MGB: Rodney Bendy has left program

[Brett Vito]

MGB: Wide receiver was listed as a backup on post-spring depth chart

http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2016/08/unt-roster-update-rodney-bendy-has-left-program.html/

[MeanGreenTexan]

Heck,
Bussey may be on the two-deep for the SMU game by default.

[UNT90]

Concerning.

[BillySee58]

40 minutes ago, MeanGreenTexan said:

Heck,
Bussey may be on the two-deep for the SMU game by default.

Yup. We currently have 9 scholarship receivers on our roster, and 8 receivers are going to be in our two-deep. With Smiley suspended that puts us at 8 for the SMU game with 8 spots in our two-deep. Then we also have the 2 tight ends and Dequinten Jackson supposed to come in, but either way I don't think any of the 3 freshmen receivers are going to redshirt.

Edited August 3, 2016 by BillySee58

[MeanGreenMailbox aka TFLF]

Not concerning.  OU did in 1999 with five guys who had never started a college game at WR before.  They went 7-5 in a tough Big 12.  We can do the same in this very watered down C-USA.  You just need guys who catch consistently and run well. 

The only concern to have is whether the front seven on defense will force enough three and outs to allow our offense back onto the field.  My worry is DL, not WR.  Although, the switch to 3-4 should help along those lines.

[MGNation92]

Does anybody know if Littrell is keeping a solid commitment to the walk on program? Mac seemed to have luck in it(although screwed us in scholarship players in the long run)

[UNT90]

11 minutes ago, MeanGreenMailbox said:

Not concerning.  OU did in 1999 with five guys who had never started a college game at WR before.  They went 7-5 in a tough Big 12.  We can do the same in this very watered down C-USA.  You just need guys who catch consistently and run well. 

The only concern to have is whether the front seven on defense will force enough three and outs to allow our offense back onto the field.  My worry is DL, not WR.  Although, the switch to 3-4 should help along those lines.

Ya, because UNT is OU...

A realistic comparison from you would be a pleasant change.

[MeanGreenMailbox aka TFLF]

We're not playing in the 1999 Big 12 with three teams ranked in the Top 10, five in the Top 25 throughout the season. 

We are in a conference where we will play the likes of UTSA, UTEP, and Rice.

OU's 1999 out of conference was:
Indiana State (I-AA) at home, Louisville and Notre Dame on the road. 

Our 2016 out of conference is:
Bethune-Cookman (FCS) at home, SMU at home, Army and Florida on the road

We have it far easier than OU did in 1999. 

It can work for us.
 

[UTSA Fan]

19 minutes ago, MeanGreenMailbox said:

We're not playing in the 1999 Big 12 with three teams ranked in the Top 10, five in the Top 25 throughout the season. 

We are in a conference where we will play the likes of UTSA, UTEP, and Rice.

OU's 1999 out of conference was:
Indiana State (I-AA) at home, Louisville and Notre Dame on the road. 

Our 2016 out of conference is:
Bethune-Cookman (FCS) at home, SMU at home, Army and Florida on the road

We have it far easier than OU did in 1999. 

It can work for us.
 

I don't know, at first glance that's a hard sell. I don't think the issue is schedule, but 4* versus 2* being ready to contribute on the next level on day 1.

[MeanGreenTexan]

4 minutes ago, UTSA Fan said:

I don't know, at first glance that's a hard sell. I don't think the issue is schedule, but 4* versus 2* being ready to contribute on the next level on day 1.

Oklahoma was hardly pulling in big time recruits during John Blake's tenure.   Their success was driven by Stoops' coaching ability and Leach's system.  I'm sure Littrell would agree.

[MeanGreenMailbox aka TFLF]

13 minutes ago, UTSA Fan said:

I don't know, at first glance that's a hard sell. I don't think the issue is schedule, but 4* versus 2* being ready to contribute on the next level on day 1.

Brandon Daniels was the only highly rated recruit out of the five who led OU in 1999, and that was as a QB.

The point is, OU had next to nothing coming back at WR in 1999, and nothing at all at QB.  UNT is in the same situation in 2016.  The common denominator is Seth Littrell.  He was a player in the middle of his career when Stoops and Leach came to OU.

Littrell was going into his junior year, a fullback, who had played in a run-based scheme his first two years at OU.  He saw how bare the cupboard was at OU after 1998 - he lived in on the field as a player.

The similarities are striking. 

 

[UNT90]

1 hour ago, MeanGreenMailbox said:

We're not playing in the 1999 Big 12 with three teams ranked in the Top 10, five in the Top 25 throughout the season. 

We are in a conference where we will play the likes of UTSA, UTEP, and Rice.

OU's 1999 out of conference was:
Indiana State (I-AA) at home, Louisville and Notre Dame on the road. 

Our 2016 out of conference is:
Bethune-Cookman (FCS) at home, SMU at home, Army and Florida on the road

We have it far easier than OU did in 1999. 

It can work for us.
 

WE ARENT OU!!

OU had 85 scholarship players. We now have 66. OU was 5-7 against a similiar schedule the year before.

THEY IMPROVED 2 GAMES!

You wanna say UNT goes 3-9? That is at least realistic and something I could understand.

