Photo by: Zach Del Bello / Mean Green Sports
UNT Hosting SFA in 2024 Home Debut
9/3/2024 12:26:00 PM | Football
DENTON – The UNT football team will welcome fans to DATCU Stadium for the first time in 2024, as the Mean Green host SFA on Saturday, with kickoff set for 6:30 p.m. The game can be seen on ESPN+ with the radio broadcast set for 97.1 The Eagle/The Varsity Network.
Head coach Eric Morris and selected players spoke to the media on Tuesday and discussed, among other things, complementary football leading to a huge quarter, a high school QB going back to his roots, a new special teams star and a huge performance from a true freshman in a pinch.
Practice what you preach
Ever since Eric Morris arrived in Denton, not unlike any other football coach, he has preached the importance of playing complementary football – the offense setting up the defense in favorable positions and vice versa, with positive plays on special teams sprinkled in for good measure.
On Saturday in the team's season-opening road win at South Alabama, Morris said his team played the best complementary football he's seen since his arrival. And it led to a scoring explosion in the third quarter that all but sealed a 1-0 start.
It went like this: A 25-yard touchdown pass from Chandler Morris to Blair Conwright less than two minutes into the half. A Morris 1-yard touchdown plunge three minutes later, and then later in the quarter a 54-yard touchdown for Damon Ward Jr.
Less than a minute later after another three-and-out, Juwaun Price caused a blocked punt that was recovered in the end zone by C.J. Garnett.
Before South Alabama could blink, UNT had outscored the Jaguars 28-7 in the third quarter and put the game away, thanks in large part to three three-and-outs out of four South Alabama possessions.
"We were really efficient on first down on defense," Morris said. "We want to keep opponents under four yards on first down on defense. We put them in third-and-long on defense and that allows us to give them some different looks on third-and-long as opposed to like third-and-2. Offensively, Ward made a big catch and they tack on a 15-yard penalty, and with complementary football, we hold them, get a 19-yard punt return to the 50 and we score again fast and we catch them and block a punt and score on that.
"Any time you score 28 points in one quarter, you know you're doing good things on all three sides of the ball."
Back to his roots
Back at Katy Tompkins High School, Wyatt Young did a little bit of everything.
An all-state selection as an All-Purpose Player, the true freshman came to UNT knowing he wasn't going to play quarterback, but exactly what he would play was up in the air.
Eric Morris said he and his staff considered playing him as a defensive back before eventually settling on wide receiver. But Young will always have "quarterback" on his resume, and it showed on Saturday when he completed a 31-yard pass to Ward down to the 1-yard line to set up a score.
"Terrible pass, wasn't it?" Morris said with a smile. "He cramped like mid-throw. If you go back and watch it, he starts cramping as he's going in motion and he's hobbling the whole time. He's a former high school quarterback, so he's thrown it great in practice. It came up, and D-Ward was so open. I was just happy he completed the thing and got it down to the 1."
Young also caught two balls for 19 yards in his first taste of college football, and Morris said the speed with which he's transitioned from being under center to catching passes in a college game has been remarkable.
"When you recruit a kid that plays a different position in high school, you don't know how long it'll take to make that transition," he said. "We went back and forth, 'Do we play him at WR or play him at DB?' It was as impressive as anyone I've seen coming in as a freshman and adjusting so far. This summer, we got reports from Chandler saying, 'Hey, this Wyatt Young kid is really good and can really play at this level.' He has a great skill set for playing that position."
Price makes mark in UNT debut
Juwaun Price is at his third stop as a college football player this season, and it didn't take long for him to introduce himself to UNT fans on Saturday in Mobile, Alabama.
The senior running back, who has been clocked at 22 mph in full pads, has a unique blend of size and speed, and it was on full display in the second quarter when he took a kickoff back 93 yards to pay dirt, only to have the play negated by a holding penalty.
"It definitely hurt," said Price, who was the Arizona High School Returner of the Year as a senior and brought a kick back for a score at New Mexico State. "But it happens. My mindset is to get another one now. Hopefully, they'll kick it my way. I was mad, obviously. That's your first reaction, but I got over it quick."
Later, in the midst of a huge third quarter when UNT pulled away, he saw the Jaguar punter bobble the ball and rushed instead of playing safe, forcing the punter to kick into the back of a teammate, who Price had knocked back into him. The ball was recovered in the end zone by C.J. Garnett for the last of four third-quarter touchdowns for the Mean Green.
"Juwaun Price did a phenomenal job on that," Eric Morris said. "We actually weren't even in a block. We were in a safe call trying to work a return, but he made a play."
Price also had seven carries for 19 yards and a catch for 2 yards, and Morris said with his blend of size and speed, he has to find more ways to get the ball in Price's hands.
"He has the breakaway speed, we know that," Morris said. "It's fun to see him hit that seam. We have to get him the ball more whether it's in the run game or just somewhere in the offense. We have to get his role increased around here."
Thrown in the fire
On the 14th play of the Mean Green's season-opening 15-play scoring drive, starting center Jett Duncan went down with an injury.
Duncan's 27 consecutive starts and 47 games played were suddenly sidelined in favor of a true freshman from Prosper named Tyler Mercer.
Mercer went on to play the rest of the game, leading the offensive front to pave the way to 550 yards of total offense and 52 points in a season-opening road win.
While the average fan might have not noticed, UNT's coaching staff took plenty of notice by naming Mercer the Offensive Player of the Game internally on a night that saw a quarterback eclipse 400 passing yards and a wide receiver catch 12 balls for 230 yards.
