DRC Monday column: Best sign in win over Rice was UNT's grit

[Brett Vito]

DRC: UNT had every opportunity to fold, but kept on working and eventually pulled out a landmark win

http://www.dentonrc.com/sports/sports-headlines/20160925-brett-vito-unt-shows-newfound-grit-in-comeback-win-against-rice.ece

[Harry]

Good article but the key difference between this team and the 2013 is we have a true freshman QB when we had a 5th year senior in 2013.  We all love to 2013 team but this program under Littrell has a MUCH bigger upside.

[DeepGreen]

Agree, Harry.  And a major upside is Littrell's willingness to get out and recruit quality ballers.  That lacked under Dan "look at my ring" McCarney.  Our present staff may be young overall, but that makes them hungry to succeed.

Whether we have a decent season or not, I look forward to seeing what this staff can do when given a full season to recruit.

Edited September 27, 2016 by DeepGreen

[Ben Gooding]

3 minutes ago, DeepGreen said:

Agree, Harry.  And a major upside is Littrell's willingness to get our and recruit quality ballers.  That lacked under Dan "look at my ring" McCarney.  Our present staff may be young overall, but that makes them hungry to succeed.

Assuming we have a decent season or not, I look forward to see what this staff can do when given a full season to recruit.

As do I. This will be telling. Offensively, we aren't losing much from this years team. If they can bring in some studs that can help contribute out of the gate that will be huge going forward into next years season. Defensively, I think we need to rely on JUCO guys again to fill some ailing holes that will be there at LB. Defensively, losing Scott and Finney will hurt but those are guys that I don't think you would tag is "irreplaceable." They are good guys that play well that can be replaced. A good recruiting class this February is pivotal, to say the least. 

[ChristopherRyanWilkes]

19 minutes ago, Harry said:

Good article but the key difference between this team and the 2013 is we have a true freshman QB when we had a 5th year senior in 2013.  We all love to 2013 team but this program under Littrell has a MUCH bigger upside.

I told someone that 2013 was just bound to happen. Even a blind squirrel finds a nut every once in a while. Odds said we were due 1 winning season in 10 years. This feels more like a set-up for multiple winning seasons, rather than all the right circumstances coming together like they did in 2013. Don't get me wrong, 2013 was still awesome. Just different feel like you said.

[SSP]

Agreed, Harry.  

The biggest contributors to the fate of this team are going to be:

- keeping key players free from injury

- consistent grind in practices 

- momentum and team confidence is THE MOST VITAL and where I agree with Vito. ?

*McCarney didn't believe in his guys and gave up on them.  The team knew it. They were hungry to be coached and not  just yelled at about how they screwed up all of the time. 

-@ChristopherRyanWilkes- 2013 was STACKED with a  very special group of outspoken seniors that knew how to lead.  That...  Brings me to my next point.  We have a very immature and young team.  Leadership within our upperclassman will be undisputably one of the most important aspects of how this team progresses further (as it was in 2013). We have some playmakers and whether or not those Seniors step up and lead/ motivate will be do or die for the rest of this year.   We didn't have this for the last two years because Mccarney and his staff killed that aspect ( I mean... come on. Carlos Harris was considered a team leader).  Thank God for our coaching staff.  They have the trust from our players.  One of the most promising, honest and encouraging things that I've heard Littrell say is,

 

“We talk about it all the time,” Littrell said. “Don’t blink. Great things are coming. Things are not always going to go your way. Keep grinding and eventually that adversity will flip and you will get momentum.”

This is one of the basic principles that athletes are taught from a very young age and is often neglected by coaches as the playing field gets more competitive.  THAT is very promising to hear for the future of this program. 

UNT showed that kind of intestinal fortitude during the 2013 season, when the Mean Green won another thrilling game against Rice.

 Yep. Intestinal fortitude, indeed.

-----------------------

The GREAT news is this:

 We are a wild card right now.  I don't think its safe for anyone to assume or suggest what this team is going to do or what they are capable of the rest of this year.   We have some serious momentum and hope going into next week.  Our players feel it.  Some of those red shirt juniors and seniors saw this in 2013 and were reminded of how that felt last Saturday. They won't give that up easily.  Saturday will be very telling.