Comparisons to OU because Littrell played there is just outright ridiculous. A comparison to Southern Miss in their 1st year under their current coach would be much more realistic. 

http://m.southernmiss.com/m/sports/m-footbl/mtt/todd_monken_832058.html

They talk about a tough schedule and an injury ridden team that first year that went 1-11. 

You say we aren't injury ridden? WE ARE DOWN 20 SCHOLARSHIP PLAYERS! That's worse than "injury ridden."

For the 2,000 time: THIS IS GOING TO TAKE SOME TIME.

Edited August 3, 2016 by UNT90

[Marty]

The wrath of Khan!

[Harry]

2 hours ago, MeanGreenTexan said:

Heck,
Bussey may be on the two-deep for the SMU game by default.

It's too soon for this.

[MeanGreenMailbox aka TFLF]

Lubbock Avalanche article from 1999 about Jarrail Jackson and the 1999 Sooners:

http://lubbockonline.com/stories/112099/spo_051-3047.shtml

"At first, it was hard to get used to," Jackson said this week. "The school had been so run-oriented. The receivers had been asked to block all the time. Now we had to get used to catching a lot of passes.

"We finally get to showcase our talents in the receiving corps."
...
"But I was a team player. I tried to do whatever the team asked me to do."  (That's the attitude we need all the players to have)
...
Now the balance has tilted the other way. Using many of the concepts that new offensive coordinator Mike Leach brought from Kentucky, Oklahoma has the nation's eighth-rated passing offense and is next to last in the Big 12 in rushing.
...
This year, Jackson has the best of both worlds on a 6-3 team that appears headed for Oklahoma's first bowl since 1994. He has lapped his career numbers which, prior to this season, were just 23 catches for 381 yards and one TD.

Heupel's presence has something to do with it. Not only is the lefthander from South Dakota talented, but he also put an end to the revolving door the Sooners had at quarterback under Blake. (Sound like a problem similar to the one we've had the past two years?)

The Sooners had a full dose of spring practice to get used to Heupel, and Heupel used the time to clearly establish himself before the season started.

"It helped the team out a lot," Jackson said. "We know Josh is the quarterback. We knew we were not going to have a quarterback controversy during the middle of the season. We got used to hearing Josh call plays and used to his cadence on the field."

I know many of you will not be convinced until you see it.  But, the offense will be fine.  Littrell lived through this:  half of his career under an run-first offense that was failing, and new QBs every other week.  Then, the last half of his career in the Leach spread - led entirely by guys who hadn't started before at WR, and a new QB who had transferred in.

Brett, go ahead and steal this OU 1998-99/UNT 2015-16 comparison as a theme, once we get halfway to the six win, bowl eligible mark this year!

 

[UNT90]

45 minutes ago, MeanGreenTexan said:

Oklahoma was hardly pulling in big time recruits during John Blake's tenure.   Their success was driven by Stoops' coaching ability and Leach's system.  I'm sure Littrell would agree.

Ya. They won a national title in Stoops second year.

Blake's recruits were awful.

Lol. 

[MeanGreenMailbox aka TFLF]

Our offense in 2016 will be the Killer Rabbit

[UNT90]

8 minutes ago, MeanGreenMailbox said:

Our offense in 2016 will be the Killer Rabbit

This has now crossed into the land of bits.

[MeanGreenTexan]

2 hours ago, UNT90 said:

Ya. They won a national title in Stoops second year.

Blake's recruits were awful.

Lol. 

Yes, that is correct.

[BillySee58]

2 hours ago, Harry said:

It's too soon for this.

See my post above. We're down to 8 scholarship receivers on our roster who can play against SMU (with Smiley suspended), and we run 4-wide so the two deep is 8 receivers.

[UNT90]

28 minutes ago, MeanGreenTexan said:

Yes, that is correct.

Awful enough to win a national title. 

Unless the starters were all made up of true Sophmores and Freshman.

 

 

 

[greenminer]

On 8/3/2016 at 5:20 PM, MeanGreenMailbox said:

Our offense in 2016 will be the Killer Rabbit

Surprises the opposition on the first series, then gets blown up by a holy hand grenade?

Edited August 5, 2016 by greenminer

[Mean Green 93-98]

4 hours ago, BillySee58 said:

See my post above. We're down to 8 scholarship receivers on our roster who can play against SMU (with Smiley suspended), and we run 4-wide so the two deep is 8 receivers.

If we lose one more WR, we won't even have a two-deep--we'll have to go out there with a 1 3/4 deep.

[Christopher Walker]

8 hours ago, MeanGreenMailbox said:

We're not playing in the 1999 Big 12 with three teams ranked in the Top 10, five in the Top 25 throughout the season. 

We are in a conference where we will play the likes of UTSA, UTEP, and Rice.

OU's 1999 out of conference was:
Indiana State (I-AA) at home, Louisville and Notre Dame on the road. 

Our 2016 out of conference is:
Bethune-Cookman (FCS) at home, SMU at home, Army and Florida on the road

We have it far easier than OU did in 1999. 

It can work for us.
 

...trying to favorably compare these two situations is straight up fantasy.

[oldguystudent]

So Bendy is broken?