Unt Now A Viable Choice For Recruits

[Maverick]

From the Old Coach Network

www.theoldcoach.com

With Dodge UNT Now A School To Consider For Recruits

UNT gains name brand with Dodge

By TRAE THOMPSON

STAR-TELEGRAM STAFF WRITER

South Grand Prairie wide receiver Trae Johnson has drawn interest from nine colleges but has no offers.

When he heard that Carroll High School coach Todd Dodge was named head coach at North Texas on Tuesday, it became a school to consider.

"Now that he's there, yes, I would," said Johnson, a Star-Telegram Area 50 recruit who caught 34 passes for 729 yards and 11 touchdowns. "That offense is based around receivers, and, whew, that's big."

The recruiting buzz has now begun for UNT, thanks to Dodge. His experience as a former University of Texas quarterback and UNT assistant, coupled with his three state titles and 97-11 record at Carroll, has created a brand name that should lure prospective recruits.

"Todd's reputation of being a great quarterback and producing great quarterbacks will attract some quality skill kids," Denton Ryan coach Joey Florence said. "His rapport and network with high school coaches will be huge. His name recognition will be huge. He has a lot of things working for him. It's great for North Texas."

Right now, receiver Bradley Haynes at Summit is the only player on the Star-Telegram's Area 50 list who has received interest from the Mean Green.

Jeremy Crabtree, national recruiting editor for Rivals.com, said Dodge's effect on recruiting will be immediate, especially on offense. Dodge's no-huddle spread offense has made Carroll the area's top offense dating to 2002. This year, Carroll finished the regular season averaging 51 points and 555 yards per game.

"If you're a recruit, and you play offense, you want to go somewhere where you can put points on the board," Crabtree said.

The easiest pipeline for Dodge could come at Carroll.

Curtis Hill's son Robert is a Dragons offensive lineman and co-captain who has drawn interest from seven colleges, including the Ivy League. North Texas expressed interest until then-coach Darrell Dickey was fired Nov. 8. Curtis said they would be happy if Dodge made a push for Robert, since a player-coach relationship already exists.

"Todd Dodge is a high school football phenomenon in Texas," Curtis Hill said. "Tell me which high school football player would turn him down."

Area high school coaches agreed that success will follow.

"In [a recruit's] mind, you want to go to a place where there's a winner. I think he'll be real successful," Nolan Catholic coach Joe Prud'homme said. "I have a lot of respect for what he did [at Carroll]. He's the kind of coach you want your kids to play for."

While Dodge may not be able to compete for the blue-chip athletes who are being recruited by Texas and Texas A&M, Crabtree predicted that Dodge could lure away recruits that would go to other Big 12 schools.

"I think if they're able to compete with the lower-level Big 12, that's a good sign of success," Crabtree said. "It might not happen right now, but he could keep kids from schools like Kansas and Missouri that come in to recruit the Metroplex."

ONLINE: meangreen.com

IN THE KNOW

Keys to success

Five critical factors that could help North Texas as new coach Todd Dodge begins recruiting:

1. The reputation

He is beloved by Dragons fans and parents, but several parents from other schools have praised Dodge for his character and the values he's instilled with the Dragons.

2. Relationships

Former and current players for Dodge respect him like a father. Expect those bonds to continue.

3. The résumé

No one can argue with Dodge's credentials. That will be enough for some recruits right there.

4. The spotlight

Dodge is used to the media spotlight and won't have any problems promoting UNT when the opportunity arises.

5. Teaching time

This won't be Southlake, where players grew up knowing the spread offense in middle school, but Dodge will need time to get the players who fit perfectly in it.

Go grab 'em

Sure, Carroll players will receive interest, but here are other notable recruits Dodge could snatch up:

WR Marcus King, Trinity

Not committed; the Star-Telegram Area 50 and State 100 player would be a huge steal.

WR Dez Bryant, Lufkin

Not committed; no easy task to get, but Dodge is friends with Panthers coach John Outlaw.

LB Austin Harrington, Grapevine

Not committed; Area 50 player whom Dodge has seen up close in District 5-5A.

WR Jason Martinson, Birdville

Not committed; Area 50, State 100 player also being recruited for baseball.

WR Trae Johnson, SGP

Not committed; TCU, Baylor, Kansas, Washington State have been among schools interested.

QB Cal Farley, Keller

Not committed; another District 5-5A player who put up big numbers in the spread offense.

[medpilot21]

Good post, Mav. LONG..., but good. We have all debated many times on this board about most of what is written in that article. Whether the new system works or not, recruiting, yadda..yadda...yadda. The result is simple. no matter what happens, North Texas has already benefitted from the Todd Dodge hire. Forget all the outside stuff that will come with him, and just look and listen to the interest he is generating right now. Season tickets will jump huge, we are getting press all over the state, and even the fairest of fans are tallking NT football.

Rick Villareal is a genius. Even the most dedicated of Darrell Dickey supporters (Of which I was, and still am one), realize there is NO way his staff could have generated this much interest in UNT. NT footbal took a huge step forward. Let's see how far our new "gun-slinging guru" can take players like Nathan Tune, Brandon Jackson, Casey Fitzgerald, and Even Robertson. These guys will thrive in the spread offense, where-as they may have been under-used in the Darrell Dickey system. If TD can also find a way to use Jamario Thomas, we could be watching something very exciting on offense.

I cant wait for Spring ball. Even without recruiting, we have offensive speed with the players we have here right now to run this offense.

The future is looking very good for the Mean Green!

GMG!!!