Possible Scenario For The D

Harry · December 10, 2008

How's this starting lineup look? Assuming we run the 4-3 of course.

NT - Atkinson (305 quick and mean)

DT - Gilmore (Gets his grades and adds 15 pounds; long wingspan and good quickness)

DE - former linebacker Tobe Nwigwe (Why not? He has the size and speed to be a weapon here. He could be a poor mans DeMarcus Ware!

DE - Kyle Russo (Just a soph but had a nice first season and will only get bigger and better)

LB - Antonio Charles - The Juco will bring immediate speed to the linebackers

LB - Craig Robertson - 2 time all sun belter returns for his Jr campaign

LB - AJ Penson - started last season and will improve

DB's Bush, Hill1, Williams, Shorter, Hill2 and Adams - Take your pick. This is a group that is young, talented more experienced. After getting their first year to really work together as a unit they will improve dramatically.

Keith7 · December 10, 2008

I see what you are trying to do in beefing up the d-line, but I think Gilmore is your prototypical DE and should stay there barring any injury..

Also I think Nwigwe was our defensive MVP last year and we shouldn't swap his position, plus we don't really know what Penson really brings to the table..

Bring in another JUCO DT or have a steady rotation of Cantly, Scoggins, Desoto, Franklin, and anyone else who wants to play DT would be the best thing for our D

Green P1 · December 10, 2008

I don't think playing your two best players, Gilmore & Nwigwe, out of position is a recipe for success.

Edited December 10, 2008 by Green P1

LongJim · December 10, 2008

How's this starting lineup look? Assuming we run the 4-3 of course.
NT - Atkinson (305 quick and mean)
DT - Gilmore (Gets his grades and adds 15 pounds; long wingspan and good quickness)
DE - former linebacker Tobe Nwigwe (Why not? He has the size and speed to be a weapon here. He could be a poor mans DeMarcus Ware!

Love it!

Getting Nwigwe in there as a pass rusher/disrupter is a great idea. Could immediately make the defense better if he can draw a double team or two. If you want a comparison in using him this way, the closest is probably Sergio Kindle. Good idea to get Toby as involved as possible.

BIG DAWG · December 10, 2008

Atkinson will more than likely not show up for some reason or another...this is not me being cynical, but simply reading into what the guyy has been saying himself...he is not ready to transfer (heard that story before) and he all but said any other BCS school offers him a scholly, he is going to leave...he is still planning on going on at least two more visits...MARK MY WORDS...HE WILL NOT BE IN MEAN GREEN COLORS, AND WE WILL BE WITHOUT ANY SIGNIFICANT UPGRADE AT THE DT POSITION.

Call me what you will, but this is jsut the facts

Edited December 10, 2008 by BIG DAWG

soonerdon · December 10, 2008

Charley Brown is being moved back to DE where he belongs...with his speed and size theres no telling how big an impact he will make...maybe all sunbelt?

Quoner · December 10, 2008

Atkinson will more than likely not show up for some reason or another...this is not me being cynical, but simply reading into what the guyy has been saying himself...he is not ready to transfer (heard that story before) and he all but said any other BCS school offers him a scholly, he is going to leave...he is still planning on going on at least two more visits...MARK MY WORDS...HE WILL NOT BE IN MEAN GREEN COLORS, AND WE WILL BE WITHOUT ANY SIGNIFICANT UPGRADE AT THE DT POSITION.
Call me what you will, but this is jsut the facts

Technically, it's your interpretation of the facts, but still, point taken.

SUMG · December 10, 2008

Here's a guy that I hope we try to turn into a LB: Jeremy Phillips. I think with another 20 lbs. or more, and he could be as good as Kassell.

Another thought at DT: Esteban Santiago came to us as a DT out of high school. Maybe he could be moved back to D line, if we needed another DT.

TIgreen01 · December 10, 2008

Not sure I'd move Nwigwe from MLB when you'd be giving up a starting lineup of Scott/Nwigwe/Robertson. Both of those guys would be ridiculously quick on the outside.

