Trice's job on the line?

[BIG DAWG]

In reading Vito's latest blog entry, he said NT is bringing in a JUCO safety to compete with Trice for the starting job.

I understand telling players that they can come in and compete for a staring job, but when you bring in a JUCO, especially a guy with McCarney's philosophy in recruiting HS guys, you're bringing him in to start.

My question is with all the holes we have, are we really worried about Trice? I thought he had a pretty damn good year.

Edited November 30, 2012 by BIG DAWG

[emmitt01]

IF Mac is able to land this guy why couldn't we move Trice to corner. Or, we have serious need for WR's.

[Harry]

UNT was ranked 83 in the country in pass defense. 65th in rush defense. 87th in sacks.

That's got to improve and lets be honest, while we were fairly salty against the run our pass defense was not stellar. OF course our lack of a pass rush is part of that.

We have not had a big physical safety in awhile. They help.

The other issue is Trice graduates next year. A solid juco safety with some size would help.

[GreenBat]

IF Mac is able to land this guy why couldn't we move Trice to corner. Or, we have serious need for WR's.

Cornerback would be my guess.

[eulessismore]

Cornerback would be my guess.

Someone mentioned in another thread that the coaches are determined to put Trice at corner. Another thing that DMac mentioned lately was insufficient depth for nickel (sp?) and dime packages; maybe this is part of immediately addressing an obvious need: talent in the secondary. After the homecoming loss, I stopped by Metzler's bbq (a favorite Denton joint for me), and was fortunate in meeting Roy Metzler himself, who said we won't be successful until we get the guys for pass coverage. I have to agree with Roy on that one.

Edited November 30, 2012 by eulessismore

[ForneyGreen]

In reading Vito's latest blog entry, he said NT is bringing in a JUCO safety to compete with Trice for the starting job.

I understand telling players that they can come in and compete for a staring job, but when you bring in a JUCO, especially a guy with McCarney's philosophy in recruiting HS guys, you're bringing him in to start.

My question is with all the holes we have, are we really worried about Trice? I thought he had a pretty damn good year.

I also thought Trice had a pretty good year overall. In my opinion, he is not a good cover safety, but his run defense and his ability to quickly jump on short passing routes were both very good. Maybe he is our Roy Williams for you Cowboy fans :-)

I would think that Trice's job is pretty secure, but nothing wrong with having some depth and better nickel options (and having someone to take Trice's place after next year).

[MeanGreenGlory]

Depth is also a good thing.

You know - put more cans of corn in that "bare cupboard"

[trussbussdad]

Mean Green Glory...AMEN...depth and then COMPETITION. Those two things will make a winning team quicker than anything. When you dont have to take a major step back with a replacement and then that 1st teamer knows there is someone hungry going after his job....that is always a good thing. I bet that Coach Mac tells the current team like any other coach....no job is secure.

[outoftown]

Mean Green Glory...AMEN...depth and then COMPETITION. Those two things will make a winning team quicker than anything. When you dont have to take a major step back with a replacement and then that 1st teamer knows there is someone hungry going after his job....that is always a good thing. I bet that Coach Mac tells the current team like any other coach....no job is secure.

Also it is not like a safety is not running a lot. Being able to exchange defensive players at times without inserting someone you don't trust may allow to increase overall speed during the game

[trussbussdad]

along with that, Mac committed that he could not run a nickel package this past year. going into CUSA, we will need to run a nickel or dime

[CurveItAround]

Dare we dream that we could actually put some money packages on the field next season in passing situations?

[untbowler]

No problem with this Trice got burned a few times and he constantly was arming tackles and many times did not make the tackle,so if this is competition all for it. Trice can either sack up and accept the competition or transfer again.

[Green P1]

When you suck as bad as we do... who's job shouldn't be on the line?

[VideoEagle]

along with that, Mac committed that he could not run a nickel package this past year. going into CUSA, we will need to run a nickel or dime

THIS! When told a recruit can "compete for the starting job" can easily mean starting in the nickel package which IS going to be needed next year a lot

[glick1980]

Don't forget we will still have Hilbert Jackson next year. I thought he played very well this season.

