ViTo's Arricle

[NT03]

UNT could learn from Trojan plan

11:24 PM CST on Sunday, October 29, 2006

Brett Vito/Staff Writer

Troy coach Larry Blakeney said earlier this year that switching offensive philosophies after the 2005 season was one of the toughest coaching decisions he has ever made.

The Trojans rode an offense based on a solid running game and hit on a few play-action passes from Division II to I-AA and finally Division I-A in the Sun Belt Conference.

It wasn’t until after last season, when his team hit a roadblock in its development, that Blakeney changed his plan and brought in former Kentucky offensive coordinator Tony Franklin to install a wide-open spread passing attack. So far the move has paid off for the Trojans, who gave Florida State and Georgia Tech a run for their money and are sitting at 2-0 in Sun Belt Conference play after knocking off North Texas 14-6 on Saturday.

That loss all but eliminated the Mean Green (1-3) from the race for the Sun Belt title and raised the question: has UNT reached the point where it needs to make a similar change under head coach Darrell Dickey?

UNT and Troy were near mirror images of each other three years ago when the Mean Green were in the midst of winning four straight Sun Belt titles. UNT lined up, ran the ball down the throats of opponents and produced back-to-back national rushing champs in Patrick Cobbs (2003) and Jamario Thomas (2004).

Equaling that success has been a struggle ever since for the Mean Green.

UNT went 2-9 last year and after another tough loss on Saturday fell to 2-6 overall with an offense that ranks last in Division I-A with an average of 206.1 yards a game.

Troy was just the latest team to stack the line of scrimmage and stymie Thomas, who had a season low 23 yards rushing on Saturday.

After the game, Dickey attributed those struggles in part to a series of mistakes that continue to haunt the Mean Green.

“If the other team physically dominates you – and they did that at times -- that is a little more livable than continuing to [mess up] play after play,” Dickey said.

UNT’s offensive line hasn’t opened the holes Thomas needs to get past defensive fronts that are often stacked with eight players.

Finding a line full of 300-pound behemoths whom could handle the task might be possible for a team like Wisconsin or Michigan, but it is proving tougher than it used to be for UNT.

Attracting quarterbacks to play in that system hasn’t been easy either. Carson Coffman, UNT’s top recruiting target among high school quarterbacks last season, passed on a scholarship offer from UNT to walk on at Kansas State.

UNT landed junior college transfer Woody Wilson partly because most teams from major conferences wanted him to play defensive back. Others backed away from Daniel Meager because he suffered a serious leg injury in high school.

No Division I-A team other than UNT offered Matt Phillips.

All three quarterbacks have had their shot to start this season, but none have nailed down the starting job.

UNT managed to recruit the best wide receiver in school history in Johnny Quinn and has several other talented receivers, but it might be time to consider what a change in philosophy might do for the Mean Green.

Most high school teams now base in a spread formation or some variation of it. Texas Tech rebuilt its program and established an identity with the spread. Southlake Carroll High School became a national phenomenon with it.

Think some Texas high school players would be interested in sticking with what they learned in high school on the college level?

Dickey is an offensive coach by trade and has always held the control when it comes to the Mean Green’s offense. He has been more apt to be balanced when he had an experienced quarterback like former UNT great Scott Hall on hand, but fact remains that the Mean Green’s offense is based on the tailback. Always has been.

Throwing on every down out of the spread might not be the answer, but after watching some aspects of UNT’s loss to Troy one has to wonder if a Trojans-like change in philosophy might be in order.

Quinn made a beautiful catch on fourth-and-16 that set UNT up at the Troy 6-yard line in the fourth quarter. The Mean Green had six cracks at the end zone from inside the 10, thanks to a Troy penalty and never made it in the end zone.

The series was just one of several instances the last two seasons where UNT came up short pounding the ball with its running game.

Troy changed its approach because of a slide similar to what UNT is experiencing. One has to wonder if the time hasn’t arrived for UNT to follow suit.

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

*What Just about Everyone on here has been saying for sometime now , but atleast It will finally be put in print , good job Brett *

[SilverEagle]

Even when DD's offense was working at it's best, it mainly worked against SBC teams.

We've known since our first bowl game against Colorado State how effective it was against the rest of the world.

[Hunter Green]

Hell, do you think Dickey would fire RF? Do we still want DD after everything he has said in the press about his "situation" and behind closed doors about all of "us MF'ers?"

The bridge has been burned. Say goodbye, Darryl.

[Quoner]

Wow, I guess better late to the party than never.

What will he write about next? 9/11? Bennifer? The controversy around the Passion?

I hope this doesn't mean he can't have seconds in the press box now.

Edited October 30, 2006 by Quoner

[TeachinTodd]

Maybe the is just the first of the articels to come from him. Start slow and suggestively before working into a heated passion of anti-DD articles...just a thought.

[edcollopy]

You also have to realize as a beat writer you can't crucify the head coach all the time or you'll never be able to get info.

[Quoner]

You also have to realize as a beat writer you can't crucify the head coach all the time or you'll never be able to get info.

←

I do understand that.

All the time not necessary - but there were moments that were there. The rest of the DMN will jump on the teams on their beats (Cowboys, Stars, Aggies, Horns, Tech, even SMU after their start this year) as news happens. I think Vito has done such a poor job of developing a relationship with the media dept that he fears the first negative article he puts out could cost him dearly. Part of beat reporting is developing relationships, not begging people around the program to talk to you.

If they know you won't challenge them, they have no incentive to give you anything except what they want to tell you.

[NT80]

That's about as hard hitting as Vito can get. He beats around the bush and says everything "might" need to change, except the coaching. I'm still waiting for his interview with RV (ha). Geez.

Edited October 30, 2006 by NT80