On 2013,  I am reminded of us being a wildcard then as well.  The majority of our Fanbase did not believe in that team AT ALL. Every week they would show up and drag us through a variety of emotions during 1-three hour game.  Just when you thought a game was a loss, they'd outwork and out ST/ defense the other team to pull out a win. Only leadership and belief in a program can do that. That's what I saw last Saturday.  It was the exact same feeling but with a coaching staff that has nothing to lose and everything to gain at this point. I have hope and that was a hell of a lot more than I could say after the first quarter on Saturday.  I literally thought to myself... "Well, this is how it ends for our Senior.  How sad. At least he had that 2013 season but HOW SAD."

 

THIS SATURDAY IS HUGE. Double up on your meds, fans.

Edited September 26, 2016 by SSP

[UNTFan23]

10 minutes ago, SSP said:

THIS SATURDAY IS HUGE. Double up on your meds, fans.

10-4!

[Ben Gooding]

11 minutes ago, SSP said:

Agreed, Harry.  

The biggest contributors to the fate of this team are going to be:

- keeping key players free from injury

- consistent grind in practices 

- momentum and team confidence is THE MOST VITAL and where I agree with Vito. ?

*McCarney didn't believe in his guys and gave up on them.  The team knew it. They were hungry to be coached and not  just yelled at about how they screwed up all of the time. 

-@ChristopherRyanWilkes- 2013 was STACKED with a  very special group of outspoken seniors that knew how to lead.  That...  Brings me to my next point.  We have a very immature and young team.  Leadership within our upperclassman will be undisputably one of the most important aspects of how this team progresses further (as it was in 2013). We have some playmakers and whether or not those Seniors step up and lead/ motivate will be do or die for the rest of this year.   We didn't have this for the last two years because Mccarney and his staff killed that aspect ( I mean... come on. Carlos Harris was considered a team leader).  Thank God for our coaching staff.  They have the trust from our players.  One of the most promising, honest and encouraging things that I've heard Littrell say is,

 

“We talk about it all the time,” Littrell said. “Don’t blink. Great things are coming. Things are not always going to go your way. Keep grinding and eventually that adversity will flip and you will get momentum.”

This  is one of the basic principles that athletes are taught from a very young age and is often neglected by coaches as the playing field gets more competitive.  THAT is very promising to hear for the future of this program.

UNT showed that kind of intestinal fortitude during the 2013 season, when the Mean Green won another thrilling game against Rice.

 Yep. Intestinal fortitude, indeed.

-----------------------

The GREAT news is this:

 We are a wild card right now.  I don't think its safe for anyone to assume or suggest what this team is going to do or what they are capable of the rest of this year.   We have some serious momentum and hope going into next week.  Our players feel it.  Some of those red shirt juniors and seniors saw this in 2013 and were reminded of how that felt last Saturday. They won't give that up easily.  Saturday will be very telling.

On 2013,  I am reminded of us being a wildcard then as well.  The majority of our Fanbase did not believe in that team AT ALL. Every week they would show up and drag us through a variety of emotions during 1-three hour game.  Just when you thought a game was a loss, they'd outwork and out ST/ defense the other team to pull out a win. Only leadership and belief in a program can do that. That's what I saw last Saturday.  It was the exact same feeling but with a coaching staff that has nothing to lose and everything to gain at this point. I have hope and that was a hell of a lot more than I could say after the first quarter on Saturday.  I literally thought to myself... "Well, this is how it ends for our Senior.  How sad. At least he had that 2013 season but HOW SAD."

 

THIS SATURDAY IS HUGE. Double up on your meds, fans.

Good stuff. 

We need to drag every warm body we know to this game on Saturday. We need to will this team. They are young, so they are vulnerable. They are also vulnerable to playing through the crowd. So we need a large, loud, and very vocal crowd this Saturday evening. This game is big. We can't, as fans, not do our part and allow the trajectory of the season plummet. GMG

[MCMLXXX]

1 hour ago, DeepGreen said:

 A major upside is Littrell's willingness to get our and recruit quality ballers.  That lacked under Dan "look at my ring" McCarney.

