The UNT football team is set to open conference play in The American on Saturday, as the Mean Green host Tulsa with kickoff set for 6 p.m., at DATCU Stadium. The game can be seen on ESPN+.
Head coach Eric Morris and selected players spoke to the media on Tuesday and discussed, among other things, looking to get off to a good start in conference play, the defensive change that corralled Wyoming's rushing attack last week and some new stars in the running backs room.
UNT prepped for AAC opener
When he looks across the field at DATCU Stadium on Saturday, head coach Eric Morris will see a team that is pretty similar to his own.
A team with a second-year head coach. A team with a few veterans who have made a lot of plays for their respective team. A team with a bunch of newcomers still trying to find their fit.
When watching last year's game against the Golden Hurricane – a 35-28 win at Tulsa last year – on Sunday night, Morris realized of the 11 offensive players UNT had on the field at one point, nine of them are no longer playing in Denton.
In fact, in last week's blowout win over Wyoming, UNT played nine true freshmen. While a good start to conference play is always important, Morris said it be even more critical for a team like his.
"Momentum is huge in college sports, not just football. It's big in soccer, in softball - all these different sports when kids that are 18 to 22 years old, they start to gain confidence and gain momentum with a win, and it can snowball in the right way. We're a process driven team, especially with the youth we're playing now. We have to continue to show these guys the things we'll see in games in practice. We have to get better on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays to get better for the game."
Junior running back Shane Porter, who made the most of his first career start last week with 120 yards on just 13 carries, said a win to open conference play would build on the confidence the team is already playing with after bouncing back last week from a tough loss.
"We're really confident doing what we've done in spring ball and fall camp, and we're really hitting our stride at the right time," Porter said.
RB room steps up in big way
The season carries tally for the UNT offense doesn't look much like what anyone could have expected four games into the season.
Seasoned veteran Ikaika Ragsdale is battling back from injury, as is Minnesota transfer Zach Evans. Syracuse transfer Juwaun Price got off to a hot start before seeing his season end with an injury.
That left Porter, who spent the first two years of his college career at wide receiver, and freshman Makenzie McGill on Saturday, and they came through in a big way.
Porter drew the start and became the first UNT player to eclipse 100 rushing yards in his first start in 20 years. McGill had one of the most efficient rushing days in program history with six carries for 46 yards and three touchdowns.
Morris said a bevy of factors played into the big day for the running backs. "The OL blocked better, and as a play-caller, I committed to running the ball a little more," he said. "Having some success early was good for us, especially with the new guys. Schematically, we had some stuff that we liked against them. We were able to hit a couple of seams and turn them into explosives just because of the coverages behind them.
"Those three (Porter, McGill and Kiefer Sibley) had another good day today (in practice). They're locked in. I'm excited to see them build off of it."
Porter said the coaching staff has done a great job of instilling confidence in the entire unit, letting them know that they can all succeed when given an opportunity.
"Being tossed out there and having the trust from the staff really helps build confidence," Porter said. "Coach Cobbs has full belief in everyone in our room top to bottom, and that helps us play free and play fast. It definitely helps with confidence. In the running backs room, we say we don't have to rise up just fall back on our training. We just knew it wouldn't take anything special. We just had to do our job."
Extra linebacker gives defense new look, versatility
On the night after a tough defeat in Lubbock, UNT's defensive staff let the players know there would be a change heading into last week's home game against Wyoming.
They had five days to move from a strict 3-3-5 defensive set to a mix of 3-3-5, 3-4 and even some four down linemen sets.
What resulted after a week of practice was one of the best defensive efforts in recent memory, as the Mean Green held a run-heavy Wyoming team to 69 rushing yards at less than 3 yards per carry.
Morris mentioned trying to figure out a way to get the team's best 11 players on the field at once, and that meant adding a fourth linebacker. The main beneficiary was junior Chavez Brown, who started his college career in junior college at wide receiver, but made his first career start at linebacker for the Mean Green.
He ended up with five tackles and a QB hurry, as the defense played with a new sense of free and easy.
"As far as linebackers go, we felt like it was a great opportunity for more linebackers to be on the field," Brown said. "We made a decision to add another linebacker, and that was a great addition. All of us like fly around so having four on the field at one time was a great change."
Being more multiple defensively gives the Mean Green more options and also makes preparation for opposing teams a little more taxing, Morris said. As a longtime play-caller, he said he knows what challenges it can present when having to prepare for multiple looks from a defense.
"It gives us options going forward and allows us to be multiple, which is always hard to prepare for," he said. "For me, preparing for a defense who does multiple things can give you some troubles. Communication has to pick up dramatically. This is a big week for us being the first week of conference play, but then we get a bye week which is in a good spot for us to sit back and take some time and see where this thing can go."
