2023 Preferred Walk On List

[jtm0097]

Alright since I did this for the scholarship guys yesterday, I figured I would show some love for the preferred walk on players as well. These guys are paying their own way for school, and will have to fight and claw for a scholarship. It was mentioned on the Go Mean Green Signing Day show yesterday that this is one of the strongest PWO classes that they remember. I have been following the program since 2006 and I can't remember us getting this many quality guys. This is one of the blessings of the transfer portal. Guys like Blake Fann and Mackenzie McGill would have been signed by other FBS schools, and not available for us to bring on. I think there will be some natural attrition after spring ball, and some of these guys will be able to compete for scholarships. Here's an overview of each prospect. Welcome to Denton and Go Mean Green!

2023 Preferred Walk On List

J’Kalon Carter   Illinois State (Denton Braswell HS)  6’0 180 WR

J’Kalon played his high school ball locally at Denton Braswell. It appears he was a first team all district WR in High School. He played for 2 years at Illinois State University. While he didn’t have a ton of production, he could add depth to our WR room and play on special teams. Since he has some experience playing at the FCS level, this should be a fairly easy transition for him.

2022 Stats: 12 Rec 111 Yards 1 TD

HS Stats: 54 Rec 888 yards 10 TD

West Wilson  Lucas Lovejoy HS  6'2 245 TE/DE

It seems that the old Nebraska staff was recruiting him. He also visited Air Force, LA Tech and Boise State. He doesn't have a 24/7 profile and I didn't see any stats on Maxpreps. First team all-district. I watched his HUDL video and he seems to be a good blocker. With Jake and Asher leaving, I imagine he will take on the blocking TE role. He also plays DE. There were a few plays on his HUDL video where he split double teams and made good tackles.

Corey Swiney Jr Shadow Creek HS 6’0 185 DB

High school teammate of current signee Brian Nelson. Corey was a 2^nd Team All District Safety. In 2022, he had offers from Navy and Prairie View A&M. It appears at one point, he was playing ball at Manvel HS. In this hudl video, he was mainly playing free safety. I didn’t see a lot of coverage snaps, but he did come into the box and make several tackles.

HS Stats: 37 tackles, 1 fumble recovery, and 1 pass deflection

Makenzie McGill Jr Mount Vernon HS 5’10 185 RB

Makenzie played his high school ball at Mount Vernon HS in East Texas. He was the 2 time District 5-3A player of the year. 1^st Team All Smoaky East Texas RB. He owns several rushing records at Mount Vernon. He had 5 offers to 4 FCS offers and 1 FBS offer. I am really shocked we were able to get a player of this caliber to walk on. If he comes in and practices hard, I could see him being on scholarship next year.

Offers: ACU, Grambling State, Incarnate Word, Northwestern State, and Texas State

Career HS Stats: 27 Games 530 Carries 4711 yards  8.9 Avg 174.5 Y/G 72 TD

Caden Yates  Argyle HS 6’2 200 LB/LS

I think Caden is being recruited as a long snapper. However he did have a productive year playing LB at Argyle HS. He was an All District Honorable Mention award winner. He played on a talented Argyle team. Our current long snapper JP Hadley was a transfer last season and 2023 should be his last year with the team. Caden could be his potential replacement.

2022 Stats: 88 tackles 11 TFL 5 Sacks

Tim Madison Frisco Lebannon Trail HS 6’0 173 WR

Tim is a speedster that played his ball at one of the newer high schools Frisco Lebannon Trail. He was a 2^nd Team All District WR for district 6-5A. Tim is a sprinter on the track team. He ran a 10.8 100 meter dash and a 21.8 200 meter dash. He has a very long stride and it shows when he is running routes. I was impressed with the double moves he had on his routes. Since we have a deep WR room right now, I imagine he would be a candidate for a redshirt. However, he could develop into a quality WR like former walk on Roderick Burns. It appears that he was getting recruited by the old staff. He also had walk on interest from SMU, Tulsa, Houston, SFA, UL-LA and Miss State.

Stats: 22 Receptions 428 Yards 5 TDs

 

Devin Strange Flower Mound Marcus  6’3 235 DE

He has the size to play at this level. First team All-District 6-6A DE. It looks like he was at Argyle Christian in 2020 and then transferred back to Flower Mound Marcus. At one time he had offers from Michigan, Kansas State, and Southern Miss. After a few years of coaching and bulking up in the weight room, he could be on the rotation in the DL. Size is one thing that you can't coach, and he already has a good frame. I hope he works hard and earns a scholarship. 

 

Blake Fann Frisco Lone Star  6’2 230 LB

Another prospect that I am in shock we landed as a PWO.  1^st Team All District and 1^st Team All State Linebacker. He had offers from FBS ULM and a couple of D2 schools. Just looking at his tape, he has the size to play MLB right now in this 3-3-5 defense. He can take on blocks while our other guys run free. He also does a great job of avoiding blockers and getting to the ball carrier. I was impressed with his tackling skills. If he comes in and works hard, I could see him getting put on scholarship next year.

