Pre-season Lookaheads - Sun Belt

MeanGreen61 · January 22, 2007

114. North Texas 2006 Record: 3-9

Why to get excited: Darrell Dickey might have brought the program plenty of notoriety and might have made the Mean Green a Sun Belt power, but the team went stale over the last few seasons. Todd Dodge was a superstar high school coach and should do wonders with recruiting in the area. The 1-2 rushing punch of Jamario Thomas and Evan Robertson should be fantastic. Ten starters return on defense.

Why to be grouchy: The passing game was awful all last year, and now it loses its only target of note. Johnny Quinn caught 57 passes for 633 yards and four touchdowns. The rest of the team caught just 79 passes for 749 yards and five scores as part of the nation's third worst passing game. Air Force and Navy were the only teams lower on the passing charts, and they're pure running teams. North Texas didn't have an excuse.

The number one thing to work on is: Turnover margin. If the team is going to struggle so much on both sides of the ball, it has to get every break. The Mean Green was second-to-last in America in turnover margin (only Army was worse) with 29 giveaways and just 14 takeaways.

Biggest offensive loss: WR Johnny Quinn

Biggest defensive loss: NT Sky Pruitt

SUNBELT

http://cfn.scout.com/2/611785.html

Edited January 22, 2007 by MeanGreen61

the real grad88 · January 23, 2007

114. North Texas 2006 Record: 3-9
Why to get excited: Darrell Dickey might have brought the program plenty of notoriety and might have made the Mean Green a Sun Belt power, but the team went stale over the last few seasons. Todd Dodge was a superstar high school coach and should do wonders with recruiting in the area. The 1-2 rushing punch of Jamario Thomas and Evan Robertson should be fantastic. Ten starters return on defense.
Why to be grouchy: The passing game was awful all last year, and now it loses its only target of note. Johnny Quinn caught 57 passes for 633 yards and four touchdowns. The rest of the team caught just 79 passes for 749 yards and five scores as part of the nation's third worst passing game. Air Force and Navy were the only teams lower on the passing charts, and they're pure running teams. North Texas didn't have an excuse.
The number one thing to work on is: Turnover margin. If the team is going to struggle so much on both sides of the ball, it has to get every break. The Mean Green was second-to-last in America in turnover margin (only Army was worse) with 29 giveaways and just 14 takeaways.
Biggest offensive loss: WR Johnny Quinn
Biggest defensive loss: NT Sky Pruitt
SUNBELT
http://cfn.scout.com/2/611785.html

I'm worried about the defense. I think we will be an explosive offensive team with plenty of WRs to take the place of Quinn. I think the passing game will help open up the running game which was mute last season. I just want to see us become the QB eaters and running game stuffers our DL was several years ago when Booger was here. That was the some of the best defense I have ever seen.