Littrell Talks To Media Ahead Of Season Opener
8/31/2021 2:00:00 PM | Football
DENTON – UNT head coach Seth Littrell held his first press conference of the season on Tuesday and discussed Saturday's upcoming season opener against Northwestern State.
The Mean Green are coming off a 4-6 campaign and open play against FCS Northwestern State, which played a spring schedule due to COVID-19, at 6:30 p.m., Saturday at Apogee Stadium.
With the start of the season on the horizon, Littrell said he's been pleased with the team's work leading up to the opener.
"I feel good," Littrell said. "It's been a lot of great work in all three phases. The kids have been locked in and have really grinded through fall camp. We have a lot of new faces and on-the-job training but we're a lot further ahead than in some years past. I'm excited about this group."
Littrell confident in whoever's under center
When the team's first depth chart was released on Tuesday, the quarterback position came with an "or" label, with juniors Austin Aune and Jace Ruder being listed as starters.
Aune helped pilot the nation's No. 8 offense last season, which averaged 513.2 yards per game, and passed for 1,650 yards in three starts. His 16.34 yards per completion last year was good for third in the country. Ruder appeared in three games last season for North Carolina before transferring to the Mean Green.
"I feel good (about both)," Littrell said. "Both of those guys have come a long way. If you've seen Aune, he's much improved from last fall into the spring now having a summer and fall camp to work through. He's night and day (different), to be honest. Both quarterbacks are at a point right now that is better than what we had any time this past season. I feel good where we're at."
Fifth-year running back DeAndre Torrey said he agrees with his head coach's sentiment in regards to whether Aune or Ruder runs out on the field Saturday the first time the Mean Green offense takes the field.
"I'm 100 percent confident in whoever they pick," Torrey said. "Both guys are dudes. I see them practice every day. They stay after and work with me and the receivers. I know they both know exactly what they're doing and they'll do their best for their team."
Torrey primarily focused on RB
Earlier in fall camp, Torrey had been working all over the field on offense after primarily playing as a running back since his arrival in Denton. With a season-ending injury to Oscar Adaway III, Torrey has now returned primarily to the running back room along with sophomore Isaiah Johnson, who saw minimal time in six games last year, and redshirt freshman Ikaika Ragsdale, who appeared in two games.
"It definitely hurt our offense a lot to lose Oscar," said Torrey, who ranks ninth in program history with 3,330 career all-purpose yards. "That was a rotating starter. We're trying to work through that as a team but we have some younger guys ready. "I just want to be the best I can for the team and be a leader for those guys. It's me and those young guys who haven't seen a lot of action, so I'm just trying to do things right."
Davis feeling good about new defense
Senior linebacker KD Davis enters the year as the team's top tackler from a year ago, a feat he also accomplished in 2019 heading into the 2020 season. Also for the second straight year, Davis was voted a team captain, joining Nate Durham, Manase Mose, Dion Novil and Torrey as the team's five captains.
"This is two years in a row and it's a huge blessing," Davis said. "A lot of people look up to me and even on days when I don't have a good day or I don't sleep and don't feel great, I have to just remind myself who I am and what I mean on this team."
He will be entering his senior season under a new defensive coordinator in coaching veteran Phil Bennett, and largely a new defensive staff, and Davis said he's bought in to the new personalities and schemes.
"We've all bought in on coach Bennett, and the intensity is high and they coach us hard every day," Davis said. "They make us better as a group."
Littrell sends condolences to Gulf Coast
With the Mean Green set to play Northwestern State on Saturday, the attention briefly turned to Louisiana and the rest of the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Ida struck the area on Sunday.
"We send our thoughts and prayers to Louisiana and all of the coastal cities that were hit by the storm," Littrell said.
The Mean Green are coming off a 4-6 campaign and open play against FCS Northwestern State, which played a spring schedule due to COVID-19, at 6:30 p.m., Saturday at Apogee Stadium.
With the start of the season on the horizon, Littrell said he's been pleased with the team's work leading up to the opener.
"I feel good," Littrell said. "It's been a lot of great work in all three phases. The kids have been locked in and have really grinded through fall camp. We have a lot of new faces and on-the-job training but we're a lot further ahead than in some years past. I'm excited about this group."
Littrell confident in whoever's under center
When the team's first depth chart was released on Tuesday, the quarterback position came with an "or" label, with juniors Austin Aune and Jace Ruder being listed as starters.
Aune helped pilot the nation's No. 8 offense last season, which averaged 513.2 yards per game, and passed for 1,650 yards in three starts. His 16.34 yards per completion last year was good for third in the country. Ruder appeared in three games last season for North Carolina before transferring to the Mean Green.
"I feel good (about both)," Littrell said. "Both of those guys have come a long way. If you've seen Aune, he's much improved from last fall into the spring now having a summer and fall camp to work through. He's night and day (different), to be honest. Both quarterbacks are at a point right now that is better than what we had any time this past season. I feel good where we're at."
Fifth-year running back DeAndre Torrey said he agrees with his head coach's sentiment in regards to whether Aune or Ruder runs out on the field Saturday the first time the Mean Green offense takes the field.
"I'm 100 percent confident in whoever they pick," Torrey said. "Both guys are dudes. I see them practice every day. They stay after and work with me and the receivers. I know they both know exactly what they're doing and they'll do their best for their team."
Torrey primarily focused on RB
Earlier in fall camp, Torrey had been working all over the field on offense after primarily playing as a running back since his arrival in Denton. With a season-ending injury to Oscar Adaway III, Torrey has now returned primarily to the running back room along with sophomore Isaiah Johnson, who saw minimal time in six games last year, and redshirt freshman Ikaika Ragsdale, who appeared in two games.
"It definitely hurt our offense a lot to lose Oscar," said Torrey, who ranks ninth in program history with 3,330 career all-purpose yards. "That was a rotating starter. We're trying to work through that as a team but we have some younger guys ready. "I just want to be the best I can for the team and be a leader for those guys. It's me and those young guys who haven't seen a lot of action, so I'm just trying to do things right."
Davis feeling good about new defense
Senior linebacker KD Davis enters the year as the team's top tackler from a year ago, a feat he also accomplished in 2019 heading into the 2020 season. Also for the second straight year, Davis was voted a team captain, joining Nate Durham, Manase Mose, Dion Novil and Torrey as the team's five captains.
"This is two years in a row and it's a huge blessing," Davis said. "A lot of people look up to me and even on days when I don't have a good day or I don't sleep and don't feel great, I have to just remind myself who I am and what I mean on this team."
He will be entering his senior season under a new defensive coordinator in coaching veteran Phil Bennett, and largely a new defensive staff, and Davis said he's bought in to the new personalities and schemes.
"We've all bought in on coach Bennett, and the intensity is high and they coach us hard every day," Davis said. "They make us better as a group."
Littrell sends condolences to Gulf Coast
With the Mean Green set to play Northwestern State on Saturday, the attention briefly turned to Louisiana and the rest of the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Ida struck the area on Sunday.
"We send our thoughts and prayers to Louisiana and all of the coastal cities that were hit by the storm," Littrell said.
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