Recruiting Update 1/31/22

[TheReal_jayD]

UNT is sitting 13th out of 14 schools in the future AAC with 2 days to go before NSD. Bright side we have plenty of schollys to play with if we can find anyone to take them.

 

Had 2022 Clements DB Patrick Smith in town this weekend. Look to be battling with Richmond, Air Force and SFA.

 

 

Had 2022 OT Samora Ezekiel in town this weekend. Looks to be between us and Tulsa.

 

Had 2022 OT Howard Sampson in town for Visit. Looks to be between us and Tx State.

Offered Blinn DE. Holds offer from UTEP

One thing that stands out from visits. After 6 years it looks like Seth finally decided to invest in some $40 neon lights. #gmg looks like we are heading towards an exciting NSD....

[NorthTexasWeLove]

Exciting NSD? You just said the words battling, UNT, Richmond, Recruit and SFA all in the same sentence. That does not sound exciting. 

[MGNation92]

1 minute ago, NorthTexasWeLove said:

Exciting NSD? You just said the words battling, UNT, Richmond, Recruit and SFA all in the same sentence. That does not sound exciting. 

I believe that was sarcasm

[NorthTexasWeLove]

1 minute ago, MGNation92 said:

I believe that was sarcasm

Probably so. It's depressing. 

[Big Z]

This is bad 

[MeanGreenTexan]

[Caw Caw]

Where would the final class have to end among CUSA recruiting standing for you to not be absolutely mortified?

Will @BillySee58 be doing his usual grading by offer breakdown after nsd?

[UNTLifer]

The class isn't going to be closed to finished for a couple of months.  We might as well sit back and see what happens.

[Cr1028]

7 minutes ago, UNTLifer said:

The class isn't going to be closed to finished for a couple of months.  We might as well sit back and see what happens.

Yep, looking like probably heavy on the post-spring transfers. Very Spavital-esque class.

Edited January 31, 2022 by Cr1028

[BillySee58]

10 minutes ago, Caw Caw said:

Where would the final class have to end among CUSA recruiting standing for you to not be absolutely mortified?

Will @BillySee58 be doing his usual grading by offer breakdown after nsd?

I probably will. What’s weird is I actually think we will be decent next year. Down the road is what I am more concerned about. 

[jtm0097]

[TheReal_jayD]

33 minutes ago, UNTLifer said:

The class isn't going to be closed to finished for a couple of months.  We might as well sit back and see what happens.

[Caw Caw]

11 minutes ago, BillySee58 said:

I probably will. What’s weird is I actually think we will be decent next year. Down the road is what I am more concerned about. 

I actually get this vibe. I think Bennett is a good defensive coach. Our WR core and RB spot will be far better if healthy (Adaway, Bush, Shorter, Burns all come to mind).

Tight End gets a lot of rotation in this system so Alberding, Roberts, Lee have all gotten reps. Hopefully one can step up and replace some of Pirtles catches. Gumms had a hell of an offer sheet out of high school and could be one to watch.

Mose, Blair, Cole Brown, Daizon Carroll started all but two games together. Brammer is big shoes to fill but it's one guy that needs to step up. 

KD Davis back is great for the program, Larry Nixon, Kevin Wood. Gaddie is one year better, John Davis started more than half the season. There are other returning contributors on defense as well.

Obvious question marks:

QB - Gotta take a step forward here. Interested to see Head, Earle in the mix. Would love to have a clear starter out the gate.

Dline - Sad noises. Tough at the end of the recruiting cycle to go from a strength to a need. Losing Novil will be hard to replace. What he accomplishes away from the play and the plays he created for others will be missed.

DB - This is maybe my biggest concern as we keep having to dip into the portal or the juco level to fill this void. Not a lot of development at this position so far.

 

[Wag Tag]

They should not go for a reach on a HS kid. Transfers and FCS is what they should be recruiting. If a kid enters the portal and doesn’t get pick up what does he do about school. Also what happens if the kid commits to another school after the deadline?? Thanks

[p_phelps]

1 hour ago, UNTLifer said:

The class isn't going to be closed to finished for a couple of months.  We might as well sit back and see what happens.

Seth has an amazing portal history so we're good 

[NorthTexasSportsNetwork]

3 hours ago, TheReal_jayD said:

UNT is sitting 13th out of 14 schools in the future AAC with 2 days to go before NSD. Bright side we have plenty of schollys to play with if we can find anyone to take them.

 

Had 2022 Clements DB Patrick Smith in town this weekend. Look to be battling with Richmond, Air Force and SFA.

 

 

Had 2022 OT Samora Ezekiel in town this weekend. Looks to be between us and Tulsa.

 

Had 2022 OT Howard Sampson in town for Visit. Looks to be between us and Tx State.

Offered Blinn DE. Holds offer from UTEP

One thing that stands out from visits. After 6 years it looks like Seth finally decided to invest in some $40 neon lights. #gmg looks like we are heading towards an exciting NSD....

Oh my! We are actually investing on recruiting setups!!! Light the tower!!

[Glory to the Green]

We had the best recruiting class in CUSA last year by signing kids early, so our response is to completely change the strategy?!?!  It just seems strange. Here’s to hoping they have an inside track to some late signees/difference makers. GMG!

[NorthTexan95]

8 minutes ago, Glory to the Green said:

We had the best recruiting class in CUSA last year by signing kids early, so our response is to completely change the strategy?!?!  It just seems strange. Here’s to hoping they have an inside track to some late signees/difference makers. GMG!

