Austin Aune is not chopped liver

[Coach Andy Mac]

 

[Hunter Green]

He will only get better as the season rolls on. I believe our QB position is in good shape regardless of who wins out. Maybe both.

GO MEAN GREEN!

[El Paso Eagle]

If the O-Line play is solid any of the QBs will most like have a very good year with the receivers we and the RBs. The Offensive side of the ball should not be the reason this team does not win 6+ games

[BillySee58]

I posted the stat previously but of Deonte Simpson’s 517 receiving yards, the number of those that came from Aune was around 453 yards.

Simpson is the Z receiver which means he is the outside receiver on the far side of the field (if the ball is on the left hash, Simpson will be lined up along the right sideline). The coaches did not trust Bean throwing this far across the field, but they did with Aune. 

Simpson had 360 receiving yards in the 4 games where Aune took the majority of the snaps (SMU, USM, Charlotte, UTEP). That’s over a 1,000 yards pace for a 12 game season. Whether it is Aune or Ruder, having a QB with the arm strength to make throws all over the field is really going to make us tough to defend. The playbook is going to be wide open for either of them, just a matter of who can execute more consistently.

[WanderingEagle]

Having to choose between Ruder and an experienced Aune is FAR superior to having to choose between a less experienced Aune and Jason Bean. The odds that they land on one of the two as a stable for the offense is much higher than it was last year. 

[El Paso Eagle]

42 minutes ago, BillySee58 said:

I posted the stat previously but of Deonte Simpson’s 517 receiving yards, the number of those that came from Aune was around 453 yards.

Simpson is the Z receiver which means he is the outside receiver on the far side of the field (if the ball is on the left hash, Simpson will be lined up along the right sideline). The coaches did not trust Bean throwing this far across the field, but they did with Aune. 

Simpson had 360 receiving yards in the 4 games where Aune took the majority of the snaps (SMU, USM, Charlotte, UTEP). That’s over a 1,000 yards pace for a 12 game season. Whether it is Aune or Ruder, having a QB with the arm strength to make throws all over the field is really going to make us tough to defend. The playbook is going to be wide open for either of them, just a matter of who can execute more consistently.

With the eligibility they have left, how does this work out for a player like Drummond? Do we hope that he is willing to sit 2-3 years?

[MeanGreenTexan]

Ideally, Aune will improve from last season's serviceable play.   If Aune wins the starting job over Ruder, I'm sure he'll play well enough to win games.   
QB play was not an issue last year, maybe with the exception of the UTSA game.  The flip-flopping between the two was definitely distracting, but both played well enough to win.  It shouldn't be an issue this year either.

The make-or-break for this team is entirely on defense.    Aune (or Ruder) will look like a superstar if the defense can keep opponents to less than 30/gm average, which would be almost 13ppg better than last year's defense.

[MGNation92]

1 hour ago, BillySee58 said:

I posted the stat previously but of Deonte Simpson’s 517 receiving yards, the number of those that came from Aune was around 453 yards.

Simpson is the Z receiver which means he is the outside receiver on the far side of the field (if the ball is on the left hash, Simpson will be lined up along the right sideline). The coaches did not trust Bean throwing this far across the field, but they did with Aune. 

Simpson had 360 receiving yards in the 4 games where Aune took the majority of the snaps (SMU, USM, Charlotte, UTEP). That’s over a 1,000 yards pace for a 12 game season. Whether it is Aune or Ruder, having a QB with the arm strength to make throws all over the field is really going to make us tough to defend. The playbook is going to be wide open for either of them, just a matter of who can execute more consistently.

How dare you question Jason Bean's ability to throw the ball /s

[greenminer]

If the D can be 10 ppg better, I speculate the O can relax a. little.  Open up and have more fun.  Even moreso if the D is 15-20PPG better.

After 3+ years of garbage D, I often wonder if the O has a tendency to play tight and worried, knowing that the burden of winning is solely on them.  Which is kinda hard to fathom, given how productive they are already.

[greenminer]

 

[BillySee58]

1 hour ago, El Paso Eagle said:

With the eligibility they have left, how does this work out for a player like Drummond? Do we hope that he is willing to sit 2-3 years?

If Ruder wins the job I would be surprised to see Drummond stick around, since Ruder is technically a redshirt freshman still. Sitting behind a guy for four years in hopes of becoming a starter as a redshirt senior is not a very desirable situation. 

