To give you a sense of the Defensive Tackle situation

[Harry]

I just perused the official site and they have a total of 4 defensive tackles listed on the roster...one of them is Richard Abbe who is currently suspended, two are redshirt freshmen who have never playerd in Sir Calvin Wallace and Mustafa Haboul and the 4th is Ryan Boutwell who we know will likely play tackle and defensive end...

I know that there are some players who are playing there that haven't yet been moved over on the roster [Austin Orr (soph), Dutton Watson (RS Fresh)], Lincoln Alexander(junior) but still that is paper thin in terms of size and experience.

I am extremely optimistic about every position on the team when comparing last season to this season. And frankly I think defensive tackle will be better because we will end up adding more than we subtract. I still think letting this position not get addressed either through juco, transfer etc is our achilles heel heading into this year...I just don't understand how this was allowed to happen. We signed ONE defensive tackle in the last class and if he makes it here he will likely play right away.

If I am Mike Nelson (DT Coach) I would have been jumping up and down about this prior to signing day.

Hopefully this all will work out and some playmakers will emerge. You can't help but notice this area when evaluating this roster however...

[Mean Green 93-98]

Good points. I have been nervous about the DT situation, far more than any other position. I really hope that Syd Moore makes it, and that he is as good as advertised.

[UNT90]

Counting on a true freshman shows just how weak this position is right now.

If I were an opposing team, I would run the ball straight up the guy until we stopped it.

Very concerning.

[Mean_Green09]

Harry you are spot on. In my evaluation of this roster I would say that the DT position is by far the weakest. What makes it even scarier is knowing that CUSA has much better offenses than the Sun Belt. We are going to face higher tempo teams something that I think we struggled with last year ( Partly due to miss alignments). Maybe we will see more hybrid defenses using 3 down linemen instead of 4. Use 4 on first and second, bring in an extra pass rusher on 3rd. Still it worries me how we will do against the run. I can see us having to commit more to the box leaving the DB's man-up like last year

.

[Mean_Green09]

Offer scholarships to 11 DT and to only land 1 says a lot too. Its interesting to note that our head coach is really good D-Line coach and he still can't convince players to come to UNT and work under him.

[The Fake Lonnie Finch]

Harry you are spot on. In my evaluation of this roster I would say that the DT position is by far the weakest. What makes it even scarier is knowing that CUSA has much better offenses than the Sun Belt. We are going to face higher tempo teams something that I think we struggled with last year ( Partly due to miss alignments). Maybe we will see more hybrid defenses using 3 down linemen instead of 4. Use 4 on first and second, bring in an extra pass rusher on 3rd. Still it worries me how we will do against the run. I can see us having to commit more to the box leaving the DB's man-up like last year

.

Thank you. I've posted something similar in the past. Here's a clip I"ve posted before about BYU's 3-3-5. If we can't get enough servicable DTs, maybe a scheme change is in order:

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=272&sid=12785897

[MeanGreenTexan]

Do you guys really trust Nelson to make something new work on the defensive front?

And I don't think Skladany has any experience with a 3-down lineman front. He apparently has a book on the 4-3 and the 4-2-5 (is this just a nickel package?). With our strength at LB, I don't think we need to be messing with a 4-2-5 unless in obvious passing situations.

[DT 90]

Interesting......

[BillySee58]

Counting on a true freshman shows just how weak this position is right now.

If I were an opposing team, I would run the ball straight up the guy until we stopped it.

Very concerning.

Moore is a player who we wouldn't be able to keep off the field last year either. He'll be ready to play on day 1 whether we needed him or not. JMO from what I've seen on film and looking at his stats.

[The Fake Lonnie Finch]

Do you guys really trust Nelson to make something new work on the defensive front?

And I don't think Skladany has any experience with a 3-down lineman front. He apparently has a book on the 4-3 and the 4-2-5 (is this just a nickel package?). With our strength at LB, I don't think we need to be messing with a 4-2-5 unless in obvious passing situations.

No. And, this is where we find out whether McCarney cares more about winning or long term friendships.

If we have another losing season, and another recruiting period where we do not get DTs, and no coaches are let go...we'll have our answer as to whether this will change.

My vote is rapidly becoming this:

-If we have another losing season and...

a. McCarney stays - changes to the staff would be expected.

b. McCarney is fired - we hire a young coach, preferrably a defensive coordinator, with experience in 3-DL defensive formations.

People can talk all they want about giving more money, etc. But, money doesn't win ball games. I saw on one of Harry's posts that Boise State's athletic budgets was just over $21 million dollars - about 2/3rds of SMU, less than TCU, etc.

At some point you do what other programs have done: take your lemons (lack of money and the perceptions it causes) and make lemonade (wins) anyway.

Put it this way -

Question: Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

Answer: I don't f*cking know, but I can eat either one of them.

Moral of the story: quit making excuses and win.

(NOTE: By the way, this doesn't mean I'm ungrateful for RV rolling the dice on McCarney. No one was louder and more persistent about hiring experience than I was after Dodge was canned. But, look...at some point you have to look at what the dice roll is and admit the gamble didn't work out for us, here are some nice parting gifts...NEXT!)

