Derek Tomlin

[EastTexasMG]

I couldn't find anything online yet, but in the paper this morning it says that Tomlin decommited because he realized how important education is. He basically said that he is concerned about getting hurt and that if football was not an option he wouldn't pick NT. He is now looking at Vanderbilt. NT is no Vandy, but as a 24 year old in the business world my MBA from NT has held its weight and is paying off for me.

Edited December 15, 2007 by EastTexasMG

[Mean Green 93-98]

in the paper this morning it says that Tomlin decommited because he realized how important education is. He basically said that he is concerned about getting hurt and that if football was not an option he wouldn't pick NT.

Fair enough. But why did Vito earlier attribute this decommit to a 2-10 season, "the worst in Mean Green history"?

[SilverEagle]

To me, this mainly hurts us because it appears that TD can't hold on to his former players. I'm glad this has come out now, so that the coaching staff can do some serious damage control. If I were them, I would emphasis this to new recruits.... http://www.meangreensports.com/ViewArticle...;ATCLID=1352041

I've never seen Derick Tomlin play, so I can't really judge his potential. On paper he doesn't impress me much.

We need to contiue to bring in LB's like Marquese Davis from Atlanta (6'1" X 230).

I would be more concerned if the rumors were true about Butch Lacroix leaving.

Edited December 15, 2007 by SilverEagle

[CorinthEagle]

If this is really what it was all about then good luck to the kid. We'll be fine with the others we are bringing in.

Just found this online at the DRC......................

Tomlin: UNT not the best fit

Southlake Carroll linebacker Derek Tomlin began having second thoughts about his decision to play for UNT earlier this season when he was forced to sit out with an injury.

Those doubts led to a player ranked No. 81 in The Dallas Morning News Area Top 100 list to de-commit from UNT this week.

“When I got injured that put things into perspective,” Tomlin said. “Education is important. I wanted to think about if I was injured, would I still want to go to school at North Texas? I decided that I didn’t.”

Tomlin said that he does not know where he might end up playing college football, but that Air Force and Vanderbilt were recruiting him before he committed to UNT. Tomlin said that he might call Vanderbilt’s coaches.

Tomlin said he doubted that he would change his mind now that he has decided not to play for the Mean Green, which struggled last season under first-year head coach Todd Dodge. UNT finished 2-10 under the former Southlake Carroll coach.

Tomlin played for Dodge and for several of his assistants at Carroll who are now at UNT.

“The way they finished had nothing to do with my decision,” Tomlin said. “They will turn it around. I know what they can and will do.”

Tomlin is the second player to de-commit from UNT this month. Los Fresnos guard Eloy Atkinson changed his commitment from UNT to UTEP so that he could play with a former high school teammate who was a member of the Miners’ last recruiting class.

Edited December 15, 2007 by CorinthEagle

[NCMeanGreen]

Not to be defensive here (maybe a little prideful in my alma mater), but I do not think that I would be doing any better, or be more successful, if I went to another school over NT. In other words, I would not trade my degree from NT for any other school. I had such a wonderful experience there, and thought my instructors were top notch.

Sounds like he better depend on his education...doubt he makes a career playing football.

[LAZER]

To be honest I dont care we lost him, this recruiting class in turning out to be really good and I felt he was a dud.

[MCMLXXX]

If he can get an appointment to the AFA and that is an area of interest then he should pursue it. Vanderbilt is a small private school with a good academic rating in a BCS conference, and I can't begrudge him going there if they have the specific academic program he is interested in. I really don't see how this reflects negatively on Dodge or UNT. I think we have other good recruits committed at Safety and Linebacker.

[BobFam]

My cousin took the route of knowing that he probably wasn't going to play sports professionally after college. He ended up getting a scholarship playing hockey at Harvard. That degree looks mighty nice no matter how you slice it. I bet Tomlin ends up playing at Rice if he can get the opportunity. Just a guess.

[emmitt01]

Yeah...I'm not overly worried. I think he would have been a good one here but we will move on. My only wish is that there would have been clarification such as "I'm concerned about education and for what I want to study going elsewhere would suit me better" or "I have the chance to attend a top notch academic institution like Vanderbilt and I decided that was too good to pass up." The way it is worded seems like ready artillery for idiots on the pony board or even opposing coaches to knock NT for its academics as a whole.

