Fun With History

[Quoner]

As TY Sports dies its slow and painful death, I decided to go back through and see what was said about Riley and the program. Here's the highlights:

Tasty interviews Tim MacMahon (question in bold): http://tysports.blogspot.com/2007/10/tim-m...y-hot-seat.html

According to the bios on the SportsDay website, you claim responsibility for the Mean Green bowl run. Just so I can make travel arrangements, when do you plan on getting us started on a fresh streak of bowl games?

Hiring Todd Dodge was the first step. Recruiting Riley Dodge was the next. I’m going to redshirt him, allowing the young receivers and O-linemen to gain valuable experience before Riley takes over. You can count on the Mean Green making a bowl trip in 2009. By 2001 [ed- I think he means 2011, but I'll be damned if I'm going to second guess him. Maybe he means that Dickey had us on the threshold 6 years ago.], we’ll be BCS material. You better believe that North Texas is the next Boise State!!! (We’ve even got turf that matches our school colors!)

Me messing my pants over Riley: http://tysports.blogspot.com/2007/07/newsf...ences-14th.html

Riley Dodge, South Lake Carroll phenom and indirect friend of TY Sports, withdrew his verbal to Texas and announced he wanted to come play for his dad in Denton in 2008 so he could stay a QB. Texas had pursued him as an athlete and planned to move him to WR. Well, while I am sure the Texas factory can replace him with others like him, this is a coup for UNT. Dodge has now signed a class 4A player of the year for 2007 (who by all reports is tearing it up and is night and day from anything the guys have played with in the past two years) and a reigning 5A player of the year for 2008. This is unheard of for a school that usually has to beg for Oklahoma community college players to pay a visit. I don't know what this year will bring as everyone tries to learn a new system that doesn't involve running the ball into the ground and praying to win 10-7, but 2008 and beyond are extremely promising. And that is more than anyone has been able to say about UNT in a long time (outside of the 2002 team.)

Good times, man. Good times.

[The Fake Lonnie Finch]

As TY Sports dies its slow and painful death, I decided to go back through and see what was said about Riley and the program. Here's the highlights:

Tasty interviews Tim MacMahon (question in bold): http://tysports.blogspot.com/2007/10/tim-m...y-hot-seat.html

Me messing my pants over Riley: http://tysports.blogspot.com/2007/07/newsf...ences-14th.html

Good times, man. Good times.

Yes. History has made it very different - we're begging kids from Mississippi community colleges with this staff.

[hickoryhouse]

Yes. History has made it very different - we're begging kids from Mississippi community colleges with this staff.

i don't generally like to get involved in things that could become arguments but I had to point something out...

There is no argument that the last several seasons of NT Football have sucked but, if there is one thing that this staff is better at, on paper anyway, than the last staff it is recruiting...

Dickey's 2004 Class

Dickey's 2005 Class

Dickey's last Class

Dodge's 2007 Class

Dodge's 2008 Class

Dodge's current Class

Like I said this is only on paper, but it is a more national perspective of the type of players that we are able to draw into this school. I am not saying we are awesome recruiters, or perfect or that Dodge can't improve but if we are going to look at a bright spot here in this crap that we are currently mired in it is that we are drawing a higher, on paper, caliber of player to the school.

I don't know what you are trying to say TFLF but i think that anyone can look at the recruiting efforts of the last two staff's and pretty easily see that there has been improvement.

[TheTastyGreek]

Here's why I'm anxious about the start of the Riley Dodge era.

Preface this by saying that the kid obviously knows how to play football, he's got great athletic ability, and all that. Not questioning his ability to play football.

1) For the second time in 3 years and the third time in 5 years, we're going to depend on a Freshman Quarterback to lead the team. That fact, in and of itself, pretty much guarantees that this will not be a winning season. I know the argument that Riley is uniquely poised to come in and excel here, and I honestly hope he does. But I'd feel much, much better if we were seeing Riley starting in 2010 or 2011, or if Gio was still here and Riley just flat outplayed him in a fair evaluation.

2) I'd be a lot less anxious about a Freshman Quarterback if we could at least breathe easy about his targets. When Meager and Phillips played in 2005, they had Johnny Quinn and Zach Muzzy to throw to. When Vizza was named the starter after four games in 2007, Casey already had 38 catches for 596 yards and B-Jax already had 33 for 389. And Stickler was here, too. Who do we have next year? Our top returning receivers are Alex Lott and Kevin Dickerson. Both played in all 12 games. Lott caught 26 passes for 201 yards. Dickerson caught 21 passes for 180 yards.

Our two most proven receivers in 12 games each combined for about a dozen more catches and less yardage than our second best receiver had through his first four games in 2007. That factoid is terrifying to me. I know we redshirted guys, I know we've got JUCOs coming in, I know we're all excited about the guy who's coming from OU and might maybe possibly cross-your-fingers-and-wish-real-hard play this year. But evaluating the guys we know for sure, the guys who are proven commodities in this system on this team... There's not a hell of a lot here (in terms of proven production) to ease the mind about starting a Freshman QB.

3) Riley is not exactly built-to-last. According to his official North Texas bio, his inflated stats list him at 182 pounds. And, of course, six feet tall (wink wink). Even if you accept that the weight is honest, that's still less than past reported weights for Serena Williams and Kerri Walsh (the taller of the gold medal volleyball women). Serena is supposed to be 185 pounds, and Kerri Walsh used to be listed at 190 before that number was changed to one that makes her borderline anorexic. And even if you accept the reported weight for Riley as honest, he's still 20-50 pounds lighter than any other QB we had on the roster last season.

Even if the guy is nothing but bone and muscle, there's just may not be enough there yet to take the pounding that comes with being a Quarterback. In limited action last year, he got knocked around badly enough that (whether you buy the story or not) we were able to make the case to the NCAA for a medical redshirt.

Maybe Riley comes in and is ready to perform like no QB we've seen before at North Texas. And maybe the supporting cast of receivers comes out of nowhere to help him make this team succeed. And maybe the kid never gets sacked and doesn't miss a snap all year.

But that's a lot of maybes.

Edited January 30, 2009 by TheTastyGreek

[Daddy Dumpsalot]

At least he won't quit*...and if he does we know to call in the stretcher on this program cause somethin' really aint right.

*this is not a shot at vizza

[Daddy Dumpsalot]

I just did not want to sit at a post count of: 666

Carry on.