Jump to content

Phillips Gives UNT Offense Some Spark

MeanGreen61

By MeanGreen61
in Mean Green Football

 Share

Recommended Posts

MeanGreen61 Newbie

MeanGreen61

Posted
Posted (edited)

Brett Vito: Phillips gives UNT offense some spark

08:25 AM CST on Monday, November 14, 2005

Brett Vito

North Texas quarterback Matt Phillips did his share of pacing the sideline Saturday afternoon during the Mean Green’s game against Florida Atlantic.

Mostly, though, he just sat and watched until the fourth quarter.

What he did from then on made one wonder if he shouldn’t be doing a little more.

Phillips came off of the bench ice cold in the Mean Green’s game against the Owls but looked like he had been playing on a regular basis all season. The former San Angelo Lake View standout threw for 138 yards and a touchdown in the final period, led the Mean Green on three scoring drives and nearly rallied a floundering UNT squad to victory.

Phillips’ outing ranks as one of the most impressive performances by a UNT player in a season filled with inept offensive showings.

“That is tough to do when you come in cold and haven’t played a whole lot during the season,” UNT coach Darrell Dickey said of Phillips’ performance. “We needed someone to make plays throwing the ball. He did a very nice job.”

Phillips only had the opportunity because redshirt freshman Daniel Meager was knocked out of the game with a concussion late in the third quarter. At that point, UNT was down 17-6 and scored its only touchdown on a blocked punt.

Phillips didn’t complete a pass on his first drive, but was on fire from then on out.

The freshman went 3 for 5 for 50 yards on his second series and scored on a 5-yard run.

Two plays later, he zinged a pass down the middle of the field for a 53-yard touchdown to Joel Nwigwe. Phillips was also on the field for a 45-yard drive that resulted in a game-tying field goal and a 30-yard drive in the final 1:38 that set kicker Nick Bazaldua for a 47-yard field goal that could have tied the game.

That fact Bazaldua missed the kick shouldn’t detract from what Phillips accomplished.

UNT entered the game averaging just 96.9 passing yards a game.

Phillips surpassed that total in a quarter.

“It gave me confidence,” Phillips said of his performance. “It’s a little different from going in when it’s a blowout. The confidence level was awesome. I enjoyed being out there.”

The blame for what went on in the first few games of the season shouldn’t all go to Meager. UNT’s offensive line hasn’t given him a lot of time to throw and its receivers have dropped a few key passes.

Meager showed signs of improvement when he threw for 112 yards in a loss to Louisiana-Lafayette last week.

Despite that progress, UNT seems unsettled on a quarterback heading into next season. Dickey said in the week leading up to Saturday’s game that Meager needed to continue to improve and make plays if he wants to be the Mean Green’s quarterback of the future.

Meager finished with 49 yards passing on 18 attempts and didn’t make many of the plays UNT needs against FAU.

Phillips did and deserves to have a chance to enter what could turn into an interesting race for the starting quarterback job next season. Meager has impressed the Mean Green’s coaches at times and will have his opportunities to rebound after a tough outing against FAU.

Joey Byerly could also return next season. He was expected to start this year, but is out for the year with academic problems.

Carson Coffman, a senior from Peculiar, Mo., has ties with Dickey and has already visited UNT’s campus. Rivals.com ranks Coffman No. 25 among players in Missouri. He could also be in the mix if he decides to play for the Mean Green.

All three of those players have greater high school credentials than Phillips, a player UNT signed late from a small West Texas school.

For a while, it looked like Phillips would fade into the background after a quick start in two-a-day practices at the beginning of the season. Meager won the starting job after Phillips tailed off.

If Saturday’s game is any indication, Phillips has come a long way since then.

“I believe in the team and they believe in me,” Phillips said. “I know my role with the team. Daniel is the starter. I am just doing his duties right now while he is recovering.”

Phillips couldn’t have picked a classier thing to say after the game. He looked confident and competent after spending less than a year at UNT and receiving minimal practice time as a backup.

Phillips’ performances makes one wonder what he could do with additional time on the field, not to mention time to settle in during spring practice.

Could Phillips build on his performance against FAU and translate a solid fourth quarter against an Owls defense in prevent mode into a solid career under center for the Mean Green?

There is only one way to find out and that is to play him.

UNT has two games left to find out what it has in Phillips. The opportunity is one the Mean Green can’t let slip away.

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

Edited by MeanGreen61
NT80 Grand Master

NT80

Posted
Posted (edited)

Very un-Vito like article, but I liked it. biggrin.gif Way past due. Maybe the Honeymoon is over?

"Phillips....nearly rallied a floundering UNT squad to victory." He should be given a start for his efforts. Why not? dry.gif

Edited by NT80
UNTFan23 Rising Star

UNTFan23

Posted
Posted

“I believe in the team and they believe in me,” Phillips said. “I know my role with the team. Daniel is the starter. I am just doing his duties right now while he is recovering.”

Phillips couldn’t have picked a classier thing to say after the game. He looked confident and competent after spending less than a year at UNT and receiving minimal practice time as a backup.

If Phillips is on the field, and the team responds, then it should seem obvious he needs to start. I also think it says a lot that the team believes in him.

I also think it says a lot about his ability with him being a TRUE Freshman to come onto the field like that and make things happen when he's had so little practice/play time.

