Atkinson Update

[Quoner]

Well... that's got to be the easiest vacation I've ever sent someone on.

OPEN YOUR EYES - GOOD THINGS ARE HAPPENING FOR MODS!!!11!!1!

[Censored by Laurie]

Amen

Please keep religion off the football board.

[emmitt01]

The teams that are successful in the Sun Belt steal players from what most people (not hard core UNT fans, but most people) believe are higher profile programs.

Vito gets it. TFLF too. Bottom line is Todge has not put us at a level where recruits would/should choose us over the chance for exposure and winning. It's simple math. I know that posting this means I should put on a t-shirt with a large bullseye and the word "messenger" emblazoned across it, but what is it we all love to say about Vito, "it's just the truth", right? And let's not pretend that Todge is the sole culprit here either. Our administration hasn't exactly done a bang up job of making his row any easier to hoe.

[UNT90]

I was excited by the recruiting class, but, on further review, am now only satisfied. Damn those damn facts.

[TIgreen01]

why are we freaking out? Another school offered him....that's it? And we have this thread?? If we are EVER going to start beating some of the bigger programs on the field, we're eventually going to have to land the players that they are seriously recruiting.

Dodge and co. can still land this kid. WVU isn't somewhere this guy wants to go for one simple reason. Pat White graduated. WVU will be on the decline.

[NT03]

why are we freaking out?

Playing on national TV in front of 60,000+ fans in a BCS conference for a team that has ended the year in the top 25 the last 4 years ( I can go on and on ) could be a cause for panic. I hope like hell we land the kid , but I still don't understand why we didn't offer him a the mid term.

Pat White graduated

Our QB also left.... I'm just sayin

Edited January 28, 2009 by NT03

[UNT90]

WVU will be on the decline.

They have a long way to fall to get to where we are at. Just sayin...

[GoMeanGreen1999]

I for one enjoy TFLF and I hope he continues to post and post epically regardless of his stance on NT athletics.

I enjoy his posts also, and up to this point, he has pretty much been right on. But he would probably even say that he never thought it would be this bad.

1111

[eulessismore]

Is there another factor in the committing (mostly good to very good) and decommitting (possibly one serious disappointment) of defensive linemen in this class that hasn't been discussed in recruiting terms? Mainly, has a decision been made on the new interior DL coach, or not? If a decision (or near enough to one that it is being mentioned to prospects) has been made, could it be a recruiting tool in our favor? If not, could that be used against us by other schools, or simply leave enough doubt in the minds of prospects that they're taking a longer look at their options?

[untbowler]

Playing on national TV in front of 60,000+ fans in a BCS conference for a team that has ended the year in the top 25 the last 4 years ( I can go on and on ) could be a cause for panic. I hope like hell we land the kid , but I still don't understand why we didn't offer him a the mid term.

Our QB also left.... I'm just sayin

We did offer at Mid-Term and he did not have his academics in order.

[TIgreen01]

They have a long way to fall to get to where we are at. Just sayin...

You think it was fun playing at Louisville the last couple of years? Same type of situation is looming over at WVU. Lost their genius coach last year, and now lost the superstar QB. Expectations are higher up there, so even a slight dropoff would not be fun to go through.

We have nowhere to go but up. I guess I just don't understand why we have to always put ourselves down around here. It wasn't long ago that someone said that a certain player was better than UNT deserved. Stop it, people.

We passed a referendum, THIS YEAR, to increase fees and finally build a new stadium. The President publicly backs it and we see it promoted in the school's alumni magazine....all this in just the last 4-5 months and yet people still dog us and complain.

[Green Crazy]

We're not surprised. The only ones surprised are those clinging to hope that something good will happen, even though there is not a shred of evidence of it.

Go look at what SMU has gotten. Baylor. TCU. Houston. Regionally, Tulsa - a school that considered dropped its program after 2002! Anyone. Hit it up. Then, look at us. ESPN does a thorough write up on recruits, team-by-team. We were cleaned out early in the process.

Recruiting isn't new. No one is reinventing the wheel out there. The biggest dogs are now chosing where to go. Each time they do, they slide off someone else's board. Coaches then tick down to the next guy on the list.

The truth about Atkinsin has always been that he held one offer before ours - to Sam Houston State. This isn't a top prospect. There's nothing on film or from reports on his academic standing that put him at the front of the line for BCS-school coaching staffs.