[greenminer]

28 minutes ago, BillySee58 said:

If Ruder wins the job I would be surprised to see Drummond stick around, since Ruder is technically a redshirt freshman still. Sitting behind a guy for four years in hopes of becoming a starter as a redshirt senior is not a very desirable situation. 

I thought Ruder graduated in May? What is the math that makes him a RS freshman?

[BillySee58]

24 minutes ago, greenminer said:

I thought Ruder graduated in May? What is the math that makes him a RS freshman?

He broke his collarbone in 2018, then broke his leg in 2019, which allowed for him to attain a hardship waiver for one of those seasons since both injuries occurred prior to him playing in 1/3 of the team’s games. Due to one of those seasons counting as a conventional redshirt and applying a hardship waiver to the other, he entered 2020 as a redshirt freshman. Because everyone’s eligibility was frozen this past year, he enters 2021 as a redshirt freshman.

Edited June 10, 2021 by BillySee58

[UNT18Grad]

31 minutes ago, greenminer said:

I thought Ruder graduated in May? What is the math that makes him a RS freshman?

I was under the impression that he was a RS Sophomore, but looking at his timeline it appears he is actually considered a freshman.

2018 season- True Freshman, suffered season-ending injury and redshirted

2019 season- RS Freshman, suffered another season-ending injury

2020 season- RS Sophomore, however he was granted a medical redshirt so this technically puts him back at RS Freshman

2021 season- RS Freshman due to the free extra covid year along with his medical redshirt.

 

More interesting to me than Drummond is if Ruder sticks around if he loses the job to Aune and never gets the shot to earn it back throughout the year..my guess is that he doesn't.  He is using a grad transfer to play here so I would imagine he could transfer anywhere and be immediately eligible with 3 years remaining if he left after this season.

*sorry to double answer, didn't notice Billy had beat me to it

Edited June 10, 2021 by UNT18Grad

[UNT18Grad]

Are we going to have the oldest starting/backup QB combo in NCAA history??  Aune is about to be 28 and is a sophomore, Ruder is a 22 year old freshman.  

[El Paso Eagle]

1 hour ago, BillySee58 said:

If Ruder wins the job I would be surprised to see Drummond stick around, since Ruder is technically a redshirt freshman still. Sitting behind a guy for four years in hopes of becoming a starter as a redshirt senior is not a very desirable situation. 

Could be wrong, but I really don't think Ruder plans to stay here four years. I think he sees Seth's offense as one that can allow him to put up really nice numbers and if he could have a couple of really good/great years it might give him a chance to try and move to the next level.

[greenminer]

Thanks y'all, I wasn't aware of the injuries.

What a crazy scenario.  shades of Case Keenum

[BillySee58]

43 minutes ago, El Paso Eagle said:

Could be wrong, but I really don't think Ruder plans to stay here four years. I think he sees Seth's offense as one that can allow him to put up really nice numbers and if he could have a couple of really good/great years it might give him a chance to try and move to the next level.

Yeah but QBs don’t often make decisions on staying at a school based on hope that the slightly older QB will forego eligibility. Even before transferring was as common as it is now, QB transferring was already common if a QB lost out to another who was either younger or had about the same eligibility left.

[Udomann]

7 hours ago, Hunter Green said:

He will only get better as the season rolls on. I believe our QB position is in good shape regardless of who wins out. Maybe both.

GO MEAN GREEN!

Oh please not both. Sharing QB has always been a disaster, for us and most teams(not named ohio state).

Pick a known constant otherwise its a binomial probability with enormous risk and minimal gain based on development. Splitting that development just movies you closer to a net zero gain...

[Monkeypox]

52 minutes ago, BillySee58 said:

Yeah but QBs don’t often make decisions on staying at a school based on hope that the slightly older QB will forego eligibility. Even before transferring was as common as it is now, QB transferring was already common if a QB lost out to another who was either younger or had about the same eligibility left.

Yes, but as a graduate student, going full-time to maintain eligibility requirements for football, Ruder should be done with his MBA in two years. Now, MAYBE he wants to be Dr Ruder, PhD in Business or something (I don't know his life) but I think the window he'll most likely have here is that two year timeframe. If he blows the doors off and is NFL quality, that's all he'll need. If he's not, that's all he'll need to get his MBA. And then he's had his schooling paid for, has a great degree, and got a chance to play.

