After looking at the North Texas NCAA numbers on offense, defense and special teams, it is clear the offense is holding it’s own. The special teams need a lot of work and the defense even more. After reviewing the recruiting class, the question is this: did the Birds fill the needed holes?

Starting out on the positive side, the offense was not really bad last year. As pointed out they are ranked in the upper third in most NCAA categories. Pretty impressive no matter what league a team is in.

When looking at the offensive players coming in and the offensive players who sat out last year because of transfer rules it looks like the offensive production should keep flowing for the next several years.

Starting out is the wide receiver spot with two players who had to sit out after transferring. Oklahoma transfer Tyler Stradford, 6-2, 175, 4.4 is expected to contribute immediately. He has the speed to give the offense a deep threat and the height to get up to catch balls over smaller secondary players. Oklahoma State transfer William Cole, WR, 6-1, 165, 4.5 can stretch the defenses too and is expected to see action this year.

Coming in are Brelan Chancellor 5-9, 165, 4.4 and junior college transfer Christopher Bynes, 6-1, 210, 4.6. Chancellor gives the position speed while Bynes gives the position height and some physical tools.  When you add in Riley Dodge moving over to wide out to compliment the receivers coming back things look positive for the position.

What makes this recruiting class such a great improvement over the present assortment of wide outs is the physical tools. Most of the wide outs coming back are in the 5-10 height area, around 165-170 pounds with the average speed of the 4.5-4.6 range. Now there are several wide receivers coming in around 6-1, 180 pounds and speeds touching 4.4, but no matter how you slice it, that is an improvement so the position has definitely been upgraded this next season and for a few more seasons.

With the loss of Dodge at QB, Nathan Tune and Derrick Thompson are expected to battle it out for the starting position with Chase Blaine throwing his hat in the ring. This year’s recruiting class features Derrick Teegarden, 6-0, 170, 4.7 who is expected to be the starter in the future. He looks good enough to be a starter when the time comes, so this position has also been upgraded.

The running back position is in great shape with Lance Dunbar leading the way. The present supporting cast of Shelton Gandy, James Hamilton, John Ekwerekwu , Matt Ponce, Micah Mosley and Weston Squier give him adequate depth. However, signee Brandin Byrd, 5-11, 4.5 has shown in the spring game he can push for a starting position as a true freshman. Things look good at the running back slot for next year and for several seasons in the future. This is another position which has improved and added depth to give the running back position an upgrade.

Coming in to help over at tight end is Jamize Olawale, 6-2, 237 a transfer from El Camino Community College who might see action this year. Tanner Smith is coming in from high school and is expected to sit out a year. Here's the question; can the tight ends coming back and the ones coming in catch the ball? There are more balls expected to be thrown to the tight ends this year so they have to be able to catch the ball. With that question in mind this position is given a push.

The offensive line has added strength and mass with Mason Y’Barbo 6-2, 300, then added the height of Antonio Johnson, 6-6, 270 and Graylin Hawkins 6-4, 250. With a lack of bulk, Johnson and Hawkins are definitely not ready for a starter’s role. Once they add some mass they will see action down the road . When it comes to the offensive line, help is not on its way this year with this group, they are a season or two away. It is nothing to be concerned about because the present offensive line has been doing an adequate job, so look for the same out of them this season. So give this group a slight upgrade to a push.

Special teams have not been special with blocked field goals and the like. Going after Blake Dunham, LB, 6-2, 200 and Y’Barbo for the long snapper position should help in this position. Both can get the ball back fast with the laces up which will help keep the defenders from getting back to the field goal kicker or the punter. The question is will they use the true freshmen this year or wait until next year?

The addition of kicker Zach Olen was a tremendous find for North Texas. With his high, long kick-offs coupled with the speed of some of the new recruits, opponents should not get big kick-off returns. For the same reason, opponents should be well covered on punts. No question, this position has immediately improved. Lack of experience may hurt slightly but overall this recruiting class has plugged some holes on special teams.

