While UNT’s offense was productive last season and stands in a position to improve, the defense struggled and its ability to improve is uncertain.  The defense seemed unable stop any opponent last year, and was a nation’s worst in scoring at 45.1 ppg.  In an era of the high-flying, air-it-out football of the Sun Belt, UNT gave up 229.7 yards per game rushing.  Much of the damage in rushing defense was done against stellar run teams and nonconference foes Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Navy.  UNT still gave up 300 yards rushing to Louisiana-Lafayette, and only held one opponent less than 100 yards rushing (Florida Atlantic).  UNT didn’t do much better with pass defense ranking 95th giving up 256.8 yards per game.  UNT ranked 110 in turnovers at -11 for the year.

With six returning starters, it looked as if UNT had something to build upon, but yesterday UNT announced that Eddrick Gilmore will not return for UNT in the fall.  Gilmore was one of UNT’s few returning starters at Defensive Line, but certainly not the only Defensive Lineman with experience.  UNT will return the services of Sophomore OLB Craig Robertson who had 48 tackles and 5 interceptions.  Robertson finished the year with an Honorable Mention All Sun Belt Conference award.  They also will return Antoine Bush and Kartey Agbottah in the secondary.  The Mean Green may have gotten a big boost to its defense when it nabbed Alonzo Horton.  Horton was rated as a JUCO Top 100 by Rivals.

Coach Dodge has turned the defense over to former Defensive Coordinator Gary DeLoach in an attempt to shore up the defense.  DeLoach’s defenses were very good in 2001 and 2002 ranking first in the Sun Belt Conference.  DeLoach may have to count on some young players to help turn the defense around.  If he can find more young players like Robertson, he might make the turn quicker than later. Royce Hill of Cypress Ridge HS in Houston, Darien Williams of Vernon, TX and James Hamilton of Cedar Hill, TX look to be able to contribute early.  A darkhorse early contributer is Jeremy Phillips of Waller, TX.  His brother is All Mountain West LB Jason Phillips of TCU.  Phillips is a coach’s son, and former QB for Waller.  He may be too good to keep on the sidelines.

Special Teams

If any area was worse than defense, it might have been special teams.  UNT Punter Truman Spencer fell off his pace last year with a 34.2 Net Avg.  His actual punting average went up, so look for improvement in the punting game with better coverage.  UNT Place Kicker Thomas Moreland was 8 for 15 kicking and did not hit a field goal longer than 37 yards.  However, UNT signed JUCO kicker Jeremy Knott who was an NJCAA All-American kicker at Northeastern Oklahoma A & M.  Micah Mosely held the KR duties last year and returns for the Mean Green.  UNT will be searching for a new Punt Returner and a second Kick Returner.

Continued from Part Two

I didn’t mean for this to be in three parts, but the information just kept filling up space.  Therefore, I kept breaking it up.  I certainly could have been even more specific than I was with many of the details.  My goal was to provide overviews and some comparisons.  Many of you have probably already purchased and digested your favorite magazine, so much of this is not news to you. 

In summary, there are some interesting characteristics about each preseason magazine.  For instance, there is the total number of pages.  Phil Steele has 328 pages.  That is 80 pages more than its closes competitor which is Lindy’s at 248 pages.  Athlon has a total of 200 pages while Sporting News has a total of 208 pages.  Phil Steele only considers the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision.  However, Sporting News covers football in the Football Bowl Subdivision, the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), Divisions II and III, NAIA, Junior Colleges and some high schools.  Lindy’s also picks up coverage of the FCS, Division II and Division III.  Like Phil Steele, Athlon just sticks with the Bowl Subdivision.

If you are interested in numbers and stats on each and every team, Phil Steele is your magazine.  It kind of has a reputation of being a “betters” magazine, but it is really stocked with a lot of good information, especially about teams that you probably don’t know much about (see Idaho).  If you want a general overview of all the divisions, all the way down to the JUCO’s, then Sporting News is the magazine you should probably buy.  Lindy’s is also pretty good for a general overview, except they don’t cover the lower divisions.  Lindy’s really ranks the units and positions.  Athlon, while it does a nice job of general coverage, may provide you with the most entertaining read.  Athlon has a pretty nice section on recruiting, a “Sideline Spirit” segment with some really pretty cheerleaders, their Pick’Em challenge with Trace Adkins and a major emphasis on its Fantasy Football for the fall.  Much of Athlon’s magazine is designed to drive you to their website for continued coverage throughout the football season.  The “Sideline Spirit”, the Pick’Em and the Fanatasy Football features are regulars on their website.  One final thing, Athlon seems to be interested in helping you if you have a gambling problem.

I hope you are able to learn more about your favorite team for the coming fall season.