Now, we're entering a time period where they've got to fill numbers. WVU has a spot to fill. Arkansas and Colorado wanted to get a close up before offering; and, when he declined to visit them, no offer was extended. Schools are now having to dig deeper into their lists. Atkinsin is, apparently, on some of those as a contingent.

The big picture is two-fold:

(1) Dodge and his recruiting experience versus those who have been in the game for decades. Clearly, Dodge gets what is left behind with very, very few exceptions. He's doesn't have us out in front for any except those without offers or smaller offers - and, we've got lots of those type this year.

(2) Recruits understand winning and losing and what goes with all of it. These guys don't exist in a vacuum. They know guys from their area high schools, the region, etc. from camps, 7-on7s, etc. and see them coming home with their bowl stuff. They see each other on television. It doesn't take a rocket scientist for them to figure out that we're not anywhere near that.

On one service wire, Atkinsin listed the new stadium as a reason. He says he was told he'd be playing it. We all know that's unlikely as they now say 2011. Just as unlikely is that he'll ever taste a bowl game experience or get on TV much if he choses to cast his lot here for his final two years of eligibility.

At West Virginia, it's likely he'd be on TV every week somewhere. And, odds are great that he'll be in two bowl games. Exposure works to players' benefit as well. It's what gets them invites to Senior Bowls, the NFL scouting combine, etc. Ask our WR Fitzgerald whether more exposure could have given him some post-season invites to get in front of the NFL coaches and scouts.

It's all about a ticket to the highest level. We don't have it. West Virginia most certainly does.

Many of you will bad mouth Atkinsin as much as you did Vizza if he choses to better his lot, and that's pathetic. Rather than demand better from the program, you'd denigrate a kid for wanting to spend his college eligibility at a place that gives him more opportunities to taste the best of what college football has to offer.

Of course, you're hypocrites when you criticize them. Think about it. If someone walked into your office and offered you double your salary to do the exact same job, you'd take it. Why would you expect a kid, who has a limited amount of time to spend in college, to react any differently than you would if offered a chance to improve their lot in life?

For our sake, I hope Atkinsin stays. But, I won't be surprised or wish him any ill will if he chooses West Virginia.

But, whether you're still drinking Dodge's kool-aid or not, the world is still spinning as it always has in recruiting. And, simply put, Dodge hasn't made our place in the recruiting world any bigger or more attractive.

the only problem i have with the TFLF posts are that they are usually 2-3 sentences worth of content stretched into 300 words, it's like talking to my wife. he must have really excelled in english in his early years with this talent. besides that, he does nothing but state the obvious and most of it is true. yes, we are one of the lower tier schools. yes, todge has disappointed in his first two years. yes, we know the basics of recruiting. just get to the point, you're not getting paid by the word. this goes for some others on this board as well though.

Edited January 28, 2009 by Green Crazy

[eppy4life]

the only problem i have with the TFLF posts are that they are usually 2-3 sentences worth of content stretched into 300 words, it's like talking to my wife. he must have really excelled in english in his early years with this talent. besides that he does nothing but state the obvious and most of it is true. yes, we are one of the lower tier schools. yes, todge has disappointed in his first two years. yes, we know the basics of recruiting. just get to the point, you're not getting paid by the word. this goes for some others on this board as well though.

exactly my point. i read this board while at work. i don't have the time to read a 300 page essay saying the same things everyone else has said.

[UNTflyer]

the only problem i have with the TFLF posts are that they are usually 2-3 sentences worth of content stretched into 300 words, it's like talking to my wife. he must have really excelled in english in his early years with this talent. besides that he does nothing but state the obvious and most of it is true. yes, we are one of the lower tier schools. yes, todge has disappointed in his first two years. yes, we know the basics of recruiting. just get to the point, you're not getting paid by the word. this goes for some others on this board as well though.

TFLF may be a lawyer

[The Fake Lonnie Finch]

TFLF may be a lawyer

I'm cursed with degrees in literature, management, and law. Thank UNT for the lit degree. Professor Wright would be proud.

Complain all you want, but at least I use short paragraphs. Long, yet concise.

[GreenBat]

I'm cursed with degrees in literature, management, and law.

No wonder everyone dislikes you. You're an Freakin Lawyer!!!

[Quoner]

exactly my point. i read this board while at work. i don't have the time to read a 300 page essay saying the same things everyone else has said.

Somewhere, Plumm is smiling.