DRC article..1st part already posted, balance

[OldTimer]

If you have already read the first part of this article, go ahead and scroll down to the part where he lists the NT QB options.

UNT's Byerly will miss upcoming season

08:43 AM CDT on Sunday, July 17, 2005

By Brett Vito / Staff Writer

Joey Byerly, a sophomore quarterback who was projected to start for North Texas, is among four players who will not be with the Mean Green in the 2005 season.

DMN

North Texas quarterback Joey Byerly, left, tries to avoid the pressure of Texas’ Stevie Stigall during the fourth quarter of last year’s game in Austin. Byerly is one of three Mean Green players who will not be retuning this season because of NCAA requirements. Byerly was projected to start for UNT under center.

Byerly, junior fullback Chris Nevins and redshirt freshman lineman Micah West could all return to the team at a later date, according to UNT head coach Darrell Dickey. Senior linebacker Montrell Parks has decided to give up football.

“Joey, Micah and Chris will not be able to participate this fall because of NCAA requirements,” Dickey said. “All three have informed me of their intention to address their situation and return to the team as soon as possible.”

The loss of Byerly leaves UNT without a quarterback on its roster that has thrown a pass in a college game.

Byerly spent last season as the primary backup for starter Scott Hall and was expected to compete with redshirt freshman Daniel Meager for the starting job in spring practice.

Byerly took the majority of the snaps with the first-team offense after Meager injured his right shoulder.

Meager had surgery on the shoulder in March and has since resumed working out in preparation for the season. Dickey said Meager will be ready for the beginning of fall practice.

Hall took all but a few snaps for the Mean Green last season, when he threw for 1,806 yards and 14 touchdowns while earning second-team All-Sun Belt Conference honors.

Byerly threw for 73 yards on 12 attempts last season and took the lead in the competition for the starting quarterback job in the spring.

Joey Byerly

The former West Orange Stark standout completed 9-of-24 passes for 150 yards and a touchdown during UNT’s spring game when the team’s receivers dropped several passes.

Dickey said before spring practice he might consider signing a junior college quarterback to compete for the starting job in 2005. Byerly’s performance helped convince Dickey to head into the season with the quarterbacks already with the team.

Barring a late addition, UNT will enter fall practice with six players listed as quarterbacks on its roster.

Meager will join junior Cullen Mills, sophomore Jonathan Ieans, redshirt freshman Kellen Haynes and freshmen Steve Warren and Matt Phillips.

Mills left the team during the offseason, but has since returned.

The loss of Byerly could open the door for Meager, one of the top quarterback recruits of the Dickey era. Meager threw for 1,720 yards and 16 touchdowns as a senior at Richardson Pearce and was ranked No. 63 in The Dallas Morning News’ Area Top 100 list of college prospects.

Haynes, Ieans and Mills also have experience in UNT’s system, but Dickey said he has not ruled out any scenario, including starting a freshman.

Phillips threw for 1,950 yards as a senior at San Angelo Lake View and will have a chance to compete for the job in fall practice.

UNT could also turn to Korey Washington. The Cedar Park graduate was a standout high school quarterback who is projected to play defensive back for the Mean Green. Washington was named a first-team quarterback on the Austin American-Statesman’s 2004 All-Central Texas Football Team.

Washington, 5-10, 185, accounted for nearly 3,000 yards of total offense while leading Cedar Park to the Class 5A state quarterfinals. He could be an intriguing option if UNT’s other quarterbacks struggle.

Nevins played both fullback and linebacker while contributing on special teams. West played both offensive and defensive line, while Parks was a backup linebacker who finished with four tackles last season.

The loss of Byerly will be the biggest blow for the Mean Green among the players who will not play this fall. UNT opens the season on Sept. 3 at LSU and begins Sun Belt Conference play one week later at Middle Tennessee, a team that returns 18 starters from a squad that finished 4-4 in conference play last season.

