I Want To Drink The Green Koolaid…

[Hookset]

I think we recruited some very nice players. I know a regime change so late probably had an impact on getting even better players. 
That being said, we were out recruited by 12 of the 14 schools that will be in our conference in 2023.

That can’t bode well for us.

We only did better than Tulsa and Charlotte.

But I am so thirsty for the green Koolaid…

[Green Otaku]

Word of advice? Don't. And not just this season, ever. Be happy with who we got, support them 100%, but wait for the season and see how the team performs in game before you start to make an opinion on how they are doing. Use your head, next year has a lot of unknown variables that could go one way or the other. Time will tell. 

[Cooke County Kid]

If you look closer it has to do with the number of players that we signed, I too was worried until I looked closer. We actually did really well in my humble opinion.  Our PWO’s are really good, I believe the future is bright!

[tmjerm]

We already had talent on the roster before Eric got here.  Think about how we hung with Boise.  We can be a quality G5 right now.  We got some good secondary guys and a QB.  We have stuff to be excited about.  Don’t make yourself be miserable. 

[TIgreen01]

He’s right, you know.  2 years in a row we ranked 8th or worse.  The 3 years prior to that we were 1, 2 and 4th.  Those 3 recruiting classes that ranked at or near the top of the conference got us to the conference championship.  Recruiting matters and we are going to have to make up ground lost these last 2 years.

[meangreanmick]

I’m not saying we don’t have a lot of room for improvement, we do.   But keep in mind those rankings go by total points, not average of recruits.  To me that’s just as important.   We had fewer signees to date that most other teams, but our average looks to be right in the middle of the AAC from my quick glance.   In other words, we could take more lower ranked recruits and be higher, but that’s really not going to help us improve quality in the field.

[Hunter Green]

38 minutes ago, meangreanmick said:

I’m not saying we don’t have a lot of room for improvement, we do.   But keep in mind those rankings go by total points, not average of recruits.  To me that’s just as important.   We had fewer signees to date that most other teams, but our average looks to be right in the middle of the AAC from my quick glance.   In other words, we could take more lower ranked recruits and be higher, but that’s really not going to help us improve quality in the field.

And take into account the quality of our PWOs. I think we have the makings of a pretty good team.

[GrayEagle]

2 hours ago, Hookset said:

I think we recruited some very nice players. I know a regime change so late probably had an impact on getting even better players. 
That being said, we were out recruited by 12 of the 14 schools that will be in our conference in 2023.

That can’t bode well for us.

We only did better than Tulsa and Charlotte.

But I am so thirsty for the green Koolaid…

We did also beat Navy.

[GrayEagle]

Considering the head start that nearly every FBS university had on us I think that this staff had an exceptional recruit class.  Fortunately our locker room was maybe only half empty so we didn't have the available scholarships to give but we added to our needs extremely well.  We got some excellent talent to take a PWO to our surprise.  We have excellent recruiters and I believe that we will be a force in years to come.  If they can coach half as well as they can recruit then the sleeping giant may have awakened.  

 

[meanrob]

3 hours ago, TIgreen01 said:

He’s right, you know.  2 years in a row we ranked 8th or worse.  The 3 years prior to that we were 1, 2 and 4th.  Those 3 recruiting classes that ranked at or near the top of the conference got us to the conference championship.  Recruiting matters and we are going to have to make up ground lost these last 2 years.

You make up the ground by coaching them up. 

[p_phelps]

11 hours ago, Hookset said:

I think we recruited some very nice players. I know a regime change so late probably had an impact on getting even better players. 
That being said, we were out recruited by 12 of the 14 schools that will be in our conference in 2023.

That can’t bode well for us.

We only did better than Tulsa and Charlotte.

But I am so thirsty for the green Koolaid…

I wouldn't look at rankings too much anymore.  They take the total amount of commits,  we not only had short time to recruit. We had less scholarships as well. The average score has ahead of 7 of the future AAC. Also the ranking on transfers isn't updated, our qb is 0 stars which had muliple p5s wanting.. thats not a 0 star guy, especially with fbs stats that he has. Along with all the oline that has started muliple games.  Make those 3 star guys, we'll be in the upper half. In really a month to recruit

Edited February 5, 2023 by p_phelps

[Jonnyeagle]

The rankings mean nothing as I have posted 100 times on here.  

[UNTethered Eagle]

10 hours ago, Hookset said:

I think we recruited some very nice players. I know a regime change so late probably had an impact on getting even better players. 
That being said, we were out recruited by 12 of the 14 schools that will be in our conference in 2023.

That can’t bode well for us.

We only did better than Tulsa and Charlotte.

But I am so thirsty for the green Koolaid…

[jtm0097]

I posted this on another thread about recruiting. These are the 247 recruit rankings by average for this year's class. How can you even complain about the quality of our class when Eric was hired on December 13th, and the first signing period was December 21st. If you account for the holiday break, he was only given 6 weeks to put together a class and a staff. He didn't even have his entire staff filled until after the holidays. We didn't have that many spots to fill. For the time he had, and the quality players that he was able to add after the 1st signing period, this is not a terrible class. He signed 2 of our highest defensive recruits ever. Additionally, he signed a starting QB, C, and G that were starters at FBS schools this year. I can't wait to see what this staff does next year with a full calendar year.

[Hookset]

56 minutes ago, jtm0097 said:

I posted this on another thread about recruiting. These are the 247 recruit rankings by average for this year's class. How can you even complain about the quality of our class when Eric was hired on December 13th, and the first signing period was December 21st. If you account for the holiday break, he was only given 6 weeks to put together a class and a staff. He didn't even have his entire staff filled until after the holidays. We didn't have that many spots to fill. For the time he had, and the quality players that he was able to add after the 1st signing period, this is not a terrible class. He signed 2 of our highest defensive recruits ever. Additionally, he signed a starting QB, C, and G that were starters at FBS schools this year. I can't wait to see what this staff does next year with a full calendar year.