[UNT90]

Trice's job on the line? Not anymore.

http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/

[filmerj]

He cancelled his visit.

http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2012/11/football-prospect-cancels-visit-to-unt.html/

Sorry 90 posting at the same time.

Edited November 30, 2012 by filmerj

[FirefightnRick]

but when you bring in a JUCO, especially a guy with McCarney's philosophy in recruiting HS guys, you're bringing him in to start.

Unless your a quarterback.

Depth at CB is nice and all but if we don't find a pass rush it wont matter who we have in our secondary.

Rick

[aztecskin]

You don't want any untouchables out there. Everyone should have the reasonable possibility of losing their starting spots.

I liked what Marcus Trice did last season, but he was far from perfect. Now that this JUCO guy isn't coming, hopefully there is still one or two that we can bring in to make everyone better.

By the way, I liked Hilbert okay. Missed a ton of edge tackles, though. Let short 3-yard stops turn into 7-10 yard gains by missing tackles. Huge part of why we got beat over the top on play action and double-moves.

[UNTLifer]

Losing Warner before the season ever started was a massive blow to our weak secondary... Next year we can most likely run out there Warner and DQ J in the base at CB with Whitfield as the nickel DB. Slide the new guy in at a SS and Trice at FS.. or be prepared to move to a 4-2-5 look and add a "rover" S that fits the more of a hybrid safety roll

I don't see DQ J in the base when he barely played this year. Whitfield should remain a starter along with Hilbert Jackson, I also thought he had a good year, and we should keep our fingers crossed about Warner. With consecutive ACL's, he may have to move to safety if he even is able to return. The other concerning factor is that Mac commented about not being able to run a nickle package while DQ, our 3 star JUCO from last year, sat on the bench.

[glick1980]

Unless your a quarterback.

Depth at CB is nice and all but if we don't find a pass rush it wont matter who we have in our secondary.

Rick

We could have the best pass rush in the country but when we are covering WR's with LB's and they are wide open in two seconds it gives no time for the pass rush to get there. The longer the cover players can hold up, the longer it gives for the rush to get there, just like the quicker the rush can get there the less time the cover players have to hold up. Both area's need improvement.

[MeanGreenTexan]

We could have the best pass rush in the country but when we are covering WR's with LB's and they are wide open in two seconds it gives no time for the pass rush to get there. The longer the cover players can hold up, the longer it gives for the rush to get there, just like the quicker the rush can get there the less time the cover players have to hold up. Both area's need improvement.

Exactly.

There's really no magic bullet. Recruit some 5* DL's and your pass defense will improve, but it wont magically be fixed. Same with getting 5* CBs. Need top talent across the board.

[greenminer]

We could have the best pass rush in the country but when we are covering WR's with LB's and they are wide open in two seconds it gives no time for the pass rush to get there. The longer the cover players can hold up, the longer it gives for the rush to get there, just like the quicker the rush can get there the less time the cover players have to hold up. Both area's need improvement.

They go hand in hand, but I disagree the way you're presenting this.

A great pass rush IMO should be higher up the wishlist than a great secondary.

[BillySee58]

Look out for Jamal Marshall. Dude's ceiling is ridiculously high.

The coaches have his goal set for 220, so he might be pushing for a spot at linebacker but at 6'3" to go along with his track speed he should be an interesting player come spring. Watching him on kickoff team, he definitely looked the part. That much was for sure.

Also Devante Davis and David Busby will have a year under their belts at safety and Lairamie Lee was one of our leading tacklers last year.

[glick1980]

They go hand in hand, but I disagree the way you're presenting this.

A great pass rush IMO should be higher up the wishlist than a great secondary.

I'm not real sure it is any more important in today's game of spread offenses that get the ball out quickly. Having a strong defensive line is more important for both its pass rush and run stopping, but a strong secondary that can tackle well may be just as important as a strong pass rush today.