North Texas Mean Green: 5 Reasons Things Will Be Different
For the North Texas Mean Green, things are different this season. Here are five reasons things are changing at North Texas…
Let’s face it. The North Texas Mean Green have been taking it in the proverbial shorts for a while, now. Sure, they had that great Dallas Bowl run during that magical 2013 season. But that’s really been the only thing UNT fans have had to cheer about in recent history. Help is on the way, though. That’s why we have five reasons to be optimistic about the Mean Green in 2016.
Reason #1 — Head Coach Seth Littrell
New Head Coach Seth Littrell is a breath of fresh air to this program. For starters, he’s young. Not that far-removed from his own college career, he can relate to the guys on the North Texas team. Plus, he’s studied at the feet of some great coaches.
Prior to Littrell’s junior season at Oklahoma as a fullback, the Sooners took a chance on a brand new head coach, Bob Stoops. Some would say he’s pretty good. That very same 1999 season, his offensive coordinator was none other than offensive guru Mike Leach.
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He later became the running backs coach under Leach at Texas Tech. It was there that he began learning the air raid offense, which is already apparent in his coaching style.
His most recent gig was under North Carolina’s Larry Fedora. Together, they led the Tar Heels to one of their best seasons in recent history in 2015. That’s what got him to Denton, and he brought some firepower along with him.
Reason #2 — Offensive Coordinator Graham Harrell
You remember Littrell’s years at Texas Tech? Well, he coached one of the most decorated quarterbacks in Red Raider history and went on to win a Super Bowl. That guy is now running the Mean Green offense.
It wouldn’t be a surprise at all to find out that Harrell goes on recruiting trips with Littrell to visit potential quarterbacks. All he would have to do is list his collegiate accomplishments and flash his gigantic ring. That, alone might be enough to persuade a kid wanting to play QB for a potent offense. And speaking of quarterbacks . . .
Reason #3 — Freshman Quarterback Mason Fine
“Nothing rattles him. He has a good understanding of the system; he played in it in high school. The way he commanded the offense, managed the football game. He was a great leader in the huddle.” – Seth Littrell
Freshman quarterback Mason Fine showed North Texas fans that he may have something against Bethune-Cookman. Granted, yes, it was an FCS opponent. But don’t focus on that so much at the moment. The more important thing is what Coach Littrell saw in him.
After Saturday’s 41-20 win, Littrell stated, “Nothing rattles him. He has a good understanding of the system; he played in it in high school. The way he commanded the offense, managed the football game. He was a great leader in the huddle.”
Winning the quarterback battle in practice also doesn’t hurt. The bottom line is: He’s talented and he’s a leader. That will give you great play out of your quarterback more often than not. That’s why he’s also going to be a big part of the future for the Mean Green — especially if he can hang onto the starting job.
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Reason #4 — Senior Quarterback Alec Morris
Transfer quarterback Alec Morris was undoubtedly one of the big pickups of the offseason for the Mean Green. Quarterback was already going to be a weak spot. But along with Fine, the addition of Morris brought some true, healthy competition to the table for North Texas. That breeds a very healthy atmosphere for this team, especially if the two get along and actually like each other.
Imagine Morris, coming out and having a great game. That motivates Fine, who decides he wants to de-throne Morris. So, Fine goes out and has an unbelievable week of practice and wins the job. He goes out and has an even better game, further motivating Morris . . .
Whether the job flip-flops or not, both players are motivating each other to give everything they’ve got, regardless of who starts. Coach Littrell has already made it clear that he’s going to be giving both adequate playing time for the foreseeable future.
"“At the end of the day, both of those guys are going to have to be good for us to be successful,” said Coach Littrell following the Bethune-Cookman win."
Reason #5 — A positive locker room
Coach Littrell has made it clear on numerous occasions that the Mean Green will reflect a positive attitude on and off the field. With all the negative stories that surrounded North Texas football over the past couple of seasons, this is possibly the biggest change of them all. This team isn’t going to quit. They’re going to give everything they have and leave it all on the field.
In the end, the record may not reflect what everyone would like to see. They’ve already lost a tough home opener to the SMU Mustangs. They worked hard to get the first victory of 2016 against Bethune-Cookman. But they’ve shown their heart. And as UNT Color Analyst Hank Dickenson pointed out during Saturday’s radio broadcast, hard-nosed and positive play will make players fan-favorites very quickly around Denton.
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The 2016 season may not be “THE year” for Mean Green football. But it’s looking to be the year where things become fresh. There was a lot of change in the offseason, and much like a good spring cleaning, it has the potential to make things look really good around Apogee Stadium from here on out.