Grading the 2023 Mean Green

Side.Show.Joe · November 25, 2023

In this assessment, I tried to be fair and base the results on the results, and numbers put up. I did include my personal takes too. I have some strong feeling about some of this stuff.

OFFENSE

QB's: A

Would have been an A+ had Rogers started from day one. Rogers is among the best QB's in the entire AAC, and the numbers prove. Rogers led the conference in touchdowns thrown, and was a 3,000 yard passer with only 5 INT's on the season. Those numbers are even better than the legendary Mason Fine. Let that sink in. The only knock on Rogers is that he did fumble some balls, but some of those were on the protection. Hard to blame a guy when the bind side pressure gets to him early. Tulane and Memphis don't have better QB's, but the AAC will probably still place them above Rogers in the All-Conference Teams.

RB's: A

Once again Cobbs' crew delivers. Even though injuries knocked out Ragsdale and Johnson for the season, Adeyi and Adaway keep the Mean Green rushing attach as the second best in the AAC, only behind Navy, which rarely ever passes. Just incredible production from those two. They were with best 1-2 backfield punch in the AAC. Adeyi led the AAC in yards per carry and finished as 1,000 yard back. Despite multiple season of injuries, Adaway finished the season 4th in the AAC with around 6 yards per carry. Would have been an A+ except for Adeyi's habit of missing key blocks at important times this season which led to turnovers. But aside from that, the unit was outstanding. Adeyi should be a 1st team All-Conference selection.

WR's & TE's: A+

UNT finished 2nd in the AAC in passing yards per game, because any of these guys could step up and make plays. Maclin was special posting a 1000 yard season, while leading all WR's in Touchdowns. He was also among the conference leaders in yards per game. Maclin should make the 1st team All-Conference Team. Burns and Ward were also big contributors this season and clutch when the ball was thrown their way. As a receiving corp, the unit dropped very few passes and made several tough catches at key moments in games. Landon Side grew up over the course of the season and was a major contributor by the end of the year (Going to brag a little here and remind everyone that I picked this kid to be special back before the season even started). Sides is a lock to be on the All-Freshman team.... Maybe Freshman All-American Team too.

O-Line: B-

Like other units, injuries took their toll on the line. But, the O-Line was still productive, Allowing UNT to feature a very successful rushing attack. Overall, their run blocking was very solid. UNT also threw the ball well, so the line did a fair job in pass protection. But, despite our deadly passing attack, the O-Line did allow over 30 sack on our QB's, which is among the worst in the AAC.

Offensive Coaching: A+

Insane offensive success for a first year staff. This offensive coaching staff produced a 3,000 yard QB, a 1,000 yard rusher, and a 1,000 yard receiver. This was not a rebuilding year for UNT. The Mean Green finished the season among the Top 10 offenses in the entire FBS. Those are a lot of offensive first for UNT. It would have been nice to score more points compared to the yards we rolled up. That's not a knock, just a goal for next season.

DEFENSE

DL's & LB's: F

UNT's front 6ish were statistically the worst in the entire FBS in multiple categories, and dead last in most AAC categories. In addition to our world-renowned inability to stop the run, our defensive front only recorded 17 sacks on the season. For comparison, SMU & UTSA both finished their seasons with around 40 sacks each. Before the season began, I questioned the DL hire. I'm sticking with my initial concerns.

Secondary: B-

UNT featured a respectable secondary, which finished 4th in the AAC in yards allowed. UNT's secondary also finished 3rd in INT's, which is impressive considering many teams spent most of their time running on our defensive front. My biggest knock on our secondary was that they were prone to give up big plays down field late in games when we needed stops.

Defensive Coaching: F

This year wasn't a rebuild, despite what some around here want to push now that we failed to post a winning record. Our DC just didn't put the work in a build us a real defense. He failed to access the talent and fill gaps through the portal, and he failed to teach of defensive players the basic fundamentals of playing defense. Even in our 12th game, we still had major problems with basic tackling. Just sad. There really is nothing more to say, other than he shouldn't be allowed back next season.

