Sun Belt alumni in the NFL

vpackrats · October 8, 2005

Rick, I know you're on the anti-Buick wagon right now, but that last point kind of hurts your case right now instead of helps it. NFL scouts spot talent when they see it, no matter what school (A few examples: Larry Allen -- Sonoma State, Patrick Crayton -- Northwestern Oklahoma State & Demarcus Ware -- Troy). The fact we've been able to win 4 Sun Belt Conference Championships w/only ONE guy getting drafted all these years (Cody Spencer to the Raiders) tells me coaching must be one of the key ingredients for our success.
Or, to put it another way...why were all the Ohio State alumni so eager to see John Cooper get the boot? 'Cuz that guy was turning out not just NFL talent, but numerous 1st round talent year after year & yet Michigan, Wisconsin, etc were the dominant Big 10 teams. He didn't get the job done. Dickey has gotten the job done, despite having no NFL talent on his roster (not trying to compare conferences here ), but hopefully you get my point. Think about it ....
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Instead of hijacking the Matt Phillips thread, figured I'd start a new one when it came to FFR's point of North Texas having no real NFL talent. He's very correct. CBS.Sportsline has a cool feature when you click on individual colleges, you can pick "Alumni Tracker", which lists all the former players of that school now playing in the NFL. Check out these rankings from the Sun Belt Conference (NOTE: for purposes of this comparison I used the schools involved during the 1st 4 years of the Sun Belt's existence:

Louisiana-Lafayette 9 NFL players

Idaho 9 NFL players (shocking I agree!)

Louisiana-Monroe 7 NFL players

Arkansas State 6 NFL players

Middle Tennessee St 6 NFL players

Troy 5 NFL players

Utah State 4 NFL players

NORTH TEXAS 4 NFL players (Awasom, Kassell, Spencer, Waters)

New Mexico State 2 NFL players

Looks to me like part of the reason we won 4 conference championships in a row has SOMETHING to do w/coaching. Or maybe I've just got tired head & need to call it a night ...

NT80 · October 8, 2005

Looks to me like part of the reason we won 4 conference championships in a row has SOMETHING to do w/coaching. Or maybe I've just got tired head & need to call it a night ...
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Coaching did play a part, as did some individual players. But if you look at our success within and out of the SBC you get a different perspective of that "success". If SBC Championships are the only goal then we've achieved all we strived for. But I believe the players, coaches, fans, and school have higher goals to achieve...and we are not near there yet.

keith · October 8, 2005

Looks to me like part of the reason we won 4 conference championships in a row has SOMETHING to do w/coaching. Or maybe I've just got tired head & need to call it a night ...
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Possibly, but that doesn't mean it was our coaching that was the deciding factor.

Keith

FirefightnRick · October 8, 2005

Please re-read my post. I said nothing of the kind that we didn't have any NFL talent. Your tired head is getting the best of your reading comprehension.

I would like to propose a question to everyone. Not including punters or Brian Waters, who's the last offensive player to make it to the NFL?

That's OFFENSIVE, as in the team with the ball, that scores by advancing the ball in increments of 10 yards for first downs.........

My point is, this system will NEVER produce an NFL QB because the QB position at NT is not allowed to do what NFL teams look for to run an NFL system. Which goes back to the original post. Danny isn't allowed to "Read" a defense. Niether will Byerly, or XYZ QB in the future.

Look at the QB's coming out of the MAC conference schools for an example. See anyone running a conservative, run first to set up the pass, play-to-keep-it-close style of offense at Marshall, Miami O, Akron, Bowling Green....etc?

No, it doesn't make a case for DD at all. But then again, he's not the offensive coordinator either, right?

Rick

Edited October 8, 2005 by FirefightnRick

risinggreen · October 8, 2005

Personally, I would like for us to try and become another TT of the Divison 1A offensive world. Regardless of the MeanGreen defensive moniker which most of us love, I would like to see us fly like the EAGLES. Let's recruit, hire, and run an offense that can score a hell of a lot of points. Look what it did for TT and a recently removed form 1AA team like Boise State. It is time to find a way to put us on the national radar screen. The way to do that is to open up the offense and score some points. I know that it won't happen overnight, but I would really like that to be our philosophy of the future. It would AT LEAST give us a fighting chance to win some OOC games. Just MHO, but I truly believe it to be true.

October 8, 2005

Personally, I would like for us to try and become another TT of the Divison 1A offensive world. Regardless of the MeanGreen defensive moniker which most of us love, I would like to see us fly like the EAGLES. Let's recruit, hire, and run an offense that can score a hell of a lot of points. Look what it did for TT and a recently removed form 1AA team like Boise State. It is time to find a way to put us on the national radar screen. The way to do that is to open up the offense and score some points. I know that it won't happen overnight, but I would really like that to be our philosophy of the future. It would AT LEAST give us a fighting chance to win some OOC games. Just MHO, but I truly believe it to be true.
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What? Score a million points against D1-AA opponents and never come close to contending for the Big 12 Championship?

ipEAGLE · October 8, 2005

HAHA great post EBONE.... TT is not a team I would like for us to model after.

Leach and the entire TT team have absolutely no class.

If somehow Lubbock fell off the face of the earth... no one would care.

NT80 · October 9, 2005

HAHA great post EBONE.... TT is not a team I would like for us to model after.
Leach and the entire TT team have absolutely no class.
If somehow Lubbock fell off the face of the earth... no one would care.
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Wreck Tech!!

CaribbeanGreen · October 9, 2005

Yeah, I'd sure hate to blow out the #4 ranked team in the country in the Holiday Bowl and be halfway through this season undefeated and on the cusp on the top 10 nationally, with one of the most fun to watch teams in football.

Yeah. That would suck. I'd NEVER want to emulate that.

NT80 · October 9, 2005

Yeah, I'd sure hate to blow out the #4 ranked team in the country in the Holiday Bowl and be halfway through this season undefeated and on the cusp on the top 10 nationally, with one of the most fun to watch teams in football.
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There are deserving winners, then there is Leach.

Edited October 9, 2005 by NT80

Ole Green Guts · October 9, 2005

This past friday we lost a game to a team that we were equal if not better than. All that I can keep thinking is that if we took care of business and did not turn the ball over we would have won. (That is DICKEY BALL) You guys are right, the offensive system does not allow a QB from NT to be drafted because we donot run an offense that is current with NFL standards. But look at the QBs we have had, none of them were exactally highly recruitied by schools like TT. In turn NT takes care of the ball and business and we win.

Every year for the past 4 there has been tons of bitching about DD. I guess it is the American way but it is getting old. At first it was Stebo and now everyone else. Only one thing will solve the problem you guys have (Dickey Moves On) and I bet that you guys will be kicking themselves in the a$$ when that happens.

turney

LoveMG · October 9, 2005

Every year for the past 4 there has been tons of bitching about DD. I guess it is the American way but it is getting old. At first it was Stebo and now everyone else. Only one thing will solve the problem you guys have (Dickey Moves On) and I bet that you guys will be kicking themselves in the a$$ when that happens.
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no more kicking ourselves than when we lose 65-0, 54-2, 54-7, etc.

Edited October 9, 2005 by LoveMG