Drc Bruised Vizza Bounces Back

OldTimer · October 23, 2007

Football: Bruised Vizza bounces back after Troy defeat

12:51 AM CDT on Tuesday, October 23, 2007

By Brett Vito / Staff Writer

North Texas head coach Todd Dodge could see a difference in the way Giovanni Vizza looked when he arrived for the Mean Green’s practice Sunday afternoon.

The freshman quarterback’s attitude hadn’t changed a bit, though.

Troy handed Vizza a physical beating in the Trojans 45-7 win Saturday. That pounding affected the way a bruised and beaten Vizza appeared, but didn’t dampen his spirits heading into a game against Middle Tennessee on Saturday.

“Giovanni will be fine,” Dodge said Monday during the Sun Belt’s weekly coaches’ teleconference. “He’s a tough kid, but is very, very sore. He was sacked nine times and was hit hard about nine other times. His toughness is what will make him a good quarterback. He never griped about it on the sideline and that will pay dividends for him in the long run. He came in yesterday and looked like he had been through a war.”

Vizza threw for 172 yards to push his season total to 999 yards in just his third start of the season. UNT’s only touchdown against Troy came when Vizza connected with fellow freshman Micah Mosley on a screen pass the running back took 30 yards into the end zone.

That score couldn’t keep UNT (1-6, 1-2) in one of the biggest blowout losses it has suffered in Sun Belt play. Troy remained unbeaten in conference play and moved one step closer to a second consecutive Sun Belt title by taking advantage of a young UNT offensive line that featured two redshirt freshman and two sophomore starters.

Vizza continued to encourage his young linemen, despite the sacks they allowed. His performance and attitude made an impression on Troy head coach Larry Blakeney.

“Vizza is a tough kid,” Blakeney said. “He stood in there and threw the ball. We sacked him nine times and hit him a bunch. I was very respectful of him and the whole bunch. … He stood in there, stood tall and delivered the ball.”

Scheme changes helping cause turnovers

UNT has improved dramatically when it comes to forcing turnovers in its last two games, a change Dodge credited both to the schemes the Mean Green is using and a few young players who are making an impact.

UNT forced seven turnovers in its loss to Troy and three the previous week in a win over Louisiana-Monroe, the Mean Green’s only victory of the season thus far.

“We are getting our hands on a lot of balls right now,” Dodge said. “We tweaked our coverages a little and have played a lot more zone. That has put some kids in throwing lanes. … It’s a combination of players and the scheme.”

Redshirt freshman linebacker Craig Robertson intercepted two passes from Troy quarterback Omar Haugabook, a week after intercepting a pass in a win over Louisiana-Monroe in the first start of his college career.

“When we started our season, our defense needed to be the strength of our football team because of the experience we have on that side of the ball,” Dodge said. We started out at Oklahoma, which is not real conducive to starting off well statistically, but we have improved in Sun Belt play. We have forced 10 turnovers in the last two games and improved our tackles for losses dramatically.”

UNT has posted 19 tackles for losses in its last two games, more than its total of 18 from its fist five games of the season

The next step for the Mean Green will be cutting down on big plays allowed. Troy scored on passes that covered 22, 38, 42 and 46 yards.

“Our defense is playing well at times, but we have given up a lot of explosive plays,” Dodge said. “We gave up four against Troy and they all went for touchdowns.”

Troy’s McKelvin recognized

Troy defensive back Leodis McKelvin was named the Sun Belt Conference’s Special Teams Player of the Week after returning a punt 52 yards for a touchdown against UNT. The senior finished with 103 yards on five punt returns and also picked up 59 yards on two kickoff returns.

