Two years

[trussbussdad]

My son is a redshirt this year and came home this weekend. I took my dad hat off and put my coaching hat on as I walked him out to his truck Sunday morning as he was leaving for Denton and told him the following:

This week of practice is going to be tougher than any fall two a days practice you ever had...no one on campus; you have had your butt handed to you; and pride is all you are playing for against WKU. He like everyone of his teammates gets discouraged from time to time until they look at the future of UNT and Coach Macs visions....see, Connor has never played on team that has lost more than 3 games in a season from 4th grade pee wee through his senior year in high school. I also remind him of his high school and where they were prior to the new head coach. There were many loosing seasons at Arlington Martin. When Bob Wager took over the head coaching job there were not immediate district championships, but there were more notches in the win column...beginning to sound familiar to UNT? Last year Connor played on a Martin team that had it's best record yet...12-2. 9 players going on to play D1 football and 3 playing D2 or 3 off of that team. Prior to Bob Wager taking the head football job, Martin was thought of as a baseball and girls volleyball school...it still it, but now it has the same respect on the football field. See more similarities with UNT? 7 years now and Bob Wager has taken Martin from where it was to now one of the most respected teams in Texas high school football. 7 YEARS.....!!!! Coach Mac has been here two years and has given UNT more wins...well some of you know the stats better than I.

I know college football and its demands are different that high school when it comes to expectations on the football field from the booster members and the UNT community....and yes, I still look back at that Troy game and wonder what if...but I also look at a very, very young team that is in transition; and I think a transition that my son will be able to look back on and compare to his high school.

Past players, I applaud your past success on and off the field. I hope these current, younger players look back at those great teams and individuals that put the blood, sweat and tears on Fouts to help in building what is UNT Football today with Apogee and the UNT Athletic facility. But when it is all said and done, I think Coach Mac will have turned this ship around where players like my son can stand with the great alumni / players in the past and be just as proud as ya'll are.

GMG

Edited November 19, 2012 by trussbussdad

[sparkmank]

+1 .. I believe.. Call me dumb call me crazy but relevant national football will be played at UNT in the next 5 yrs.. Great post

[NorthTexan95]

Awesome post.

[Marty]

I agree Mr Trussell. I think Mac with his 40 something years of college coaching experience knows what he's doing. GMG!

[UNTLifer]

I agree Mr Trussell. I think Mac with his 40 something years of college coaching experience knows what he's doing. GMG!

This.

We live in a "want it now" society where everything is at our fingertips. Very few want to put in the time it takes to build something from the ground up. I see it in my business, in everyday life and in the expectations of the 7th youngest team in NCAA football. We will get there, but we must believe and be patient.

[VideoEagle]

I agree Mr Trussell. I think Mac with his 40 something years of college coaching experience knows what he's doing. GMG!

This is so true. There is a reason everyone refers to "building a team." it is not a instantaneous process. It takes time and is often painful.,

[oldguystudent]

Trussbusdad is the most reasonable voice I've seen on this board. I love seeing such a level headed parent interacting here.

[BillySee58]

As one of the players for Arlington Martin during that transition, I completely see the similarities. I can't believe I never made the connections.

Also, Coach Wintrich and Coach Gonzo appear to be from the same school of thought. When Coach Wager came in, we got a new weightroom and a strength and conditioning coordinator to kick everyone's butt.

Looks like we have a good one at the helm in Denton as well. Good stuff Mr. Trussell.

[Harry]

Great post!

[letsgiveacheer]

Agree, we can now aspire to be the next Arlington Martin.

Edited November 19, 2012 by letsgiveacheer

[oldguystudent]

Agree, now instead of being the next Boise St, we can aspire to be the next Arlington Martin.

This constant Boise reference is so, so tiresome. They've had two losing seasons since 1968, when they became a four year school. Neither of those at the 1A/FBS level. Even as a junior college, they were a powerhouse.

The only thing is that they play in Idaho, do people think they should naturally suck. Since they don't, every struggling program in America thinks Boise caught some lightning imp in a bottle and won the lottery.

[SilverEagle]

This constant Boise reference is so, so tiresome. They've had two losing seasons since 1968, when they became a four year school. Neither of those at the 1A/FBS level. Even as a junior college, they were a powerhouse.

The only thing is that they play in Idaho, do people think they should naturally suck. Since they don't, every struggling program in America thinks Boise caught some lightning imp in a bottle and won the lottery.

I never thought they caught lightening in a bottle. I've always admired/envied their local and administrative support. As well as their good decision making by their school's administration. All three aspects glaringly missing in our history.

[oldguystudent]

I never thought they caught lightening in a bottle. I've always admired/envied their local and administrative support. As well as their good decision making by their school's administration. All three aspects glaringly missing in our history.

And that is exactly the point. They've built something steadily over 45 years that we seem to demand in sixth months. It's a very different, more arduous journey for UNT.

[NT1978]

This constant Boise reference is so, so tiresome. They've had two losing seasons since 1968, when they became a four year school. Neither of those at the 1A/FBS level. Even as a junior college, they were a powerhouse.

The only thing is that they play in Idaho, do people think they should naturally suck. Since they don't, every struggling program in America thinks Boise caught some lightning imp in a bottle and won the lottery.

Your history is a little bit off. Boise State became Div 1A in 1996. Their two losing seasons were both as a Div 1A/FBS program. They had seasons of 2-10, 5-6, 6-5, 10-3 and 10-2 their first five years of Div 1A football. They were also in the same conference as North Texas at that time where we were 3-2 against them. This is probably the reason a few people point to Boise State and ask why not North Texas.

