb and I could agree with that. It was another stupid WR screen (that we all hate) that went wrong. So also on Morris. I don’t hide it at all: I don’t believe in Morris. Said this from the beginning. And he has backed up my lack of faith by his actions! No defense for two years, the insane going on fourth down in our own territory in the first quarter, passing up on field goals when we just should take the points, etc. So yes, I hold him accountable for the results on the field.

Morris has talked about it before but with high school signees there is a much stronger relationship built with them and their families, as well as between them and the University itself. To a high school signee, this is their home and the only college they have ever known. To a transfer portal it’s just the next stop and a chance to bump up their stock for a better NIL/program opportunity. A freshman comes in and has a good season, they’ve successfully taken the first step at UNT in the plan they laid out when they came here. A transfer has a good season here and they’ve gotten what they wanted out of our school and program and typically will leverage it into a better opportunity. In terms of retaining players, you’re gonna have more success with the guys you got out of high school. But even if it’s just for a season, you still take guys who can produce like Morris and DT out of the portal all day. All about finding the right mix now. Definitely agree about the o-line and play calling. Looks like we have some quality help coming to supplement guys like Blair and Nelson. Play calling definitely has room for improvement, especially on those money situations on 3rd down and in the red zone where we weren’t near as highly ranked as our overall offensive statistics were.