Saturday, October 12
Boca Raton, FL
6 PM CT
University of North Texas
at
Florida Atlantic
UNT Getting Back to Business Against FAU
10/8/2024 1:25:00 PM | Football
DENTON – The UNT football team is fresh off a bye week and ready to get back to conference play on Saturday, as the Mean Green travel to Boca Raton to face FAU with kickoff set for 6 p.m., at FAU Football Stadium. The game can be seen on ESPN+ with the radio broadcast set for 97.1 The Eagle/The Varsity Network/Sirius XM Channel 381.
Head coach Eric Morris and selected players spoke to the media on Tuesday and discussed, among other things, making the most of their first bye week, young guys continuing to step up when called upon and the offensive and special teams spark plug that is DT Sheffield.
Mean Green made most of bye week
Like every college football team in the nation, UNT has its fair share of injuries that are being nursed.
A bye week's top benefit is always to rest and refresh, but it's not the only positive the Mean Green got out of their first bye week of the season.
"We got a little break from it all, but we did have some really good practices, too, and got done what we needed to and got ahead of the game plan," junior quarterback Chandler Morris said. "We have a really mature team, so I think we handled the off week really well."
Head coach Eric Morris was happy with the way his team balanced rest and recovery with getting the proper amount of work in.
"It helped us this week to be able to get some rest time and get their legs back underneath them," he said. "We did a nice job last week of getting two walkthroughs in, and then our young guys got some time to scrimmage each other before we had days off Saturday and Sunday before we got back to it for Monday and Tuesday practices."
Youth still proving valuable
With injuries to several veterans early in the season, the Mean Green have thrown several young players into the first of college football, and the results have been largely positive.
So far this year, 19 true freshmen and 10 redshirt freshmen have seen time on the field, and several of those have been key contributors.
Established veterans like Damon Ward and Ikaika Ragsdale have dealt with injuries and given way to young guys like Wyatt Young, Kiefer Sibley and Makenzie McGill II.
"When you look at guys like Damon and Ikaika, who have played so much football around here, they're guys you want on the field," Eric Morris said. "They don't need much practice. But it's been good to get these young guys out there and see them perform the way they have. …We like to get some of these guys we think are twos a lot of special teams reps early in the year to get them adjusted to the speed of the game before throwing them in the fire on offense and defense, and it's paid off."
Chandler Morris has been on both sides of the "next man up" aspect of college football, and he knows the importance of being ready when your name is called.
"It's extremely important," he said. "This is a physical, violent game. Injuries will happen. You have to be sure the younger guys and backups are prepared and ready to play. I've been in both situations. I've been the guy that's gotten called up and the guy who's been injured. We've had guys do a good job of being prepared."
Sheffield has become key piece on offense, special teams
Junior wide receiver DT Sheffield has become not only the Mean Green's biggest home run threat in the passing game this year but has also proven to be one of the top return men in The American.
Sheffield's 23 catches this season for 317 yards and five touchdowns sticks out, as his five touchdown receptions has him in a tie for 13th most in FBS this season and the most in the conference.
In the return game, he has 202 combined kick return yards (punts and kickoffs) which is seventh most in the conference despite the fact he's only returned kickoffs for three games.
Eric Morris recruited Sheffield to Washington State before taking the UNT job and said he's been thrilled to see how Sheffield has grown on the field, and off it.
"I recruited him at Washington State, then I came here, so I saw all his JUCO tape and loved what he brought to the table," he said. "I knew his skill set and what he was about. It's been fun to watch him continue to grow as a practice player. That's one thing I didn't think he was great at when he got here and he's become an animal. There's no players I've been around who were really good on Saturdays and not good during the week. He's bought into it - everything."
Morris, who himself returned punts in college, said a good return can ignite an entire team, and Sheffield has brought plenty of energy this season.
"You look at return numbers compared to last year and there's a huge spike," he said. "Those light a fire on the offense seeing the energy change coming off the sideline when you're calling that first play after a big return. I really like what he's shown back there. He put one on the ground a few weeks ago and hasn't flinched since. We have a lot of confidence in him."
