Jump to content

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

Brett Vito

By Brett Vito
in Mean Green Football

 Share

Recommended Posts

Harry Grand Master

Harry

Posted
Posted

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 Grand Master

DeepGreen

Posted
Posted (edited)

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 by DeepGreen
  • Upvote 3
Ben Gooding Newbie

Ben Gooding

Posted
Posted
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. 

  • Upvote 4
ChristopherRyanWilkes Enthusiast

ChristopherRyanWilkes

Posted
Posted
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.

  • Upvote 2
  • Popular Post
SSP Newbie

SSP

Posted
  • Popular Post
Posted (edited)

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 by SSP
  • Upvote 8
Ben Gooding Newbie

Ben Gooding

Posted
Posted
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

  • Upvote 2
MCMLXXX Veteran

MCMLXXX

Posted
Posted
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.

  • Upvote 7
Mean Green 93-98 Grand Master

Mean Green 93-98

Posted
Posted
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 Explorer

Eagle-96

Posted
Posted

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. 

  • Upvote 3
GreenTexan13 Apprentice

GreenTexan13

Posted
Posted
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 Grand Master

Wag Tag

Posted
Posted
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 Veteran

outoftown

Posted
Posted

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. 

  • Upvote 1
  • Downvote 1
Mean Green 93-98 Grand Master

Mean Green 93-98

Posted
Posted (edited)
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 by Mean Green 93-98
  • Downvote 2
Censored by Laurie Veteran

Censored by Laurie

Posted
Posted
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

Censored by Laurie Veteran

Censored by Laurie

Posted
Posted
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 Grand Master

Mean Green 93-98

Posted
Posted
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.

  • Upvote 1
MeanGreenHoops Experienced

MeanGreenHoops

Posted
Posted
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 Veteran

outoftown

Posted
Posted (edited)

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 by outoftown
Mean Green 93-98 Grand Master

Mean Green 93-98

Posted
Posted
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.

PlummMeanGreen Grand Master

PlummMeanGreen

Posted
Posted
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. ? 

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Tell a friend

    Love GoMeanGreen.com? Tell a friend!

  • What's going on Mean Green?

    1. 73

      Around the League / UNT Opponents

      Now 48-18. Honestly, this is about as frustrating as it can be for those of us that think the league deserves more respect. I get worried that the data/committee hangs their hats on these losses, rather than look at all the mid-P5 wins we accumulate. Then, when selection weekend rolls around and one or two of us Americans are on the bubble, we get knocked out of discussion in favor of some 0.500 P5 squad.
      greenminer in Mean Green Basketball
    2. 7

      Utah State (11/29/24)

      Kinda OT, but can someone talk about what Hodge does from an x-and-os standpoint? Curious on both sides of the court. The past 5 years work has removed me from nerding out on the game as much as I used to. You don't see as many coaches from the Iba/Knight trees anymore, side effect being I don't know how these current coaches think about the game.
      greenminer in Mean Green Basketball
    3. 7

      Utah State (11/29/24)

      it’s on ESPN 2 not U
      Big Z in Mean Green Basketball
    4. 7

      Utah State (11/29/24)

      In terms of difficulty, I think this team will be closer to SDSU than it is to St. Bonaventure. This will be tough and would be a good win for us. Likely Q2 but a chance of bring Q1 at a neutral site. They have wins at Minnesota and home against Oregon St. ( Oregon St. just played Oregon to 3pts in a battle down the stretch. By all accounts, we got handled by Oregon.) This will have great test for our guards to stay under control. We have seen stretches where Drake and even Mason have struggled with TOs. We need to handle the pressure. We should have the numbers to stay fresh so they need to stay high focus high intensity when they are on the floor. Hoping Ian is feeling better today. We could use him for sure. The tallest they play is 6’9”(3x players) and have 2x 6’1” guards who play a lot of minutes. Would love to see Mason use his strength and exploit those smaller guards as well as Drake and Ian would also be quite a bit taller than them. Fish, Templin and Gateretse should find opportunities this game and maybe even some time for Isaac Davis to use his strength. I think Akanno might have another good game here as well. We need to have to them struggle against our defense and break out for easy baskets, make the game go our way rather than being bogged down attacking their set defense. Also, I think our bigs run the floor much better than their 6’9” 245lb center and we should be able to find some easy baskets if we break out quick like we like to do. I think it will be tough sledding initially until we can calm down and figure out their defensive pressure, then I think we see us separate mid 2nd half and we take the lead for good.
      greenminer in Mean Green Basketball
    5. 73

      Around the League / UNT Opponents

      Gators doubling up on Shockers, 37-18. Halftime. woof
      greenminer in Mean Green Basketball

  • Popular Contributors

  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      15,482
    • Most Online
      1,865
    meangreen0015
    Newest Member
    meangreen0015
    Joined

  • Most Points

    1. 1
      El Paso Eagle
      El Paso Eagle
      167,164
    2. 2
      NT80
      NT80
      131,153
    3. 3
      KingDL1
      KingDL1
      128,735
    4. 4
      greenminer
      greenminer
      119,985
    5. 5
      TheReal_jayD
      TheReal_jayD
      105,189

  • Biggest Gamblers

    1. 1
      EdtheEagle
      EdtheEagle
      26,589,381
    2. 2
      UNTLifer
      UNTLifer
      4,156,819
    3. 3
      untphd
      untphd
      780,113
    4. 4
      flyonthewall
      flyonthewall
      670,422
    5. 5
      3_n_out
      3_n_out
      578,480
    6. 6
      SteaminWillieBeamin
    7. 7
      cousin oliver
      cousin oliver
      448,120
    8. 8
      meangreenfaninno
    9. 9
      South Texas Green
    10. 10
      outoftown
      outoftown
      314,541

WE BELIEVE IN THE MEAN GREEN!

News

Recruiting

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. Please review our full Privacy Policy before using our site.