Darden Named AP All American

UNTLifer · December 28, 2020

Second team. Should be first, but congrats and well deserved.

greenminer · December 28, 2020

Pretty tough to put him ahead of Smith and Moore.

Withers940 · December 29, 2020

5 hours ago, greenminer said:

Pretty tough to put him ahead of Smith and Moore.

Moore only had 3 more yards on 12 more catches. Darden averaged 2.2 yards per catch more and caught 11 more TD's than Moore. SEC or not, Darden deserved to be 1st team.

2nd All American is awesome but He deserved 1st Team

greenminer · December 29, 2020

7 minutes ago, Withers940 said:

Moore only had 3 more yards on 12 more catches. Darden averaged 2.2 yards per catch more and caught 11 more TD's than Moore. SEC or not, Darden deserved to be 1st team.

2nd All American is awesome but He deserved 1st Team

the obligatory stats-are-the-only-thing-that-matters post.

Withers940 · December 29, 2020

51 minutes ago, greenminer said:

the obligatory stats-are-the-only-thing-that-matters post.

So in your Mind 11 more TD's is just chalked up to shittier competition?

greenminer · December 29, 2020

34 minutes ago, Withers940 said:

So in your Mind 11 more TD's is just chalked up to shittier competition?

These guys are a Heisman finalist and locks for top picks in the draft.

I said it's tough to put JD ahead of them. I didn't say he shouldn't be in the conversation.

Withers940 · December 29, 2020

10 hours ago, greenminer said:

These guys are a Heisman finalist and locks for top picks in the draft.

I said it's tough to put JD ahead of them. I didn't say he shouldn't be in the conversation.

Devonte Smith is a finalist and deserves first team but more is not a heisman finalist. Being a top pick at the next level isn’t a lock for being first team all American. It’s for athletes that kick ass at their position and put up crazy numbers.

Side Show Joe · December 29, 2020

Darden had a great season. So glad he was selected to the team. But in my opinion, he should have been on the first team. He recorded the second most TD's in a season over the last 5 years, and did in only 9 games. That is incredible.

I look forward to seeing where he gets drafted.

greenminer · December 29, 2020

2 hours ago, Withers940 said:

Devonte Smith is a finalist and deserves first team but more is not a heisman finalist. Being a top pick at the next level isn’t a lock for being first team all American. It’s for athletes that kick ass at their position and put up crazy numbers.

The only two receivers that averaged more ypg than Darden are Smith and Moore. I know his (JD) scoring numbers are astronomical, but that’s probably the only reason he is in their consideration. That is my opinion of the uphill battle we face, as long as our feet are planted in CUSA.

I actually think Smith and Darden run and catch in remarkably similar ways. The difference is, Smith has ~3 inches on JD.

Moore is a different mold of a player. Not sure what his role will be in the NFL.

Its for athletes that kick ass at their position and put up crazy numbers.

...honestly, I tried finding anything last night that could explain to me how they pick these teams. Qualifiers. Stats. NFL projections. Couldn’t find anything.

Edited December 29, 2020 by greenminer

GrandGreen · December 29, 2020

The answer to the always present question of the level of competition, is to examine the other factors of that competition. No one is going to argue that CUSA is close to the SEC. However, the team around Darden was not SEC quality either. In the case of NT not even high quality g5.

Theoretical at least, Darden would have played behind a better line, had better other receivers to take the pressure off, had a better passer throwing to him and had better coaching in a P5 team.

All that stuff evens out to some degree. However, there is always perception to deal with. Joe Greene did not deserve to be an All American because he played at North Texas. He certainly proved the naysayers wrong and Darden has the same opportunity.

Congrats to Darden, to my memory he is the first D1 All American from NT in over forty years.

UNTLifer · December 29, 2020

42 minutes ago, greenminer said:

...honestly, I tried finding anything last night that could explain to me how they pick these teams. Qualifiers. Stats. NFL projections. Couldn’t find anything.

The media will always play up the P5's, outside of that it is pure opinion and everyone has one just like they have an ______________.

NorthTexan95 · December 29, 2020

Wait ... they only had two receivers on the first team? There's your problem. They need to update the roster spots to current standards.

Zeleny' Orel · December 29, 2020

3 hours ago, GrandGreen said:

The answer to the always present question of the level of competition, is to examine the other factors of that competition. No one is going to argue that CUSA is close to the SEC. However, the team around Darden was not SEC quality either. In the case of NT not even high quality g5.

Theoretical at least, Darden would have played behind a better line, had better other receivers to take the pressure off, had a better passer throwing to him and had better coaching in a P5 team.

All that stuff evens out to some degree. However, there is always perception to deal with. Joe Greene did not deserve to be an All American because he played at North Texas. He certainly proved the naysayers wrong and Darden has the same opportunity.

Congrats to Darden, to my memory he is the first D1 All American from NT in over forty years.

Agree that a player should be judged not only by the competition but the quality of his team against that competition. Let's hope he gets to prove himself in the NFL. How do players get selected for the Senior Bowl? It seems like he would have been invited and I hope this is not a bad sign for him being selected in the draft.