Several preseason publications have named the Blue Raiders as one of the main threats to end the Mean Green’s run of four straight Sun Belt Conference titles.

The lack of options at quarterback could force UNT to lean even more heavily on a pair of standout running backs. Senior Patrick Cobbs won the national rushing title in 2003 before suffering knee and hand injuries that forced him to sit out most of the 2004 season.

Sophomore Jamario Thomas took over for Cobbs and went on to win the Mean Green’s second straight national rushing title in his first season at UNT.

Thomas’ performance helped UNT finish 7-5, win the Sun Belt title and earn a fourth straight trip to the New Orleans Bowl last season.

The Mean Green will enter the 2005 season with a 25-game winning streak in Sun Belt play.

BRETT VITO can be reached at 940-566-6870. His e-mail address is bvito@dentonrc.com.

UNT quarterback situation

The North Texas football team will enter the 2005 season without sophomore Joey Byerly, leaving the Mean Green with only a few options at quarterback. The following is a list of a few contenders for the starting job with a comment from Staff Writer Brett Vito.

Daniel Meager , 6-1, 180, redshirt freshman

A talented player who fits UNT’s mold for a quarterback and will likely start. Must overcome history of serious injuries.

Kellen Haynes, 6-0, 200, redshirt freshman

A productive high school player who was projected to be a backup, but could receive more snaps in practice with Byerly gone.

Matt Phillips, 6-1, 220, freshman

Threw for 1,950 yards as a senior in high school and could be a dark horse candidate for the starting job if Meager struggles.

Steve Warren, 6-1, 190, freshman

UNT recruited Warren out of a run-first offense at Burleson with the hope of developing him as a quarterback.

Jonathan Ieans, 6-5, 218, sophomore

Has worked at both quarterback and wide receiver, where he might be a better fit.

Korey Washington, 5-10, 185, freshman

The Cedar Park standout was recruited as a defensive back, but has 4.4 speed in the 40-yard dash and racked up just under 3,000 yards of total offense as a senior in high school. He could be an intriguing option if others struggle.

[PlummMeanGreen]

IMO, NT will not have a QB problem this Fall as the season develops. The main problem at this point is that we will have a young QB for a conference game that just happens to be the 2'nd game of the season. Thank God above we have the best duo RB tandem in all of NCAA D-1A football according to one of the pre-season college football magazines because I think they will be carrying this team most of the season as it is; although, I think we will have the usual DD passing game with about 15-20 passes per game--just enough to keep 9 men off the defensive line trying to stop our all star running backs Sir Patrick Cobbs and Super JaMo Thomas

Weren't we all impressed the last time we lost a starting QB at the beginning of a season and a red-shirt frosh QB took over our team? Didn't our coaches handle that situation almost flawlessly? The great Andrew Smith as most know was that QB and was field general in NT's only bowl game win in our history and that (only) against the CUSA football champion.

I am duly impressed that one of our recruits from last winter, ie, Cedar Park QB Korey Washington made the Austin American-Statemen's 1'st team QB on its All Cen-Tex team because there is some very nice talent in that heavily populated part of the Lone Star State.

The QB position at NT may very well turn into one of our strengths as the season develops.

Edited July 17, 2005 by PlummMeanGreen

[DeepGreen]

I hate to lose Byerly and Micah West, but at least we do have options at the QB position, albiet inexperienced options.

[EagleD]

I think Dickey should have been able to develop a couple of options at QB by now. One was lost by tragedy, and one has flunked out. How good were his recruiting skills? We'll find out. Speaking of recruiting how's DeLoach doing? He was our best defensive recruiter / coach. I think our defense has sufffered w/o him.

GO MEAN GREEN

Edited July 17, 2005 by EagleD

[TheColonyEagle]

I keep reading that losing Byerly's running ability hurts us. I don't understand that. All indications are he couldn't hit water if he fell out of a boat. We've got two back-to-back rushing champions right? We don't need a third running threat. We need someone who can stretch the defense when they've got 12 in the box next year. He doesn't have to do much, but completing a pass on play action is going to be the difference between winning and losing this year. Period.

