UNT 2023 1ST scrimmage observations (4/8/23)

[NT80]

Who went to scrimmage #1 today?   QB play, position standouts, feats of amazement? 

Edited April 10, 2023 by Coach Andy Mac

[SUMG]

 

[cousin oliver]

Not too good on names but #13 looked pretty mobile at QB and threw some good passes.  #3 as well.

[SUMG]

https://dentonrc.com/sports/colleges/mean_green/jace-ruder-shines-in-scrimmage-as-unts-quarterback-race-continues-to-take-shape/article_4d8ca9f0-1bd9-5c4d-a0ee-e6472bc8524d.html

[Mean Green 93-98]

8 minutes ago, SUMG said:

https://dentonrc.com/sports/colleges/mean_green/jace-ruder-shines-in-scrimmage-as-unts-quarterback-race-continues-to-take-shape/article_4d8ca9f0-1bd9-5c4d-a0ee-e6472bc8524d.html

If Jace has found his groove, that can only be a good thing.  I know he was playing with the 1's on offense, but does anyone know if he was going against the 1's on defense?

[SilverEagle]

Hunter Green and I sat and watched the scrimmage. We both thought Ruder was the best of the group. Everyone is anxious about Rogers. He's pretty good, but not as good as Ruder and not significantly better than Earl or Head. Quite frankly I don't even know what Gunnels is doing out there. He may have been outstanding early in his career, but he certainly isn't now. They should give the young man from Flower Mound more reps (the one who wears #98) and see what he can do. In some warm up drills he looked decent. Right now, Ruder is the guy. 

The transfer from TT (#$19) looked really good. He's a genuine deep threat, and he looks like another go-to guy on deep balls like Shorter. Who wasn't out there today BTW.

The offense looks very much like last years. The defense doesn't. The defense was way ahead of the offense. And they were relentless in chasing some of the QB's on most passing downs. It's only the first scrimmage but the DB play is MUCH BETTER this year.

[GMG_Dallas]

This is either really bad or really good.

Think positive, dang it. New coach! New coach! New coach!

[Hunter Green]

I agree with the assessment. Ruder looked sharp and has a rocket for an arm.  We're stacked at RB and receiver, but the place kicking looks shakey The defense was flying to the ball and the QBs didn't have much time to set and throw. They're definitely ahead of the offense which was not unexpected. O line looks big and opened a few running holes, but were beaten frequently on pass blocking.  Overall, a lot of energy and enthusiasm.  Thanks to Silver Eagle for the company and commentary!

Edited April 8, 2023 by Hunter Green

[emmitt01]

46 minutes ago, GMG_Dallas said:

This is either really bad or really good.

Think positive, dang it. New coach! New coach! New coach!

If the defense is ahead of the offense, that’s a VERY good thing.  Every time we’ve had a good year the defense has been better in the Spring

[Cr1028]

1 hour ago, Hunter Green said:

I agree with the assessment. Ruder looked sharp and has a rocket for an arm.  We're stacked at RB and receiver, but the place kicking looks shakey The defense was flying to the ball and the QBs didn't have much time to set and throw. They're definitely ahead of the offense which was not unexpected. O line looks big and opened a few running holes, but were beaten frequently on pass blocking.  Overall, a lot of energy and enthusiasm.  Thanks to Silver Eagle for the company and commentary!

Been saying this for a year and a half now. Strongest velocity of any qb we’ve had in the last several years including the baseball player. The man can just flat sling it. I’m pulling for Ruder, you hear me @NWKGREEN? Let’s get it!

Edited April 8, 2023 by Cr1028

[Danish43]

5 minutes ago, Cr1028 said:

Been saying this for a year and a half now. Strongest velocity of any qb we’ve had in the last several years including the baseball player. The man can just flat sling it. I’m pulling for Ruder, you hear me @NWKGREEN? Let’s get it!

I am really happy to hear that because Ruder has gotten a ton of criticism from this board.

 

 

[Jonnyeagle]

7 minutes ago, Danish43 said:

I am really happy to hear that because Ruder has gotten a ton of criticism from this board.

 

 

I challenge that statement.  Ruder hasn’t really done that much after very high expectations with him transferring from UNC.  Everyone here would like for him to be successful here and wish him well.

[Cr1028]

5 minutes ago, Danish43 said:

I am really happy to hear that because Ruder has gotten a ton of criticism from this board.

 

 

I agree. I gave him a boatload of criticism when he first got here because several felt he was entitled to the starting job for no other reason than what he did at UNC and who he backed up. I was adamantly opposed to that with him, Gunnel, and will also be with Rogers. Ruder is now one of the ones that has been here grinding and putting in the work and I really hope he can win the job.

[Cr1028]

1 minute ago, Jonnyeagle said:

I challenge that statement.  Ruder hasn’t really done that much after very high expectations with him transferring from UNC.  Everyone here would like for him to be successful here and wish him well.

