Drc Vitto's Blog, More On 2007 Loi Cb Roman

[OldTimer]

June 22, 2007

A little more on Roman

I spoke with College of San Mateo (California) defensive back Evyn Roman earlier today about his decision to sign with North Texas.

I won't spoil all of what will be in tomorrow's paper, but I will answer what seems to be the most common question I have received today. Roman sat out one season at San Mateo because of some personal issues off the field between his freshman and sophomore seasons.

Roman said he caught a couple of colds and became rundown while trying to commute a sizable distance to San Mateo after his parents moved out of the Bay Area following his freshman season. He decided in conjunction with his coach and parents to take a year off.

The decision paid for Roman, who was only contacted by UNT's coaches in the last few weeks. Roman's coach Larry Owens said UNT's coaches appeared to be searching far and wide for a cornerback who could make an immediate impact this summer.

For more on Roman, including what other schools offered him a scholarship and his reasons for signing with UNT, see tomorrow's edition of the Denton Record-Chronicle or check our Web site tomorrow morning.

Posted by Brett Vito at 8:35 PM

[MCMLXXX]

Turned down U of H.

http://blogs.honoluluadvertiser.com/index.php?blog=9

[MCMLXXX]

This mornings DRC said he "had scholarship offers from Hawaii and South Dakota State". The Honolulu Advertiser says he turned down a walk on at UH.

[EagleD]

Turned down U of H.

http://blogs.honoluluadvertiser.com/index.php?blog=9

I LOVE hearing this! Next to SMU and Tech, UH is my most despised school.

GO MEAN GREEN !!!!!!!!!!!!

BEAT THE HELL OUT OF OU !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Harry]

North Texas football: Cornerback, special teams player picks Mean Green

05:21 AM CDT on Saturday, June 23, 2007

By Brett Vito/Staff Writer

Evyn Roman grew up in the San Francisco area and took a recruiting trip to Hawaii recently.

And yet, North Texas turned out to be the place where the College of San Mateo defensive back wanted to continue his football career. Roman visited UNT earlier this week and signed a national letter of intent on Wednesday.

The two-time All-NorCal Conference selection is the 21^st member of UNT's 2007 recruiting class. The Mean Green has seven other players who have given UNT oral commitments for its 2008 class that will not become binding until national signing day on Feb. 7.

"I have taken a lot of trips this offseason to different schools," Roman said. "Once I got to Denton, I realized that it is where I am supposed to be. It's a great college town. I am lucky to be a part of Coach [Todd] Dodge's first recruiting class. He is inspiring. He makes you want to be a better student-athlete and player."

Roman, 5-9, 177, is projected to play cornerback and return kickoffs and punts at UNT, where he will have two years of eligibility remaining. He finished with three interceptions as a sophomore, and he also returned a kickoff and a punt for a touchdown.

UNT lost its top kick and punt return specialists when wide receivers Johnny Quinn and Zach Muzzy completed their careers last season.

Roman also had scholarship offers from Hawaii and South Dakota State. He plans to move to Denton in the next few weeks to begin preparing for his junior season.

The addition of Roman represents a departure from the recruiting strategy shown early on in Dodge's tenure at UNT. The Mean Green's new head coach signed just one junior college player for his first recruiting class.

Every other member of Dodge's first recruiting class also had Texas ties.

"They felt like they needed a guy," Roman said. "It seemed like it was meant to be. I was getting ready to decide between Hawaii and South Dakota State."

UNT had sophomores Antoine Bush and Dominique Green at the top of its depth chart at cornerback at the end of spring practice. Baylor transfer Latif Nurudeen appeared as if he would push for a starting job until he was injured late in spring practice.

San Mateo coach Larry Owens expects Roman to compete for playing time right away at UNT, despite being undersized.

"Evyn is a very talented young man who has great determination and is a hard worker," Owens said. "He will be able to play at the Division I level. He is one of those guys who responds if you put a challenge in front of him."

Signing a scholarship with UNT represented a milestone in a comeback from what proved to be a tough year for Roman. The former Kennedy (Fremont, Calif.) High standout played at San Mateo as a freshman before he sat out a season due to a series of illnesses and personal problems.

"I got sick with a couple of colds and my parents moved out of the Bay Area," Roman said. "I missed a lot of school because I was sick and was commuting a long distance. My coach and family decided it would be best to take a year off."

Roman dropped off the recruiting radar of several California schools before he came back and was named San Mateo's defensive MVP for as a sophomore.

The Mean Green's coaches only started recruiting Roman in the last few weeks, but became involved just in time to convince him to transfer to UNT.

"Evyn really liked North Texas and the environment," Owens said. "What I took from it was they were in the market for a defensive back and liked what Evyn could do. It all worked out."

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

North Texas commitments

The following is a list of players who have orally committed to play for UNT:

2008 recruits

OL Eloy Atkinson Los Fresnos

WR Kenny Barrett Mart

RB Lance Dunbar Haltom

OL Troy Franklin Celina

WR Willie Taylor Dallas Hillcrest

LB Derek Tomlin Southlake Carroll

S Darien Williams Vernon

2007 recruits

DB Evyn Roman San Mateo (Calif.) JC