Q & A With Todd Dodge

[MeanGreen61]

Go to page 10 for Q & A with TD.

Go to page 16 for UNT Preview.

SPORTSPAGEDALLAS.COM

http://www.sportspagedallas.com/pdf/08.10.07.web.pdf

Edited August 10, 2007 by MeanGreen61

[jimbojimjim]

Did anyone else scroll down and read their Top 20? They put SMUt in there. I think the editor must be a little biased.

[UNTLifer]

Did anyone else scroll down and read their Top 20? They put SMUt in there. I think the editor must be a little biased.

You think? He thinks SMUt potentially could go 7-1 or 8-0 in CUSA while thinking the Sun Belt is unimpressive. Maybe we should remind him that the "unimpressive" Sun Belt had a winning record against CUSA last year and hammered them in the NOLA Bowl.

[NT03]

Is Steve Westphal another WR recruit ??

Whatever the case he has got to be a key factor , he's the biggest piece of our preview.

Edited August 10, 2007 by NT03

[meangreen2018]

Can someone copy and paste what it says on both pages? Because my computer wont let me download it.

[GreenBlooded1]

Can someone copy and paste what it says on both pages? Because my computer wont let me download it.

Here ya go! I hope this is clear enough.

[jperg2]

there's also an article on PAGE 16 as well.

[Eagle1855]

You think? He thinks SMUt potentially could go 7-1 or 8-0 in CUSA while thinking the Sun Belt is unimpressive. Maybe we should remind him that the "unimpressive" Sun Belt had a winning record against CUSA last year and hammered them in the NOLA Bowl.

seriously though, while 8-0 or 7-1 is a bit ridiculous considering all the issues they will have on defense, it's not out of line to project them close to the top of C-USA West. Of course they'll have to get through UH and Tulsa to do that, but this will be the best team SMU has had in 20 years. Question is, will it matter? To anyone? Chirp...chirp... didnt think so.

Edited August 10, 2007 by Eagle1855

[emmitt01]

Did anyone else scroll down and read their Top 20? They put SMUt in there. I think the editor must be a little biased.

Let's see here...he has SMU rated higher than:

Nebraska

Texas Tech

Texas aTm

TCU

:lol: :lol:

[SCREAMING EAGLE-66]

Did anyone else scroll down and read their Top 20? They put SMUt in there. I think the editor must be a little biased.

--- A LITTLE.??? That is the understatement of the year..!! Maybe he thought they were ranking all-time cheaters.

Those guys on Mockingbird don't live in the real world.--- "They're so vain, they think the world is about them". (song)

[Mean Green 93-98]

I really don't think these guys did their homework.

The [uNT]linebackers are deep and strong, so the move to a 3-4 should not really

effect [sic] them.

[Greenblood94]

Here's the text of the interview with TD...

North Texas head football coach Todd Dodge

Life at the next level is fun - so far, at least

By Scott Boyter

Editor

The excitement level is through the roof in Denton as legendary high school football coach Todd Dodge takes over. You know about his incredible record at Southlake Carroll. Now find out how he plans on helping the North Texas program reach heights it's never before achieved.

There is an unprecedented buzz surrounding North Texas football and you're the chief reason. How does that make you feel?

I tell you, it makes me feel great because it's such a positive for our kids. It's really the reason I took this job. I always thought there was potential to do great things at North Texas. I had the chance to be up here in the early 90s and there were some tremendous memories, so I'm sold on the place.

I'm excited that the students, fan base and alumni are excited.

What do you do to, while not necessarily tempering the enthusiasm, caution people that just because you're the head coach at UNT that doesn't mean there's going to be an open pipeline of studs coming to Denton from Southlake Carroll?

We're going to recruit the entire state of Texas, especially the Dallas-Fort Worth area. We can do a better job of getting more players from a 30-40 mile radius surrounding Denton. Southlake has a lot of good players, obviously, and yeah, we're going to recruit there just like anywhere else.

We've got a couple of kids signed off of that team. The one thing about any player coming from Southlake, while we're going to make sure they're a Division 1 football player, we know they dang sure know how to win.

What's the reception been for you around campus?

It's been great. A lot of students come up to me and are really excited about the program. We've got great expectations for ourselves; our football team and football staff are not going to be afraid to go try to knock the top off of our potential.

We've just got to decide what that is. I've never been one to say, 'well, if we win this many games we'll be all right.' We're part of a conference that has a championship, and that's what we'll go after.

When we are on campus and people want to talk about Mean Green football, that's very exciting. And I hope it doesn't stop, because we're going to need their help. That's where it's got to start. I really plan on calling on our student body. We've got 33,000 students here, and we need them to stay in Denton on weekends and come support our football program.

You're obviously shooting for the top as far as taking this program as far as you can go is concerned. Not only for a conference championship but true national prominence down the road. Are you comfortable with the facilities there? Do you think those facilities will help you reach whatever ultimate goal it is you have for this program?

I definitely feel that the facilities that have come in here the last year and a half, the new locker rooms, weight facilities, new dining hall, the new dorm -- it's not a pure athletic dorm but it's right here by the practice field -- we don't want for much.

There's also a plan for a new stadium. Fouts Field is what it is; it's an old, historic stadium -- it's our place and we're proud of it. But ultimately, that new stadium will help us. It'll be our last link from a facilities standpoint.

I, being a former coach here, knew how we were lacking in facilities. To come back here 13, 14 years later, and for us to have the facilities we have, it's really helped us in recruiting.

How important is a school's facilities to potential recruits?

You can't turn a blind eye to it. It's very important. I mean, kids want good facilities. In terms of high school football just in the Metroplex there's a $25 million, $26 million, state-of-the-art stadium on every corner, it seems. You want kids to have better facilities than they have at the high school level.

A lot of people talk about the difference in speed between college and pro football -- how it's a different world for somebody who's never experienced it. How drastic a difference is there between high school and college football?

Anybody who steps to that next level, I don't care if it's a player going from junior varsity to varsity, or high school to college, or a coach stepping up from high school to college, it takes time to get caught up with the speed of the game.

I can remember as a player your first week or two as a freshman you feel like you're in a blender. That's what's so unique about this game; it's one of those sports where you have to acclimate to the speed of the next level, then you let your skills take over. It's the same thing with a coach; there's a learning term regarding the players you have and the one's you're playing against.

But coaching's coaching. Everybody's a little bigger and faster at this level, but it's all relative. We're confident with our plan.

How young will your team be compared to others in the Sun Belt Conference?

We're pretty veteran on defense. Our three linebackers have 52 starts between them. It's very junior and senior dominated. On offense we're very young, which is not all a bad thing when you're talking about bringing in a new system.

Have you talked to any former high school coaches who have made the jump to college -- guys like you who had phenomenal success at the high school level -- to get a feel for how they've made the adjustment?

Art Briles at the University of Houston (who won four state titles while at Stephenville) is a great friend of mine. His advice has always been, 'Don't deviate from your plan. You've got to tweak the plan, but don't think you have to get somebody else's ideas just because you're a college coach.'

And we have a plan. It's not a high school plan, it's not a college plan, it's not an NFL plan. It's just a football plan. I think a good head coach is one who believes in his plan, but is flexible enough to make it fit whatever situation he's in. But you have to coach what you know, and you have to have people around you who believe in what you do.

We're in the meat and potatoes of our fall practice, and I'm having more [fun] than the Lord allows coaching this team and seeing it come together. I don't really feel like I'm doing a whole lot different than when I was at Carroll.