[NT80]

I think he will eventually find out it's the person that makes the education count and not the education that makes the person.

[risinggreen]

If he's afraid of getting hurt, playing a full schedule against the fast and hard hitting SEC doesn't really sound like the place to be.

[scotty474]

I work closely with UNT, UT, TCU, SMU, A&M, TT, OU, and UTA graduates. I too would not trade my degree for any of these schools. I am very proud of my degree from UNT. Outside of the elite schools, along with finishing in the top of your graduating class, most degrees are seen somewhat as a commodity. As you gain experience in your career, where you graduated from becomes less meaningful. Experience, productivity and responsibility are more important than the school stamped on your diploma.

As for Tomlin, I respect his decision. At the end of the day, he needs to be comfortable with his choice. Vanderbilt does have a good academic reputation. I would argue the fact attending Vandy will result in more opportunity for him in the "real" world. I don't discount the fact some companies only recruit from "named” schools, so this could give you an edge right out of school. I know my organization pays the same starting salaries (I am involved with hiring for my department) for new graduates regardless of their alma mater. We are mindful of GPA for graduates just starting their career, but not their school. As I close my mini rant, I would leave the following message for Derek or any other recruit - North Texas is a degree to proud of, along with UT, TCU, SMU, A&M, TT, OU, UTA, UD, etc...

Success in your career comes from what you do with the opportunities you create for yourself.

Edited December 16, 2007 by scotty474

[TIgreen01]

I'm sorry we lost him. I saw him play, in person, against Rockwall and several other times on tv. While his size was of some concern, he was technically sound and very quick on his feet. He's one of those guys that always seems to be around the ball---which I think makes up for size many times.

What we don't know is, and should give our staff the benefit of the doubt on, is whether this was just a numbers game that caught up to him. Most reports I've heard claimed he was going to fit in at defensive back somewhere and we are really loading up numbers wise there---esp. after last weekend. Also, if a kid doesn't want to come to UNT I won't begrudge him for it...there are plenty of kids who do want to be in Denton.

[MeanGreenZen]

Give me James Hamilton over Derek Tomlin any day of the week. Best of luck to Tomlin.

[H-towngreen]

All the rumors I've heard say that this kid is a genius. I can totally understand his reasoning, as long as he doesn't now commit to a school like Houston.

[stebo]

I accept his reasoning and think that it is very sincere. North Texas was not my first choice - when I was 18 and wanted to get away from hom, NT seemed to close to my hometown of Trophy Club. After I went to SE Okie St for a semester, I realized that NT was just the right fit and that it had everything that I was looking for in a university. He has a valid arguement - he has extremely good grades and he has to know that football will end with college, no grandeur hopes of professional playing time for this guy... so he looks at schools in a way that he would "choose" the actual school if he couldn't play football anymore. If he can get a full scholarship to one of his dream schools - then he will have made the right decision. But then again, if he doesn't get any other offers - will we even offer him a scholarship now? I would think not - the kid might have just sent himself to SFA and he doesn't even know it. I would guess that he has been talking to someone already and already has an informal offer from some school.

[Keith7]

Tomlin isn't very good anyways.. I'm glad he changed his mind, clears up another scholarship

[greenminer]

If I remember correctly, this kid was the one with the endless motor. Also, wasn't he the one all over the field against Northwestern?

We'll be fine, but I liked him.

[hickoryhouse]

I liked the guy too, he seemed like a good player. I am not a scout or anything like that..... but he seemed to never stop trying and i liked that. He may be a little undersized but i am always for getting more db help.

[Got5onIt]

Maybe someone with some sense on defense will move Germaine Dawson back to LB. I'd take a proven DIv 1 player over potential 10 times out of 10.

[GoMeanGreen1999]

Maybe someone with some sense on defense will move Germaine Dawson back to LB. I'd take a proven DIv 1 player over potential 10 times out of 10.

That may be asking way too much. However, I would do the same when it comes to proven player over potential - all potential means is you haven't done anything.