Grass Isn't Always Greener End Of Season Update

jtm0097 · November 29, 2023

Alright, when I posted this update after the first week of the season, it ruffled some feathers. Disclaimer: I do not wish any ill will to any of the players that transferred. Ok, I lied, if you transferred to SMU, kick rocks. I am thankful for their contributions while wearing green here. Now to answer the question, is the grass greener on the other side? No, but the dollar bills are. It seems all of our former players played this year, however the majority had a big drop off in production. I know they all received money to leave here. However, some were paid to just stand on the sidelines to watch their teams play. If you love money more than playing, then I guess you could say it was a success. Only 1 transfer is playing for a conference championship game this weekend. It looks like 5 of the transfers will get to play in bowl games. While 2 of the transfers will have new OCs next year (so 3 in 3 years). I think we can all agree that the transfer portal is an interesting experiment that is screwing us G5 schools over.

Jake Roberts 23 catches 231 yards 1 TD (Baylor 3-9)

Jake played meaningful snaps in every game for the Baylor Bears. While he had success, his team did not. His OC was recently fired, so I am not sure how this will affect his role next year. Our TEs didn't have a lot of receptions this year, however I imagine he would have put up similar stats if he stayed.

Jyaire Shorter 1 rec 10 yards stats (Auburn 6-6)

Jyaire went from being a TD machine at North Texas to barely contributing at Auburn. While he did play in 7 games, he only had 1 catch against FCS Stamford.

Larry Nixon III 49 tackles (28 solo) (Auburn 6-6)

Larry was a solid LB for us and appeared to have a decent year in the SEC. He played in all 12 games and was Auburn's second leading tackler. I am glad to see that he had success at that level. I hope the move elevated his status to play in the NFL or XFL. This move seemed to benefit him.

Var'Keyes Gumms 3 rec 26 yards (Arkansas 4-8)

Var'Keyes was a young rising star for us on last years squad. He had 458 yards receiving and 5 TDs. However, he didn't have this type of production in the Dan Enos offense at Arkansas. To be fair, the Arkansas offense was non-existent this year and Dan Enos lost his job as a result. I am interested to see how he plays in the Bobby Petrino (hide the motorcycles and administrative assistants) offense next year. Var'Keyes did play in 11 games for the Razorbacks this year.

Asher Alberding 1 rec 5 yards 4 tackles (1 solo) (Cal 6-6)

Asher was a solid blocking TE for us, and it appears he continued to do that at Cal. While his production didn't light up the stat sheet, he was a solid contributor for the Cal Bears this season. He played in every game and helped them achieve bowl eligibility.

Cameron Robertson 17 tackles 5.5 TFL 4 Sacks (SMU 10-2)

Cameron had a good freshman season here and it was a shock when he transferred. I am not sure if it was due to a fit in the 3-3-5 or the NIL money that SMU was offering. Cameron played in all 12 for that damn team in Dallas. He put up meaningful snaps and I hope they never win another game. Sorry kid, you are the one exception. We hate SMU here.

DeShawn Gaddie Jr. 9 tackles (5 solo) 0 INT 3 PBU (Ole Miss 10-2)

DeShawn was a shut down corner for us, and we were all sad when he transferred to Ole Miss. While he didn't put up the stats that he did at UNT, he did appear in every game for the Ole Miss Rebels. His team had a good year, but he did not play as much as he did here in Denton. There was a lot of hype when he transferred to Ole Miss, but it doesn't seem he lived up to those expectations.

Edited November 29, 2023 by jtm0097

NT80 · November 29, 2023

You did a lot of research for that. I fear G5s are becoming just the minor leagues for P5 programs. NIL and the Portal has ruined the amateur college game. But for every Jake Roberts that leaves if we can obtain a Chandler Rogers then it's a win for us. Morris and Co. better get more Portal-friendly asap!

I guess we'll never know what motivated those players to leave...$$, larger program, closer to home, whatever? The thing that I think we will see fewer of is one-stop athletes at NT. The Mason Fines and Joe Greene's (elite football athletes at NT) have mostly vanished in this generation of NIL and transferring....no loyalty to school. As fans, we are loyal to the program, regardless of coach or players. We will still be here even if they choose to leave.

Cr1028 · November 29, 2023

Speaking of that damn team in Dallas, it seems Will Kuehne ended up as a wide receiver somewhere well down the depth chart. I wonder how he felt about that. Similarly, I wonder how Jace Ruder felt about being moved to LB and never seeing the field. I hate that for the guy. He always seemed to have a good attitude and talent.

Udomann · November 29, 2023

34 minutes ago, NT80 said:

. As fans, we are loyal to the program, regardless of coach or players. We will still be here even if they choose to leave.

For me that is most of the problem. I'm not cheering for Mosley or even Morris. I want to cheer for Fine, Rogers, Mean joe, super jamario, Darden, cobbs... etc...

peanuts104 · November 29, 2023

2 hours ago, Cr1028 said:

He always seemed to have a good attitude

yes

2 hours ago, Cr1028 said:

and talent.

no

UNTLifer · November 29, 2023

2 hours ago, Cr1028 said:

Speaking of that damn team in Dallas, it seems Will Kuehne ended up as a wide receiver somewhere well down the depth chart. I wonder how he felt about that. Similarly, I wonder how Jace Ruder felt about being moved to LB and never seeing the field. I hate that for the guy. He always seemed to have a good attitude and talent.

Ruder tore his ACL.

MeanGreenZen · November 29, 2023

There is a hierarchy of college football teams in the portal and every team has their place. North Texas just has to execute expertly from our unique position. And we do have advantages including our location and a high-powered offense.

Teams like Ohio State, Alabama and Texas are still losing kids in the portal to each other and must also contend with losing players early to the NFL draft.

North Texas is going to lose good players to the portal who transfer “Up”.

But we can also find guys who are transferring “Down” like Maclin did (LOL) from Missouri and we can also pick up guys like Chandler Rogers transferring “Up”.

The hard part for these coaches is that they are going to have to do it EVERY YEAR until something changes and it eventually will and we will all probably hate those changes too.

The portal and NIL have created chaos but there is also opportunity and the winning teams will be the ones who navigate change the best. Why not North Texas?

Edited November 29, 2023 by MeanGreenZen
Spelling

peanuts104 · November 29, 2023

30 minutes ago, UNTLifer said:

Ruder tore his ACL.

When?

southsideguy · November 29, 2023

wonder how long before the non power conference start folding up the football programs. We develop good hs players and they get bought and leave us with nothing. A lot cheaper to focus on basketball. I think the big programs need to look among themselves for players. Our players that were bought have not lite the world on fire though some have had solid stats.

El Paso Eagle · November 29, 2023

The "power" conferences need to split off into their own league. Those left need to realign and regain some semblance of sanity. They can still play games against the new league/division but need to make sure they pay.

UNTLifer · November 29, 2023

4 hours ago, peanuts104 said:

When?

Some time during the year. It was on Twitter/X. He also became a Dad

southsideguy · November 29, 2023

was shorter injured again? I thought he would do well

Edited November 29, 2023 by southsideguy

Cr1028 · November 29, 2023

11 hours ago, UNTLifer said:

Ruder tore his ACL.

Thank you

jtm0097 · December 1, 2023

@TheReal_jayD had a good post on the Patreon account about the stats as well. It included the amount of snaps these guys had and also their PFF grades for the year.