That, or try a move back to the 3-4 like Bliel did in '06. Never understood why we moved away from that in '07 when we clearly didn't have the personnel to run an effective 4-3. Why not move Gilmore back to OLB (like a true Demarcus Ware) where he basically doubles as another DE for pass rushing duties? Or do that with Nwigwe instead? Seems like we don't have the depth at LB that we used to have, though.

For the life of me, though I will never understand why we don't run a 3-4 or a 4-2-5 (like TCU with smaller linemen) when we consistently have issues recruiting impact dline players. All we've read about in OTs recruiting updates is how hard it is to recruit good dline players. Why make it even harder on ourselves by running a 4-3 and requiring MORE linemen to be on ship? Am I crazy or just vastly misunderstanding the needs of the 3-4?

H-towngreen · December 10, 2008

Harry I like your thinking outside the box, but I have to say I don't like the idea of moving your 2 best players to other positions. Plus you say for Gilmore to add 20 lbs like it's no big deal, I'm not sure he has the frame to add 20 lbs in an offseason.

As for moving Santiago to DT. There is no way you move a 2 year starter to another position. He will be a JR next year and when all said and done be a 4 yr All-Belt caliber player.

It will be interesting to see who steps up at the OLB position. Although Penson did start it didn't seem like he got a ton of PT. So with Charles coming in it should be interesting.

And whoever mentioned Phillips as a linebacker, I agree. It's one of those things where we're just gonna have to wait for him to put the weight on. Hopefully he turns out like his bro.

I'm very worried about Atkinson ever making it here. It sounds like a risk. The coaches must have seen a big difference between him and Warren from Blinn. Hopefullly things work out, but by how the past year has gone, one has to worry. We'll see on JUCO signing day Dec. 17.

TIGreen- regarding the 3-4 the main difference is the linemen needed. For a 3-4 you need a big ole 315 lb DT in the middle. And then the two DE's also need to be bigger, in the 270+ range. You mainly want these guys to just eat up blocks and allow the LB's to roam free and make plays.

Mean Green 93-98 · December 10, 2008

Charley Brown is being moved back to DE where he belongs...with his speed and size theres no telling how big an impact he will make...maybe all sunbelt?

Where did you hear that? I had not heard that anywhere, but I think it's a good move. Either there, or to TE (or both), since we're running TE packages now.

TIgreen01 · December 10, 2008

I'm very worried about Atkinson ever making it here. It sounds like a risk. The coaches must have seen a big difference between him and Warren from Blinn. Hopefullly things work out, but by how the past year has gone, one has to worry. We'll see on JUCO signing day Dec. 17.

So...heard some interesting news regarding (in a round about way) the Atkinson verbal. It seems that Arkansas is currently in literal Hog-heaven right now as both the Auburn and Tennessee coaching vacancies are helping them steal players from both teams. It sounds like they already have a top 20 ranked class and it is looking to be possibly the best they've ever signed. How does that affect us?.....maybe they won't actually have room to offer Atkinson and he will honor that verbal afterall.

TIGreen- regarding the 3-4 the main difference is the linemen needed. For a 3-4 you need a big ole 315 lb DT in the middle. And then the two DE's also need to be bigger, in the 270+ range. You mainly want these guys to just eat up blocks and allow the LB's to roam free and make plays.

See, I used to think this....until I watched that undersized dline of ours in '06. To run a traditional 3-4 you'd need exactly what you describe....but we didn't have those type of players in '06 and did fine. TCU usually has one of the smallest dlines in the country (running a 4-2-5) and always has a good defense. I think that we should be looking at ways to limit our built in weaknesses (recruiting lots of top level dline talent) and find a system that we can play to that will enable us to turn that into a strength. Instead of going after top ranked dline recruits, we would instead be recruiting very good athletes with room to grow (not unlike what DD used to do to some extent) like TCU does now. The tweener guys that don't fit the BCS specific height/weight chart by position on the dline.....

GrandGreen · December 10, 2008

Running a 3 man defensive front is usually done if teams have a very strong nose-tackle and good linebacker depth. Not sure NT has either. Assuming jucos are going to come in and make an immediate impact is always suspect.

