A Look At The Recruiting Class

[Harry]

Marquese Davis, LB, 6-1, 230, Atlanta - Has the size and ability to, but big numbers at linebacker make this a stretch

Jesse DeSoto, DL, 6-2, 275, San Antonio Lee - Could figure into the rotation; good defensive linemen can play fairly early in their careers

Sam Dibrell, WR, 6-2, 205, San Antonio Alamo Heights - With only 2 set in stone, you have 6 WR spots to fill in the 8-man rotation so Dibrell and all of the WR signees have a good shot.

Kevin Ealey, DB, 5-9, 185, Brenham - I say Ealey could play - mainly because I think he is the best athlete in this class and Mendoza's defense will allow for pure cover athletes to play early.

Greg Garden, DB, 5-11, 187, Navy (Denton Ryan) - sitting out but could be a nice safety in 2008

Bron Hager, DB, 6-1, 210, Austin Westlake - greyshirt

Breece Johnson, WR, 6, 175, Colleyville Heritage - Should play right away.

J.J. Johnson, OL, 6-2, 278, Plano West - Redshirt

Marcus King, WR, 6-3, 200, Euless Trinity - Should play right away.

B.J. Lewis, WR, 6-1, 190, Waco Robinson - Depends on where they play him.

Cam Montgomery, RB, 6-2, 195, Northeast Mississippi Junior College (The Woodlands) - Should be #2 behind Jamario

Micah Mosley, RB, 6-1, 205, Nederland - redshirt

Justin Padron, LB, 6-0, 220, Southlake Carroll - redshirt

A.J. Penson, LB, 6-1, 220, Lufkin - Could play right away on special teams.

Sam Roberson, WR, 6-4, 210, Somerville - Most raw talent of WR group and thus could play right away.

Kyle Russo, DE, 6-3, 245, Southlake Carroll - Probably a redshirt, but could push if other defensive ends falter.

Jordan Scoggins, DL, 6-1, 274, Euless Trinity - I see him with a very good chance to play on the defensive line rotation. Probably will be between him and Desoto for playing time.

Matt Tomlinson, OL, 6-5, 270, Klein - Redshirt

Giovanni Vizza, QB, 6-1, 195, San Antonio Alamo Heights - I think he has a shot to be #2 and possibly #1 w/Meager's injury history. Tune's progression and the final determination of where Woody plays impacts this...

Evan Walker, WR, 5-11, 185, Colleyville Heritage - With his speed he will play right away.

[island eagle]

Marquese Davis, LB, 6-1, 230, Atlanta - Has the size and ability to, but big numbers at linebacker make this a stretch

Jesse DeSoto, DB, 6-2, 275, San Antonio Lee - Could figure into the rotation; good defensive linemen can play fairly early in their careers

Sam Dibrell, WR, 6-2, 205, San Antonio Alamo Heights - With only 2 set in stone, you have 6 WR spots to fill in the 8-man rotation so Dibrell and all of the WR signees have a good shot.

Kevin Ealey, DB, 5-9, 185, Brenham - I say Ealey could play - mainly because I think he is the best athlete in this class and Mendoza's defense will allow for pure cover athletes to play early.

Greg Garden, DB, 5-11, 187, Navy (Denton Ryan) - sitting out but could be a nice safety in 2008

Bron Hager, DB, 6-1, 210, Austin Westlake - greyshirt

Breece Johnson, WR, 6, 175, Colleyville Heritage - Should play right away.

J.J. Johnson, OL, 6-2, 278, Plano West - Redshirt

Marcus King, WR, 6-3, 200, Euless Trinity - Should play right away.

B.J. Lewis, WR, 6-1, 190, Waco Robinson - Depends on where they play him.

Cam Montgomery, RB, 6-2, 195, Northeast Mississippi Junior College (The Woodlands) - Should be #2 behind Jamario

Micah Mosley, RB, 6-1, 205, Nederland - redshirt

Justin Padron, LB, 6-0, 220, Southlake Carroll - redshirt

A.J. Penson, LB, 6-1, 220, Lufkin - Could play right away on special teams.