So while Ruder might have that much eligibility remaining, I don't know that it's realistic to expect him to use all of it.

[emmitt01]

I am REALLY hoping that Ruder can come in and take the reigns.  I’d like to have a shot at a winning season.  

[UNT18Grad]

11 hours ago, Monkeypox said:

Yes, but as a graduate student, going full-time to maintain eligibility requirements for football, Ruder should be done with his MBA in two years. Now, MAYBE he wants to be Dr Ruder, PhD in Business or something (I don't know his life) but I think the window he'll most likely have here is that two year timeframe. If he blows the doors off and is NFL quality, that's all he'll need. If he's not, that's all he'll need to get his MBA. And then he's had his schooling paid for, has a great degree, and got a chance to play.

So while Ruder might have that much eligibility remaining, I don't know that it's realistic to expect him to use all of it.

I can see where you're coming from, but let's say he does earn and hold onto the job at some point.  Then let's say he just performs above average, which is probably a lot more likely than completely blowing the doors off and locking himself in as a draft pick who can leave with 1-2 years of eligibility left.  You're saying that after a couple years he's just going to quit as the starting QB with 2 years left?  I get that he is set with his degrees and also just got engaged so he probably won't "need" to play, but most athletes don't quit with more time to play at their disposal, especially not someone who's a starter.

[Monkeypox]

3 hours ago, UNT18Grad said:

I can see where you're coming from, but let's say he does earn and hold onto the job at some point.  Then let's say he just performs above average, which is probably a lot more likely than completely blowing the doors off and locking himself in as a draft pick who can leave with 1-2 years of eligibility left.  You're saying that after a couple years he's just going to quit as the starting QB with 2 years left?  I get that he is set with his degrees and also just got engaged so he probably won't "need" to play, but most athletes don't quit with more time to play at their disposal, especially not someone who's a starter.

Most athletes don't give up eligibility because they haven't graduated yet. The ones that HAVE graduated are just trying for that last shot and they have 1-2 years left. The argument of "most" athletes doesn't really apply to a grad transfer with all 4 years of his eligibility intact, because his situation is very unique. I mean, name another grad transfer who had more than 2 years of eligibility left. And this isn't "quitting". This is getting your degree and leaving school.

But I did just listen to him talk about possibly getting a double Masters or Doctorate, so it's certainly a possibility. I just think there's a LOT that happens in the course of 4 years with athletes, and he's not a freshman or sophomore looking at that time. And it all hinges on him earning the job, being good, staying healthy, and our team winning (because 2 years might be the window of this coaching staff if we aren't competing for championships).

 

 

[meangreen11]

It seems like many- not all- of you are seemingly willing to embrace UNT’s role as a “stepping stone” to high P5 opportunities.  I would like to point to Jaelon as an example that you can reach your NFL caliber goals here at North Texas.

[BillySee58]

16 hours ago, Monkeypox said:

Yes, but as a graduate student, going full-time to maintain eligibility requirements for football, Ruder should be done with his MBA in two years. Now, MAYBE he wants to be Dr Ruder, PhD in Business or something (I don't know his life) but I think the window he'll most likely have here is that two year timeframe. If he blows the doors off and is NFL quality, that's all he'll need. If he's not, that's all he'll need to get his MBA. And then he's had his schooling paid for, has a great degree, and got a chance to play.

So while Ruder might have that much eligibility remaining, I don't know that it's realistic to expect him to use all of it.

It’s not uncommon for these guys to pursue multiple grad degrees (non PhD), even if just for the sake of maintaining the full-time student status. Ryan Finley did 3 years as a grad student at NC State (same situation as Ryder just without the extra COVID year) and got a couple grad degrees. Aune and Ruder have 3 and 4 years of eligibility left, respectively, and both have their undergrads.

Unless Ruder really lights it up, I think whoever wins the job will not forego much eligibility just because they finished the degrees they wanted. NFL teams want to see 3 years of starting experience generally, especially with G5 QBs. So even if Ruder does light it up I expect him at least for the next three seasons. And if that’s the scenario I think we’d all be ecstatic at how that turned out, regardless of if Drummond stuck around or not.