Special Teams: B+

Rauschenberg's strong leg was great on kickoffs and a weapon on field goals, hitting on over 81% of attempts. Sawyer averaged over 42 yards per punt. Horton was among the conference leaders in kick returns and hit on some long returns. Punt returns could have been better, but that about it.

Head Coach Morris: F

Such a hard grade to assign. The offense was unbelievable, but the defense negated all of their hard work. In the end this was a team that could and should have been a winner. It should have earned a bowl appearance. And it should have contended for the AAC title. But, our defense held us back... all season long. Ultimately, Morris didn't place the same level of importance on the defense that he did the offense, and it showed on the field and on the scoreboard. 5-7 is sub .500, and doesn't equal a passing grade. The fact that Morris publicly stated in his last press conference that he still believed in Caponi's leadership on defense also raises serious concerns about our prospects for next season. Right now I see too much Littrell in Morris (all offense and no clue about how or why we need a defense).

That's my take on this season.

Edited November 25, 2023 by Side.Show.Joe

MDH · November 26, 2023

An F for Morris? I agree with lots of grades above, but not this one. I’ll give a C-

3_n_out · November 26, 2023

I think you’re a tad bit generous with the OL and TE grades. TEs were terrible, and OL could’ve been less soft.

TEs = F (never utilized)

OL = C (decent run blocking, pass blocking issues)

WRs = A- (dropped balls and poor blocking).

Offensive coaching = A- (slow starts)

Defense = F (all the way around)

Udomann · November 26, 2023

I would definitely drop that o-line grade to a C or possibly a D. We had to rely on a lot of scrambling or begging Rogers to dump the ball faster

Side.Show.Joe · November 26, 2023

1 hour ago, MDH said:

An F for Morris? I agree with lots of grades above, but not this one. I’ll give a C-

His offense is amazing. And, his ability to find outstanding QB's is unquestionable. But at the end of the day, we are staying home for bowl season. This team played for the conference title last season, and was picked to be a bowl team this year. In school you need a 70 to pass. I'd have given him a passing grade if we had just won 50% of our games. Defense matters. He still needs to learn that. The fact that he's content to bring Caponi back next season doesn't help his grade either. We are what our record says we are... a team that won about 42% of our games. I can't give him anything but an F for that.

Side.Show.Joe · November 26, 2023

43 minutes ago, Udomann said:

I would definitely drop that o-line grade to a C or possibly a D. We had to rely on a lot of scrambling or begging Rogers to dump the ball faster

We averaged over 190 yards rushing per game, and a conference leading 5.1 yards per carry. And we threw for over 300 yards per game... best in the AAC. Sure, Rogers & backs did some of that with pure athleticism, but we have to give the O-Line credit too. My biggest knock on the O-Line is the number of sacks they gave up this season.

3_n_out · November 26, 2023

17 minutes ago, Side.Show.Joe said:

We averaged over 190 yards rushing per game, and a conference leading 5.1 yards per carry. And we threw for over 300 yards per game... best in the AAC. Sure, Rogers & backs did some of that with pure athleticism, but we have to give the O-Line credit too. My biggest knock on the O-Line is the number of sacks they gave up this season.

That’s exactly why I didn’t give them a D

Side.Show.Joe · November 26, 2023

3 minutes ago, 3_n_out said:

That’s exactly why I didn’t give them a D

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NM Green · November 26, 2023

An F for Morris is too low. I am disappointed but was highly entertained this season.

Now this does not mean next year is better. It will be beast. Don’t know our schedule but if we have to go to UAB UTSA Memphis and get a visit from Tulane. I don’t know where 6 wins come from. But to complete the weirdest 5 win season I have ever been through with the Mean Green, and rallying the troops for two gut grit wins to end the season. He at least deserves a C.

Hopefully he learned his lesson that you can’t lose in September and expect a stadium full of fans in October and November. It all hinges on September. Jared pleas press this and plan activities that get people there for 11a and 3p games in 98 degree heat. Swallow it. Prepare for it. Win it. Keep the MG Nation engaged in 2024.

GMG

Side.Show.Joe · November 26, 2023

6 minutes ago, NM Green said:

An F for Morris is too low. I am disappointed but was highly entertained this season.