Besides, all indications are Meager's a little more accurate and even faster than Byerly. As far as their "experience," I don't think Byerly really had enough to make a huge difference anyway.

This may be a blessing in disguise and if Meager is as advertised and stays healthy, we could be set for 4 more years at QB.

With the youth on this team, imagine what they're going to look like in '06.

[NT80]

I keep reading that losing Byerly's running ability hurts us. I don't understand that. All indications are he couldn't hit water if he fell out of a boat. We've got two back-to-back rushing champions right? We don't need a third running threat. We need someone who can stretch the defense when they've got 12 in the box next year. He doesn't have to do much, but completing a pass on play action is going to be the difference between winning and losing this year. Period.

Byerly was seen as a running threat simply because of his size...he would flat run over people when "forced" to run. There were not designed running plays for Byerly but improvised when he had to scrammble.

I hear Meager has some speed and running ability if needed on an option play but just doesn't have Byerly's size to meet a LB head on. Meager is thought to be a more accurate passer, which in my opinion is what we need at that position to start with. We need to be able to establish a passing game. Running options for a qb are last in my mind in this offense.

Edited July 17, 2005 by NT80

[FirefightnRick]

Steve Warren, 6-1, 190, freshman

UNT recruited Warren out of a run-first offense at Burleson with the hope of developing him as a quarterback.

Burleson's Steve Warren was also his district offensive MVP last season. A district that includes Mansfield Summit and Duncanville. He ran an offense very similer to NT's. They ran, ran, ran....then ran some more, then WHAMMO...a 40 yard strike behind the defense for a TD. Everyone I have talked to who watched him play last year said the guy was very entertaining to watch. Evidently he has a good arm but has some serious wheels on the ground as well.

Rick

Edited July 17, 2005 by FirefightnRick

[MeanGreen61]

Burleson's Steve Warren was also his district offensive MVP last season. A district that includes Mansfield Summit and Duncanville. He ran an offense very similer to NT's. They ran, ran, ran....then ran some more, then WHAMMO...a 40 yard strike behind the defense for a TD. Everyone I have talked to who watched him play last year said the guy was very entertaining to watch. Evidently he has a good arm but has some serious wheels on the ground as well.

Rick

Warren's bio from the official site.

The definition of a dual-threat quarterback, Warren was named the Offensive MVP of District 4-5A ... Warren threw for 489 yards and rushed for 951 more as a senior ... Finding the end zone was a regular occurrence for Warren last season as he ran for 10 scores and threw for four ... Warren was a pitcher for the Elks baseball team and was clocked at 10.7 in the 100-meter dash for the school track team.

[UNTLifer]

Wasn't Rexroade a HS quarterback? I know they moved him to the defensive side of the ball, but from all indications he sounds like a great athlete that put up good stats in HS. Anybody have any information on his HS stats?

[Monkeypox]

All indications are he couldn't hit water if he fell out of a boat.

Besides, all indications are Meager's a little more accurate and even faster than Byerly.

What indications would you be referring to, because they certainly don't match up with those who saw them play, including the coaching staff?

[meangreendork]

Washington and Warren seem like they could be great in the QB spot, but only time will tell.

[TheColonyEagle]

What indications would you be referring to, because they certainly don't match up with those who saw them play, including the coaching staff?

Well, granted, I didn't see him in the spring game (9 for 24?) but reading and talking to some that did plus reading and talking to some that saw him in practice gave me the impression he really needed to work on his accuracy.

I don't think the coaching staff is going to say the QB they've got pegged to start is going to have problems completing passes next season.

The point I was trying to make is that losing Byerly's running ability doesn't bother me that much. We don't need another runner. Good grief, we've got the top two runners from the past two seasons. And if we DID need another runner, although it might have been cool to see Byerly cream a few linebackers, Meager's the faster of the two anyway. (again, just going by what I've read).