Sam Roberson, WR, 6-4, 210, Somerville - Most raw talent of WR group and thus could play right away.

Kyle Russo, DE, 6-3, 245, Southlake Carroll - Probably a redshirt, but could push if other defensive ends falter.

Jordan Scoggins, DL, 6-1, 274, Euless Trinity - I see him with a very good chance to play on the defensive line rotation. Probably will be between him and Desoto for playing time.

Matt Tomlinson, OL, 6-5, 270, Klein - Redshirt

Giovanni Vizza, QB, 6-1, 195, San Antonio Alamo Heights - I think he has a shot to be #2 and possibly #1 w/Meager's injury history. Tune's progression and the final determination of where Woody plays impacts this...

Evan Walker, WR, 5-11, 185, Colleyville Heritage - With his speed he will play right away.

Thanks, Harry for your thoughts. DeSoto is in the top 3 in the state in shot put with throws over 57'. To me, that indicates good atleticism.

[Charlie NT 73]

Which of the new recruits will make a impact or play?

I beleive if any of these new recruits are good enough-as freshmen- then let em play.

Any player that improves the team, Freshman or 5th year senior-should play.

First- I beleive all of the WR's will play. There will be some real stars in this group!

Roberson, Dibrell,Johnson,King, Walker-these guys will be bring speed,

size, and athletic ability. Any one of them or all of them will make the NT

receiving corp very powerful!

Second, Desoto, and Scoggins-DT/NG-I would like for these 2 to get into the mix-

get these guys college game experience, - let them play!

Third- Ealey-- great athlete, speed, I would try to RS him- When he comes into the fall

camp, lets see what he brings to the table. Start as a DB-not yet. Special teams-

yes. I beleive the staff can find something for him to handle.

Forth- Vizza. Give him a chance to see what he can do. Has a big edge with running

a spread offense, and you know Dibrell will be his favorit target. Meager has the

QB position locked down for now. Most of his injuries came from his aggressive

play and poor protection-in this offense you get rid of the ball fast-this may

keep him healthy. If Vizza comes in, takes contol of the offense, moves the chains,

makes the right decisions, -- he will have to be really, really good to start. If he

clearly out plays all the QB's- heck yes- start him!

Fifth- all the other recruits will redshirt.

[Mad Hatter]

I LOVE Sam Roberson's size for a receiver. If he's as quick as he's supposed to be, and can catch, he should be a monster out there.

[SCREAMING EAGLE-66]

--I would think the mostly likely position for HS grads to fill would be WR. For lineman they (HS) recruits) usually don't have the strength or size of older players or that they will have eventually and several other positions require time to learn everything they need to know. The second part of that for us is we actually will need more WRs with the Dodge system. By the end of the year, several positions may have younger players starting but I would not expect a lot of them in the first couple of games. No doubt several will be playing some as back-ups getting experience and being evaluated some but will likely not have a lot of playing time early in the year.

[SilverEagle]

I'll be anxious to see how Roberson does against D-1 DB's in fall practice. He needs to get hit by those guys, early and often. After that we'll know if he has more than " great potential". I'm crossing my fingers that he will be another player from a small HS (like Jamario) who makes a real impact his freshman year.

[Green Lantern]

I'll be anxious to see how Roberson does against D-1 DB's in fall practice. He needs to get hit by those guys, early and often. After that we'll know if he has more than " great potential". I'm crossing my fingers that he will be another player from a small HS (like Jamario) who makes a real impact his freshman year.

I agree. He along with Vizza are the two incoming freshman that I'm most excited to see. Roberson has all the physical tools that you could ask for in a receiver. Hopefully his speed is as advertised. It will be interesting to see how he performs against a physical D1 defense when he gets here.

[Charlie NT 73]

Coach Dodge said all the new recruits and especially the receivers are

farther along that we would expect.

