U N T Racking Up Earfly Committments

MeanGreen61 · June 11, 2007

Football: UNT racks up early commitments

Dodge outpacing rivals in spring recruiting wars

11:34 AM CDT on Sunday, June 10, 2007

By Brett Vito / Staff Writer

Between attending offseason workouts at Southlake Carroll, preparing for his senior year and squeezing in some time for a little fun in the last summer of his high school days, Derek Tomlin has few precious free moments these days.

And like most teenagers, the linebacker was sure he could find a better way to spend them than sorting through a stack of recruiting letters and pondering where he would continue his football career in college.

The situation set up perfectly for North Texas and its new head coach Todd Dodge, who is handing out scholarship offers and accepting oral commitments regularly as part of a new recruiting approach for the Mean Green this spring.

UNT offered Tomlin a scholarship early and reaped the benefit when the senior-to-be became the fifth player to orally commit to become a member of the Mean Green's 2008 recruiting class in the last few weeks.

"Our season runs from August to December, but football never stops at Carroll," Tomlin said. "I wanted to focus on getting stronger and quicker. Summer workouts are important and are a big part of team building. I wanted to focus on that right now. Committing early gives me that opportunity."

Early commitments are nothing new in college football. They are just new to UNT, which took a far different approach under former head coach Darrell Dickey.

Dickey specialized in finding the players who slipped through the cracks. He rarely offered players scholarships before official visit sessions in the weeks before national signing day, when players' commitments become binding. The players Dickey signed led the Mean Green to four consecutive Sun Belt Conference titles before the program hit the skids the last two years, prompting Dickey's departure and the arrival of Dodge.

Dodge had the opportunity to implement his approach in a full recruiting season for the first time beginning this spring. So far his philosophy has helped UNT outpace several of its rivals in terms of early commitments.

According to online recruiting site Rivals.com, TCU had two commitments heading into the weekend, while UNT's other Dallas-Fort Worth rival, SMU, had yet to land a player. Florida International has one commitment and is the only team in the Sun Belt Conference other than UNT to have a player tentatively locked up for its 2008 class.

UNT's coaches cannot comment on specific recruits until they sign their national letters of intent, and are keeping quiet about their approach in general. Dodge refused to comment on any aspect of his recruiting philosophy.

What is of little doubt is UNT is attracting attention in recruiting circles by securing commitments early.

"Getting commitments early is advantageous for North Texas because it seems to be happening in all of college football," said John Talman, a recruiting analyst who covers Texas schools for Rivals.com. "Teams in the Big 12 and Conference USA are recruiting earlier. There's a lot of competition for players in Texas and Dodge knows the state. It's a good idea to try to get players early."

The case for early commitments

Every college team in the country has its assistant coaches on the road during the season and in the spring, when the largest schools in the state have their spring workouts.

Staffs form their wish lists and begin contacting the players who will make up their next recruiting class before their senior seasons.

More and more, coaches are offering scholarships before players step onto the field as seniors. Like every aspect of recruiting, offering scholarships early has its rewards and its risks.

The players UNT has landed so far this spring show just how big the rewards can be. Celina lineman Troy Franklin is ranked among the top 50 college football prospects in the area by The Dallas Morning News . Dave Campbell's Texas Football magazine ranks Dallas Hillcrest quarterback Willie Taylor among the top 300 prospects in the state.

Vernon safety Darien Williams said he was being recruited by Arizona, TCU, Rice and Tulsa, but committed to UNT because it was the first team to offer a scholarship.

"North Texas was the team that gave me the opportunity and wanted me to go there," Williams said. "I wanted to show that I appreciated it."

Several of the other players who committed to UNT early also named the chance to lock in a scholarship as a reason to commit to the Mean Green before their senior seasons.

"A lot of the guys North Texas is getting now had a lot of offers," Talman said. "They have done a great job of not just getting kids, but getting quality kids."

There might not be a better time for UNT to be looking for players than this spring. Dodge won three straight Class 5A state titles at Carroll and has a pristine reputation in Texas that is attracting players.

"I really liked the coaches and heard a lot of good things about them," Los Fresnos offensive lineman Eloy Atkinson said. "They have won in the past and had a good tradition at Southlake Carroll."

