True Freshmen Receiving Seasons - Coleman, Sides, Young

[BillySee58]

In 2009 Darius Carey had a standout true freshman season racking up 509 receiving yards. Not sure what the record was before that but here are the top true freshmen seasons in terms of receiving yards since, by my research:

378 - Miles Coleman 2024

363 - Landon Sides 2023

295 - Wyatt Young 2024

281 - Jaelon Darden 2017

253 - Carlos Harris 2012

240 - Deonte Simpson 2019

151 - Darvin Kidsy 2013

146 - Tyler Wilson 2016

97 - Rico Bussey 2016

These guys on our roster are in really good company being atop some real ballers on this list. NFL guys, 1,000 yard seasons, etc.

Two takeaways here are that you can make an impact early here, especially at receiver, and that even in the transfer portal it’s still important to sign top high school talent as they seems to be the guys more likely to remain loyal when they otherwise would have good stock in the transfer portal/NIL market. 

[greenminer]

Agree about impact.  I, too, am still on board with recruiting HS players.  Just find the best guys, no matter where they come from.

Our offense seems very plug-and-play under Morris, even at the QB position.  We can attract new players, selling them on the stats produced by previous 1-year players.

If I had to outline concerns about the offense, it would be more about the linemen, and play calling.

[BillySee58]

3 hours ago, greenminer said:

Agree about impact.  I, too, am still on board with recruiting HS players.  Just find the best guys, no matter where they come from.

Our offense seems very plug-and-play under Morris, even at the QB position.  We can attract new players, selling them on the stats produced by previous 1-year players.

Morris has talked about it before but with high school signees there is a much stronger relationship built with them and their families, as well as between them and the University itself. To a high school signee, this is their home and the only college they have ever known. To a transfer portal it’s just the next stop and a chance to bump up their stock for a better NIL/program opportunity.

A freshman comes in and has a good season, they’ve successfully taken the first step at UNT in the plan they laid out when they came here. A transfer has a good season here and they’ve gotten what they wanted out of our school and program and typically will leverage it into a better opportunity.

In terms of retaining players, you’re gonna have more success with the guys you got out of high school. But even if it’s just for a season, you still take guys who can produce like Morris and DT out of the portal all day. All about finding the right mix now.

3 hours ago, greenminer said:

If I had to outline concerns about the offense, it would be more about the linemen, and play calling.

Definitely agree about the o-line and play calling. Looks like we have some quality help coming to supplement guys like Blair and Nelson. Play calling definitely has room for improvement, especially on those money situations on 3rd down and in the red zone where we weren’t near as highly ranked as our overall offensive statistics were.

Edited yesterday at 06:41 AM by BillySee58

[GMG_Dallas]

7 hours ago, BillySee58 said:

Morris has talked about it before but with high school signees there is a much stronger relationship built with them and their families, as well as between them and the University itself. To a high school signee, this is their home and the only college they have ever known. To a transfer portal it’s just the next stop and a chance to bump up their stock for a better NIL/program opportunity.

A freshman comes in and has a good season, they’ve successfully taken the first step at UNT in the plan they laid out when they came here. A transfer has a good season here and they’ve gotten what they wanted out of our school and program and typically will leverage it into a better opportunity.

In terms of retaining players, you’re gonna have more success with the guys you got out of high school. But even if it’s just for a season, you still take guys who can produce like Morris and DT out of the portal all day. All about finding the right mix now.

Every transfer was once a HS recruit at their first school. It seems to me like most transfers are guys who did not succeed at their first stop and transfered seeking playing time. Does that seem consistent with your observations? I'm wondering if getting good HS recruits AND giving them early playing time is the right formula to getting those guys to stay an extra year or two and ultimately building up a good roster for a special run.

[BillySee58]

2 hours ago, GMG_Dallas said:

Every transfer was once a HS recruit at their first school. It seems to me like most transfers are guys who did not succeed at their first stop and transfered seeking playing time. Does that seem consistent with your observations? I'm wondering if getting good HS recruits AND giving them early playing time is the right formula to getting those guys to stay an extra year or two and ultimately building up a good roster for a special run.

Yes, I would say most first-time transfers are either guys who want more playing time, guys whose coaches were hired away or fired, or guys whose stock is just too high for them to pass up the NIL opportunities presented elsewhere.

Here is pretty much all of the guys who hit the transfer portal after the last two seasons who were actually starting or getting a lot of playing time:

Chandler Morris - transferred from TCU

DT Sheffield - transferred from Wash State

Oscar Hammond - transferred from UCO

Tyler Mercer - signed out of HS by Morris

Chandler Rogers - transferred from ULM

Ja’Mori Maclin - transferred from Mizzou

Trey Cleveland - transferred from TTU

Jordan Smart - transferred from UTPB

Ayo Adeyi - transferred from Harding

Oscar Adaway - signed out of HS by Littrell

Ethan Miner - transferred from Ark State

Febechi Nwaiwu - former walkon brought in by Littrell

Phil Hill - transferred from UNLV

Logan Wilson - transferred from ULM

Patrick Smith - signed out of HS by Littrell

By and large, the key players who we have lost to the portal were transfers here.

[GMG_Dallas]

@BillySee58thanks for the breakdown.

It's pretty early in all of this NIL era. The more time goes by, the more stories we get of NIL "deals" not being fulfilled even at bigger schools. There will always be some who transfer. Relationships, early opportunities, and set role on the roster are surely going to, if not already, be weighed against the NIL opportunities elsewhere. With the exception of guys like Mensah who left Tulane for a reported $4 million per year, it looks like many starters are aware the transfer portal and NIL are completely uncertain and in some cases, unforgiving. For a star player, going to sit on the bench at a P4 as we've seen happen may not be worth giving up NFL draft stock. Looking at raw talents like Gumms and Maclin, that repeated success in the AAC would probably have earned them NFL buzz. This conference has done well at getting offensive skill players in the NFL. Maclin may still get it by name but, barring a great 2025 season, the draft dreams are probably done. That quick money came at a long-term expense. For others who aren't as pure of talents, sure, go get your money now. There's always a risk, though. 

Edited yesterday at 05:53 PM by GMG_Dallas