Day 10 Notebook: Rain Can't Stop Two-A-Days

Harry · August 22, 2016

DENTON - Friday was North Texas' 10th day of practice during its preseason camp and rain was once again a factor with morning and afternoon showers. Also making an appearance at Apogee Stadium ahead of his band's concert at the North Texas State Fair and Rodeo in Denton Friday night was Texas country singer Josh Abbott.

Friday was the Mean Green's third two-a-day session of the preseason. The wet weather created an opportunity for players to battle through the elements. Head coach Seth Littrell was pleased with his defense's work ethic on the field, which is beginning to become a theme of this fall camp.

Following every practice, Littrell picks one player who impressed him that day to break the huddle. Friday, it was defensive tackle Roderick Young of Spring, Texas.

Offensive Player of the Day: Running Back Anthony Wyche
Wyche, a sophomore, stands at 5-foot-11 and 195 pounds, but the LA Valley College transfer isn't afraid to take on tacklers. Friday, the Philadelphia native ran over all takers. In open space he used his speed to outrun several would-be tacklers.

Defensive Player of the Day: Defensive Back Dee Baulkman
Arizona Western College transfer Dee Baulkman had an interception midway through practice near midfield when he stepped in front of the intended receiver's short route. Though the play was whistled dead following his interception, it's safe to assume the Bainbridge, Georgia, native would have returned it for a touchdown.

read more: http://www.meangreensports.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/081916aab.html

UNTLifer · August 22, 2016

Wyche is making a name for himself during camp which leads to a question. Is Wilson being protected during camp and is the presumptive #1 with everyone else shooting for #2, or is Wyche a threat to be the #1 back?

Aldo · August 22, 2016

12 minutes ago, UNTLifer said:

Wyche is making a name for himself during camp which leads to a question. Is Wilson being protected during camp and is the presumptive #1 with everyone else shooting for #2, or is Wyche a threat to be the #1 back?

There are going to be lots of snaps. Lots, I tell you. I don't want Wilson running the ball more than 15-20, catching the ball 3-5.

At least not until he proves he can stay healthy.

TreeFiddy · August 22, 2016

1 hour ago, Aldo said:

There are going to be lots of snaps. Lots, I tell you. I don't want Wilson running the ball more than 15-20, catching the ball 3-5.

At least not until he proves he can stay healthy.

It looks like last year we averaged 72 offensive plays per game, which put us about 70th in the country. The top schools ran roughly 85 plays per game. At home, we ran an electric 64 plays per game and 76 on the road.

Looking forward to seeing this number climb to 80-82 range, which will be in the top 10-20 based on 2015 numbers. Indiana was 11th last year with 82.7 per game.

Also, we only averaged 4.6 yards per play (114th). We need to see this climb to at least 5.5 yards per play to be respectable (mid 50's) and 6.0+ to get into the 30's. Our total yardage per game was an awesome 331 yards, good enough for 111th nationally.

If we get the plays per game up to 80 and the yards per play up to 5.5 it would be good for 440 yards per game, which would have been good for 35th nationally last year.

If we are slightly above average in points per yard, 57th place last year scored at a clip of 14 yards per point. 440/14 = ~31 points per game. FYI, last year we scored at an amazing 20.8 yards per point, good for 123rd nationally.

FWIW, the 2013 team, that went to a bowl and had Heart of Dallas bowl MVP Derek Thompson, averaged 410 yards per game (57th), ran 74 plays per game (59th), scored 31.8 points per game (39th), gained 5.5 yards per play (55th), and scored a point every 12.9 yards (26th). I assume the yards per point benefited from the superior special teams play that year.

Edited August 22, 2016 by TreeFiddy

MeanGreenMailbox aka TFLF · August 22, 2016

22 minutes ago, TreeFiddy said:

It looks like last year we averaged 72 offensive plays per game, which put us about 70th in the country. The top schools ran roughly 85 plays per game. At home, we ran an electric 64 plays per game and 76 on the road.

Looking forward to seeing this number climb to 80-82 range, which will be in the top 10-20 based on 2015 numbers. Indiana was 11th last year with 82.7 per game.

Also, we only averaged 4.6 yards per play (114th). We need to see this climb to at least 5.5 yards per play to be respectable (mid 50's) and 6.0+ to get into the 30's. Our total yardage per game was an awesome 331 yards, good enough for 111th nationally.

If we get the plays per game up to 80 and the yards per play up to 5.5 it would be good for 440 yards per game, which would have been good for 35th nationally last year.

If we are slightly above average in points per yard, 57th place last year scored at a clip of 14 yards per point. 440/14 = ~31 points per game. FYI, last year we scored at an amazing 20.8 yards per point, good for 123rd nationally.

FWIW, the 2013 team, that went to a bowl and had Heart of Dallas bowl MVP Derek Thompson, averaged 410 yards per game (57th), ran 74 plays per game (59th), scored 31.8 points per game (39th), and scored a point every 12.9 yards (26th). I assume the yards per point benefited from the superior special teams play that year.

The flip side is the defense getting the offense the opportunities to get back out on the field for more plays. I think Ekeler and Reffett will have this defense up to the task of giving our offense more snaps than the 2014 and 2015 defenses.