Those high expectations were thrust on him by the cheerleaders that showed up when he did and also the “anybody but Aune” crowd. They likely weren’t his fault. He’s been a model student athlete since he got here and hasn’t complained once that I’ve heard about, he just works and supports his teammates. I think that is stellar. It would be really great to see him win the job and since I started watching qb warmups and drills it was always clear that he has the strongest arm of the bunch by a pretty good margin.

[NorthTexasSportsNetwork]

I’m currently at a wedding while I post this, so I’ll share my complete thoughts in a bit, but Sanoe, JD and I did a quick overview, and my thread. Shorter, Adaway, Isiah Johnson, Mazin Richards, John Davis among a few others did not participate for injury precautions and recovery.

I also ran into Stone Earle at NYSH after the scrimmage, he seemed very upbeat and confident about his position in the depth chart. I think it’ll be between Earle and Rogers, but it is still VERY early ahaha

[El Paso Eagle]

 

 

[Eagle71]

If Gunnell is going to see any light this season why not move him to TE?

[RiseUNT]

8 minutes ago, Eagle71 said:

If Gunnell is going to see any light this season why not move him to TE?

[Cr1028]

13 minutes ago, Eagle71 said:

If Gunnell is going to see any light this season why not move him to TE?

[greenminer]

30 minutes ago, Eagle71 said:

If Gunnell is going to see any light this season why not move him to TE?

I've seen top level players move to another position when at a higher level of play.  It's just kind of defeating when you talk about it needing to happen.   In Gunnell's case, he was all-world in TX HS FB.  But if you think about it, still only 3 star? Makes me wonder if coaches knew something.

 

Quote

 

During his career at St Pius, he set the Texas high school records for passing touchdowns (195) and passing yards (16,108).^[1][2][3] Grant was a USA Today All American, second team his senior year. He was a MaxPreps Junior All American, MaxPreps Sophomore All American, MaxPreps Sophomore Co-Player of the Year, and was a MaxPreps Freshman All American. Additionally, Grant played in the US Army All American Bowl and was a finalist for Player of the Year. Within the state of Texas, he was a first-team all-state selection as a Sophomore, Junior, and Senior.

A three-star recruit, Gunnell was Texas's top QB prospect and received 42 college scholarship offers, including from powerhouses like Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Oklahoma, to name a few.^[4] Of all those scholarship offers, Gunnell originally committed early on to Arkansas but recommitted to Texas A&M, where his brother was playing wide receiver,^[5] but recommitted again later into his senior year to the University of Arizona, to play college football under Kevin Sumlin.

 

wiki

[GMG_Dallas]

I was very excited to see Gunnell last year. As of right now, it seems like his body just isn’t the same. I don't think he was a 3 star because the coaches "knew something." Mahomes was a 3 star. As were many other current NFL stars. It happens. In his case it seems he never bounced back from the injuries. That also happens. If he ends up seeing the field this season and performs great, I'll be thrilled but I'm not holding my breath.

[Eagle71]

1 hour ago, RiseUNT said:

 

[Eagle71]

1 hour ago, Cr1028 said:

 

[GMG_Dallas]

5 hours ago, emmitt01 said:

If the defense is ahead of the offense, that’s a VERY good thing.  Every time we’ve had a good year the defense has been better in the Spring

It's a new year with new coaches with a new system. What was an indicator of success 10 years ago with different variables may not be the same now. I hope it's just that our defensive staff is working wonders.

Every game last season I felt we had really good pieces on defense. They usually performed well in the first half. They just spent too much time on the field and got gassed. If we have an efficient offense that gives them breaks, I do think we'll be much improved.

[Okiefan]

Just a few thoughts regarding the first scrimmage.

1. Defense won the day overwhelmingly. There were a number of different faces active today as they work through the new scheme. Good depth and rotations in the front 6 with a number of options as it looked like they were mixing and matching to some degree. LB group very active. Run defense was solid and there were multiple pass break-ups and knockdowns demonstrating good pressure and field presence.

Offense looked more like our 2022 playbook as I was expecting more Texas Tech style dink and dunk approach with quick WR screens, etc. Overall offense looked like they could use more tempo. 

2. QB- Ruder appeared to be the guy with the most confidence and leadership when he was in. The offense tempo was quicker during his sets. Rogers didn't look confident and lacked some strength on the deep balls today. Looks like he prefers to run. We have to stretch the field/ The QB spot is wide open as no one has stepped up.

3. RB group is deep and will continue to be a strong position group.

4. Kicker was a little rough. Mooney will be missed. Hopefully the Baylor kicker will improve the group. Punter was solid and the punt coverage team included some defensive starters which is a strategy change.

 

Overall energy was good and you can tell there is a different vibe.