Littrell has a ring and I have never heard him refer to it. He does not live in the past.

[Mean Green 93-98]

28 minutes ago, MCMLXXX said:

Littrell has a ring and I have never heard him refer to it. He does not live in the past.

Great observation.  Other than X's and O's philosophy, that may be the biggest difference between the two.  Seth is constantly looking forward.

[Eagle-96]

The Rice win was the perfect scenario for the team. It makes it easier for Littrell to give halftime speeches to the team now because the team will believe that they are never out of a game. They now have faith in the game-plan and each other that ANYTHING is possible. Last years team would have mailed it in and lost by 40. I keep hearing the team repeat Littrell's mantras about accountability, preparation in practice translating to game day, and getting one week better. They seem to be buying into the system and that makes me excited about the diredtion of the program. 

This season is starting to look like 2000. Scott Hall was a lightly recruited QB that didn't have measurables that fit the QB mold. Most schools wanted him as a DB. UNT gave him a chance at QB and he entered the year as a back-up. He got his first start against a D1AA(Samford) and won going away as Fine did against BC. We didn't win much that season but Hall got the much needed experience that started our bowl run the next season. This is where I think this season will pay dividends even if we don't win another game. Fine will get the experience he needs at QB and we can go into next season with an experienced FBS QB at the helm. I also think Cade will give him some competition to boot. 

[Got5onIt]

9 hours ago, UNTFan23 said:

10-4!

 

HELL YEAH MFers!!!

Saturday can't get here soon enough!

[GreenTexan13]

16 hours ago, Harry said:

Good article but the key difference between this team and the 2013 is we have a true freshman QB when we had a 5th year senior in 2013.  We all love to 2013 team but this program under Littrell has a MUCH bigger upside.

Good point!

You could also say, that one coach used their predecessor's recruit QB in 2013 and one coach brought in their own QB in 2016.

[Wag Tag]

20 hours ago, Harry said:

Good article but the key difference between this team and the 2013 is we have a true freshman QB when we had a 5th year senior in 2013.  We all love to 2013 team but this program under Littrell has a MUCH bigger upside.

Youthful coaches and Admin leadership is the key!

[outoftown]

I am happy and glad to see so many people are amped. But I do not want to make too much out of the MTSU game and the Rice win. The Rice win was a very encouraging sign but I am afraid that if people get to high now and increase their expectations into the sky, they might be too low after a probable MTSU loss (it would be unfair to the young team and coaches to expect a win MTSU is simply a good deal btter than Rice). The enthusiasm feels like 2013. But I was one of those people who felt preseason 2013 that it would be a bowl year even if the national press didn't. I don't see that yet. The overall direction of the program is certainly better than 2013, but in a vacuum of not knowing what came before or would be after the 2013 team was better. That team had a decent O-line, it didn't have more offensive playmakers, but it was deeper at most positions with maybe the exception of RB and DB, in fact on defense it was so deep, it often would tire out the opponents offense rather than the other way around. Through pretty much no fault of SL this team is paper thin at several positions, something SL will not be able to adress until signing day comes around. I am afraid that unless we go really lucky, that lack of depth will eventually catch up with UNT this season.

And finally: MTSU also showed intestinal fortitude last week. They had a similar comeback vs La Tech. They were down 20 points in the third quarter and came back. I feel much more hopeful about the Marshal game. 

[Mean Green 93-98]

2 hours ago, outoftown said:

I am happy and glad to see so many people are amped. But I do not want to make too much out of the MTSU game and the Rice win. The Rice win was a very encouraging sign but I am afraid that if people get to high now and increase their expectations into the sky, they might be too low after a probable MTSU loss (it would be unfair to the young team and coaches to expect a win MTSU is simply a good deal btter than Rice). The enthusiasm feels like 2013. But I was one of those people who felt preseason 2013 that it would be a bowl year even if the national press didn't. I don't see that yet. The overall direction of the program is certainly better than 2013, but in a vacuum of not knowing what came before or would be after the 2013 team was better. That team had a decent O-line, it didn't have more offensive playmakers, but it was deeper at most positions with maybe the exception of RB and DB, in fact on defense it was so deep, it often would tire out the opponents offense rather than the other way around. Through pretty much no fault of SL this team is paper thin at several positions, something SL will not be able to adress until signing day comes around. I am afraid that unless we go really lucky, that lack of depth will eventually catch up with UNT this season.