"Jett's doing well," Morris said. "He's a tough kid. He got his ankle taped up and was testing it. He'll be day to day. We'll continue to let Tyler get a bunch of reps. He handled it extremely well. His maturity level really showed and he didn't miss a beat. He played well for us. He got Offensive Player of the Week, and there were guys with some stats. But the way he responded for this team and being a young buck, that was super impressive."
Head coach Eric Morris and selected players spoke to the media on Tuesday and discussed, among other things, complementary football leading to a huge quarter, a high school QB going back to his roots, a new special teams star and a huge performance from a true freshman in a pinch.
Practice what you preach
Ever since Eric Morris arrived in Denton, not unlike any other football coach, he has preached the importance of playing complementary football – the offense setting up the defense in favorable positions and vice versa, with positive plays on special teams sprinkled in for good measure.
On Saturday in the team's season-opening road win at South Alabama, Morris said his team played the best complementary football he's seen since his arrival. And it led to a scoring explosion in the third quarter that all but sealed a 1-0 start.
It went like this: A 25-yard touchdown pass from Chandler Morris to Blair Conwright less than two minutes into the half. A Morris 1-yard touchdown plunge three minutes later, and then later in the quarter a 54-yard touchdown for Damon Ward Jr.
Less than a minute later after another three-and-out, Juwaun Price caused a blocked punt that was recovered in the end zone by C.J. Garnett.
Before South Alabama could blink, UNT had outscored the Jaguars 28-7 in the third quarter and put the game away, thanks in large part to three three-and-outs out of four South Alabama possessions.
"We were really efficient on first down on defense," Morris said. "We want to keep opponents under four yards on first down on defense. We put them in third-and-long on defense and that allows us to give them some different looks on third-and-long as opposed to like third-and-2. Offensively, Ward made a big catch and they tack on a 15-yard penalty, and with complementary football, we hold them, get a 19-yard punt return to the 50 and we score again fast and we catch them and block a punt and score on that.
"Any time you score 28 points in one quarter, you know you're doing good things on all three sides of the ball."
Back to his roots
Back at Katy Tompkins High School, Wyatt Young did a little bit of everything.
An all-state selection as an All-Purpose Player, the true freshman came to UNT knowing he wasn't going to play quarterback, but exactly what he would play was up in the air.
Eric Morris said he and his staff considered playing him as a defensive back before eventually settling on wide receiver. But Young will always have "quarterback" on his resume, and it showed on Saturday when he completed a 31-yard pass to Ward down to the 1-yard line to set up a score.
"Terrible pass, wasn't it?" Morris said with a smile. "He cramped like mid-throw. If you go back and watch it, he starts cramping as he's going in motion and he's hobbling the whole time. He's a former high school quarterback, so he's thrown it great in practice. It came up, and D-Ward was so open. I was just happy he completed the thing and got it down to the 1."
Young also caught two balls for 19 yards in his first taste of college football, and Morris said the speed with which he's transitioned from being under center to catching passes in a college game has been remarkable.
"When you recruit a kid that plays a different position in high school, you don't know how long it'll take to make that transition," he said. "We went back and forth, 'Do we play him at WR or play him at DB?' It was as impressive as anyone I've seen coming in as a freshman and adjusting so far. This summer, we got reports from Chandler saying, 'Hey, this Wyatt Young kid is really good and can really play at this level.' He has a great skill set for playing that position."
Price makes mark in UNT debut
Juwaun Price is at his third stop as a college football player this season, and it didn't take long for him to introduce himself to UNT fans on Saturday in Mobile, Alabama.
The senior running back, who has been clocked at 22 mph in full pads, has a unique blend of size and speed, and it was on full display in the second quarter when he took a kickoff back 93 yards to pay dirt, only to have the play negated by a holding penalty.
"It definitely hurt," said Price, who was the Arizona High School Returner of the Year as a senior and brought a kick back for a score at New Mexico State. "But it happens. My mindset is to get another one now. Hopefully, they'll kick it my way. I was mad, obviously. That's your first reaction, but I got over it quick."
Later, in the midst of a huge third quarter when UNT pulled away, he saw the Jaguar punter bobble the ball and rushed instead of playing safe, forcing the punter to kick into the back of a teammate, who Price had knocked back into him. The ball was recovered in the end zone by C.J. Garnett for the last of four third-quarter touchdowns for the Mean Green.
"Juwaun Price did a phenomenal job on that," Eric Morris said. "We actually weren't even in a block. We were in a safe call trying to work a return, but he made a play."
Price also had seven carries for 19 yards and a catch for 2 yards, and Morris said with his blend of size and speed, he has to find more ways to get the ball in Price's hands.
"He has the breakaway speed, we know that," Morris said. "It's fun to see him hit that seam. We have to get him the ball more whether it's in the run game or just somewhere in the offense. We have to get his role increased around here."
Thrown in the fire
On the 14th play of the Mean Green's season-opening 15-play scoring drive, starting center Jett Duncan went down with an injury.
Duncan's 27 consecutive starts and 47 games played were suddenly sidelined in favor of a true freshman from Prosper named Tyler Mercer.
Mercer went on to play the rest of the game, leading the offensive front to pave the way to 550 yards of total offense and 52 points in a season-opening road win.
While the average fan might have not noticed, UNT's coaching staff took plenty of notice by naming Mercer the Offensive Player of the Game internally on a night that saw a quarterback eclipse 400 passing yards and a wide receiver catch 12 balls for 230 yards.
"Jett's doing well," Morris said. "He's a tough kid. He got his ankle taped up and was testing it. He'll be day to day. We'll continue to let Tyler get a bunch of reps. He handled it extremely well. His maturity level really showed and he didn't miss a beat. He played well for us. He got Offensive Player of the Week, and there were guys with some stats. But the way he responded for this team and being a young buck, that was super impressive."
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