Don't get caught up in their ratings, Jucos are always over rated in my opinion based on the belief that they have more experience than high school athletes. The problem is that they are much more likely to be academic risks and not necessarily anymore likely to contribute than a high school player.

Edited December 10, 2008 by GrandGreen

GreenTeam · December 10, 2008

im pretty sure in 2006 nwigwe played the rush end in our 3-4 D......i dont think he was very comfortable out there and is way more talented as a mike LB in my opinion

Monkeypox · December 11, 2008

Running a 3 man defensive front is usually done if teams have a very strong nose-tackle and good linebacker depth.

Yep. You absolutely HAVE to have a beast NT to run a 3-4 well. And you'd better have a line of them. And now your DEs have to be as large as strong as the DTs in your 4-3 defense. We've probably had one guy TRULY capable of playing that NT position like you need it for us to win consistently at the LOS since I've been following North Texas football (1994).

Got5onIt · December 11, 2008

I like it Harry. It ads athleticism to the DL.The additional quickness and speed would be a huge plus. Nwigwe at DE is a perfect move. He's really quick but has average speed. His quickness would be huge at DE.

GreenTeam · December 11, 2008

if im not mistaken isnt tobe like 6' maybe 6' 1" if youre stretching it....... unless he's some dwight freeney that weve been unaware of i think its best he sticks to LB

SilverEagle · December 11, 2008

How's this starting lineup look? Assuming we run the 4-3 of course.
NT - Atkinson (305 quick and mean)
DT - Gilmore (Gets his grades and adds 15 pounds; long wingspan and good quickness)
DE - former linebacker Tobe Nwigwe (Why not? He has the size and speed to be a weapon here. He could be a poor mans DeMarcus Ware!
DE - Kyle Russo (Just a soph but had a nice first season and will only get bigger and better)
LB - Antonio Charles - The Juco will bring immediate speed to the linebackers
LB - Craig Robertson - 2 time all sun belter returns for his Jr campaign
LB - AJ Penson - started last season and will improve
DB's Bush, Hill1, Williams, Shorter, Hill2 and Adams - Take your pick. This is a group that is young, talented more experienced. After getting their first year to really work together as a unit they will improve dramatically.

I still have hope that Ross will reach his potential, so I would put him at DT instead of moving Gilmore there. Leave Gilmore at DE and if "Soonerdon" is correct, have Charlie Brown as a back-up to either DE.

UNT2012 · December 12, 2008

Glmore must move back to end. Tobe goes nowhere. Phillips has never played LB, so I think his contributution will come as a redshirt Soph and Junior. Craig is solid. I could see Penson playing more inside LB in the future, but will have to wait another year to step in for Tobe. Its interesting that Vito is reporting that Deloach is going after more DB's? DT tackles are a premium, can we get one good one to commit with big time size and quicks?

I really wonder after reading a post from a senior's dad if players are leaving? What schollies come available? Hey Brett, any news coming out about people not coming back? More than 10 or so players, maybe they are walk-ons? Leave it to Brett, he will find out how many scholarship players are leaving. He can just ask Dodge himself, to get a "straight" answer.

H-towngreen · December 12, 2008

My predictions

D-Ends will be Gilmore and Russo, maybe a Juco in place of Russo

DT- JUCO(Atkinson hopefully) and Ross. Maybe an additional Juco. Hopefully whoever it is we will see a solid rotation with some of the youngsters

LB's Toby, Craig, and Charles/Penson. The battle between Penson and Charles should be a good one to follow

DB's- Williams, Hill, Adams and who the heck knows.

So they weren't very solid predictions, but it goes to show that there are alot of unknowns.

SilverEagle · December 12, 2008

D-Ends: Gillmore and hopefully Mack Cole will step up
DT - Sean Warren anyone? Can we please bring him on for spring???
LB - I agree.
DB - K Hill, Adams, Williams....Antoine Bush?

Totally agree! Could someone who is more knowledgable about DT's tell me the down side of bringing this motivated young man here to play for us?

http://northtexas.scout.com/a.z?s=353&...amp;nid=3829642