MGB: Five burning questions heading into offseason

Brett Vito · January 3, 2017

MGB:

http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2017/01/five-burning-questions-for-unt-heading-into-the-offseason.html/

greenminer · January 3, 2017

Not sure where we will be, but here are my quick thoughts on our 2017 record

I've seen enough to believe we will be better than 5 wins. We will make a bowl, and will not need to rely on APR/academic exception to do so.
I have not seen enough feel confident this program can win 10+ wins. This view could very well change - and change quickly - depending on what is displayed the first 2-3 games of 2017.

/TheEnd

Wag Tag · January 3, 2017

Receivers could become a strength with us also adding Bradley and D Harris in the slot. GMG

wardly · January 4, 2017

Since when is 9th in a 14 team conference a pretty good position in recruiting? Personally I find being ranked in the bottom half of CUSA very disappointing.

UNT90 · January 4, 2017

36 minutes ago, wardly said:

Since when is 9th is a 14 team conference a pretty good position in recruiting? Personally I find being ranked in the bottom half of CUSA very disappointing.

This. Hopefully things improve in the next month.

Brett just tryin' to keep that parking pass.

untjim1995 · January 4, 2017

I am hopeful that we will finish in the top seven in recruiting in the league this year. I think the only way recruiting improves here is if Littrell can follow the path that Johnny Jones did, which was to show HS coaches around here that he was building something. Otherwise, those HS coaches just go back to looking at us as a fallback at best for their recruits. Until someone can do this here, this job will continue to be viewed as a tough place to recruit to.

SHOSS · January 4, 2017

24 minutes ago, UNT90 said:

This. Hopefully things improve in the next month.

Brett just tryin' to keep that parking pass.

I am alarmed with 9th... new coach, more wins than expected... ugh, we gotta start gettin some players

shaft · January 4, 2017

2 hours ago, SHOSS said:

I am alarmed with 9th... new coach, more wins than expected... ugh, we gotta start gettin some players

Really "alarmed." Before we start screaming the sky is falling, let's take a look at the measures that are in "our" control as fans.

Season tickets. Ticket Sales. Donations.

All About UNT · January 4, 2017

58 minutes ago, shaft said:

Really "alarmed." Before we start screaming the sky is falling, let's take a look at the measures that are in "our" control as fans.

Season tickets. Ticket Sales. Donations.

While I hate their guts UT-San Antonio has got the #1 class. What they can get out of them is up to their coaches and their ability to coach but to expect that a new coaching staff can come in and perform in both recruiting and on the field results is obviously not too much to ask.

UT-San Antonio was 11th last year http://247sports.com/Season/2016-Football/CompositeTeamRankings?Conference=C-USA in recruiting class rankings on 247

This year they are #1 http://247sports.com/Season/2017-Football/CompositeTeamRankings?Conference=C-USA and while that still accounts for Javaris Steward who won't ever see a day of football.... that still places them well above us.

We are ranked #9............just as we were last year.

I know we have some cards up our sleeve and I actually expect a couple of more 3*+ players to commit I also don't feel like being in awe of our conference mates is necessarily a bad thing.

GMG24 · January 4, 2017

1 hour ago, All About UNT said:

While I hate their guts UT-San Antonio has got the #1 class. What they can get out of them is up to their coaches and their ability to coach but to expect that a new coaching staff can come in and perform in both recruiting and on the field results is obviously not too much to ask.

UT-San Antonio was 11th last year http://247sports.com/Season/2016-Football/CompositeTeamRankings?Conference=C-USA in recruiting class rankings on 247

This year they are #1 http://247sports.com/Season/2017-Football/CompositeTeamRankings?Conference=C-USA and while that still accounts for Javaris Steward who won't ever see a day of football.... that still places them well above us.

We are ranked #9............just as we were last year.

I know we have some cards up our sleeve and I actually expect a couple of more 3*+ players to commit I also don't feel like being in awe of our conference mates is necessarily a bad thing.

How many commits does UTSA have? They were never in danger of scholarships being an issue and can sign a full class. These things need to be accounted for, not an excuse but should be looked at.

PlummMeanGreen · January 4, 2017

Did the UNT Senior class who led the way to win the HOD Bowl game on 1/1/14 rank very high among recruited classes? If it did I can't remember any high 5'ing going on over here.

