Will transfer losses torpedo UNT's chances to compete immediately in American?
Eric Morris laid out a bold vision when he was introduced as North Texas’ new coach late last year.
Morris took over a team coming off a 7-7 season that culminated with a loss to Boise State in the Frisco Bowl and saw several of its top players depart, including star linebacker KD Davis and quarterback Austin Aune.
That loss to Boise was also Mean Green’s finale as a member of Conference USA before they jump to the American Athletic Conference this summer.
Competing right away would be a big challenge for UNT, one Morris expected the Mean Green to meet.
“The pieces are in place,” Morris said. “We’re going to have to add a couple of players here and there and continue to develop and grow these kids. This is not a program that is broken.
“I know what we have on our roster right now. And I think that we can get to the top of that conference extremely fast.”
A whole lot has changed since that day, most notably the makeup of UNT’s roster. The Mean Green have added a host of recruits who are expected to fill key roles but have also lost some of their most decorated players to the transfer portal.
That turnover raises the question — is UNT still equipped to compete?
The transfer portal closed over the weekend.
UNT is still working through the process of putting its roster together, leaving the Mean Green a grade that can only be described is “I” — as in incomplete.
There are plenty of positives to point to, even though that is the case.
Trey Cleveland was a key member of Texas Tech’s wide receiver corps before transferring to UNT. He certainly looked the part during spring practice.
Quarterback Chandler Rogers was recruited to fill the considerable void left when Aune declared for the NFL draft.
“I looked at the roster and UNT has everyone coming back,” Rogers said shortly after he committed. “They’re not in a rebuilding phase. They’re a winning football team. With myself and the rest of the class we have coming in, we can win this conference.”
Rogers struggled early in spring practice but seemed to turn a corner in UNT’s spring game.
That’s the good news. The bad news is that the Mean Green lost a whole lot of quality players over the last few weeks.
Tight end Jake Roberts was gone almost right after the season ended and has since landed at Baylor.
When all was said and done, UNT lost a first-team All-C-USA selection in tight end Var’Keyes Gumms along with three other players who were honorable mention all-league picks. Shorter led UNT with 11 touchdown receptions, while Nixon was set to be the Mean Green’s leading returning tackler with 104 stops.
Defensive back DeShawn Gaddie finished with 62 tackles and 12 pass breakups and is expected to land at Ole Miss, although he is not listed on the Rebels roster yet.
And that doesn’t take into account the departures of defensive end Cam Robertson and tight end Asher Alberding, a pair of players who flashed potential but seemed like bad scheme fits after Morris took over at UNT and brought in a new staff.
Robertson's best fit is in a system with a four-man defensive line and passed on multiple offers from Power Five schools before landing at SMU, a particularly bitter pill to swallow for UNT supporters who view the Mustangs as their biggest rival. Alberding is a traditional tight end whose strength is blocking in the running game and followed former offensive coordinator Mike Bloesch to Cal.
Seeing players like Roberts and Alberding land at Power Five programs is an indication of just how much talent UNT has lost.
There is always the chance some of the players who have yet to find a landing spot could change course and return to UNT. The odds are against it, though, and that ramps up the pressure on Morris and his staff to quickly reload with a run of portal additions to fill key voids.
The potential for immediate playing time was a big reason UNT was able to land tight end Josh Smith from College of the Canyons.
“North Texas needed a tight end for the upcoming season,” Smith said when he committed this spring. “It’s a perfect fit for me. I’m excited and am looking forward to the chance to help this year.”
The good news for UNT is that while it lost a few key players late to transfer during the second of two 15-day windows for players to enter the portal, it has time to find replacements.
There are hundreds of transfers still out there, and UNT has been pursuing several. TCU transfer wide receiver Blair Conwright visited UNT this week.
The Mean Green picked up a commitment from Blinn junior college linebacker CJ Garnett on Wednesday. Garnett could help soften the blow from losing Nixon, who is weighing offers from several Power Five schools.
Morris said on national signing day in February that he had two scholarships remaining to award, and that was before a host of players left the program.
There’s little doubt UNT’s staff still has some work to do.
How well the Mean Green fare will go a long way toward determining if their losses in the portal will kill their chances of making headway toward Morris’ goal of being a contender this fall in the American.