Bottom of the middle third still doesn’t get me excited. 
It will be tough to win immediately. We don’t get extra practice time because we have a new offensive and defensive scheme. We get the same amount of practice as every other team. 
If we don’t win immediately, and our conference mates do, we will be back at the bottom scouring D2’s for a potential player.

I have only been a season ticket holder since Dodge’s first year. I’ve seen a lot of bad ball and some decent ball. 
This coaching staff has to win now. This will be a difficult challenge. 

[jtm0097]

27 minutes ago, Hookset said:

Bottom of the middle third still doesn’t get me excited. 
It will be tough to win immediately. We don’t get extra practice time because we have a new offensive and defensive scheme. We get the same amount of practice as every other team. 
If we don’t win immediately, and our conference mates do, we will be back at the bottom scouring D2’s for a potential player.

I have only been a season ticket holder since Dodge’s first year. I’ve seen a lot of bad ball and some decent ball. 
This coaching staff has to win now. This will be a difficult challenge. 

We have a really talented roster. Most of the offense is coming back. I know Aune, Mose, Jake Roberts, and (potentially Carroll/Brown) are gone from the offense. However, we did address their replacements. The new QB looks way better on tape than Aune and hopefully our new OL/current ones step up.

On Defense, we are losing KD, Gaddie, Whitlock, and Sean-Thomas Faulkner. Our defensive scheme is changing, so we will need some of the guys to step up. I look for Larry Nixon, Jordan Brown, and Kevin Wood to take over the LB corps. Nick Nakwassah (hurt this past season) who started at Central Arkansas as a freshman should have a bigger role in the secondary. Phillip Hill the incoming safety from UNLV (hurt in 2022 but had a decent 2021 season) to also contribute. I'm not sure who will take over for Gaddie. There will be additional departures after spring ball, so hopefully they get another CB in here. 

Regarding the D2 players Mazin Richards was a first team all conference player for us. Jordan Smart had 330 yards and a TD for us last season. Jordan started coming on strong at the end of the season. With the transfer portal, D2 and FCS are essentially development schools for FBS. Sadly, G5 schools are doing the same for P5 schools.

I have been around since the Dodge years as well. This team does have a big challenge next season. The new coaching staff will need to manage game/clock situations better than the last staff. Our defense would get stops after long drives, only for the offense to get the ball and go 3 and out in under 1 minute. They need to play complementary football.

Anyways, it's Sunday I need to go to Home Depot before the other middle age people in the suburbs get there. Have a good weekend!

 

 

Edited February 5, 2023 by jtm0097

[TIgreen01]

It is a fact that Morris had less time to recruit and was put in a difficult spot by our AD replacing coaches when he did.  We essentially missed the early signing period.  That’s not Morris’ fault.  Did he and his staff do a good job filling holes on short notice?  Time will tell.

However, many are coloring their opinion that this is a better class than what it is rated by either having a personal liking of Morris and his staff or by being shocked that he put together a class at all.

I’ve been around too long to get overly excited about anything here until I see results on the field.  Relying on our coaching staff to “coach up” these players is only something you say when you’ve been soundly beaten in recruiting…which we have the last 2 years.  Just listen to the new DC in the video posted in this forum.  He talks about how elite speed and skill from his players in the secondary make him a better coach.

We do return a lot of guys next year.  But after that we’re going to have to make up ground from the last 2 classes.  Morris may be able to that…but he wouldn’t have to if we had recruited better.  Keeping a lame duck staff impacted our class last year, and firing him too late this year hurt this class.  We have to do better in the AD spot than we did.

Edited February 5, 2023 by TIgreen01

[meangreenfaninno]

I really wish some of the Morris doubters would take the time to review his career in particular his time at UIW.  I did.  What this guy accomplished there was no small feat.  To put it in context, exactly how many times and how far in the FCS (I-AA) playoffs did UNT get back in the 80's and 90's?  I seem to recall maybe once or twice they got into the 1st round?  UIW began football in 2009 and joined FCS in 2014.    Morris took over in 2018.  Prior to that. their overall program record was 30-67.   Morris took them to the 1st round of the playoffs in 2018, the second round in 2021 and the team he put together but was led by GJ Kinne wen to the semifinals in 2022.

My point is, this guy built something very special in a short amount of time at a place that had literally been a wasteland prior to his arrival.

 

Edited February 5, 2023 by Coach Andy Mac

[TIgreen01]

3 hours ago, meangreenfaninno said:

I really wish some of the Morris doubters would take the time to review his career in particular his time at UIW.  I did.  What this guy accomplished there was no small feat.  To put it in context, exactly how many times and how far in the FCS (I-AA) playoffs did UNT get back in the 80's and 90's?  I seem to recall maybe once or twice they got into the 1st round?  UIW began football in 2009 and joined FCS in 2014.    Morris took over in 2018.  Prior to that. their overall program record was 30-67.   Morris took them to the 1st round of the playoffs in 2018, the second round in 2021 and the team he put together but was led by GJ Kinne wen to the semifinals in 2022.

My point is, this guy built something very special in a short amount of time at a place that had literally been a wasteland prior to his arrival.

 

Who here is doubting Morris?

[NT80]

On 2/4/2023 at 9:34 PM, tmjerm said:

We already had talent on the roster before Eric got here.  Think about how we hung with Boise.  We can be a quality G5 right now.  We got some good secondary guys and a QB.  We have stuff to be excited about.  Don’t make yourself be miserable. 

I believe Morris will be a better QB evaluator than Seth.  I expect we will see improvement in several areas.