Mean Green Hosting Unbeaten Navy on National TV

DENTON – The UNT football team is set to host unbeaten Navy, which will be broadcast nationally Saturday on ESPN2 with kickoff set for 11 a.m. The radio broadcast can be found on 1190 AM/The Varsity Network.

Head coach Eric Morris and select players spoke to the media on Tuesday and discussed, among other things, national attention from Drew Mestemaker's record-setting performance last week, a huge matchup with massive American championship ramifications, if facing Army's triple option will help against Navy's option attack and the surging play of sophomore wideout Wyatt Young.

Record night puts QB, Mean Green in spotlight
On the heels of Friday night's record-breaking performance by redshirt freshman quarterback Drew Mestemaker, the football program has been thrust into the spotlight once again on the national level.

Mestemaker earned countless honors after his 608-yard, four-touchdown passing effort in the nationally televised 54-20 win at Charlotte – most notably being named the Associated Press National Player of the Week, the first for a UNT player since 1975.

Mestemaker's 608 yards was a new program record, new American Conference record and was the second-most yards in FBS history by a freshman quarterback. It was the second time in FBS history a quarterback has thrown for more than 600 yards with a completion percentage of 75% or better (Geno Smith, vs. Baylor in 2012).

"Any time you're on national TV on a Friday night, a bunch of your buddies are in a hotel room getting ready for Saturday and watching it, so I had a lot of texts," head coach Eric Morris said. "Drew continues to become a phenomenal story across America, and rightfully so. He continues to get better each and every week and continues to grow. It was definitely his passing performance, and his wideouts had a lot to do with that, and he'd tell you that. He started off hot on that first drive. He threw a great go ball and Cam Dorner made a phenomenal play to get things going (on UNT's first touchdown)."

Mestemaker's top receiver on Friday night, sophomore Wyatt Young, had a career day, as well, catching nine passes for 190 yards and a touchdown, and said it was fun to play such a key role in that type of game.

"I feel special to be a part of a game like that for Drew," Young said. "Him throwing for 600 yards is just wild. Being a part of a record-breaking game like that is always special to be a part of."

UNT, Navy in upper echelon of strong American
With four games remaining in the regular season, UNT has put itself squarely in the discussion to be a part of the American championship game, which could determine a spot in the College Football Playoff.

Navy is atop those standings at the moment with a 7-0 overall record and a perfect 5-0 mark in conference play.

Morris said this weekend provides a special opportunity not many teams get to experience.

"There's only five or six teams left undefeated in FBS right now, and we get to face one at home in November," Morris said. "Any time you set yourself up to play meaningful games in November, you're doing something right. They have three or four seniors on this team that are as good as anyone in the nation."

Junior linebacker Ethan Wesloski said he and his teammates knew they could be in this position – to play meaningful November football – early in the season.

"We knew from Week Zero that we'd control our own destiny," he said. "We can't let the outside news and headlines affect us. We have to control our controllables and if we can go 1-0 every week, we control our destiny and can be where we want to be in the postseason."

Morris also made the case for he and his American colleagues when it comes time for the CFP to choose a non-Power Four representative.

"It's been fun for me to watch – even all these other teams," Morris said, "between Memphis, Tulane and Navy, South Florida and these people all being on national stages and getting the job done. I'd argue this conference is as strong as it's ever been.

"This is what people love about sports is getting an underdog, Cinderella story. Drew's story is compelling to people everywhere. It's why people love March Madness to get that opportunity on a big stage. Our resources might not be the same, but we have a lot of kids who are going to play football for a long time. It's been fun for me to be a part of this conference and respect these coaches and watch them put together a roster when the turnover has been real. We have some really quality programs and coaches in this conference."

Navy offers different challenges than Army
Earlier this season, UNT traveled to West Point to face Army's vaunted triple option attack and jumped out to a big lead while keeping the Black Knights' rushing attack at bay before ultimately holding off a furious rally to win in overtime.

This week, UNT will face its second option team of the season, but the challenges the Navy offense present are different than what the Mean Green saw a little more than a month ago in New York.

"They aren't the same schematically," Wesloski said. "Navy basically has two different offenses because they run out of a (shotgun), too. The tempo of the Army game will help us execute our jobs more smoothly, but it's going to be different. We have to just swarm the ball like pterodactyls, and we'll be fine."

Morris expounded on that, saying facing another option attack, even if it's different, prepares the defense's eye discipline because the speed of the offense is so much faster than what any scout team can replicate.

"They present a different arrangement of challenges, but the eye discipline is so key," Morris said. "They'll run option and belly and G-Lead and triple, but they'll have more motions and shifts and try to get the ball down the field more often.

"This isn't like Army. This offense is explosive. They probably have a lot more explosive plays if you look it up. It's not exactly ball control Army but we have to be able to protect the ball and win the turnover battle."

Young in midst of career year
Sophomore wide receiver Wyatt Young is only in his second year playing the position after starring at quarterback for Katy Tompkins HS, but he's made the transition look easy this season.

Young is the team's leading receiver this year with 35 catches for 586 yards and seven touchdowns, and his 371 receiving yards over the last three games is the most in the nation in that span. His seven receiving touchdowns this season is tied for 10th nationally and leads the conference.

He had a monster game on Friday as Mestemaker's leading receiver with 190 yards on nine catches and a touchdown.

"Having an offseason to really practice wide receiver and focus on that really helped me this year," Young said. "Knowing where Drew wants me to be and how to run certain routes has really helped me a lot."

And to think, a lot of that damage has been done as Young has had a brace on his shoulder that limits his arm's mobility.

"He's a great dude and a great competitor," Wesloski said. "He's going to do whatever he can for his team. That harness limits his shoulder mobility but he'll do whatever he can to catch the ball for this team. I love that dude. I'll go to war with him any day."

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Players Mentioned

Drew Mestemaker

Ethan Wesloski

Wyatt Young

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