One thing is for sure, Coach Dodge likes tall receivers-

Roberson at 6-4

King at 6-3

Johnson and Dibrell at 6-2

Lewis at 6-1

RB Mosley- at 6-1, he could possibly find playing time as a receiver also.

RB Montgomery at 6-2, I can see him playing a big roll in the passing game

and - Walker at 5-11, the same height as Fitzgerald- and what a surprise he has

become!

All of these receivers are very athletic, bring alot of speed, and big targets!

I will bet, the yards after catch numbers will jump dramaticly this season!

[UNTLifer]

Coach Dodge said all the new recruits and especially the receivers are

farther along that we would expect.

Please explain considering the only recruit you listed that has been on campus is Montgomery.

[Charlie NT 73]

Yes- I know Montgomery is on campus- and looked pretty good in the spring game.

I read somewhere in the one of the Todd Dodge articles on NT recruiting,

that he beleived these receivers are farther along in their abilities and tallents,

than we as NT fans, would expect from incoming freshmen. Coach Dodge also

said the staff targeted recruits, they beleive, that could come in and play, or

start as true freshmen.

[SCREAMING EAGLE-66]

Please explain considering the only recruit you listed that has been on campus is Montgomery.

--I assume he means that Montgomery is the only recruit that took place in Spring Drills... the rest are still in high School and not on campus. Montgomery transfered here from a JC and was able to take part.

[greenminer]

Yes- I know Montgomery is on campus- and looked pretty good in the spring game.

I read somewhere in the one of the Todd Dodge articles on NT recruiting,

that he beleived these receivers are farther along in their abilities and tallents,

than we as NT fans, would expect from incoming freshmen. Coach Dodge also

said the staff targeted recruits, they beleive, that could come in and play, or

start as true freshmen.

You're recalling the comments made regarding the WR coverage @ meangreenathletics.com. Dodge was referring to the WR's in general, not just incoming recruits. From the story:

The highlight of the offense this spring has been the wide receivers from the standpoint of what we expected and what we have ended up getting. I didn’t expect for this group to be this far along during spring practice...With the young receivers that we have coming in this fall, I’m excited about the competition that we will have with this group.

They can't be improving in our offense if they're still in high school.

[Charlie NT 73]

What ever- Yes they are in HS- Yes- they are not on campus until the fall-

Look at their bio's-- tell me these guy's will not help us!

Coach Dodge said we have quality and not quanity-right now-

Coach Dodge and staff went after WR's that are good enough to come right in

and contribute right away!

I guess all the NT fans will have to wait until the opening kick off ay zero-u

to see who will actually play.

[good_ken]

I agree. He along with Vizza are the two incoming freshman that I'm most excited to see. Roberson has all the physical tools that you could ask for in a receiver. Hopefully his speed is as advertised. It will be interesting to see how he performs against a physical D1 defense when he gets here.

Everyone might want to tap the brakes a little on Vizza. I can't remember the last time a true freshman had any success transitioning from HS to college. I am not declaring him a bust; I just don't think the he will be ready for the 2007 campaign.

[Mad Hatter]

Everyone might want to tap the brakes a little on Vizza. I can't remember the last time a true freshman had any success transitioning from HS to college. I am not declaring him a bust; I just don't think the he will be ready for the 2007 campaign.

Careful with your wording..............You don't want to upset the Godfather before he gets here. He has people.

[Keith7]

sweet desoto is a 275 lb. DB??

[Guest GrayEagleOne]

This is a much more interesting thread this year because every recruit has the talent to play this fall. However, a few would be better served to add strength and conditioning and to become familiar with Dodge's system. Still others play a position where we have decent depth. We could use their talent the next four years after this one rather than lose a year of eligibility playing sparingly.

Realizing I have no clue as to how Coach Dodge sees his current roster, much less the recruits, I nevertheless pick the following:

QB Giovanni Vizza - The Alamo Heights quarterback was not only picked by Texas Football

as the MVP in the state, he also won a competition as the most accurate passer. Meager

is still leading the current squad and has shown great improvement but I just think that

Vizza has outstanding ability. He's only 15 practices behind Meager in the learning

curve and I believe that he can make that up rather quickly.