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

island eagle · October 23, 2007

Football: Bruised Vizza bounces back after Troy defeat
12:51 AM CDT on Tuesday, October 23, 2007
By Brett Vito / Staff Writer
North Texas head coach Todd Dodge could see a difference in the way Giovanni Vizza looked when he arrived for the Mean Green’s practice Sunday afternoon.
The freshman quarterback’s attitude hadn’t changed a bit, though.
Troy handed Vizza a physical beating in the Trojans 45-7 win Saturday. That pounding affected the way a bruised and beaten Vizza appeared, but didn’t dampen his spirits heading into a game against Middle Tennessee on Saturday.
“Giovanni will be fine,” Dodge said Monday during the Sun Belt’s weekly coaches’ teleconference. “He’s a tough kid, but is very, very sore. He was sacked nine times and was hit hard about nine other times. His toughness is what will make him a good quarterback. He never griped about it on the sideline and that will pay dividends for him in the long run. He came in yesterday and looked like he had been through a war.”
Vizza threw for 172 yards to push his season total to 999 yards in just his third start of the season. UNT’s only touchdown against Troy came when Vizza connected with fellow freshman Micah Mosley on a screen pass the running back took 30 yards into the end zone.
That score couldn’t keep UNT (1-6, 1-2) in one of the biggest blowout losses it has suffered in Sun Belt play. Troy remained unbeaten in conference play and moved one step closer to a second consecutive Sun Belt title by taking advantage of a young UNT offensive line that featured two redshirt freshman and two sophomore starters.
Vizza continued to encourage his young linemen, despite the sacks they allowed. His performance and attitude made an impression on Troy head coach Larry Blakeney.
“Vizza is a tough kid,” Blakeney said. “He stood in there and threw the ball. We sacked him nine times and hit him a bunch. I was very respectful of him and the whole bunch. … He stood in there, stood tall and delivered the ball.”
Scheme changes helping cause turnovers
UNT has improved dramatically when it comes to forcing turnovers in its last two games, a change Dodge credited both to the schemes the Mean Green is using and a few young players who are making an impact.
UNT forced seven turnovers in its loss to Troy and three the previous week in a win over Louisiana-Monroe, the Mean Green’s only victory of the season thus far.
“We are getting our hands on a lot of balls right now,” Dodge said. “We tweaked our coverages a little and have played a lot more zone. That has put some kids in throwing lanes. … It’s a combination of players and the scheme.”
Redshirt freshman linebacker Craig Robertson intercepted two passes from Troy quarterback Omar Haugabook, a week after intercepting a pass in a win over Louisiana-Monroe in the first start of his college career.
“When we started our season, our defense needed to be the strength of our football team because of the experience we have on that side of the ball,” Dodge said. We started out at Oklahoma, which is not real conducive to starting off well statistically, but we have improved in Sun Belt play. We have forced 10 turnovers in the last two games and improved our tackles for losses dramatically.”
UNT has posted 19 tackles for losses in its last two games, more than its total of 18 from its fist five games of the season
The next step for the Mean Green will be cutting down on big plays allowed. Troy scored on passes that covered 22, 38, 42 and 46 yards.
“Our defense is playing well at times, but we have given up a lot of explosive plays,” Dodge said. “We gave up four against Troy and they all went for touchdowns.”
Troy’s McKelvin recognized
Troy defensive back Leodis McKelvin was named the Sun Belt Conference’s Special Teams Player of the Week after returning a punt 52 yards for a touchdown against UNT. The senior finished with 103 yards on five punt returns and also picked up 59 yards on two kickoff returns.
BRETT VITO can be reached at 940-566-6870. His e-mail address is bvito@dentonrc.com.

AlamocityUNTFan · October 23, 2007

The players are definitely laying it out there, sacrificing their bodies. Vizza is a warrior.

The beating Vizza took was hard to watch..no one wants to see a kid get pounded over and over.

Responsibility rests with Dodge. Yes, this is his first year, he and his staff and players will learn from this, but you cannot put Vizza or any kid through another game like last week. I have to agree with some of the other posts, change the o-line coverage, give him a few more seconds so plays can develop. I know it may not be that easy, but you have to give the QB protection and time.

Just my two cents.

Edited October 23, 2007 by AlamocityUNTFan

akriesman · October 23, 2007

I am very, very impressed with Giovanni. He shows an unreal amount of poise for any QB, especially one that is straight out of high school.

The kid is going to be a terrific leader for this team someday very soon.

With that being said, I was hoping that TD would pull him in the 3rd quarter last game. I guess there might have been a lesson to be learned somewhere. But, watching him stay in the pocket and take those hits was really tough to watch. I kept thinking about the Vizza family members watching the game.

DeepGreen · October 23, 2007

The players are definitely laying it out there, sacrificing their bodies. Vizza is a warrior.
The beating Vizza took was hard to watch..no one wants to see a kid get pounded over and over.
Responsibility rests with Dodge. Yes, this is his first year, he and his staff and players will learn from this, but you cannot put Vizza or any kid through another game like last week. I have to agree with some of the other posts, change the o-line coverage, give him a few more seconds so plays can develop. I know it may not be that easy, but you have to give the QB protection and time.
Just my two cents.

Wouldn't mind see a few tight end sets here and there. Provides more protection, plus, who's to say a tight end can't sneak out and make a catch or two?

island eagle · October 23, 2007

Wouldn't mind see a few tight end sets here and there. Provides more protection, plus, who's to say a tight end can't sneak out and make a catch or two?

Phil, you are absolutely correct. It's not a matter of the linemen per se. Without a TE or two-back set to offset the defensive advantage when they blitz, we are just as defenseless as DD's teams were when the opponents put 8 in the box against our obvious runs.

HOPEFULLY, TD won't be as stubborn as DD in understanding that he will have to make adjustments to his offense to succeed at this level. If not, we can recruit all the offensive linemen in the world and our QB is still going to get worked over.

greenminer · October 23, 2007

Phil, you are absolutely correct. It's not a matter of the linemen per se. Without a TE or two-back set to offset the defensive advantage when they blitz, we are just as defenseless as DD's teams were when the opponents put 8 in the box against our obvious runs.
HOPEFULLY, TD won't be as stubborn as DD in understanding that he will have to make adjustments to his offense to succeed at this level. If not, we can recruit all the offensive linemen in the world and our QB is still going to get worked over.

To be quite honest, the TE argument loses some water with me after watching Tech play. I'll concede the simple math: having the extra guy on the line = more guys available to block. However...

Teams blitz the heck outta Carroll and Texas Tech. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn't. UTEP tried to come @ Harrell all day and we couldn't touch him. Yet Mizzou frustrated the heck out of him this past weekend.

Is it truly about math (having the TE), or just a blitz coming at you in a specific manner? Probably a little bit of both, but maybe Blakeney figured something out that we didn't adjust to? Not trying to knock on Dodge (whether it's true or not). In fact, I'd give more thought to the youth we have on the line and their inexperience in picking the blitzes up, rather than any formation we could possibly use.

just another 2 cents.