Stats: 12 games - 152 Tackles - 3.5 Sacks - 2 Forced Fumbles - 21.5 TFL’s - 8 QB Pressures - 7 PBU’s

Mikaeli Nguma Sharyland HS (Mission, Tx) 5’10 150 K/P

Mikaeli has a strong leg. I’m not sure if they will use him as a kicker or punter. He had a career long field goal of 53 yards as a Junior. He received walk on offers from McNeese State, UTEP, and North Texas.

2022 Stats: 45/46 PAT 11/17 FGs Long Distance of 44; 36 Punts 38 yard average Long Distance of 56 yards;14 were within the 20 yard line

 

Christian Hurd Katy Paetow HS 5’10 190 DB

Christian’s HS had some drama this year with the coach being dismissed in the middle of the season. They won the state championship in 2021. It looks like they used him as a Safety or Nickel Cornerback. He did a good job in coverage swatting away passes. He also did a good job tackling guys in space. I see that he tagged Coach O in a few tweets during the regular season. I am assuming that's how we was discovered. He played ball at a big high school in Houston, so he shouldn’t be intimated by the FBS talent. Either way, not a bad addition to the secondary.

Stats: 27 Tackles 2 INT

 

 

Keon Johnson Archbishop Hoban High School Akron, Ohio OT 6’5 385

He’s massive, I feel for those small DL that were trying to get past him. I’m interested to see how his size translates to FBS football. I imagine they will get him on a nutrition plan to get him in shape for playing at this level. Keon chose North Texas over PWO offer from Bowling Green, scholarship offers from Maine (FCS) and Livingstone College (D2). His high school made it to the state championship. It looks like he went on a visit to Syracuse, but never got an offer. Overall, Keon has a high ceiling. He will need to shed some weight but has the frame to play at this level.

 

 

 

 

 

2023 Preferred Walk On List.docx

Edited May 29, 2023 by jtm0097
Removed Purdue QB and added Keon Johnson

[Tom McKrackin]

Nice work and and a very impressive list.  Has to be one of the best we have had in long time.

[Wag Tag]

I had asked on another post, but do we think NIL money may have been used for the PWO'S? Could be a good spot to spend some cash. GMG

[Marty]

Appears Fann played at Denton Braswell then transferred to Lone Star his senior year.

[jtm0097]

8 minutes ago, Wag Tag said:

I had asked on another post, but do we think NIL money may have been used for the PWO'S? Could be a good spot to spend some cash. GMG

I don't know what the Light the Tower fund not to be confused with Light the Tower master plan is doing with NIL funds. I mean it could be possible that is part of the deal for us signing some of these guys. However, that would be a better question for the boosters and RV.

[SUMG]

Very good work again, sir. 

One minor correction: Mt. Vernon can't be 6A....maybe 3A or 4A??

[jtm0097]

2 minutes ago, SUMG said:

Very good work again, sir. 

One minor correction: Mt. Vernon can't be 6A....maybe 3A or 4A??

Thanks, they are definitely 3A. I was multi-tasking and made a typo. I stop at their truck stop on I-30 every time I visit my folks in East Texas. Very small town with recent success at the 3A level.

[UNTLifer]

Great list.  There were many years in our past that I would have been happy signing this as our class.

[Graddean]

Dandy Don Meredith was from Mt. Vernon.

[MCMLXXX]

46 minutes ago, Graddean said:

Dandy Don Meredith was from Mt. Vernon.

Art Briles coached at Mount Vernon from 2019-2020.

Perhaps that connection will satiate all the Brilesphiles on this board.

[southsideguy]

Anyone know if Blake Finn has speed.  I love his style and if he is quick he could be very good player for us.

 

[Glory to the Green]

“He could be the starter coming out of Fall Camp”. 😳😳😳

https://www.texasfootball.com/articles/article/default.aspx?url=2023/02/03/under-the-radar-txhsfb-signings-on-national-signing-day

[jtm0097]

1 hour ago, Glory to the Green said:

“He could be the starter coming out of Fall Camp”. 😳😳😳

https://www.texasfootball.com/articles/article/default.aspx?url=2023/02/03/under-the-radar-txhsfb-signings-on-national-signing-day

Pickle was comparing Jake Wilson to Austin Aune and Jackson Arnold. She said Jackson was throwing to 4 and 5 star kids at Guyer. Wasn’t Guyers best WR 3 star Landon Sides that signed with us? I am excited Jake decided to come here but Texas Football’s college/recruiting coverage is trash. They also said Texas State was more suited to win a conference championship next year.

[Glory to the Green]

9 minutes ago, jtm0097 said:

Pickle was comparing Jake Wilson to Austin Aune and Jackson Arnold. She said Jackson was throwing to 4 and 5 star kids at Guyer. Wasn’t Guyers best WR 3 star Landon Sides that signed with us? I am excited Jake decided to come here but Texas Football’s college/recruiting coverage is trash. They also said Texas State was more suited to win a conference championship next year.