G5 programs that excel do so because they have coaches who know how to evaluate diamonds in the rough that have good speed & quickness. Yes they get a handful of (mostly) 3 star recruits, too.

For example (& once again), ex conference mate Boise State became a Top 25 fixture well over a decade & a half ago with hardly any heralded recruiting classes.

Edited January 4, 2017 by PlummMeanGreen

UNTLifer · January 4, 2017

7 hours ago, PlummMeanGreen said:

Did the UNT Senior class who led the way to win the HOD Bowl game on 1/1/14 rank very high among recruited classes? If it did I can't remember any high 5'ing going on over here.

G5 programs that excel do so because they have coaches who know how to evaluate diamonds in the rough that have good speed & quickness. Yes they get a handful of (mostly) 3 star recruits, too.

For example (& once again), ex conference mate Boise State became a Top 25 fixture well over a decade & a half ago with hardly any heralded recruiting classes.

Ssshhh! You will be l called a sunshine pumper and excuse maker and lectured on the importance of offer lists over star ratings. Hell, our top receiver ever was a walk on and our second in career rushing was barely even looked at because of size. We do need to increase the talent of our recruits based on ratings and offers, but we are currently in a position where finding talent, developing it and putting it in a position to win will still have to occur resulting in increased wins/bowl games before we will attract a class full of 3 star and up recruits. One step at a time. If we get a few in now, all the better.

Eagle-96 · January 4, 2017

10 hours ago, All About UNT said:

While I hate their guts UT-San Antonio has got the #1 class. What they can get out of them is up to their coaches and their ability to coach but to expect that a new coaching staff can come in and perform in both recruiting and on the field results is obviously not too much to ask.

UT-San Antonio was 11th last year http://247sports.com/Season/2016-Football/CompositeTeamRankings?Conference=C-USA in recruiting class rankings on 247

This year they are #1 http://247sports.com/Season/2017-Football/CompositeTeamRankings?Conference=C-USA and while that still accounts for Javaris Steward who won't ever see a day of football.... that still places them well above us.

We are ranked #9............just as we were last year.

I know we have some cards up our sleeve and I actually expect a couple of more 3*+ players to commit I also don't feel like being in awe of our conference mates is necessarily a bad thing.

Their top recruit, Javaris Steward, is still included in UTSA's 2017 class. Considering he is up on aggravated robbery charges I'm not sure he will be making it to signing day.

FirefightnRick · January 4, 2017

Ranking recruiting classes are meaningless to me. I pay zero attention it.

Rick

All About UNT · January 4, 2017

2 hours ago, Eagle-96 said:

Their top recruit, Javaris Steward, is still included in UTSA's 2017 class. Considering he is up on aggravated robbery charges I'm not sure he will be making it to signing day.

You see that I reference that right?

Withers940 · January 4, 2017

Quote

5. Can UNT recruit at a high enough level to compete with the top teams in C-USA?

UNT has always struggled to recruit at a high level. The Mean Green have built a new stadium, switched conferences and coaches multiple times, but have lagged behind many of their peers. UNT has always been a tough sell for a host of reasons, including a long history of losing. The Mean Green took a key step toward changing that this season with a bowl berth and is in a pretty good spot in recruiting at this point. 247 Sports ranks UNT’s 2017 class ninth out of 14 teams in C-USA thus far. The question now is if UNT can move up a few more spots before signing day.

You guys might disagree with me but this ^ is absolute BS. Yes, losing has a small factor but the main factor?......Im sorry but I cant buy into this. I think it has to do with overall effort in recruiting. Mac was too picky and he lived by the "Recruiting for Dummies" Book that lead to his demise. We sit in the hot bed of DFW recruiting and we can make a quick change and all it takes is one hot class

Look at TX State, they finished 2-10 this year and are kicking ass this year in recruiting (1st in SB & 80th in Nation). Having loosing season 3 of the last 5 seasons since they joined the D1-A football with an over all losing record.

wardly · January 4, 2017

I think that hanging your hat on "its hard to recruit at North Texas" is a cop-out and a built in excuse for failure.UTSA and Texas State are doing well, we are not.

UNT90 · January 4, 2017

7 minutes ago, wardly said:

I think that hanging your hat on "its hard to recruit at North Texas" is a cop-out and a built in excuse for failure.UTSA and Texas State are doing well, we are not.