Edited June 27, 2013 by The Fake Lonnie Finch

[Mean Green 93-98]

Interesting......

In what sense? We all feel good about Ryan when he's healthy and on the field, and Abbe's capable on the field if he can keep himself out of trouble off the field. But behind them we are really lacking any kind of proven depth.

[The Fake Lonnie Finch]

For the hard of hearing, that means I think it's all on 2013. So, have the player have their "It's All On" t-shirts to wear beneath their jerseys in 2013.

[MeanGreenTexan]

Moore is a player who we wouldn't be able to keep off the field last year either. He'll be ready to play on day 1 whether we needed him or not. JMO from what I've seen on film and looking at his stats.

Isn't Moore Boutwell's size (or smaller)? I guess he'll be nice to have as a spell for Boutwell, but who else besides Sir Calvin is going to play Nose to keep Orr open for tackling? Abbe filled that role, it's not looking like he'll be available next year.

Or are we going to play 2 one-gap DTs making Orr's job much harder?

DT90 can probably give some insight if he so desires.

[DT 90]

Moore is a player who we wouldn't be able to keep off the field last year either. He'll be ready to play on day 1 whether we needed him or not. JMO from what I've seen on film and looking at his stats.

No slight on Mr. Moore's capabilites but there is a BIG difference going against D1 guards and centers no matter what his stats look like. Very few freshman DTs are capable of making the transition in their first year.

[DT 90]

In what sense? We all feel good about Ryan when he's healthy and on the field, and Abbe's capable on the field if he can keep himself out of trouble off the field. But behind them we are really lacking any kind of proven depth.

I am thinking more like sophomore year playing 98% of the defensive downs.

[DT 90]

Isn't Moore Boutwell's size (or smaller)? I guess he'll be nice to have as a spell for Boutwell, but who else besides Sir Calvin is going to play Nose to keep Orr open for tackling? Abbe filled that role, it's not looking like he'll be available next year.

Or are we going to play 2 one-gap DTs making Orr's job much harder?

DT90 can probably give some insight if he so desires.

Sorry, Got nothing on this.

[Mean Green 93-98]

I am thinking more like sophomore year playing 98% of the defensive downs.

True--our problem is not a new problem. But it's still a problem.

[GrayEagle]

What's different this year vs. any year that Coach Nelson has been here? We haven't had a quality DT in nearly ten years. We've had some good DEs that we've made DTs but that's about it.

Ryan Boutwell and Alex Lincoln may have been good quality DEs but they are overmatched at tackle. They're taking the bullet by putting their 265 pound bodies up against 300 pounders game after game. And, they have the nicks and injuries to show for it. Abbe's not a given for this season (read the rest of his career) and Wallace is a freshman. And Haboul? He may be stronger than Samson pound-for-pound but he weighs 241 pounds!

You're totally right, Harry. How we ever allowed ourselves to get in this shape is unconscionable. Heads should roll.

[H-towngreen]

Like gray just said, we have some guys who may have been great DE's but we've had to move them to DT. And what if Abbé is kicked off the team? Seeing as he's still on the roster I don't think this will happen but you never know.

[Cerebus]

Question: Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

A: The egg, laid by a bird that was not a chicken.

[UNT90]

For the hard of hearing, that means I think it's all on 2013. So, have the player have their "It's All On" t-shirts to wear beneath their jerseys in 2013.

It should be all on 2013. At just about every other program in the country it would be all on 2013.

McCarney will be back for 2014, no matter the record.

[BillySee58]

No slight on Mr. Moore's capabilites but there is a BIG difference going against D1 guards and centers no matter what his stats look like. Very few freshman DTs are capable of making the transition in their first year.

Definitely, but he has D1 strength and speed already. He doesn't just have a good highlight film, but one in which you can tell he's on a completely different level than his competition.

I'm not saying he'll be all-conference this year but if makes it in and we watch him play this year we won't be thinking that he should've redshirted.

[forevereagle]

A: The egg, laid by a bird that was not a chicken.

Prove it.

[BillySee58]

Isn't Moore Boutwell's size (or smaller)? I guess he'll be nice to have as a spell for Boutwell, but who else besides Sir Calvin is going to play Nose to keep Orr open for tackling? Abbe filled that role, it's not looking like he'll be available next year.

Or are we going to play 2 one-gap DTs making Orr's job much harder?

DT90 can probably give some insight if he so desires.

Moore played this year around 260 but he also is more naturally that big. Unfortunately for Boutwell, he's had to be basically force fed to hit the upper 260s. Moore can weigh 270 more naturally which is okay for a 3-technique.

As for who else mans the nose guard position, which is more of a shade technique than a head up nose, I really think LaChris Anyiam is needed more there than at right tackle considering he started his career on defense. Mac moved him to right tackle because he believed that's where he belonged from Day 1. Manu and Trussell graded out pretty well in the spring game and I think they'd pick up the slack just fine at right tackle.

[ragpicker]

It is odd, Harry, that we hire one of the best Defensive Coordinators in the country and our defensive front continues to remain our weak spot. I'm optimistic though that things will fall into place.