Now this does not mean next year is better. It will be beast. Don’t know our schedule but if we have to go to UAB UTSA Memphis and get a visit from Tulane. I don’t know where 6 wins come from. But to complete the weirdest 5 win season I have ever been through with the Mean Green, and rallying the troops for two gut grit wins to end the season. He at least deserves a C.

Hopefully he learned his lesson that you can’t lose in September and expect a stadium full of fans in October and November. It all hinges on September. Jared pleas press this and plan activities that get people there for 11a and 3p games in 98 degree heat. Swallow it. Prepare for it. Win it. Keep the MG Nation engaged in 2024.

GMG

Since you missed the explanation.....

His offense is amazing. And, his ability to find outstanding QB's is unquestionable. But at the end of the day, we are staying home for bowl season. This team played for the conference title last season, and was picked to be a bowl team this year. In school you need a 70 to pass. I'd have given him a passing grade if we had just won 50% of our games. Defense matters. He still needs to learn that. The fact that he's content to bring Caponi back next season doesn't help his grade either. We are what our record says we are... a team that won about 42% of our games. I can't give him anything but an F for that.

And, if you want more fans next September, it would be a good idea to get a real DC before December... which Morris doesn't seem motivated to do. When 70% of the fans that actually care want Caponi gone, bring the guy back won't get fans excited for next season. Or help sell tickets.

NM Green · November 26, 2023

I didn’t miss anything. I invested, I am concerned about the defense. I will still travel to Denton, to watch parties and away games. Ive been doing that since ‘86.

I don’t expect everyone to be sunshine and daffodils but there is some negative juju on this site for a team that never quit. We got blown out by smu and cal. The guys played hard and through some disbelief from the fans all year, me included. They finished on a high note. I’m celebrating an end of a season win rather than a disappointing bowl loss. No apoligies

Fix the deficiencies in 2024 and keep building.

GMG

Matt from A700 · November 26, 2023

28 minutes ago, NM Green said:

Don’t know our schedule but if we have to go to UAB UTSA Memphis and get a visit from Tulane. I don’t know where 6 wins come from.

If Army slides into SMU's spot, we'd have:

Home
Week 2 - Stephen F. Austin
Week 4 - Wyoming
Army
Charlotte
Rice
South Florida

Away
Week 1 - South Alabama
Week 3 - Texas Tech
East Carolina
FAU
UAB
UTSA

Now if the AAC blows up their scheduling format because of SMU's departure, then this whole post is a waste. BUT, with Rogers healthy and just a functioning, tackling defense, I think our schedule is much more favorable. A 3-1 nonconference start is attainable, and honestly all of those home games are winnable. Give Mason Fine and that 2017 or 2018 team this schedule and we're 6-0 at ~~Apogee~~ DATCU.

NT80 · November 26, 2023

13 hours ago, Side.Show.Joe said:

His offense is amazing. And, his ability to find outstanding QB's is unquestionable. But at the end of the day, we are staying home for bowl season. This team played for the conference title last season, and was picked to be a bowl team this year. In school you need a 70 to pass. I'd have given him a passing grade if we had just won 50% of our games. Defense matters. He still needs to learn that. The fact that he's content to bring Caponi back next season doesn't help his grade either. We are what our record says we are... a team that won about 42% of our games. I can't give him anything but an F for that.

You rated the secondary too high. That B- should have been a D. They were a major part of the pitiful defense by allowing major chunk pass completions, rampant penalties, and little run support.

Morris was not an F.

We were less than 40 total points away from being 10-2. Think about that...

Yes, he has let the defense fail and the defensive coaches slide. I would give him a C+ now and C- if he fails to make DC change.

Edited November 26, 2023 by NT80

mgfan · November 26, 2023

Morris has to get a failing grade.

Sorry 5 wins doesn’t cut it for me. It doesn’t matter if it is a new coach or a coach who has been here years. Standards have to be higher.

UNTcrazy727 · November 26, 2023

4 hours ago, Side.Show.Joe said:

In this assessment, I tried to be fair and base the results on the results, and numbers put up. I did include my personal takes too. I have some strong feeling about some of this stuff.

