Drc Article On Jamario

UNTLifer · April 20, 2007

www.dentonrc.com

New North Texas head coach Todd Dodge has spent much of spring practice watching how the passing game he made famous at Southlake Carroll is developing in his first season with the Mean Green.

But lately it has been running back Jamario Thomas who has caught Dodge’s attention.

Janario Thomas

“Jamario is looking really good,” Dodge said. “He is getting a feel for running with a five-blocker surface as opposed to a seven-blocker surface.”

Thomas won a national rushing title as a freshman in 2004 in former head coach Darrell Dickey’s run-based offense, but struggled in each of the last two years with injuries. Dodge likes the way Thomas looks in spring practice after going through the Mean Green’s off-season conditioning program, one Thomas said has helped him.

“My health is a lot better than last year and my hamstring is 100 percent,” Thomas said. “I dropped a few pounds. Coach Dodge has a good running program. I am in better shape than I have been in a while.”

In the Mean Green’s latest spring scrimmage, Thomas flashed the form that helped him rush for 1,801 yards as a freshman, when he broke off a pair of runs that each covered more than 20 yards in the span of three plays.

The spring has been a learning process for Thomas, who is carrying the ball in a spread offense that will give him more room to run and fewer defenders to take on near the line of scrimmage.

Dodge said he has been pleased with the way Thomas has adapted in a short amount of time heading into the Mean Green’s spring game on Sunday.

“As the spring has gone on, he has gotten more comfortable,” Dodge said.

Dodge could look to JC ranks

Dodge said earlier this week that he could look to the junior college ranks to fill a few voids in the Mean Green’s depth chart.

Todd Dodge

UNT still has a few scholarships remaining that Dodge said he could use on offensive linemen or a cornerback. The Mean Green lacks depth on its offensive front and could end up starting two new tackles in sophomore Robert Peachey and redshirt freshman Matthew Menard.

“There is always a possibility we could pick up a player late,” Dodge said. “It could be an offensive lineman or a cornerback from a depth standpoint. [A signee] would have to come from the JC ranks at this point for us to find a player who could help us next year.”

UNT is much deeper at cornerback. All four of the players on the Mean Green’s depth chart from its season finale last year will return.

The Mean Green also picked up Baylor transfer Latif Nurudeen, a cornerback who has been impressive in spring practice.

Dodge behind text message ban

Dodge is behind a proposal by the NCAA Division I Management Council to ban text messages in recruiting.

Dodge has a unique perspective on the issue after coaching at Southlake Carroll during the rise of text messages as a recruiting tool and going through last recruiting season after taking over as UNT’s head coach.

“Over the last three or four years we had a handful of highly recruited guys who got a lot of messages at all times of the day,” Dodge said of his time at Carroll. “Kids want to read them. Coming from the high school level, it can be a problem.”

Dodge said his coaches didn’t spend a lot of time sending text messages to players in recruiting last season.

Briefly …

After a scrimmage on Monday, Dodge said he was pleased with the way UNT has performed in practice the last few days. “These are the types of days that if you are not careful, they can be waste days after a big scrimmage. The players came out with a great attitude today and got a lot done.”