I suppose Seth believes they need some guys who can play immediately. 

[p_phelps]

11 minutes ago, Glory to the Green said:

We had the best recruiting class in CUSA last year by signing kids early, so our response is to completely change the strategy?!?!  It just seems strange. Here’s to hoping they have an inside track to some late signees/difference makers. GMG!

It wasn't by choice. They couldn't get kids to sign

[GrayEagle]

I feel somewhat heartened by Luke Walerius comment.  He is a square-shooter who has a good grasp for how recruiting is going.  

[NorthTexasWeLove]

12 hours ago, BillySee58 said:

I probably will. What’s weird is I actually think we will be decent next year. Down the road is what I am more concerned about. 

Not sure how you see it this way. We lost to a very pedestrian MOh team and we're losing good players and back filling with lesser talent. Unless our definition of decent differ, I'd have to disagree. 

[MeanGreenTexan]

2 hours ago, NorthTexasWeLove said:

Not sure how you see it this way. We lost to a very pedestrian MOh team and we're losing good players and back filling with lesser talent. Unless our definition of decent differ, I'd have to disagree. 

I think he's talking about the talent from those highly-ranked 2019-2021 classes being a year older.  Leading to being more comfortable within their systems, and ready to contribute.  Not necessarily talking about X's & O's, game prep, QB play, etc...
Then, worrying about the future because this class is shaping up to leave some serious talent gaps around 2025 (of course, if guys like the Murphys continue to bail early, this downturn could be expedited).

[BillySee58]

4 hours ago, NorthTexasWeLove said:

Not sure how you see it this way. We lost to a very pedestrian MOh team and we're losing good players and back filling with lesser talent. Unless our definition of decent differ, I'd have to disagree. 

1 hour ago, MeanGreenTexan said:

I think he's talking about the talent from those highly-ranked 2019-2021 classes being a year older.  Leading to being more comfortable within their systems, and ready to contribute.  Not necessarily talking about X's & O's, game prep, QB play, etc...
Then, worrying about the future because this class is shaping up to leave some serious talent gaps around 2025 (of course, if guys like the Murphys continue to bail early, this downturn could be expedited).

The Murphy twins’ departure makes me feel far less confident in this. Those were huge losses. That being said, offensively we lose Torrey, Brammer, and Pirtle but get back Adaway, Shorter, and Bush. Our running game will be just fine and our passing game should be much improved. 

The main reason I feel like our passing game will be improved is that we are swapping two QBs who struggled to complete 50% of their passes with a QB who completed 65.8% of his passes as a freshman at the FCS level. Even if you concede that his completion percentage takes a dip with a move up in competition, it can take a dip and still be substantially better than what we had. Stone Earle had a higher completion percentage as a freshman last season than Zappe ever had at the FCS level. Obviously not saying he’s Zappe, but the point is he is on a really high trajectory and seemingly already playing at a step above what we had on the field last year.

Defense I am much more concerned with the loss of the Murphy twins. But you still have some really good players on that side of the ball and a second year in the system, I don’t think it’s that outrageous to imagine us holding teams to 27.5 points/game like we did last year. Definitely could benefit from adding some solid pass rusher between now and the season starting but Rod Brown looks like a young star.

I am expecting 7-5 next year at the moment. Which is not catastrophic in and of itself. My whole point is that the bigger concerns, IMO, are down the road beyond 2022. Which you could argue would be amplified by Littrell doing just good enough to hang onto his job as we head into the AAC.

[NorthTexasWeLove]

12 minutes ago, BillySee58 said:

The Murphy twins’ departure makes me feel far less confident in this. Those were huge losses. That being said, offensively we lose Torrey, Brammer, and Pirtle but get back Adaway, Shorter, and Bush. Our running game will be just fine and our passing game should be much improved. 

The main reason I feel like our passing game will be improved is that we are swapping two QBs who struggled to complete 50% of their passes with a QB who completed 65.8% of his passes as a freshman at the FCS level. Even if you concede that his completion percentage takes a dip with a move up in competition, it can take a dip and still be substantially better than what we had. Stone Earle had a higher completion percentage as a freshman last season than Zappe ever had at the FCS level. Obviously not saying he’s Zappe, but the point is he is on a really high trajectory and seemingly already playing at a step above what we had on the field last year.

Defense I am much more concerned with the loss of the Murphy twins. But you still have some really good players on that side of the ball and a second year in the system, I don’t think it’s that outrageous to imagine us holding teams to 27.5 points/game like we did last year. Definitely could benefit from adding some solid pass rusher between now and the season starting but Rod Brown looks like a young star.

I am expecting 7-5 next year at the moment. Which is not catastrophic in and of itself. My whole point is that the bigger concerns, IMO, are down the road beyond 2022. Which you could argue would be amplified by Littrell doing just good enough to hang onto his job as we head into the AAC.

I understand your points, but under this coaching/development and lack of ability to bring in difference making transfers I find it difficult to just assume who they're bringing is will turn the tide. If it does, great. Put me in the group that will not be holding my breath. 

[MeanGreenTexan]

3 minutes ago, UNT Texas Hooligan said:

McKinney Boyd WR Caden Park is one commit

He doesn't have a recruiting profile on 247 or Rivals...  but he does have a baseball recruiting profile!
https://www.perfectgame.org/players/playerprofile.aspx?ID=487912
Is he a PWO?