OFFENSE

QB's: A

Would have been an A+ had Rogers started from day one. Rogers is among the best QB's in the entire AAC, and the numbers prove. Rogers led the conference in touchdowns thrown, and was a 3,000 yard passer with only 5 INT's on the season. Those numbers are even better than the legendary Mason Fine. Let that sink in. The only knock on Rogers is that he did fumble some balls, but some of those were on the protection. Hard to blame a guy when the bind side pressure gets to him early. Tulane and Memphis don't have better QB's, but the AAC will probably still place them above Rogers in the All-Conference Teams.

RB's: A

Once again Cobbs' crew delivers. Even though injuries knocked out Ragsdale and Johnson for the season, Adeyi and Adaway keep the Mean Green rushing attach as the second best in the AAC, only behind Navy, which rarely ever passes. Just incredible production from those two. They were with best 1-2 backfield punch in the AAC. Adeyi led the AAC in yards per carry and finished as 1,000 yard back. Despite multiple season of injuries, Adaway finished the season 4th in the AAC with around 6 yards per carry. Would have been an A+ except for Adeyi's habit of missing key blocks at important times this season which led to turnovers. But aside from that, the unit was outstanding. Adeyi should be a 1st team All-Conference selection.

WR's & TE's: A+

UNT finished 2nd in the AAC in passing yards per game, because any of these guys could step up and make plays. Maclin was special posting a 1000 yard season, while leading all WR's in Touchdowns. He was also among the conference leaders in yards per game. Maclin should make the 1st team All-Conference Team. Burns and Ward were also big contributors this season and clutch when the ball was thrown their way. As a receiving corp, the unit dropped very few passes and made several tough catches at key moments in games. Landon Side grew up over the course of the season and was a major contributor by the end of the year (Going to brag a little here and remind everyone that I picked this kid to be special back before the season even started). Sides is a lock to be on the All-Freshman team.... Maybe Freshman All-American Team too.

O-Line: B-

Like other units, injuries took their toll on the line. But, the O-Line was still productive, Allowing UNT to feature a very successful rushing attack. Overall, their run blocking was very solid. UNT also threw the ball well, so the line did a fair job in pass protection. But, despite our deadly passing attack, the O-Line did allow over 30 sack on our QB's, which is among the worst in the AAC.

Offensive Coaching: A+

Insane offensive success for a first year staff. This offensive coaching staff produced a 3,000 yard QB, a 1,000 yard rusher, and a 1,000 yard receiver. This was not a rebuilding year for UNT. The Mean Green finished the season among the Top 10 offenses in the entire FBS. Those are a lot of offensive first for UNT. It would have been nice to score more points compared to the yards we rolled up. That's not a knock, just a goal for next season.

DEFENSE

DL's & LB's: F

UNT's front 6ish were statistically the worst in the entire FBS in multiple categories, and dead last in most AAC categories. In addition to our world-renowned inability to stop the run, our defensive front only recorded 17 sacks on the season. For comparison, SMU & UTSA both finished their seasons with around 40 sacks each. Before the season began, I questioned the DL hire. I'm sticking with my initial concerns.

Secondary: B-

UNT featured a respectable secondary, which finished 4th in the AAC in yards allowed. UNT's secondary also finished 3rd in INT's, which is impressive considering many teams spent most of their time running on our defensive front. My biggest knock on our secondary was that they were prone to give up big plays down field late in games when we needed stops.

Defensive Coaching: F

This year wasn't a rebuild, despite what some around here want to push now that we failed to post a winning record. Our DC just didn't put the work in a build us a real defense. He failed to access the talent and fill gaps through the portal, and he failed to teach of defensive players the basic fundamentals of playing defense. Even in our 12th game, we still had major problems with basic tackling. Just sad. There really is nothing more to say, other than he shouldn't be allowed back next season.

Special Teams: B+

Rauschenberg's strong leg was great on kickoffs and a weapon on field goals, hitting on over 81% of attempts. Sawyer averaged over 42 yards per punt. Horton was among the conference leaders in kick returns and hit on some long returns. Punt returns could have been better, but that about it.