DB Kevin Ealey - Harry mentioned that Ealey is the best athlete of the class and I agree.

With the movement of Korey to offense, a spot was created in the two-deep corners.

I'd say Ealey will be the fastest of all of our defensive backs this fall. Look for him on

the second unit at cornerback and as a return man if Robertson does not return.

DL Jesse DeSoto - We have three adequate or better Interior defensive linemen and we

nave need of a fourth. If DeSoto can add a few pounds then I believe that becomes

that person.

RB Cam Montgomery - This is a fait accompli. Montgomery has already moved to the #2

position and could be the starter if Jamario should falter.

WR Breece Johnson - Hard to figure whether he starts or is a backup but he appears to

have too much talent not to make the two-deep.

WR Sam Dibrell - Another very talented receiver who figures somewhere on the first two

units. His playing time could be enhanced if Vizza winds up as the starting QB.

WR Evan Walker - How can you keep someone that caught 99 passes in one season under

wraps? He appears to have excellent speed and may have the ability to get open that

few possess.

WR Marquis King - He may have the best hands of all of our wide receiver candidates.

Seems to be the perfect possession receiver. It's possible that Stickler or one of the

tight ends step up and King gets redshirted but he'll be hard to keep off of the field.

Those are the ones that I see as playing this year. The others I hope will redshirt. I think that it will take injury to get the others much playing time. I know that it'll be hard for such outstanding talent as Penson, Padron, Davis, Mosley, Johnson, Scoggins, and Roberson to sit but we need their future eligibility more than we do right now.

[NT03]

Everyone might want to tap the brakes a little on Vizza. I can't remember the last time a true freshman had any success transitioning from HS to college. I am not declaring him a bust; I just don't think the he will be ready for the 2007 campaign.

Kevin Kolb , Houston in 2003. If Vizza did start and had 1/2 of Kolb's stats that he had in 2003 then Id be happy.

Vizza, as a true freshman, could have success versus the Sunbelt ,but there is no way a true freshman QB could have success right off the bat versus the likes of OU and Arkansas with TD's system still in the works.

[Mean Green 93-98]

There seems to be a great concern that we redshirt several of these players so we can milk as long a stay out of them as possible. Personally, I have no doubt that each of Todd Dodge's recruiting classes the next four years will blow the doors off of this class. Not putting down these recruits or Coach Dodge's work, especially under such conditions and time constraints. But I imagine the recruits that TD will have in place four years from now will not have us sulking because he didn't redshirt more of this class.

[GrandGreen]

TD has been quoted as saying that he didn't recruit anyone to redshirt. Therefore, a lot of the new class might play. It is obvious that most if not all of the receivers will play in the first year. Other areas of need include defensive tackle, offensive line, and apparently now cornerback. Although a need, it is unusual for offensive linemen to play the first year and I don't predict it happening unless there are further losses of personnel. I think Scoggins (sp) and maybe Desoto will get time at dt. Ealey could actually start at cornerback. Vizza will play at either one or two QB. Even though LB is an obvious strength of the class, it is also the strongest position of the team; therefore I hope all the freshmen lbs are redshirted.

[GreenFlag]

Everyone might want to tap the brakes a little on Vizza. I can't remember the last time a true freshman had any success transitioning from HS to college. I am not declaring him a bust; I just don't think the he will be ready for the 2007 campaign.

There was this cat named Scott Hall.

Edited April 28, 2007 by GreenFlag

[UNT74HM]

There was this cat named Scott Hall.

Does anyone remember Kenny Washington's record as a Freshman when Fry was the coach?

[island eagle]

Does anyone remember Kenny Washington's record as a Freshman when Fry was the coach?

The team went 2-7-2. Washington had 481 yards rushing and 1155 passing for 1,523 total yards. Washington started the first game of the year (1974) agains SMU in which we lost 6-7 at Texas Stadium. Kenny moved the ball up and down the field against the Ponies and we should have won, but turnovers and penalties killed every drive we had.