THOR Proficient

THOR

Posted
Posted

Do ya'll think that the team has given up on Meager and that's why he doesn't talk to them? I know that it's his job to lead the team, but maybe the team is lost with him and they just responded to the new guy, whoever it was.

greensteve Newbie

greensteve

Posted
Posted

Not sure if the team has given up on Meager or not. But after last weeks performance by phillips, he has earned the right to start for the rest of the season. Just think if we had come back and won that game...Meager would not ever see the field again. In my opinion, I think Phillips should start, otherwise, if Meager gets hurt for an extended period next year we are in the same situation.

Let see what Phillips can do for an entire game...I also would like to mention that if anyone on this site thinks that Phillips is gonig to come in a light the world on fire youre dead wrong...remember he's 9 months out of high school, he will make mistakes-its how he recovers from those mistakes.

As far as the Vito story...if Joey Byerly comes back and is given a chance to compete at QB I will just DIE!!! This guy is not equipped to be a QB...he may have the body for it, but not the mind. Congrats Joey, youre a fullback now, or a DE...some other position, just not QB. NT can't afford to have a someone lead the team who has classroom issues.

H-towngreen Newbie

H-towngreen

Posted
Posted

My vote for next year is for someone who is not even on the team now. My first choice would be Carson Coffman, he prolly will choose a higher profile BCS school. Or go the Juco route. I'm sure there are plenty of Juco QB's who would want to come in here and play. Especially with some of the weapons we have on offense.

meangreendork Enthusiast

meangreendork

Posted
Posted

MP had better start, regardless of DM's injury status. Truth is, he kicked the team into gear and produced more in one quarter than DM has in most of his games. He might not be the man to lead the team, but we won't know unless we let him try. We've put DM at the helm and we've seen that he has potential, but hasn't used it all. We've see that MP has potential, and we have yet to see how much he's using.

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Tell a friend

    Love GoMeanGreen.com? Tell a friend!

  • What's going on Mean Green?

    1. 19

      Utah State (11/29/24)

      UTAH STATE AIN'T PLAYED NOBODY PAAAAWELLL
      Coffee and TV in Mean Green Basketball
    2. 73

      Around the League / UNT Opponents

      Now 48-18. Honestly, this is about as frustrating as it can be for those of us that think the league deserves more respect. I get worried that the data/committee hangs their hats on these losses, rather than look at all the mid-P5 wins we accumulate. Then, when selection weekend rolls around and one or two of us Americans are on the bubble, we get knocked out of discussion in favor of some 0.500 P5 squad.
      greenminer in Mean Green Basketball
    3. 7

      Utah State (11/29/24)

      Kinda OT, but can someone talk about what Hodge does from an x-and-os standpoint? Curious on both sides of the court. The past 5 years work has removed me from nerding out on the game as much as I used to. You don't see as many coaches from the Iba/Knight trees anymore, side effect being I don't know how these current coaches think about the game.
      greenminer in Mean Green Basketball
    4. 7

      Utah State (11/29/24)

      it’s on ESPN 2 not U
      Big Z in Mean Green Basketball
    5. 7

      Utah State (11/29/24)

      In terms of difficulty, I think this team will be closer to SDSU than it is to St. Bonaventure. This will be tough and would be a good win for us. Likely Q2 but a chance of bring Q1 at a neutral site. They have wins at Minnesota and home against Oregon St. ( Oregon St. just played Oregon to 3pts in a battle down the stretch. By all accounts, we got handled by Oregon.) This will have great test for our guards to stay under control. We have seen stretches where Drake and even Mason have struggled with TOs. We need to handle the pressure. We should have the numbers to stay fresh so they need to stay high focus high intensity when they are on the floor. Hoping Ian is feeling better today. We could use him for sure. The tallest they play is 6’9”(3x players) and have 2x 6’1” guards who play a lot of minutes. Would love to see Mason use his strength and exploit those smaller guards as well as Drake and Ian would also be quite a bit taller than them. Fish, Templin and Gateretse should find opportunities this game and maybe even some time for Isaac Davis to use his strength. I think Akanno might have another good game here as well. We need to have to them struggle against our defense and break out for easy baskets, make the game go our way rather than being bogged down attacking their set defense. Also, I think our bigs run the floor much better than their 6’9” 245lb center and we should be able to find some easy baskets if we break out quick like we like to do. I think it will be tough sledding initially until we can calm down and figure out their defensive pressure, then I think we see us separate mid 2nd half and we take the lead for good.
      greenminer in Mean Green Basketball

  • Popular Contributors

  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      15,482
    • Most Online
      1,865
    meangreen0015
    Newest Member
    meangreen0015
    Joined

  • Most Points

    1. 1
      El Paso Eagle
      El Paso Eagle
      167,164
    2. 2
      NT80
      NT80
      131,153
    3. 3
      KingDL1
      KingDL1
      128,735
    4. 4
      greenminer
      greenminer
      119,990
    5. 5
      TheReal_jayD
      TheReal_jayD
      105,189

  • Biggest Gamblers

    1. 1
      EdtheEagle
      EdtheEagle
      26,589,381
    2. 2
      UNTLifer
      UNTLifer
      4,156,819
    3. 3
      untphd
      untphd
      780,113
    4. 4
      flyonthewall
      flyonthewall
      670,422
    5. 5
      3_n_out
      3_n_out
      578,480
    6. 6
      SteaminWillieBeamin
    7. 7
      cousin oliver
      cousin oliver
      448,120
    8. 8
      meangreenfaninno
    9. 9
      South Texas Green
    10. 10
      outoftown
      outoftown
      314,541

WE BELIEVE IN THE MEAN GREEN!

News

Recruiting

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. Please review our full Privacy Policy before using our site.