A Deep Dive/Look Back into the 2019 Recruiting Class

jtm0097 · February 12, 2023

After winning the C-USA West Division in 2018, expectations were high for the 2019 season. We all know that the team finished 4-8, and had a very disappointing season. How was recruiting after the 2018 season? Well North Texas did manage to pull off the 4^th best C-USA class at the time, which was ranked 77^th at the time. So how did this class do during their time at North Texas? Of the 26 players that signed, 4 made All-Conference (Murphy Twins, DeShawn Gaddie, and Kevin Wood). 10 of the 26 players either started or played meaningful snaps. The highest ranked player Deonte Simpson had 830 yards and 6 TDs over 2.5 seasons. Sadly, he had off the field issues and was kicked off the team in 2021. The Murphy twins were very dominant in their 3 seasons here. They combined for 22 sacks and were a force to be reckoned with on the defensive side of the ball. While they did have their share of personal foul penalties, they were very good here. DeShawn Gaddie started 33 games during his 4 seasons here. He had great coverage skills, and was a highly productive player here. Kevin Wood made the All-Freshman team and has played in 42 games. He is expected to take on a bigger role during the 2023 season. Quinn Whitlock started 28 games, and had a very solid senior season at DB. Asher Alberding played in 35 games, used primarily as a blocking TE. While he only had 2 Rec for 18 yards, he opened up several holes for our RBs. Damon Ward has played in 26 games, caught 47 passes for 689 yards and 5 TD. Damon has 2 years left at North Texas, and he should continue to develop into a solid player for us. Finally, Oscar Adaway III has been a wrecking ball of a RB for North Texas. He played in 19 games over 3 seasons. Oscar has battled injuries, but when healthy is a dominate RB. Oscar has 221 carries, 1197 yards, 8 TDs; 7 Rec, 37 yards, 1 TD. He should be one of the main RBs during the 2023 season. If he stays healthy, he could be an All Conference Running Back.

This class had 3 players transfer in from other FBS programs. Dominque Harrison was a CB from Arizona St, he played in 9 games here, but wasn’t much of a contributor. Nick Harvey was a CB that signed with us from Texas A&M and South Carolina. Yes, we were his 3^rd FBS school to play at. He played in all 12 games during his 1 season at North Texas. Nick had 64 Tackles,1 INT, 7 PBU, and 1 FR. D’Andre Plantin created a lot of excitement when he announced his commitment to North Texas from Virginia Tech. He did manage to play in 8 games at OT. However, we do not have any stats to tell how productive he was on the field.

How did the transfer portal impact this class? As with every program in college football, this class had a lot of guys transfer out. Out of the 26 players that signed, 15 entered the transfer portal or left the team. The Murphy twins transferred to UCLA, DeShawn Gaddie transferred to Ole Miss, Asher Alberding to CAL, Khatib Lyles to Austin Peay, Jevin Murray to Sam Houston State, Will Kuhene to SMU, and Asher From to Kent State. Kealon Jackson, Kenneth Dotson, John Brunner, Jimmy Walker Chris Cassidy, and Leandre Davis left the team and never played anywhere else. David Sow failed to qualify and never stepped foot on campus.

Overall, this class was a bag of mixed results. We had several play and making meaningful contributions, 4 All-Conference players, and 8 that simply didn’t pan out for some reason. I made an excel with a more detailed analysis. If you guys like this, I will do the other classes “20, 21, and 22” over the next few weeks. Anyways Go Mean Green and Happy Super Bowl Sunday!