Admittedly, I’ve only listened to the UNT portion of the video so far.  And I agree with you, I didn’t understand the need to mention Aune when mentioning Wilson.
 I enjoy listening to a variety of voices that discuss UNT because it helps to give me an idea of the perception the state/nation has on the Mean Green. I prefer Brett, Sanoe, JayD, Harry, Billy, GMG24, Reed, Brune, Adam, etc, but I appreciate hearing others opinions, too. 
Yeah…I listen to a lot of podcasts. 

[jtm0097]

2 hours ago, Glory to the Green said:

Admittedly, I’ve only listened to the UNT portion of the video so far.  And I agree with you, I didn’t understand the need to mention Aune when mentioning Wilson.
 I enjoy listening to a variety of voices that discuss UNT because it helps to give me an idea of the perception the state/nation has on the Mean Green. I prefer Brett, Sanoe, JayD, Harry, Billy, GMG24, Reed, Brune, Adam, etc, but I appreciate hearing others opinions, too. 
Yeah…I listen to a lot of podcasts. 

Yep, I listen to several podcasts as well. Texas Football had a podcast a few weeks ago where they were comparing GJ Kinne/ Tx State to Eric Morris/UNT. It was one of the worst college football podcasts that I have ever listened to. I am a Texas Football member, and will continue to subscribe. However, they need to do a better job. A little research prior to talking into the microphone for 30 minutes would do wonders.

Edited February 4, 2023 by jtm0097

[cousin oliver]

9 minutes ago, jtm0097 said:

Yep, I listen to several podcasts as well. Texas Football had a podcast a few weeks ago where they were comparing GJ Kinne/ Tx State to Eric Morris/UNT. It was one of the worst college football podcasts that I have ever listened to. I am a Texas Football member, and will continue to subscribe. However, they need to do better job. A little research prior to talking into the microphone for 30 minutes would do wonders.

They clearly don’t do their research.  I also dislike that one of their writers was scolding us for having the gall to fire Seth.  I forget his name but he was a UTSA grad I believe.

[southsideguy]

of course the UTSA guy didn't want UNT to fire SL.  We were a 500 team and not a threat to them.   We only got in the championship game because there were not divisions last year.

[Cr1028]

1 hour ago, southsideguy said:

of course the UTSA guy didn't want UNT to fire SL.  We were a 500 team and not a threat to them.   We only got in the championship game because there were not divisions last year.

Don’t be ridiculous. We were a pushoff and great catch in the final seconds away from beating them in their house this year and we beat the snot out of them at Apogee last year. Your hate for Littrell has no limits.

[El Paso Eagle]

It's good to have them covering Texas football but for me personally, the one thing they do that does drive me crazy is when they call G5 sub P5 instead of G5.

[southsideguy]

On 1/19/2023 at 12:05 PM, MrAlien said:

It sounds to me as if Prime is building his roster, while letting the AD and university sort out the details and the scholarships.  Can a university take a scholarship away from a student whom the coach does not want on his roster? 

 

16 hours ago, Cr1028 said:

Don’t be ridiculous. We were a pushoff and great catch in the final seconds away from beating them in their house this year and we beat the snot out of them at Apogee last year. Your hate for Littrell has no limits.

What has been our record for the last three years?   What happened in the championship game again?   Face UTSA shot by us and we some catching up to do.  Harris leaving next year will help.

[GrayEagle]

On 2/4/2023 at 1:01 PM, jtm0097 said:

Pickle was comparing Jake Wilson to Austin Aune and Jackson Arnold. She said Jackson was throwing to 4 and 5 star kids at Guyer. Wasn’t Guyers best WR 3 star Landon Sides that signed with us? I am excited Jake decided to come here but Texas Football’s college/recruiting coverage is trash. They also said Texas State was more suited to win a conference championship next year.

Since Sides was a first team 6A all-state receiver, I have serious doubts that Arnold had anyone more talented to throw to.  

Edited February 5, 2023 by GrayEagle

[Mo Green]

5 hours ago, southsideguy said:

 

What has been our record for the last three years?   What happened in the championship game again?   Face UTSA shot by us and we some catching up to do.  Harris leaving next year will help.

Harris will stay and play for utsa in '23. 
I think its his 7th year because of all the injuries, '20 and redshirt. 

[jtm0097]

2 hours ago, GrayEagle said:

Since Sides was a first team 6A all-state receiver, I have serious doubts that Arnold had anyone more talented to throw to.  

Exactly, that's my point. They don't do their research prior to podcasting. It's hard to take their coverage seriously.

[UNTLifer]

On 2/5/2023 at 2:42 PM, Mo Green said:

Harris will stay and play for utsa in '23. 
I think its his 7th year because of all the injuries, '20 and redshirt. 

Might as well.  I don't see him getting drafted.

[greenminer]

On 2/5/2023 at 2:42 PM, Mo Green said:

Harris will stay and play for utsa in '23. 
I think its his 7th year because of all the injuries, '20 and redshirt. 

That puts him, what? about halfway to Case Keenum?