We need someone to take the pressure off the O-line and Patrick and Jamario.

Plus, as far as experience is concerned, they both would have come into the fall even in my book. Neither one has enough experience to give a huge advantage.

[centex eagle]

Beating the good teams means there has to be a better passing attack than has shown up in the past several years. Not just a long pass here and there to catch some one asleep or out of position. A passing attack that can get the 6-10 yards when the drive needs it. Against the better teams, their defenses will slow the run at least at times because of their athletic front seven. Develop someone who can pass, not throw. Not many we play will be as strong as what Texas had last year, but a passing game really becomes important against those types. A healthy tailback would not have made much of a difference that type of defense.

[grad88]

Put Washington in there with his 4.4 speed and bring back the Wish-Bone and Shoot of the Corkey days.

Seriously, a QB with blazing speed could be very useful in this system...with QB fakes and such and beating everybody to the corner. Talk about leaving some wideopen passing lanes, that much threat in the backfield would do it.

[H-towngreen]

Everyone is so high on Korey Washington already because of his 4.4 speed. Yeah, thats fast. But how about his arm strength and accuracy. Meager is going to be the man and for some reason it seems like a lot of yall are looking him over for some reason. Lets not forget that Meager has speed too. I think its around a 4.6 or 4.7 Meager has been in the system a year now, which is not a lot of time but its more than others. His has the arm and legs to get it done for us.

[good_ken]

Seriously, a QB with blazing speed could be very useful in this system...with QB fakes and such and beating everybody to the corner. Talk about leaving some wideopen passing lanes, that much threat in the backfield would do it.

Quarterback fakes only work when the defense is 'faked out.' IE, they think you are going to pass, and you run ther ball instead.....when they know that you are never going to throw the ball, its not really a fake.

I'll take whatever Qb can heave the ball to Quinn without breaking stride...becuase that will take pressure off the O-line and the running back.

[PlummMeanGreen]

Everyone is so high on Korey Washington already because of his 4.4 speed.  Yeah, thats fast.  But how about his arm strength and accuracy.  Meager is going to be the man and for some reason it seems like a lot of yall are looking him over for some reason. Lets not forget that Meager has speed too. I  think its around a 4.6 or 4.7  Meager has been in the system a year now, which is not a lot of time but its more than others.  His has the arm and legs to get it done for us.

IMO, Dan Meager will be the Mean Green starting QB for the entire season and lets all just hope he stays healthy.

As you said, he's a redshirt frosh and knows Dickey's system. Last time we had a similar scenario as this, we won a bowl game against the CUSA football champion at the end of that season.

Edited July 18, 2005 by PlummMeanGreen

[NCMeanGreen]

Everyone is so high on Korey Washington already because of his 4.4 speed.  Yeah, thats fast.  But how about his arm strength and accuracy.  Meager is going to be the man and for some reason it seems like a lot of yall are looking him over for some reason. Lets not forget that Meager has speed too. I  think its around a 4.6 or 4.7  Meager has been in the system a year now, which is not a lot of time but its more than others.  His has the arm and legs to get it done for us.

Uhhhh...I think people are focusing on his injuries. The fact that the boy does not seem to be very dependable and/or durable. What good will that do for us if we name him starter, and he gets beat up at LSU or MTSU and cannot start for the remainder of the year. I do not care if you have 4.2 speed if you cannot walk!

My concern is his history of being injured. Why do you think that Va Tech, USC, and whoever else passed on him? Why do you think he ended up at NT? WE should have the same concerns as the other programs who looked at him.

I say forget Meager...take our chances on one of the other possible QB's, and hope they are a stud and turn out to be good.

Iknow, I know, injuries could happen to anyone at anytime. But, again, Meager just does not appear to be very durable...