And finally: MTSU also showed intestinal fortitude last week. They had a similar comeback vs La Tech. They were down 20 points in the third quarter and came back. I feel much more hopeful about the Marshal game. 

Good post.  The only point I might qualify is that we had Lance Dunbar and Brelan Chancellor in 2013.  There is no one on the team who has yet shown to have comparable explosive playmaking ability.

Edited September 27, 2016 by Mean Green 93-98

[Censored by Laurie]

10 minutes ago, Mean Green 93-98 said:

Good post.  The only point I might qualify is that we had Lance Dunbar and Brelan Chancellor in 2013.  There is no one on the team who has yet shown to have comparable explosive playmaking ability.

Dunbar left in 2012. Brandin Byrd and JimJim were the backs for the bowl game

[Mean Green 93-98]

2 minutes ago, Censored by Laurie said:

Dunbar left in 2012. Brandin Byrd and JimJim were the backs for the bowl game

Oops, my bad.  I will correct.  Lance should have been there that year.

[Censored by Laurie]

10 minutes ago, Mean Green 93-98 said:

Oops, my bad.  I will correct.  Lance should have been there that year.

now I'll let you refresh my memory...did we needlessly burn his redshirt? I can't remember his early days

[Mean Green 93-98]

1 minute ago, Censored by Laurie said:

now I'll let you refresh my memory...did we needlessly burn his redshirt? I can't remember his early days

That wasn't really the point I was making.  I meant he should have been around to enjoy a winning season after all he went through and contributed.

But did we needlessly burn his redshirt?  I suppose that depends . . . he didn't see much action his freshman year, and he began his sophomore year still the backup behind Cam Montgomery.  But he had his breakout game his sophomore year against MUTS, and he was the starter from there on out.  So it wasn't as if he just came in for one drive his freshman year, but with hindsight, it would have been better to get an extra year from him at the end.

[MeanGreenHoops]

3 minutes ago, Mean Green 93-98 said:

But did we needlessly burn his redshirt?  I suppose that depends . . . he didn't see much action his freshman year, and he began his sophomore year still the backup behind Cam Montgomery.  But he had his breakout game his sophomore year against MUTS, and he was the starter from there on out.  So it wasn't as if he just came in for one drive his freshman year, but with hindsight, it would have been better to get an extra year from him at the end.

Sort of. Dunbar was returning kicks his freshman year and really showing what a weapon he was going to be. Then he got a bad concussion and missed the rest of the year, (don't remember the game but it was earlier like game 4-5).

[outoftown]

Imagine Lance 'd been here 2013. How good would we have been. Hard to imagine that UNT would not have won the division. But also: had he been on any winnning team, he would have been drafted and would have had an easier time of making rosters (and money). He totally would have deserved that.

Edited September 27, 2016 by outoftown

[Mean Green 93-98]

12 minutes ago, MeanGreenHoops said:

Sort of. Dunbar was returning kicks his freshman year and really showing what a weapon he was going to be. Then he got a bad concussion and missed the rest of the year, (don't remember the game but it was earlier like game 4-5).

Agreed.  I just meant relative to his every-down use following the MUTS game his sophomore year.  He definitely showed flashes of brilliance before that.

[Aquila_Viridis]

MT is a challenging opponent. Win or lose, if Mean Green are competitive in this game til the end it will be huge progress.

[PlummMeanGreen]

On September 26, 2016 at 11:01 AM, Harry said:

Good article but the key difference between this team and the 2013 is we have a true freshman QB when we had a 5th year senior in 2013.  We all love to 2013 team but this program under Littrell has a MUCH bigger upside.

100% in agreement about the upside, Harry. ?