The defensive line simply got pushed around last year. They are “athletic” which is a common statement used by coaches when their players are too small and underweight. The defensive line simply was pushed around on running plays, could not get the push into the backfield on passing plays or slow developing running plays. There will be four departing seniors next year and one true defensive tackle coming in with Richard Abbe, 6-4, 290. There isn’t much help here, not with the shallow depth on the bench and only one player coming in to replace those soon to be lost. Looks like recruiting did not keep up and the defensive line has digressed. What this year’s defensive line has is experience but have they learned enough to stop opposing offenses? Last year they were definitely better than the year before but they have to be better than last year to help the program get into the win column. So no improvement with the recruiting class, actually it looks like the defensive line may have gone backwards.  

There are seven defensive ends returning with three coming in. John Weber and Sam Owusu-Hemeng are the seniors. Idaho State transfer Joseph Nailor and Brandon Akpunka are the juniors. K.C. Obi is the sophomore. Ryan Boutwell, a grayshirt and LaChris Anyiam are freshman. Incoming defensive ends are Aaron Bellazin, 6-2, 230; Julian Herron, 6-0, 205 and junior college transfer Michael Miller 6-3, 260.  There is a good mixture of talent ,experience and power at the position with the signees bringing height and weight to the scene while many of the returning players are ‘athletes’, lacking height and weight. With help needed in the interior look for some defensive ends to be converted to the line. If that happens, the defensive line will be even lighter. 

The defensive backfield is a challenge. Last year most tackled like the ball carrier was a greased pig. So the coaches went out and brought in some players known for tackling. Dipping into the junior college ranks the first thing they did was to bring in most of the defensive backfield of Butler Community College. Forlando Johnson, 5-11, 208, 4.6, D’Leon McCord, 6-1 176, and Ryan Downing, S, 6-1, 195 will be challenging for starter’s role. D’Andre Wood, CB, 6-0, 192, 4.3 comes in from New Mexico Military Inst. and has speed to burn which he could use to overcome some mistakes from inexperience. Brad Graham, OLB, 6-0, 205 from Navarro is the NJCAA Player of the year. Steven Ford, C, 6-0, 190, 4.4 is from Fort Scott Community College. While Julian Herron, LB/DE 6-0, 205 will be eligible to play after transferring from Southern Methodist.

Coming in from high school to shore up the defensive secondary are Will Wright, Jr., S, 6-2, 200, 4.5, Zach Orr LB, 5-10, 225, and Blake Dunham, LB, 6-2, 200, 4.5. While they look to be redshirted this year, it is possible Orr and Dunham could get some playing time in this upcoming season.   

The incoming class of the defensive secondary, especially the junior college transfers, could easily beat out some starters or potential starters. The class has a good mix of speed, weight and height. The five seniors leaving this season will be replaced by some talented players, who will be bigger and faster. There will be more depth this season and next season so overall, the secondary did get a good facelift.

Here's the bottomline; this recruiting class for the offense and special teams has gotten better while it appears only the secondary got better on the defense. The defensive line once again will be a problem for North Texas and if the defensive line doesn’t get more push against the opposing offensive lines it’s going to be a long season. If they don’t get the push, North Texas is going to be forced to use the blitz to help the defensive line. If that happens, it opens up the spaces in the secondary giving opponents oppurtunities for big plays. But if they don’t blitz and don’t get pressure on the quarterback, he will just sit back there and pick apart the secondary.

North Texas has improved in certain positions but so have all the other teams. Can North Texas win six or seven games? The answer lies completely on the defensive line but right now they are not strong enough, big enough or deep enough to get to that plateau. The only way North Texas can get to that plateau is for the offense to control the game by scoring on long drives and eating up the clock. The defense needs to be fresh going into the forth quarter, not worn out from battling in the first three quarters after the offense scored too quickly.

Offense puts fans in the stands and defense wins championships. This upcoming season it appears to be a long stretch for North Texas to get close to those goals.