[casual fan]

If you want to build a power house team from a small conference, Boise is the school that has shown the way.

1 They scheduled only one mid ranked team a year.

2 They recruited 2 & 3 star high school recruits and red shirted them. (Very few jucos)

3 They let them develop and learn the system well.

4 They always took care of business on their home field.

It looks like we are finally doing the same thing. Granted if we could recruit 4 and 5 star recruits it would speed the process. However, the UTs of the world gobble them up like a fat kid at a Thanksgiving buffet.

[SilverEagle]

And that is exactly the point. They've built something steadily over 45 years that we seem to demand in sixth months. It's a very different, more arduous journey for UNT.

North Texas football will celebrate(?) their 100th anniversary next year. Some have watched North Texas football for over 50 years. This isn't a microwave mentality we're talking about here. Two instances in our history when things got turned around quickly and noticeably.

From 1943-45 North Texas did not field a football team. So starting from scratch, Odus Mitchell is hired and his first season is 1946,,

1946- 7-3-1....including a win over Houston

1947- 10-2... including wins over Houston and Florida....went to bowl game

1948- 6-4.

1949-..8-4..including a win over Houston

1950 7-2-1. including wins over Houston and Nevada

Hayden Fry

1973-5-5-1 co-champions of MVC......with previous coaches players from a 1-10 season

1974-2-7-2 ...losing season, but we also beat a ranked team. SDSU 14-0....the last time we've done that

1975- 7-4 with wins over Houston (who won the SWC the very next year) and Tennessee.

1976 7-4 none of the four losses were by more than 7 points (Miss St. 0-7, Texas 14-17, SMU 31-38, Florida State 20-21)

Even Corkey Nelson went 8-4 in his second year with wins over New Mexico St. AND New Mexico....after driving out to Albuquerque on the bus. And his team won it's show-down game with ULM 27-7. All with a much smaller budget.

[jimbob]

If you want to build a power house team from a small conference, Boise is the school that has shown the way.

1 They scheduled only one mid ranked team a year.

2 They recruited 2 & 3 star high school recruits and red shirted them. (Very few jucos)

3 They let them develop and learn the system well.

4 They always took care of business on their home field.

It looks like we are finally doing the same thing. Granted if we could recruit 4 and 5 star recruits it would speed the process. However, the UTs of the world gobble them up like a fat kid at a Thanksgiving buffet.

Just paying attention to all of the 2 & 3 stars in Texas will do the trick for recruiting. As we have seen on all of our competitor's teams, there are a ton of undeveloped players available in Texas that the big boys overlook every year. Lefty was great at recognizing and recruiting them. UNT has a ton of scholarship to give out this year; use them wisely, but use them all.

Edited November 19, 2012 by jimbob

[Harry]

Just paying attention to all of the 2 & 3 stars in Texas will do the trick for recruiting. As we have seen on all of our competitor's teams, there are a ton of undeveloped players available in Texas that the big boys overlook every year. Lefty was great at recognizing and recruiting them. UNT has a ton of scholarship to give out this year; use them wisely, but use them all.

Good post - it is all about recruiting now. This class is big.

[trussbussdad]

Harry, I agree..recruiting going to be key this year. But, this is the time of year I really hate to watch as there is a game of "52 pick up" with the coaching changes and conference realignments. So many kids commit to a program but than a program the coaches that recruit them and then they get caught up in the domino affect of the coaching changes. Guess that keeps us football junkies going till signing day and into spring.

[trussbussdad]

Billy, thought of you, Baggett, Russell, Tripp, Donavon, Chaz, Quatrell, Samuel, Bear. Reid, Todd, to name a few when I was writing this. I know that Connor will have the great WINNING memories at UNT that you and the guys before you built.

[BillySee58]

Billy, thought of you, Baggett, Russell, Tripp, Donavon, Chaz, Quatrell, Samuel, Bear. Reid, Todd, to name a few when I was writing this. I know that Connor will have the great WINNING memories at UNT that you and the guys before you built.

Thanks Mr. Trussell, that's means a lot.

I think the biggest reason we were able to turn things around and build something special was because we were there day in and day out, working together towards our goal. If the 2011 recruiting class, Connor's recruiting class, and the classes after that can do that, Coach Mac will make sure the same success will happen at UNT.

The biggest reason UNT struggled recently is because so many players have left the program. If the recruits Coach Mac has brought in are able to stick with the program and get the most out of their abilities we will see this thing start to turn around.

[Green2012]

Two questions, how much does Bob Wager want and does his DC run man coverage?

[trussbussdad]

Green 2012...well, Martin took the season off early this year as they got beat in the first round of the playoffs by Southlake...was very ugly. His DC does run man. Actually a very good DC. Dont know where all he has coaced, but i do know he played DB in NFL several years ago. Wager is an offense and special teams guy. He just turned over the play calling a couple of years ago to his OC.

[trussbussdad]

97 03...got to believe in my son...and my son believes in the MEAN GREEN.

[BillySee58]

Two questions, how much does Bob Wager want and does his DC run man coverage?

The defensive coordinator, Ronnie Jones, relies heavily on the blitz and even more heavily on having stud cornerbacks. Our defense has stacked up among the best in the state in recent years.

Jones was a head coach at West Texas A&M for a while and was a special teams coach for the Arizona Cardinals, so he has built quite the resume, especially for a high school DC.

Wouldn't expect to see either of them on the college level anytime soon, but that's not to say they aren't qualified (double negative).