Derek Thompson is a Mean Green Hero

[risinggreen]

One of our best of all-time. Clearly. Great job DT!!

[meangreener]

Looked like old Derek came to play, then halftime happened...Ball State DT came out. I think he just does better in a quicker rhythm based offense than what we run.

[Cerebus]

21/30 for 256 yards with two TD's and ZERO ints. All while gutting out a tough injury.

Best bowl performance by a Mean Green QB in the history of the program.

SECOND HALF STATS:

12/16 163 yds 2TD 0INT

[MeanGreenATO]

DT won the MVP by one vote over Brelan. He definitely deserved it after what he went through today.

[Cerebus]

SECOND HALF STATS:

12/16 163 yds 2TD 0INT

First Half:

2/7 on Third Down Conversions

Second Half:

8/10 on Third Down Conversions

[rockguitarist4life]

Winner. That is all.

[FirefightnRick]

So proud of him.

Awesome day today.

Rick

[rockguitarist4life]

& a MEAN GREEN HERO!

[Eastwood Eagle]

Proud of DT. Played to the last minute, loved that block at the end of the game.

Edited January 2, 2014 by Eastwood Eagle

[GreenBat]

https://twitter.com/Eric_Capper/status/418584845166837760

[Tully]

Congrats to DT and those guys. I know that I've been awfully critical of DT, and he totally proved me wrong this year. Dude tuned out the crap and went to work everyday and he led this team. Has to be a UNT HOF candidate.

[TheColonyEagle]

He was brilliant today. Perfect ending to a HOF career.

So proud of him.

[Mean Green 93-98]

https://twitter.com/Eric_Capper/status/418584845166837760

No need for people to be like that. People had different views about Derek the past couple of years. But Derek went out a champion, and everyone will forever remember him as a champion.

[Ben Gooding]

I hate to be so critical, but a hero? Really? He played well today, there is no denying that. I still can't shake all the other bad performances to put him in as even a candidate. I also think that the QB talent currently at UNT is the real deal. I tweeted OC Coach Canales about a month or so ago asking about Dajon Williams. I see really raw talent in this guy that could explode into next year. Coach Canales confirmed my expectations by simply telling me that he is the real deal, practically telling me he is going to be the starter. Granted that was before the unofficial signing of Greer, but I think Dajon will be a legit HOF candidate by the end of his career if he can wrap up the starting job in the spring. In my mind it's his job to lose.

[Mean Green 93-98]

I hate to be so critical, but a hero? Really? He played well today, there is no denying that. I still can't shake all the other bad performances to put him in as even a candidate. I also think that the QB talent currently at UNT is the real deal. I tweeted OC Coach Canales about a month or so ago asking about Dajon Williams. I see really raw talent in this guy that could explode into next year. Coach Canales confirmed my expectations by simply telling me that he is the real deal, practically telling me he is going to be the starter. Granted that was before the unofficial signing of Greer, but I think Dajon will be a legit HOF candidate by the end of his career if he can wrap up the starting job in the spring. In my mind it's his job to lose.

What does Dajon have to do with whether or not Derek is a hero? Derek just gave what will be one of the most memorable performances ever by a North Texas quarterback. He came up big when UNLV had pretty well shut down our running game. How much chance do you think experts would have given us to win knowing our RBs would combine for a total of 75 yards rushing? That TD pass he threw to Darnell Smith was a thing of beauty. He is one of 3 NT quarterbacks ever to win a bowl game. And he did it all with a dislocated kneecap. If that's not a Mean Green hero, there never has been and never will be one.

[JesseMartin]

Wow. Even in the delirium that is the MWC board somebody called him a warrior. He holds almost every QB record (took him more seasons to break them than it took the previous guys to make them, but that includes 2 years of injuries with little playing time and only 1 winning season, so he didn't have all that much to work with until recently with the new coaching staff anyway). Plus he has come back from so many injuries and posted the most decisive bowl win in our history...and didn't we tie the all-time wins in a season mark today? Nobody is saying Dajon can't get it done now that DT is finished. And there isn't a requirement that only 1 of them can be considered HoF worthy. If we get 2 of our best QBs in history back-to-back, I think that will be a win for everybody.

[oldguystudent]

https://twitter.com/Eric_Capper/status/418584845166837760

Am I reading this correctly? Is the Senior Associate Athletic Director of Athletic Communications taunting his own fan base in writing on the internet? Dude. @eric_capper or however the hell that twatter world works. You're supposed to be better than that. #asshat

Sorry, but the dude's job is communications. That's some sandlot unprofessional bullshit coming from an AD employee whose very job is dealing with the public.

In other news, DT was a freaking warrior and a leader yesterday. The entire experience was amazing. My old legs are pretty tired from all that standing, and I lamented that I had to stand on the train the whole way home. My voice is a little hoarse. Totally freaking worth it.

[meangreener]

Am I reading this correctly? Is the Senior Associate Athletic Director of Athletic Communications taunting his own fan base in writing on the internet? Dude. @eric_capper or however the hell that twatter world works. You're supposed to be better than that. #asshat

Sorry, but the dude's job is communications. That's some sandlot unprofessional bullshit coming from an AD employee whose very job is dealing with the public.

In other news, DT was a freaking warrior and a leader yesterday. The entire experience was amazing. My old legs are pretty tired from all that standing, and I lamented that I had to stand on the train the whole way home. My voice is a little hoarse. Totally freaking worth it.

Eric has been like that regarding anyone critical of Derek online for months now.

[MeanGreenD]

UNLV fan on Twitter sent me a tweet that read, "props to your team and you got a good QB" then that DT would "likely make an NFL team bench, hopefully Caleb Herring will too"

Derek has been the most polarizing player during his time here, which is probably the case for most QBs. He played his best game of his career, and went out on top.

[meangreener]

I've been extremely critical because he gets out of sync so easily...but someone even said it on here before...if Derek wants to shut up the haters, step up in Dallas. He did just that, got us a 9-4 season and for that, he's a Mean Green hero and deserves HoF. Period.

That was one of the best performances by a UNT QB ever, much less during a bowl game.

Edited January 2, 2014 by meangreener

[Army of Dad]

Am I reading this correctly? Is the Senior Associate Athletic Director of Athletic Communications taunting his own fan base in writing on the internet? Dude. @eric_capper or however the hell that twatter world works. You're supposed to be better than that. #asshat

Sorry, but the dude's job is communications. That's some sandlot unprofessional bullshit coming from an AD employee whose very job is dealing with the public.

In other news, DT was a freaking warrior and a leader yesterday. The entire experience was amazing. My old legs are pretty tired from all that standing, and I lamented that I had to stand on the train the whole way home. My voice is a little hoarse. Totally freaking worth it.

This times 10.

[NT03]

This times 10.

This times 2 of your times 10

[foutsrouts]

Definite HOF'er to me. If it were the Hall of Athleticism maybe not, but the leader of a 9-4 NT bowl victory team has fame written all over him. Helluva performance yesterday from the second leading passer in school history.

[MeanGreenTexan]

As maddening as he was sometimes during his career, one look at the Mean Green all-time record books, and you'll see why he's inducted.

Awesome game yesterday. Great year overall. Great career overall.

Thanks for everything DT.

[ChristopherRyanWilkes]

I heard that he wants to stay as a Graduate Assistant and coach eventually. It would be great to keep him on the staff for his leadership!