Head Coach Morris: F

Such a hard grade to assign. The offense was unbelievable, but the defense negated all of their hard work. In the end this was a team that could and should have been a winner. It should have earned a bowl appearance. And it should have contended for the AAC title. But, our defense held us back... all season long. Ultimately, Morris didn't place the same level of importance on the defense that he did the offense, and it showed on the field and on the scoreboard. 5-7 is sub .500, and doesn't equal a passing grade. The fact that Morris publicly stated in his last press conference that he still believed in Caponi's leadership on defense also raises serious concerns about our prospects for next season. Right now I see too much Littrell in Morris (all offense and no clue about how or why we need a defense).

That's my take on this season.

1. The defense was 100% a rebuild this season. I don’t have the exact numbers but we lost 5 or 6 of our top tacklers from last year’s already bad unit. Can’t really argue with the grades though. Hopefully, a lot of guys are told to enter the portal the next couple weeks.
2. Most people had us wining 5 to 7 games this year. Giving Morris an F grade for finishing on the low end of what was expected is unjustified. No one thought we were going to contend for a conference title, so for you to now say we should have been in the hunt is just an attempt to justify your harsh grade. That said, I agree, we should be a bowl team. The FIU and Navy losses were unacceptable. I’d give Morris a “C+”. The offense exceeded all expectations and we closely competed with the top teams in the conference. I don’t expect that to change next year. With a revamped defense, I expect we’ll take a step forward.
3. IMO, your WR and OL grades are too generous. OL had massive protection issues all year. Especially, against the blitz. It’s what cost us the Navy game. And our WRs had way too many drops to get an A+. Outside of Maclin, the rest of the room is average. I’d give the OL a “C” and WRs a “B+”.

UNT Family Man · November 26, 2023

Offense= A

Defense= F

Head Coach= F (young over confident mistakes: ie. Not hiring a seasoned/salty veteran DC or bringing in one as co-Dc to walk Caponi through the first couple of years or hell keeping Gush from the previous staff and the Stone vs Rogers evaluation) and don’t forget 42% wins. This would be like a 68 in the grade book- close to passing but not quite there yet.

And for all the talk about how small we are and how we got pushed around- why isn’t the strength staff taking any heat?

Edited November 26, 2023 by UNT Family Man

outoftown · November 26, 2023

It was a disappointing season, no doubt. Wether or not to hang on to Caponi is a tough one from my perspective. On one hand continuity is super important on the defensive side. On the other hand: worst D in FBS in a number of categories, and while he gets his guys in place to tackle quite often actually (i.e. I don't think its the scheme or the inability to teach the scheme), the inability to then actually execute said tackle has me wonder whether Caponi and his coaches are good at teaching those fundamentals. I also wonder whether Morris is allowing for enough practices with actual tackling to take place in order for players to improve. Maybe someone more in the know can instruct me on that last point

Overall I think this team missed out on a number of one-score opportunities that might easily go the other way. Moreover, UNT had clearly the toughest schedule in the AAC. The record of teams that UNT played in conference vs the conference mates it did not play is 17-4 (if i counted correctly). I think there is a lot of reason to believe this will be a 7-8 win team next year if the portal season goes halfway decent. However in order to really contend for the conference it will absolutely need to address its tackling issues.

The other thing Morris has to figure out is why his teams start continuously slow. If this team only had second halves it actually would have contended for the conference. In that regard the coaches have to look at their organisation and how they look at video, how they game plan, and how they get players psychologically ready for the game. Something is amiss there.

Edited November 26, 2023 by outoftown

Moobs · November 26, 2023

9 hours ago, mgfan said:

Morris has to get a failing grade.

Sorry 5 wins doesn’t cut it for me. It doesn’t matter if it is a new coach or a coach who has been here years. Standards have to be higher.

This sounds like coach speak.

I think if you could ask Morris (or any other FBS head coach for that matter), they would say something a lot like this and would completely agree with their failing grade.

