DRC Monday column: Lack of elite skill position players hurting UNT

Brett Vito · November 7, 2016

DRC: Wilson an elite talent in C-USA, but that isn't enough against league's best teams that have two or three players in same mold

http://www.dentonrc.com/sports/sports-headlines/20161106-brett-vito-lack-of-skill-players-hurts-unt-in-conference-play.ece

MGNation92 · November 7, 2016

We need better quickness/explosiveness at the slot. Kenny Buyers has been an incredible leader and player for the team, but he doesn't have that elite quickness that you need from the slot position. Daniel Khan or Garrett Barton seem to fit that mold a better just from their hudl videos. Maybe the coaches saw Buyers leadership as irreplaceable in an offense with little to no leadership so they keep him out there? No Idea. Maybe Deion Hair-Griffin will be the answer

Year 2 has always shown a big jump in Seth Littrell's previous stops offensively, maybe we'll see that here

GrandGreen · November 7, 2016

I think it is pretty obvious, that the talent level at NT must get better just like the vast majority of losing teams. NT doesn't have the talent or the depth to consistently win even in CUSA. Add to that, that the majority of the team was not recruited to run Littrell's chosen schemes on either side of the ball.

Yes, NT needs more playmakers as Vito notes, but the talent issue goes a lot deeper than that. There are glaring deficiencies at both wide receiver and offensive line. NT must get better players at almost all positions.

Happily, I think the new staff is doing very well on the field based on the hand they were dealt. However, the real test is going on in the background in recruiting. Littrell has to substantially improve recruiting to move NT forward.

Ben Gooding · November 7, 2016

17 minutes ago, GrandGreen said:

I think it is pretty obvious, that the talent level at NT must get better just like the vast majority of losing teams. NT doesn't have the talent or the depth to consistently win even in CUSA. Add to that, that the majority of the team was not recruited to run Littrell's chosen schemes on either side of the ball.

Yes, NT needs more playmakers as Vito notes, but the talent issue goes a lot deeper than that. There are glaring deficiencies at both wide receiver and offensive line. NT must get better players at almost all positions.

Happily, I think the new staff is doing very well on the field based on the hand they were dealt. However, the real test is going on in the background in recruiting. Littrell has to substantially improve recruiting to move NT forward.

Bingo.

TIgreen01 · November 7, 2016

Nail, meet hammer.

Cerebus · November 7, 2016

Football is won by the people who start with their hand on the ground. A good offensive and defensive line will make the people behind them look a lot better.

Wilson is an elite player, it doesn't matter that he is if he is dodging tacklers in the backfield. If we had a great line, and just competent people behind them, it would work out a lot better.

MeanGreenMailbox aka TFLF · November 7, 2016

Really makes you admire all the more what Thompson, Byrd, and Chancellor did in 2013...also, the underappreciated senior Darnell Smith (second best WR that season with 70 receptions, 791 yards, and 4 TDs) and underclassman Antoine Jimmerson (second leading rusher, 539 yards of total offense and 9 TDs).

(Yes...Canales' 2013 offense: Top two runners combine for 1,500+ rushing yards, 21 total TDs; three receivers have 50+ receptions for a total of 2,307 yards and 12 TDs...plus a nice year from TE Drew Miller chipping in 17 receptions and 2 TDs. As much as the 2013 defense gets praise, the offense that year did produce well.)

Really kind of surprised that these WRs haven't seemed to improve a lot over the season. Don't know what this is. My inclination is to blame the hiring of inexperienced WR and QB coaches. The other part, though, is that the QB is too small and the OL is better suited for a run offense.

Still, I predicted we'd go 5-7 in June, then 6-6 when Vito did his thing, and those are still well within reach, given that we have UTEP left on the schedule and, as MTSU proved last weekend, any C-USA school can brainfart a game away to lesser competition on any given Saturday.

C-USA is what it is - just a smidgen better than Sun Belt competitively. So, being in a hole doesn't mean being in a deep hole. We've already proven that.

We do have enough talented players on the squad, excellent defensive coaching - and, McCarney's off the field APR effort, a nice parting gift - that may yet yield a bowl invite.

2 minutes ago, Cerebus said:

Football is won by the people who start with their hand on the ground. A good offensive and defensive line will make the people behind them look a lot better.

Wilson is an elite player, it doesn't matter that he is if he is dodging tacklers in the backfield. If we had a great line, and just competent people behind them, it would work out a lot better.

