MGB: Where UNT stands in recruiting

Brett Vito · December 9, 2013

UNT has a few spots left heading into bowl season

http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2013/12/in-a-side-note-unt-pretty-close-to-full-for-recruiting-in-2014.html/

buff64 · December 9, 2013

UNT has a few spots left heading into bowl season

http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2013/12/in-a-side-note-unt-pretty-close-to-full-for-recruiting-in-2014.html/

And you can always count on three or four more slots opening up. Graduations, injuries, transferring, etc.

BillySee58 · December 9, 2013

Posted this in the recruiting forum

Here's an article on backcounting. According to this, we can sign 27 this year, we just might not have 27 open scholarships. It's how Georgia was able to sign 33 last year.

http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2012/01/sec_learning_to_live_with_new.html

I didn't think Blake Macek would be included in the signing class, I thought he just counted towards the 85 total scholarship players. Pretty sure putting walkons on scholarship doesn't count towards the signing class.

I counted that we have 17 scholarship seniors and I counted 77 scholarship players currently on the team (after Cody Nelson has quit). That would be 25 open scholarships for next season, and that's before this season even ends. Some guys will most likely quit (injury or non-football related) or transfer out. We should be able to sign 27, at least 25.

PlummMeanGreen · December 9, 2013

Posted this in the recruiting forum
Here's an article on backcounting. According to this, we can sign 27 this year, we just might not have 27 open scholarships. It's how Georgia was able to sign 33 last year.
http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2012/01/sec_learning_to_live_with_new.html
I didn't think Blake Macek would be included in the signing class, I thought he just counted towards the 85 total scholarship players. Pretty sure putting walkons on scholarship doesn't count towards the signing class.
I counted that we have 17 scholarship seniors and I counted 77 scholarship players currently on the team (after Cody Nelson has quit). That would be 25 open scholarships for next season, and that's before this season even ends. Some guys will most likely quit (injury or non-football related) or transfer out. We should be able to sign 27, at least 25.

:thumbsu: BillySee58, I know you are a UNT student with limited time, but you are doing a great job on the Scout "Inside North Texas" board keeping it relevant for those Texas HS and JUCO recruits who might just visit it if they have an interest in the North Texas Mean Green.

BillySee58 · December 9, 2013

BillySee58, I know you are a UNT student with limited time, but you are doing a great job on the Scout "Inside North Texas" board keeping it relevant for those Texas HS and JUCO recruits who might just visit it if they have an interest in the North Texas Mean Green.

Thanks Plumm! I have limited procrastination this week with finals and all. But I'm spending it all keeping up with UNT sports

BillySee58 · December 9, 2013

Also, there's another interesting loophole called blueshirting. Basically, it was started by Hal Mumme at New Mexico State and it allows coaches to ask certain commits to walk on, and then give them a scholarship during fall camp, before school actually starts.

The catch is that the blueshirt player cannot have been "recruited," which means he cannot have been on an official visit to the school where he is being blueshirted, and cannot have had an official in-home visit with the coaches at the school where he is being blueshirted.

http://www.presnapread.com/whats-a-blue-shirt-anyway/

http://knoxblogs.com/evanseleven/tag/blue-shirting/

Edited December 9, 2013 by BillySee58

ntmeangreen11 · December 10, 2013

Also, there's another interesting loophole called blueshirting. Basically, it was started by Hal Mumme at New Mexico State and it allows coaches to ask certain commits to walk on, and then give them a scholarship during fall camp, before school actually starts.
The catch is that the blueshirt player cannot have been "recruited," which means he cannot have been on an official visit to the school where he is being blueshirted, and cannot have had an official in-home visit with the coaches at the school where he is being blueshirted.
http://www.presnapread.com/whats-a-blue-shirt-anyway/
http://knoxblogs.com/evanseleven/tag/blue-shirting/

Wow great find. I have never heard of that but would not be surprised if we have tealshirts in college football by 2024 with all of these loopholes.

Edited December 10, 2013 by ntmeangreen11

GMG24 · December 10, 2013

I thought a buddy of mine made that up when he told me about that during HS. Guess it is true after all this time. Billy, any DL on the DL guys were recruiting??

BillySee58 · December 10, 2013

I thought a buddy of mine made that up when he told me about that during HS. Guess it is true after all this time. Billy, any DL on the DL guys were recruiting??

Lol, yeah it's apparently a real thing.

I couldn't tell you, unfortunately. I have some high school teammates and friends on the team, but I try not to get too intrusive when asking them about football. I do feel confident with some of the d-line guys. Some of the other schools who are after our d-line targets have been unsuccessful recruiting against us this recruiting season. Times are changing and we're starting to win some recruiting battles, so I like our chances of having a solid class no matter how many we sign.

BillySee58 · December 10, 2013

Looks like walkons count towards a recruiting class if they were put on scholarship before playing on the team for 2 years as a walkon. Playing on the team two years or more as a walk on, like Tanner Smith, just counts them towards our 85 total, but not a recruiting class.

So Kaydon Kirby and Blake Macek would count towards our 2014 class. Kenny Buyers might count too, since he spent 3 semesters as a walk on at UNT but just 1 football season.

That would give us those three, plus Wallace and grayshirt Avery Fortenberry. Then that would leave us wih 20 spots, 15 of which we've already filled.

As for my "backcounting" plan involving using at least two mid-term enrollees to count towards last class, since we only signed 23, this walkon rule of less than 2 seasons would likely mean that Darnell Smith and Lynrick Pleasant would've counted towards last class. That would give us 25, not 23, spots in the 2013 class filling it up and not allowing us to backcount.

If all of those guys count, then we'll only be able to sign 5 more guys, or 4 according to Brett. But it would be worth it, since those walkon guys include: our leading receiver, punter, starting center, and starting cornerback.

H-towngreen · December 10, 2013

If all we have is 4/5 I'd take all DLine

The Fake Lonnie Finch · December 10, 2013

If all we have is 4/5 I'd take all DLine

Yes. We only have 3 of the 12 commits total on either line: 1 OL, 1 DE, and 1 DT. Not great. You build long term success from the inside out, not the outside in. If you can't run or stop the run, you...have many, many years of losing seasons.

BillySee58 · December 10, 2013

Yes. We only have 3 of the 12 commits total on either line: 1 OL, 1 DE, and 1 DT. Not great. You build long term success from the inside out, not the outside in. If you can't run or stop the run, you...have many, many years of losing seasons.

Good thing for o-line is that we're only losing LaChris Anyiam and everyone else is coming back. Including the young guys who are developing.

Cooley · December 17, 2013

I don't get the lack of D Linemen. We lucked out this year with Abbé, and others, stepping up. There gone after the HOD.

I really thought we'd be loaded with quantity and quality with Macs background as DLine coach at Florida. I am also stunned with the lack of dual-threat QB.