[untbowler]

The other schools passed on Meager due to breaking his leg in Spring Ball and being unable to play his Sr. Year, I can see why the Big BCS schools would pass on him if he has not played a down in over 18 months. He is a perfect fit for UNT and hopefully he will surprise all the naysayers.

[PlummMeanGreen]

Uhhhh...I think people are focusing on his injuries. The fact that the boy does not seem to be very dependable and/or durable. What good will that do for us if we name him starter, and he gets beat up at LSU or MTSU and cannot start for the remainder of the year. I do not care if you have 4.2 speed if you cannot walk!

My concern is his history of being injured. Why do you think that Va Tech, USC, and whoever else passed on him? Why do you think he ended up at NT? WE should have the same concerns as the other programs who looked at him.

I say forget Meager...take our chances on one of the other possible QB's, and hope they are a stud and turn out to be good.

Iknow, I know, injuries could happen to anyone at anytime. But, again, Meager just does not appear to be very durable...

Of course, this was to be the great Andrew Smith's year to start at QB before his tragic loss.

IMO, Meager will get the start because he's been in the system a year; but rest assured Coaches Dickey and Ramon Flanagan will be grooming a back-up QB (or 2) who will get many, many snaps during August two-a-days.

I wonder if any of these young QB's are involved in the 7 on 7 summer schedule in Denton?

[H-towngreen]

What qualifies as a history of injuries? He broke his leg as a sr in high school and a seperated shoulder in spring ball. 2 injuries in several years. Does anyone else know of any major injuries to him. Everyone is going to get hurt it just seems that unfortunetly his were more severe than others. Youre going to take more hits if youre a running qb as Washington is. Meager is more of a pocket passer who has the capability to take off if need be.

[Green92]

What qualifies as a history of injuries?  He broke his leg as a sr in high school and a seperated shoulder in spring ball. 2 injuries in several years. Does anyone else know of any major injuries to him. Everyone is going to get hurt it just seems that unfortunetly his were more severe than others. Youre going to take more hits if youre a running qb as Washington is.  Meager is more of a pocket passer who has the capability to take off if need be.

If you say it enough times it becomes true. Right???

[SCREAMING EAGLE-66]

---Just a guess on my part but I am guessing that Meager will start the season and by the end someone else (a freshman) will be seeing a lot of playing time. Who plays may depend on what type of defense we are playing against. A QB with limited passing skills will be fine when the running game is working but if it isn't then someone with good passing skills will be needed. I expect to see 2-3 QBs with a fair amount of playing time.

I just hope we can find one (or two) who can handle the pressure of the first two games. The first is against a very tough team and the second is a "need to win" game.

[Guest JohnDenver]

If you say it enough times it becomes true. Right???

I am wishing luck for the guy. I am rooting for him... I hope he is the QB to step up and take us to the NCAA promised land.

HOWEVER, I would probably define a "history" as back to back seasons with a serious injury. Since his last full season was in HS, that counts as ONE. And his next significant injury came during his first season in full practice, I would say that counts and TWO. I think that is back to back. I wouldn't count the years between playing football as non-injury seasons.

Just my take.

But yes, I hope he does step up, remain healthy and prove all the naysayers wrong.

[PHSCoach]

High School/Personal: Was considered one of the top five quarterbacks in the state as a junior before injuring his leg prior to his senior season ... Completed 129 of 218 passes for 1,720 yards with 16 touchdowns and four interceptions as a senior ... Had 95 carries for 407 yards and eight touchdowns as a senior ... Named first-team all-city quarterback as a junior and senior ... Received District 12-4A First Team honors as a senior quaterback ... Rushed for 397 yards as a junior for 10 touchdowns and 910 yards passing for seven touchdowns ... Named District 12-4A Second Team as a junior ... Came back from his injury and led his team to the second round of the 5-A playoffs in 2003 ... The Dallas Morning News has him listed as No. 63 in its area top 100 at QB ... Coached by Bobby Reyes ... Son of Ken and Barbara Meager ... Born on Feb. 12, 1985.