North Texas Football 2013 Spring Wrap Up

Spring Summary

First a disclaimer – I have never been a big believer in spring practice being a good gauge of anything, let alone how a team will do the following year. With that being said, UNT appears to have more talent across the board.

A series of injuries to key skill position players really cut the legs out from under UNT’s offense that didn’t have many playmakers in the first place last year. Brelan Chancellor was lost after eight games to a broken collarbone and running back Antoinne Jimmerson played in just 10 games.

Those guys are back and UNT added a couple of transfers who could make a difference in wide receiver Darius Terrell (Texas) and running back Reggie Pegram (Texas).

UNT also appears to have more talent in the secondary, thanks to the arrival of Zed Evans, a safety who transferred from Louisville and James Jones, a cornerback from Kilgore College.

Head coach Dan McCarney talked a lot about the increased depth and competition on the team in the spring.

As far as key questions, the most important was left unanswered. UNT has a two-year starting quarterback returning in Derek Thompson, who has been solid at times and struggled at others. Highly regarded transfer Brock Berglund was supposed to challenge Thompson in the spring, but ended up missing time with a hamstring injury. What made matters more complicated was that backup Andrew McNulty played his way into the picture.

McCarney declined to name a starter after the spring and said the competition could last right up until the week UNT opens the season at home against Idaho.

So the answer to the key question (Is Thompson the best bet? Is Berglund the answer?) was not answered.

Name a few players who could have breakout seasons

When it comes to unknown players, it’s somewhat of a matter of how closely one follows a program, but of the guys who didn’t play last year I would keep my eye on, running back Reggie Pegram and wide receiver Darius Terrell.

Pegram played quite a bit at Purdue, but decided to transfer and could provide a different look. He’s a load. Considering UNT has been a run-based offensive team for more than a decade, it wouldn’t surprise me to see him play quite a bit.

Terrell is also a good candidate to break out considering he is 6-foot-3 and has some speed.

UNT’s wide receivers have often looked like a bunch of munchkins the last few years. Brelan Chancellor is a great player, but is 5-foot-9. Carlos Harris is one of UNT’s up-and-coming wide receivers. He’s 5-foot-8.

At 6-foot-3, Terrell is one of the few guys UNT has with size.

Grade each position group & special teams 

QB – C: Derek Thompson has been solid. He got too much of the blame last year while playing for a team with few playmakers. UNT needs to be better. Thompson will have to hold off Andrew McNulty and Brock Berglund in the fall.

WR – C: Brelan Chancellor is a proven playmaker, but UNT has been pretty ordinary outside of its star slot receiver.  That didn’t appear as if it would change in the spring.

RB – B: UNT has been traditionally strong at running back and has some talented players. Brandin Byrd is a solid college running back, Antoinne Jimmerson has a higher level of talent and showed flashes of greatness last year, while Reggie Pegram provides an intriguing option.

OL-TE – B: Arguably UNT’s strongest position group the last several years has been its offensive line. UNT will be deeper next year. The question will be if this team can replace center Aaron Fortenberry, arguably the best player on the team last year, and key blocking tight end Andrew Power, the appropriately named battering ram who played a key role in the running game.

DL – D: Maybe the scariest position on the team heading into next season. Ends Brandon McCoy and Aaron Bellazin are solid, as is tackle Ryan Boutwell, but there are not a lot of proven players there. McCoy and Boutwell missed spring practice and Boutwell will play some at defensive end this year.

The loss of senior Tevinn Cantly, one of the few tackles UNT had with size, could also hurt. JUCO defensive end Quenton Brown was supposed to be a huge addition, but he tore his ACL in spring practice. That was a huge loss considering he seemed like a candidate to replace K.C. Obi, who led UNT in sacks (5.5) and tackles for loss (10.5) last season.

LB – B: Zach Orr is a rock at middle linebacker and Derek Akunne and Will Wright are also proven players who looked good in the spring. McCarney said the group could be the best he has had at the position in his time at UNT.

DB – C: UNT struggled in the defensive secondary last season and added a couple of players who could make an impact in Louisville transfer Zed Evans and JUCO transfer James Jones. UNT has more options and should be better. The question is how much better.

ST – B: Kicker Zach Olen has been pretty good most of his career and survived being yanked after missing two field goals in a 14-7 loss to Troy. UNT will really miss standout punter Will Atterberry, a second-team All-Sun Belt pick. Brelan Chancellor is a very good kick returner.

Are there any “surprises” we can expect from this team ?

That is the million dollar question. The big surprise was supposed to be transfer quarterback Brock Berglund riding in on a white horse to save the day. That hasn’t happened. At least not yet.

UNT loaded up on transfer and JUCO recruits in the hope that they would help break a string of eight straight losing seasons. Those players helped elevate UNT’s talent level across the board. The question is if there are a couple of difference-makers in that group – or hidden somewhere else on the roster – who will jump up and get UNT over the hump. If there are, this team could break through.

I would expect pretty much everyone without a vested interest in UNT to pick this team to finish somewhere between 2-10 and 5-7. It’s hard to disagree with that type of assessment; especially considering UNT is moving up to Conference USA and has non-conference games against three teams coming off bowl appearances in Georgia, Ohio and Ball State.

At this point, I am guessing that UNT will end up on the high end of that range and win five games.

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Brett Vito the Mean Green beat writer for the Denton Record-Chronicle provided the information for our North Texas Football 2013 Spring Wrap Up.  For more Mean Green football information, commentary and analysis, you can follow Brett on Twitter @brettvito.

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