Lots Of Recruiting News

[SUMG]

(info by Brett Vito, from the D-RC):

Today marks the unofficial start of North Texas' push to finish out its 2008 recruiting class. A total of 17 recruits arrived on campus for official visits Friday and will be around for the weekend. UNT should land at least a few players out of that group.

Here is what is known about who is coming and a few other notes about who is no longer considering UNT.

It is public knowledge that James Hamilton, an athlete from Cedar Hill who is projected as a safety in college, is on campus along with a trio of players from Trinity Valley Community College. The group includes safety Khenon Hall, cornerback Cordarious Mingo and defensive tackle Blake Gumm.

Hamilton told Rivals.com that North Texas has a slight lead over Kentucky in the recruiting process because UNT is close to home. Hamilton could step in right away and compete for a starting job at safety, where UNT lost three of the four players on its two-deep depth chart at the end of the season. One obstacle that could stand in UNT's way is Hamilton's high school teammate Osaze Idumwonyi has already committed to Kentucky. Hamilton would be a great addition if UNT can land him.

The prize of the Trinity Valley trio is Gumm, who has offers from a half dozen schools and will visit Arizona next weekend.

While UNT is still in the hunt for several top prospects, it saw one player it offered commit to another school this week while another has pretty much dropped UNT from his list. Garland cornerback Jarrett Ben committed to Rice, while Coppell cornerback Devin Smith told Rivals.com his top two schools are Iowa and Wisconsin, both of which have offered scholarships.

Missing out on an opportunity to sign Ben and falling out of the race for Smith could make Mingo an important target for UNT. Mingo holds an offer from Arkansas State. Whether UNT really needs Mingo will hinge on what other players the Mean Green's coaches are targeting. There are always more players out there than are known publicly.

UNT got off to a solid start by landing 13 players thus far. What will be interesting to see is how a rough first season under new head coach Todd Dodge that saw the Mean Green finish 2-10 will affect UNT's efforts the rest of the way.

Edited December 8, 2007 by SUMG

[SUMG]

Gumm would be a heckuva pickup. He's pictured on page 167 of the 2007 DCTF.

Here's part of his Rivals profile:

http://tulsa.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?pr_key=68598

[SUMG]

Mingo's a burner....4.4 in the 40:

http://clemson.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?pr_key=68595

[SUMG]

Khenon Hall.

Check out his recruiting video. Some great hits:

http://tcu.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?pr_key=68599

[Mean Green 93-98]

Khenon Hall.

Check out his recruiting video. Some great hits:

http://tcu.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?pr_key=68599

Thanks for posting. Looks like he has good closing speed.

[Green to the Bone]

Stats and speed and such are nice in a player, but the name's gotta do something, too. We've got a good one here. Just imagine Tim saying this during the pregame intro:

"At Cornerback -- from Athens, Texas -- Cordariouuuuus MINNNNGO!"

[greenminer]

Mingo man!

[H-towngreen]

It would be great to see some verbals announced on Monday. The key in recruiting and visits is getting a verbal from them before they leave town. These are only 4 of the 17 recruits on campus this weekend. Kinda makes you wonder what other type of talent is in town???? These recruits show what TD is looking for. D-line help and help in the secondary.

Gumm is rated 3* by scout.com, in high school he was rated one of the top 20 players in Kentucky. He is not from Texas so him visiting Arizona next weekend isn't good, as out location might not help us out. Was able to see a short clip of his from high school, and it was pretty impressive, he showed some real quickness. Hopefully we can get a verbal from him before he leaves town.

With Mingo you have to like his size 5'11 and 4.4 speed. Hopefully he is someone who would be able to come in and secure one of the cb spots.

Khenon Hall is rated 5.4 2* by rivals, at 5'10 185 he seems a little small for saftey, but who knows. I wasn't able to see his clip, maybe tmw.

James Hamilton would be a huge pick-up and victory over a rising SEC contender is Kentucky. He is the type of athlete that NT needs. One thing of note is a continuation of one of last years themes in recruiting. Getting kids from winnning programs.

[Mad Hatter]

Think these gus will be at the basketball game today? It may just be Hartford, but lets try to get a good crowd. I've just recruited my 3 year old daughter to come with me instead of flying solo.........hey, every little bit helps.

[ADLER]

Think these gus will be at the basketball game today? It may just be Hartford, but lets try to get a good crowd. I've just recruited my 3 year old daughter to come with me instead of flying solo.........hey, every little bit helps.

It's not going to happen. If we had wanted a good crowd we would have scheduled the game in the evening. Less than 15% capacity is expected.

*disclaimer - this is not a cue for some dope to reply that Indiana or Kentucky can fill their arenas at 4:00AM, on any holiday, or any combination of both.

Edited December 8, 2007 by ADLER

[emmitt01]

*disclaimer - this is not a cue for some dope to reply that Indiana or Kentucky can fill their arenas at 4:00AM, on any holiday, or any combination of both.

Why not? Until we get a fanbase that turns out to see our team simply because they are playing we will be "lil' ol' North Texas".

[ADLER]

Why not? Until we get a fanbase that turns out to see our team simply because they are playing we will be "lil' ol' North Texas".

So we should build our program by drawing small crowds and complaining instead of scheduling events at the optimum time? Interesting theory, how'd it work for Craig Helwig?

[emmitt01]

So we should build our program by drawing small crowds and complaining instead of scheduling events at the optimum time? Interesting theory, how'd it work for Craig Helwig?

No, of course not. On the flip side some scheduling issues are unavoidable. Having a fan base large and rabid enough that we don't expect the athletic department to cater to our individual schedules would be a big plus too, no? I get that a 7pm tip is a HUGE bonus for families...but what time of day isn't inconvenient for somebody?

[DeepGreen]

Interesting discussion on BB game times. During my time at NT, in the MVC days, it didn't matter when we played, the old snake pit was usually packed. I especially liked Saturday aftenoon games - left plenty of time to party later on. (Yes, even the old alumni use to party hard at NT during their time! )

[Cooley]

Khenon Hall.

Check out his recruiting video. Some great hits:

http://tcu.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?pr_key=68599

You gotta love kids out of South Oak Cliff! Actually, he didn't make that big of impression on me in HS. But then again, I've always found it difficult to evaluate safeties.

[Guest 97and03]

You gotta love kids out of South Oak Cliff! Actually, he didn't make that big of impression on me in HS. But then again, I've always found it difficult to evaluate safeties.

I thought his open field tackling on run plays was impressive. The most impressive highlight was him tackling the RB after he received the pitch on the option. Thing was, Hall was the DB on the opposite side of the field! Let's get this guy at UNT!