Atkinson's coach at Los Fresnos is Scott Ford, who played under Dodge when he was an assistant at UNT earlier in his career. That connection is just one example of how Dodge's ties in Texas are quickly paying off.

The question is if that reputation will help UNT hang on to the players who have committed early on.

A risky proposition

Since oral commitments are non-binding, nothing can prevent UNT's players from changing their mind in the coming months, when the Mean Green begins what could be a tough season.

UNT is changing offensive and defensive systems under Dodge. The Mean Green opens at Oklahoma, plays four of its first five games on the road and returns just five starters on offense.

Several preseason publications have picked the Mean Green to finish near the bottom of the Sun Belt for the third straight season. A losing season might make playing for UNT a little less attractive for the recruits the Mean Green has already landed.

Atkinson committed to UNT without ever setting foot in Denton. He is scheduled to visit the campus in late July.

Other programs could try to move in and steal a few of UNT's recruits in the coming months.

"You can lose guys if you take early commitments, but you can lose them if you don't offer them early as well," Talman said.

There is also no guarantee the players who commit early will be as highly regarded after their senior seasons. Players can have career-altering injuries or not develop as expected.

Those risks are ones programs take while recruiting players before their senior year.

Now that Dodge is in charge at UNT, the Mean Green is taking those risks with the expectation of gaining the rewards early recruiting can offer, including signing highly regarded players like Franklin.

"I committed to North Texas because of coach Dodge," Franklin said. "He's getting players North Texas' old coaches couldn't get before."

And he's getting them earlier than ever.

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

LongJim · June 11, 2007

Can't stress enough how great this is. UNT is now recruiting with, and like the big boys.

The MG are beginning to take--I repeat--TAKE their rightful place at the Texas HS feeding trough like they should have been doing decades ago as one of the top schools in the state of TEXAS.

Awesome, awesome steps.

It is time to restore order and begin whipping the SBC's ass again. TD is beginning that process.

DeepGreen · June 11, 2007

Can't stress enough how great this is. UNT is now recruiting with, and like the big boys.
The MG are beginning to take--I repeat--TAKE their rightful place at the Texas HS feeding trough like they should have been doing decades ago as one of the top schools in the state of TEXAS.
Awesome, awesome steps.
It is time to restore order and begin whipping the SBC's ass again. TD is beginning that process.

Post and line of the year.

UNTLifer · June 11, 2007

"I committed to North Texas because of coach Dodge," Franklin said. "He's getting players North Texas' old coaches couldn't get before."

gangrene · June 11, 2007

Football: UNT racks up early commitments
Dodge outpacing rivals in spring recruiting wars
11:34 AM CDT on Sunday, June 10, 2007
By Brett Vito / Staff Writer
A risky proposition Portions and/or opninions of this section were contributed by Darrell Dickey! Sorry...I just couldn't resist.
Since oral commitments are non-binding, nothing can prevent UNT's players from changing their mind in the coming months, when the Mean Green begins what could be a tough season.
UNT is changing offensive and defensive systems under Dodge. The Mean Green opens at Oklahoma, plays four of its first five games on the road and returns just five starters on offense.
Several preseason publications have picked the Mean Green to finish near the bottom of the Sun Belt for the third straight season. A losing season might make playing for UNT a little less attractive for the recruits the Mean Green has already landed.
Atkinson committed to UNT without ever setting foot in Denton. He is scheduled to visit the campus in late July.
Other programs could try to move in and steal a few of UNT's recruits in the coming months.
"You can lose guys if you take early commitments, but you can lose them if you don't offer them early as well," Talman said.
There is also no guarantee the players who commit early will be as highly regarded after their senior seasons. Players can have career-altering injuries or not develop as expected.
Those risks are ones programs take while recruiting players before their senior year.
Now that Dodge is in charge at UNT, the Mean Green is taking those risks with the expectation of gaining the rewards early recruiting can offer, including signing highly regarded players like Franklin.
"I committed to North Texas because of coach Dodge," Franklin said. "He's getting players North Texas' old coaches couldn't get before."
And he's getting them earlier than ever.
BRETT VITO can be reached at 940-566-6870. His e-mail address is bvito@dentonrc.com.