NCAA Football Preview - North Texas Mean Green
Sports Network | August 11, 2008
OFFENSE: Courtesy of Dodge, North Texas went from a stale offense in 2006 to an explosive and exciting one in 2007. Now in year two, expect the Mean Green offense to be even more productive. At quarterback, junior Daniel Meager appears to have a handle on the starting job, but sophomore Giovanni Vizza could easily wrestle that away from him. Meager struggled to adapt to the spread offense last season and ended up giving way to Vizza, who threw for 2,388 yards with 16 touchdowns and 17 interceptions as a freshman. Vizza showed a glimpse of his talent by throwing for eight touchdowns in a loss to Navy, setting a single-game NCAA record for a freshman.
With all that said, both Vizza and Meager could lose out to the most highly- touted quarterback recruit in North Texas history, Riley Dodge. Son of head coach Todd, Riley threw for 3,455 yards and 39 touchdowns and ran for 772 yards and 13 scores for high school superpower Southlake Carroll last season. He isn't that tall at 6-0, but he does have experience in this offense and that could land him under center right away.
Whomever is throwing the passes, they will surely look in the direction of senior Casey Fitzgerald, who went from an unknown to a star last season. The 5-11, 195-pound former walk-on finished third in the nation with 111 catches for 1,322 yards and 12 touchdowns last season and that includes an 18-catch, 327-yard, two-TD performance against SMU. "It's pretty cool to get a lot of attention, but I've continued to stay humble and take it as it comes. I just continue to work and try and improve."
In the backfield, sophomore Micah Mosley is set to be the featured back with the departure of Jamario Thomas. The 6-1, 205-pound Mosley rushed for 461 yards and five touchdowns last season and his 4.9 yard per carry average is indicative of how explosive he can be.
Four of the team's five starters return along the offensive line and that should help Mosley in his bid for a 1,000-yard campaign.
DEFENSE: The Mean Green were simply horrific on the defensive side of the ball last season and that was a surprise considering all the returning veterans. At the conclusion of the season, defensive coordinator Ron Mendoza, who came with Dodge to North Texas from Southlake Carroll, was released and Gary DeLoach returned. DeLoach was the defensive coordinator at UNT during its glory days from 2000-02 and he spent the last five season as UCLA's secondary coach. He will try to improve a unit that surrendered over 45 points per game and nearly 500 total yards per outing in 2007.
Up front, sophomores Marquis Sykes and Sam Owusu-Hemeng will be counted on to provide pressure off the edge, while senior tackles Isaac Thomas (28 tackles) and Joseph Miller (48 stops) will be expected to lock down the run. The Mean Green lost three starting linebackers, but there are adequate replacements in place. Sophomore Craig Robertson started the final seven games of 2007 and he was a pleasant surprise, racking up 48 tackles and a team-best five interceptions. He could emerge as a star and will be a big factor in this unit's turnaround. In the secondary, Navy transfer Greg Garden and former juco stars Adryan Adams and Justin Edwards are expected to jump right in and help a unit that surrendered 257 passing ypg last season.
SPECIAL TEAMS: Junior college transfer Jeremy Knott will handle the kicking duties this season and while he has a big leg, he needs to be more consistent. Senior punter Truman Spencer also has a powerful leg and he averaged 41.6 yards per kick in 2007.
OUTLOOK: North Texas is certainly a program on the rise under Dodge, but turning the corner this season and challenging for the Sun Belt crown might be a bit much to ask. The Mean Green should be much improved on defense and their offense should be fun to watch once again and that will garner a lot of attention for the program. A .500 record in league play could be achieved, but not much more should be expected.