2019 Recruiting Class.xlsx

Edited February 14, 2023 by jtm0097

GMG_Dallas · February 12, 2023

Did not realize that class had 2 guys from Shadow Creek. Shame neither panned out. I'm excited this latest class has so many players from strong HS programs. Here's to hoping they continue their football and personal growth and become the stars we need them to be.

p_phelps · February 13, 2023

1 hour ago, jtm0097 said:

After winning the C-USA West Division in 2018, expectations were high for the 2019 season. We all know that the team finished 4-8, and had a very disappointing season. How was recruiting after the 2018 season? Well North Texas did manage to pull off the 4^th best C-USA class at the time, which was ranked 77^th at the time. So how did this class do during their time at North Texas? Of the 26 players that signed, 4 made All-Conference (Murphy Twins, DeShawn Gaddie, and Kevin Wood). 10 of the 26 players either started or played meaningful snaps. The highest ranked player Deonte Simpson had 830 yards and 6 TDs over 2.5 seasons. Sadly, he had off the field issues and was kicked off the team in 2021. The Murphy twins were very dominant in their 3 seasons here. They combined for 22 sacks and were a force to be reckoned with on the defensive side of the ball. While they did have their share of personal foul penalties, they were very good here. DeShawn Gaddie started 33 games during his 4 seasons here. He had great coverage skills, and was a highly productive player here. Kevin Wood made the All-Freshman team and has played in 42 games. He is expected to take on a bigger role during the 2023 season. Quinn Whitlock started 28 games, and had a very solid senior season at DB. Asher Alberding played in 35 games, used primarily as a blocking TE. While he only had 2 Rec for 18 yards, he opened up several holes for our RBs. Damon Ward has played in 26 games, caught 47 passes for 689 yards and 5 TD. Damon has 2 years left at North Texas, and he should continue to develop into a solid player for us. Finally, Oscar Adaway III has been a wrecking ball of a RB for North Texas. He played in 19 games over 3 seasons. Oscar has battled injuries, but when healthy is a dominate RB. Oscar has 221 carries, 1197 yards, 8 TDs; 7 Rec, 37 yards, 1 TD. He should be one of the main RBs during the 2023 season. If he stays healthy, he could be an All Conference Running Back.

This class had 3 players transfer in from other FBS programs. Dominque Harrison was a CB from Arizona St, he played in 9 games here, but wasn’t much of a contributor. Nick Harvey was a CB that signed with us from Texas A&M and South Carolina. Yes, we were his 3^rd FBS school to play at. He played in all 12 games during his 1 season at North Texas. Nick had 64 Tackles,1 INT, 7 PBU, and 1 FR. D’Andre Plantin created a lot of excitement when he announced his commitment to North Texas from Virginia Tech. He did manage to play in 8 games at OT. However, we do not have any stats to tell how productive he was on the field.

How did the transfer portal impact this class? As with every program in college football, this class had a lot of guys transfer out. Out of the 26 players that signed, 15 entered the transfer portal or left the team. The Murphy twins transferred to UCLA, DeShawn Gaddie transferred to Ole Miss, Asher Alberding to CAL, Khatib Lyles to Austin Peay, Jevin Murray to Sam Houston State, Will Kuhene to SMU, and Asher From to Kent State. Kealon Jackson, Kenneth Dotson, John Brunner, Jimmy Walker Chris Cassidy, and Leandre Davis left the team and never played anywhere else. David Sow failed to qualify and never stepped foot on campus.

Overall, this class was a bag of mixed results. We had several play and making meaningful contributions, 4 All-Conference players, and 8 that simply didn’t pan out for some reason. I made an excel with a more detailed analysis. If you guys like this, I will do the other classes “20, 21, and 22” over the next few weeks. Anyways Go Mean Green and Happy Super Bowl Sunday!

2019 Recruiting Class.xlsx 14.65 kB · 4 downloads

I'm not sure how common it is as I really began to pay attention to recruiting when Seth was here. He did seem to have a lot of his top juco guys not qualify. I could be wrong but Holston and sow come to mind

jtm0097 · February 13, 2023

22 minutes ago, p_phelps said:

I'm not sure how common it is as I really began to pay attention to recruiting when Seth was here. He did seem to have a lot of his top juco guys not qualify. I could be wrong but Holston and sow come to mind

I can think of 4 JUCO guys that didn't qualify during the Seth era. I'm sure there are more, but that's a risk going after JUCO players.