Ask someone who goes against him frequently in practice, and he'll tell you the same.
"He's been great," said senior cornerback Ridge Texada. "From the spring, I knew he'd have a big impact on this team. We just had to get him the ball and we knew he'd do it. He's so explosive."
Head coach Eric Morris and selected players spoke to the media on Tuesday and discussed, among other things, making the most of their first bye week, young guys continuing to step up when called upon and the offensive and special teams spark plug that is DT Sheffield.
Mean Green made most of bye week
Like every college football team in the nation, UNT has its fair share of injuries that are being nursed.
A bye week's top benefit is always to rest and refresh, but it's not the only positive the Mean Green got out of their first bye week of the season.
"We got a little break from it all, but we did have some really good practices, too, and got done what we needed to and got ahead of the game plan," junior quarterback Chandler Morris said. "We have a really mature team, so I think we handled the off week really well."
Head coach Eric Morris was happy with the way his team balanced rest and recovery with getting the proper amount of work in.
"It helped us this week to be able to get some rest time and get their legs back underneath them," he said. "We did a nice job last week of getting two walkthroughs in, and then our young guys got some time to scrimmage each other before we had days off Saturday and Sunday before we got back to it for Monday and Tuesday practices."
Youth still proving valuable
With injuries to several veterans early in the season, the Mean Green have thrown several young players into the first of college football, and the results have been largely positive.
So far this year, 19 true freshmen and 10 redshirt freshmen have seen time on the field, and several of those have been key contributors.
Established veterans like Damon Ward and Ikaika Ragsdale have dealt with injuries and given way to young guys like Wyatt Young, Kiefer Sibley and Makenzie McGill II.
"When you look at guys like Damon and Ikaika, who have played so much football around here, they're guys you want on the field," Eric Morris said. "They don't need much practice. But it's been good to get these young guys out there and see them perform the way they have. …We like to get some of these guys we think are twos a lot of special teams reps early in the year to get them adjusted to the speed of the game before throwing them in the fire on offense and defense, and it's paid off."
Chandler Morris has been on both sides of the "next man up" aspect of college football, and he knows the importance of being ready when your name is called.
"It's extremely important," he said. "This is a physical, violent game. Injuries will happen. You have to be sure the younger guys and backups are prepared and ready to play. I've been in both situations. I've been the guy that's gotten called up and the guy who's been injured. We've had guys do a good job of being prepared."
Sheffield has become key piece on offense, special teams
Junior wide receiver DT Sheffield has become not only the Mean Green's biggest home run threat in the passing game this year but has also proven to be one of the top return men in The American.
Sheffield's 23 catches this season for 317 yards and five touchdowns sticks out, as his five touchdown receptions has him in a tie for 13th most in FBS this season and the most in the conference.
In the return game, he has 202 combined kick return yards (punts and kickoffs) which is seventh most in the conference despite the fact he's only returned kickoffs for three games.
Eric Morris recruited Sheffield to Washington State before taking the UNT job and said he's been thrilled to see how Sheffield has grown on the field, and off it.
"I recruited him at Washington State, then I came here, so I saw all his JUCO tape and loved what he brought to the table," he said. "I knew his skill set and what he was about. It's been fun to watch him continue to grow as a practice player. That's one thing I didn't think he was great at when he got here and he's become an animal. There's no players I've been around who were really good on Saturdays and not good during the week. He's bought into it - everything."
Morris, who himself returned punts in college, said a good return can ignite an entire team, and Sheffield has brought plenty of energy this season.
"You look at return numbers compared to last year and there's a huge spike," he said. "Those light a fire on the offense seeing the energy change coming off the sideline when you're calling that first play after a big return. I really like what he's shown back there. He put one on the ground a few weeks ago and hasn't flinched since. We have a lot of confidence in him."
Ask someone who goes against him frequently in practice, and he'll tell you the same.
"He's been great," said senior cornerback Ridge Texada. "From the spring, I knew he'd have a big impact on this team. We just had to get him the ball and we knew he'd do it. He's so explosive."
Players Mentioned
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