Off Season Discussion: What/Who Was Your Biggest Surprise This Past Se

[UNTLifer]

I have two:

1. The play of the DL. I was proud of Big Dick Abbe for adhering to Coach Mac's rules after his arrest, maturing and earning back his starting position. On top of that, he performed better than anyone expected and solidified the middle of the DL all year. Bellazin led the conference in sacks and carried that performance through to the HOD Bowl. Boutwell was Boutwell. Underappreciated and solid all year long. Reminds me of one of my favorites from the NOLA Bowl run, Evan Cardwell only smaller. To perform as he did at 248 lbs. and to never complain says a lot about the young man. Mason, Polk, Brown, etc...were solid at the other DE position.

2. The emergence of our corners, Mr. Jones and Mr. Buyers were excellent all year and allowed Skladany to turn up the heat with multiple blitz packages. Jackson and Whitfield were solid all year in their roles and were mature and didn't sulk when demoted from the starting lineup.

What about you?

[Harry]

You hit on two big ones but to me to have a walk-on punter, fg kicker and deep snapper perform as well as they did is beyond amazing. Special teams in general was a HUGE surprise.

[UNTLifer]

Good ones Harry. After the last few years, to see our ST play with blocks, returns, coverage plus what you listed was a nice surprise.

[Mean Green 93-98]

I can't disagree with your #1 and #2 at all. The only other thing I might add is the wide receiver play. Darnell Smith really came up big this year, as did Brelan. I loved the different ways Coach Canales got him the ball, and I loved what Brelan did when he got it. Carlos Harris had a nice year as well.

[BillySee58]

I have a couple more pleasant surprises. The first other one for me was how well the tight ends blocked. Andrew Power was one of our big losses and when he was out in 2012 it seemed our run game suffered. Miller, Prior, Tanner Smith and especially Marcus Smith really stepped up in the blocking game. Marcus Smith's emergence was really huge because he is the tallest and best receiver out of the group. He now looks like a complete tight end heading into his junior season and hopefully Reinhardt and/or Loving can continue the tradition of good tight end play under Coach Mac.

My second surprise was the play of the true freshman. Mac is pretty heavy on redshirting, but we saw 6 out of 13 true freshman straight out of high school play this year after seeing just 5 out of 20 play in 2012. Dajon, Kidsy, Chad Davis, Shilleci, Sed Ellis, and Fred Scott all showed impressive signs as true freshman.

[SHOSS]

1. The defense. No question, this group was faaaaar and away better overall than I was expecting.

2. Adjustments in the 2nd half. The team played so much better in the second half in just about every game. and for some reason, it surprised me each time it happened. The gift that kept on giving each game. Big comebacks, and shutting the door in a close or tied game at the half. That is offense and defense.

3. Special teams blocking kicks. The return game, I was kind of expecting with Brelan and Harris/Jones, but when have we blocked this many kicks in the past? I don't have any idea.

[pastorgrant]

1. The defense. No question, this group was faaaaar and away better overall than I was expecting.

2. Adjustments in the 2nd half. The team played so much better in the second half in just about every game. and for some reason, it surprised me each time it happened. The gift that kept on giving each game. Big comebacks, and shutting the door in a close or tied game at the half. That is offense and defense.

3. Special teams blocking kicks. The return game, I was kind of expecting with Brelan and Harris/Jones, but when have we blocked this many kicks in the past? I don't have any idea.

Beat me to it.

Was surprised at DT's solid play too.

Edited January 9, 2014 by pastorgrant

[MeanGreenTexan]

As consistent as they were all year (sans the GA game), the defense's 2nd half performances added up to be the biggest surprise for me.

I think we all expected the defense to carry the team this year, but I don't think any of us expected to have such a dominant 2nd half defense.

[meangreenthirteen]

I can't disagree with your #1 and #2 at all. The only other thing I might add is the wide receiver play. Darnell Smith really came up big this year, as did Brelan. I loved the different ways Coach Canales got him the ball, and I loved what Brelan did when he got it. Carlos Harris had a nice year as well.

I rewatched the 2012 LSU game the other day and Harris was in for a couple of plays in which he either did nothing or didn't catch his pass. He also looked really tiny. That guy has come such a far way. So impressed by he and D. Smith this past year.

[LongJim]

You hit on two big ones but to me to have a walk-on punter, fg kicker and deep snapper perform as well as they did is beyond amazing. Special teams in general was a HUGE surprise.

Agree. Like night and day from last year.

[oldguystudent]

Conditioning. I've noticed for years in college basketball that one of the biggest differences between the big boys and the little boys was conditioning and endurance to play the ENTIRE game.

Our guys, after playing sixty minutes in a hundred degrees, look like they're ready to go run a marathon at full sprint. The difference between this year and prior years was immense.