That being said, what I really wanted to see was a competitive product. It’s been a few years since we had a competitive product in bigger games. My expectation is a product I can watch for 4 quarters and I got that this year. We had some close games in the end that we came out on the wrong side of, but the fun and excitement watching those games was something I hadn’t experienced much of in years, and I’m grateful for that. This team is close. Real close. Perhaps just a DC away…

UNT 78 · November 26, 2023

Morris is inexperience and it showed…defense wins championships period! Rogers is amazing and may end up in the NFL; just too bad he didn’t start the first game! No way you keep the defensive coordinator, Fire him now! We need to get bigger up front on both sides of the ball, bigger linebackers a must, and more speed on defense! Exciting season and well worth my season tickets; we better get a lot better at raising money for NIL, it’s the future. So, get those wallets out and start giving money if you want a winner at UNT, football and men’s basketball. Could care less about women’s sports!

CMJ · November 26, 2023

Based on moving to a tougher league, and a new coach, I figured we'd win about five to seven games. We hit the low end of that. Offense was better than I figured, but the defense was worse.

Give Morris a C-.

Edited November 26, 2023 by CMJ

p_phelps · November 26, 2023

14 hours ago, Side.Show.Joe said:

In this assessment, I tried to be fair and base the results on the results, and numbers put up. I did include my personal takes too. I have some strong feeling about some of this stuff.

OFFENSE

QB's: A

Would have been an A+ had Rogers started from day one. Rogers is among the best QB's in the entire AAC, and the numbers prove. Rogers led the conference in touchdowns thrown, and was a 3,000 yard passer with only 5 INT's on the season. Those numbers are even better than the legendary Mason Fine. Let that sink in. The only knock on Rogers is that he did fumble some balls, but some of those were on the protection. Hard to blame a guy when the bind side pressure gets to him early. Tulane and Memphis don't have better QB's, but the AAC will probably still place them above Rogers in the All-Conference Teams.

RB's: A

Once again Cobbs' crew delivers. Even though injuries knocked out Ragsdale and Johnson for the season, Adeyi and Adaway keep the Mean Green rushing attach as the second best in the AAC, only behind Navy, which rarely ever passes. Just incredible production from those two. They were with best 1-2 backfield punch in the AAC. Adeyi led the AAC in yards per carry and finished as 1,000 yard back. Despite multiple season of injuries, Adaway finished the season 4th in the AAC with around 6 yards per carry. Would have been an A+ except for Adeyi's habit of missing key blocks at important times this season which led to turnovers. But aside from that, the unit was outstanding. Adeyi should be a 1st team All-Conference selection.

WR's & TE's: A+

UNT finished 2nd in the AAC in passing yards per game, because any of these guys could step up and make plays. Maclin was special posting a 1000 yard season, while leading all WR's in Touchdowns. He was also among the conference leaders in yards per game. Maclin should make the 1st team All-Conference Team. Burns and Ward were also big contributors this season and clutch when the ball was thrown their way. As a receiving corp, the unit dropped very few passes and made several tough catches at key moments in games. Landon Side grew up over the course of the season and was a major contributor by the end of the year (Going to brag a little here and remind everyone that I picked this kid to be special back before the season even started). Sides is a lock to be on the All-Freshman team.... Maybe Freshman All-American Team too.

O-Line: B-

Like other units, injuries took their toll on the line. But, the O-Line was still productive, Allowing UNT to feature a very successful rushing attack. Overall, their run blocking was very solid. UNT also threw the ball well, so the line did a fair job in pass protection. But, despite our deadly passing attack, the O-Line did allow over 30 sack on our QB's, which is among the worst in the AAC.

Offensive Coaching: A+

Insane offensive success for a first year staff. This offensive coaching staff produced a 3,000 yard QB, a 1,000 yard rusher, and a 1,000 yard receiver. This was not a rebuilding year for UNT. The Mean Green finished the season among the Top 10 offenses in the entire FBS. Those are a lot of offensive first for UNT. It would have been nice to score more points compared to the yards we rolled up. That's not a knock, just a goal for next season.