Thank you.

Edited November 7, 2016 by MeanGreenMailbox

MGNation92 · November 7, 2016

8 minutes ago, Cerebus said:

Football is won by the people who start with their hand on the ground. A good offensive and defensive line will make the people behind them look a lot better.

Wilson is an elite player, it doesn't matter that he is if he is dodging tacklers in the backfield. If we had a great line, and just competent people behind them, it would work out a lot better.

Yeah and apparently we're no longer interested in the #3 center in Texas. I find that perplexing and frustrating

untjim1995 · November 7, 2016

2 hours ago, MeanGreenMailbox said:

Really makes you admire all the more what Thompson, Byrd, and Chancellor did in 2013...also, the underappreciated senior Darnell Smith (second best WR that season with 70 receptions, 791 yards, and 4 TDs) and underclassman Antoine Jimmerson (second leading rusher, 539 yards of total offense and 9 TDs).

(Yes...Canales' 2013 offense: Top two runners combine for 1,500+ rushing yards, 21 total TDs; three receivers have 50+ receptions for a total of 2,307 yards and 12 TDs...plus a nice year from TE Drew Miller chipping in 17 receptions and 2 TDs. As much as the 2013 defense gets praise, the offense that year did produce well.)

Really kind of surprised that these WRs haven't seemed to improve a lot over the season. Don't know what this is. My inclination is to blame the hiring of inexperienced WR and QB coaches. The other part, though, is that the QB is too small and the OL is better suited for a run offense.

Still, I predicted we'd go 5-7 in June, then 6-6 when Vito did his thing, and those are still well within reach, given that we have UTEP left on the schedule and, as MTSU proved last weekend, any C-USA school can brainfart a game away to lesser competition on any given Saturday.

C-USA is what it is - just a smidgen better than Sun Belt competitively. So, being in a hole doesn't mean being in a deep hole. We've already proven that.

We do have enough talented players on the squad, excellent defensive coaching - and, McCarney's off the field APR effort, a nice parting gift - that may yet yield a bowl invite.

Thank you.

Its always funny, to me, to think about the belief that the SBC teams were so bad, that you were never that far behind. But I think about being in that league from 2001-2012, and remember that we dominated the league for the first 4 years--I think Troy was the only other SBC team that was even a bowl team during that time. Then Troy won at least part of a title in the SBC from 2006-2010, when we were total dogshit. Now, of course, Arkansas State is the class of that league, having won 4 SBC titles since 2011. I always think this about conferences that people look down upon, believing that they should be more competitive than they usually are. Those leagues still get dominated by one or two teams, usually for a while. But fans of the lower teams always want to believe that they are closer to the top than they really are. Right now, in CUSA, La Tech, USM, WKU, and MUTS are all at the top. So far, against two of those teams, the gap between us and them is pretty wide, as seen on the scoreboard. It doesn't mean we are still in a deep hole, but it does show they the way out of the hole is to recruit better and develop better schemes for those recruits. I trust SL and staff to be able to do the latter fairly well--its the former that remains to be seen.

Recruiting here is really the 64k question. Hopefully, Seth and company can get this going at a much better level than we have seen here in 15+ years.

BTG_Fan1 · November 7, 2016

3 hours ago, Cerebus said:

Football is won by the people who start with their hand on the ground. A good offensive and defensive line will make the people behind them look a lot better.

Wilson is an elite player, it doesn't matter that he is if he is dodging tacklers in the backfield. If we had a great line, and just competent people behind them, it would work out a lot better.

Amen and +1

Side Show Joe · November 8, 2016

The article didn't mention McClain, who is certainly an elite C-USA level player. Although he is a defensive player, his big play ability help to keep us in this game. It was only after he was ejected on a questionable targeting call, that the Mean Green started to fall behind LA Tech.

I agree we need more elite level talent, but we absolutely need some of that talent to play in the trenches. That is where games are won and lost.

SilverEagle · November 8, 2016

8 hours ago, Cerebus said:

Football is won by the people who start with their hand on the ground. A good offensive and defensive line will make the people behind them look a lot better.

Wilson is an elite player, it doesn't matter that he is if he is dodging tacklers in the backfield. If we had a great line, and just competent people behind them, it would work out a lot better.

.....and that is why Dallas now sits at 7-1 at mid-season.