[foutsrouts]

I'll have to say the center position. Not only did we see excellent all-around blocking from the RS Freshman Kirby, but did we even see a fumbled exchange between Kirby and DT? I'd be surprised if we didn't, but I don't recall one offhand. Everything in that area just seemed to flow so smoothly all season.

[GrandGreen]

I thought the defensive line would be better than most, so their play did not surprise as much.

I think the key to the whole defense was the play of the cornerbacks, that position went from a big question mark to a plus. The change to Buyers and Jones as starters was huge this year.

Overall, the defense was much better than anybody could have guessed. There were no real weakness after NT improved their defense against the long pass, after the first part of the season.

On the offensive side, I really didn't see that many big surprises.

Special teams were much improved. I thought Chancellor was a below average returner based on his play until this year. I don't know what happened, Chancellor went from a liability on punt returns to one of the nations' best.

[meangreendork]

Conditioning. I've noticed for years in college basketball that one of the biggest differences between the big boys and the little boys was conditioning and endurance to play the ENTIRE game.

Our guys, after playing sixty minutes in a hundred degrees, look like they're ready to go run a marathon at full sprint. The difference between this year and prior years was immense.

If one thing contributed to wins this season, it was conditioning. When every other team was gasping for air, overheating and cramping, our guys were still in the fight and ready for more. It's gotta be a combination of solid endurance training, the right nutrition, in-game care, and player rotation. When we would see Tulsa, Southern Miss, UNLV and almost everyone else gassed out, our guys were still ready to go. Hell, I would be our team still had more in the tank at the end of the 4th than some teams came in with at the start of the 1st.

That's a big reason why we would see our scoring go up in the last half and watch our defense really pin their ears back and make plays in the last half.

[wardly]

1]that they came back to beat Ball State 2]that they were flat against UTSA with so much on the line 3]that as the season progressed how much more physical we became

[Green P1]

Buyers and post Haloween Abbe. I swear Richard found another gear and never left it after they let him carry the ball as FB.

[pastorgrant]

I got to thinking a bit more about this, and I have to say that there wasn't a lot that happened this year that wouldn't have surprised me before the season. We were better across the board than I expected, and in several areas, a lot better. OL, Safety, Linebacker, and Running Back were the only areas of the team that I expected to be as good as they were, and I'm a perennial Mean Green optimist. Good stuff this year. Good stuff.

Edited January 9, 2014 by pastorgrant

[Green Lantern]

Reggie Peagram's productivity before he got hurt. Gives me a ton of confidence in the RB corps going into next season.

[Marty]

the switches from Olen to Zach Paul on field goals & from Whitfield/Jackson to Buyers/Jones really paid off.

[casual fan]

The 2 players that surprised me the most:

Kaydon Kirby!!!

He started all 13 games at center and was named to the CUSA All-Freshman team.

Kenny Buyers!!!

He had 78 tackles and 3 picks.

Runners just seemed to get tangled up with him like he was a combination of fly paper and barbed wire.

[Proud North Texan]

1- The Defense.

2- Our loss to that community college.

[Harry]

The lack of injuries! In the past seasons we lost Brelan and Orr and some other key players at inopportune times. This was the healthiest season of football I have ever seen at North Texas and I'm betting Frank W has a lot to do with that.

[aztecskin]

1. Kenny Buyers -- His play was key for the defense becoming more stingy. It wasn't just general coverage stuff and being a good tackler of wideouts but his run defense as well.

2. Special Teams -- mostly the blocked kicks. Whereas Brelan was a threat for years, blocked kicks/punts became a weapon.

--

Disagreement -

I've always been high on Carlos Harris. He was a freshman last year and showed signs of the guy we saw this year -- especially later in the year which is to be expected. I think the staff has been grooming him to take Brelan's spot for two years now.

[JesseMartin]

I have to agree about Special Teams. I was hoping for improvement but didn't expect how awesome they were. Also, Derek...as I said pre-season, I didn't think Mac would use his "turning point year" just to stay loyal to DT if he wasn't able to pull it down, so if he was the starter then he would be ready to play. BUT, I also assumed he would be solid but not amazing. Though he did have a couple of missteps (and they definitely hurt), he came through and killed it way more often than the times he slipped. Ball State is everyone's favorite example, and I like it too, but he really kicked ass more than I expected, and certainly WAY more than a lot of others here thought he would.

Plus what I've seen of him, coupled with what some of you have said, makes me like Laraimie Lee more and more. He's quiet and not very big but he goes after any guy with the ball assuming he will put him on the ground with an equal combination of pain and alacrity. I don't think I'd ever want to fight him, even if I had to

[TIgreen01]

The biggest surprise was hands down that our special teams went from a unit that used to cost us games, to one that WON us games. How many times in the past 5 years have we had field goals blocked, or gone for it on 4th down from the 20 because we have had no faith that we could make the kick or even block for it?! We turned into a good red zone team this season partly because we could actually fall back on kicking the field goal. Not to mention our coverage units were good and our return units were outstanding.