DEFENSE

DL's & LB's: F

UNT's front 6ish were statistically the worst in the entire FBS in multiple categories, and dead last in most AAC categories. In addition to our world-renowned inability to stop the run, our defensive front only recorded 17 sacks on the season. For comparison, SMU & UTSA both finished their seasons with around 40 sacks each. Before the season began, I questioned the DL hire. I'm sticking with my initial concerns.

Secondary: B-

UNT featured a respectable secondary, which finished 4th in the AAC in yards allowed. UNT's secondary also finished 3rd in INT's, which is impressive considering many teams spent most of their time running on our defensive front. My biggest knock on our secondary was that they were prone to give up big plays down field late in games when we needed stops.

Defensive Coaching: F

This year wasn't a rebuild, despite what some around here want to push now that we failed to post a winning record. Our DC just didn't put the work in a build us a real defense. He failed to access the talent and fill gaps through the portal, and he failed to teach of defensive players the basic fundamentals of playing defense. Even in our 12th game, we still had major problems with basic tackling. Just sad. There really is nothing more to say, other than he shouldn't be allowed back next season.

Special Teams: B+

Rauschenberg's strong leg was great on kickoffs and a weapon on field goals, hitting on over 81% of attempts. Sawyer averaged over 42 yards per punt. Horton was among the conference leaders in kick returns and hit on some long returns. Punt returns could have been better, but that about it.

Head Coach Morris: F

Such a hard grade to assign. The offense was unbelievable, but the defense negated all of their hard work. In the end this was a team that could and should have been a winner. It should have earned a bowl appearance. And it should have contended for the AAC title. But, our defense held us back... all season long. Ultimately, Morris didn't place the same level of importance on the defense that he did the offense, and it showed on the field and on the scoreboard. 5-7 is sub .500, and doesn't equal a passing grade. The fact that Morris publicly stated in his last press conference that he still believed in Caponi's leadership on defense also raises serious concerns about our prospects for next season. Right now I see too much Littrell in Morris (all offense and no clue about how or why we need a defense).

That's my take on this season.

How can the offense that he calls be an A but he gets an F? He gets all the blame for defense but no credit for offense?

MrAlien · November 26, 2023

How can you even grade a coach with out recruiting? Recruiting is literally half the job. This coaching staff missed the big transfer window last year, for the most part they were working with left overs. What happens over the next few weeks is vital, this staff gets the opportunity to attack the transfer market and build the the way they want.

Honestly 5 wins was better then I thought they would do, it was a rebuild, new coaching staff with virtually no recruiting and some good players left.

p_phelps · November 26, 2023

Just now, MrAlien said:

How can you even grade a coach with out recruiting? Recruiting is literally half the job. This coaching staff missed the big transfer window last year, for the most part they were working with left overs. What happens over the next few weeks is vital, this staff gets the opportunity to attack the transfer market and build the the way they want.

Honestly 5 wins was better then I thought they would do, it was a rebuild, new coaching staff with virtually no recruiting and some good players left.

Agreed, if you look at if. The only productive guys on defense were the guys Morris brought in.

3_n_out · November 26, 2023

10 hours ago, UNT Family Man said:

And for all the talk about how small we are and how we got pushed around- why isn’t the strength staff taking any heat?

To be fair, they also just started this year. Let’s see how they do this upcoming season where we can better gauge how effective they are.
But I’m with you. I saw a lack of strength at the point of attack too many times.

Coltonw83 · November 26, 2023

1 hour ago, MrAlien said:

How can you even grade a coach with out recruiting? Recruiting is literally half the job. This coaching staff missed the big transfer window last year, for the most part they were working with left overs. What happens over the next few weeks is vital, this staff gets the opportunity to attack the transfer market and build the the way they want.

Honestly 5 wins was better then I thought they would do, it was a rebuild, new coaching staff with virtually no recruiting and some good players left.

Agreed, here’s to hoping the transfer portal gets hit hard for an improved D next window. We had a tough schedule, I have hope this staff and team improve (shorter leash for Caponi obviously). If Morris can step it up and finish with 6-7 wins or better and a bowl win in the next two years that would be a great place to be in the AAC.