Some people will always make excuses for failure. Ironically, they are the same people that accuse me of being "overly negative."

2 hours ago, FirefightnRick said:

Ranking recruiting classes are meaningless to me. I pay zero attention it.

Rick

Western Michigan fans would disagree.

Aldo · January 4, 2017

7 minutes ago, UNT90 said:

Western Michigan fans would disagree.

2 hours ago, FirefightnRick said:

Ranking recruiting classes are meaningless to me. I pay zero attention it.

Rick

or La Tech

or WKU

or MTSU

or USM

Edited January 4, 2017 by Aldo

wardly · January 4, 2017

How has not ranking recruits been working out for us? Every business must compare their performance against their peers.

Eagle-96 · January 4, 2017

1 hour ago, All About UNT said:

You see that I reference that right?

completely flew right past that.

UNT90 · January 4, 2017

3 hours ago, Eagle-96 said:

Their top recruit, Javaris Steward, is still included in UTSA's 2017 class. Considering he is up on aggravated robbery charges I'm not sure he will be making it to signing day.

Depends. Was he the driver of the vehicle that picked up the 2 subjects who committed the robbery? If so, he will probably walk with an immunity deal for his testimony.

Someone posted the charges have already been dismissed. No idea if that is true or not.

http://www.dentonrc.com/local-news/local-news-headlines/20160918-ex-ryan-player-javaris-steward-charged-in-robbery.ece

UTSA Fan · January 4, 2017

5 hours ago, Eagle-96 said:

Their top recruit, Javaris Steward, is still included in UTSA's 2017 class. Considering he is up on aggravated robbery charges I'm not sure he will be making it to signing day.

I heard his arraignment is this week. We will find out soon enough.

4 hours ago, FirefightnRick said:

Ranking recruiting classes are meaningless to me. I pay zero attention it.

Rick

Look at the top 10 teams recruiting classes. Alabama has more ESPN 300 kids on the roster than UNT has players. #recruitingmatters

Edited January 4, 2017 by UTSA Fan

untjim1995 · January 4, 2017

5 hours ago, Withers940 said:

You guys might disagree with me but this ^ is absolute BS. Yes, losing has a small factor but the main factor?......Im sorry but I cant buy into this. I think it has to do with overall effort in recruiting. Mac was too picky and he lived by the "Recruiting for Dummies" Book that lead to his demise. We sit in the hot bed of DFW recruiting and we can make a quick change and all it takes is one hot class

Look at TX State, they finished 2-10 this year and are kicking ass this year in recruiting (1st in SB & 80th in Nation). Having loosing season 3 of the last 5 seasons since they joined the D1-A football with an over all losing record.

Then why can't we recruit better? Change coaches, stadiums, and conferences and nothing changes in our recruiting rankings against our peers while sitting in this "hot bed" of recruiting.

Ive said it before, but until someone shows us something different, recruiting here is a hard sell. Except for Dickey's one stealth class that became the heart of those SBC Champions, as well as Dodge's first class full of offensive skill players, the other classes here since 1995 have been rated very low. To me, that's about being a loser, as well as being in a town that is well-known for not supporting the program, sometimes even showing that it loathes having football at UNT. That's pretty tough to overcome, until someone prices otherwise.

UTSA Fan · January 5, 2017

32 minutes ago, untjim1995 said:

Then why can't we recruit better? Change coaches, stadiums, and conferences and nothing changes in our recruiting rankings against our peers while sitting in this "hot bed" of recruiting.

Ive said it before, but until someone shows us something different, recruiting here is a hard sell. Except for Dickey's one stealth class that became the heart of those SBC Champions, as well as Dodge's first class full of offensive skill players, the other classes here since 1995 have been rated very low. To me, that's about being a loser, as well as being in a town that is well-known for not supporting the program, sometimes even showing that it loathes having football at UNT. That's pretty tough to overcome, until someone prices otherwise.

**WARNING I root for both teams ** Why so hard? You have the city, venue, recruiting area and hot offense scheme? LA Tech is the worst I've seen in location and venue but somehow get it done. Even San Marcos (God help them) even have a worse situation and yet... I think it's fair to challenge the notion as to why it's hard. I've been on here and read how hard it is but no one says why and it's accepted as fact. It's hard "here" implies location and facility. I see on here those are program strengths. Doesn't make sense to me.