Saturday, September 27
Denton, TX
11:00 AM CT
University of North Texas
vs
South Alabama
Mean Green Looking For 5-0 Start Against USA
9/23/2025 2:02:00 PM | Football
DENTON – The UNT football team returns home on Saturday to begin a three-game homestand against South Alabama, and the Mean Green will be looking to improve to 5-0 for the first time since 1959 and the fourth time in program history. The game can be seen on ESPNU at 11 a.m., with the radio broadcast set for 1190 AM/The Varsity Network/SiriusXM 380.
Head coach Eric Morris and select players spoke to the media on Tuesday and discussed, among other things, avoiding distractions while looking to go 5-0, the great play of the offensive line, the offense's efficiency on third down and in the red zone, a trio of veteran linebackers finally getting their chances to shine and another message to fans ahead of an early kickoff.
Staying focused in run of success
UNT's win at Army on Saturday afternoon pushed the Mean Green to 4-0 on the season, which is the first time UNT has started 4-0 since 2018. A win this week, and it'll be time to dig deep in the history books.
The last time UNT started a season 5-0 was 1959. The Mean Green technically started the 1977 season 5-0, but that included a forfeit win in the season opener over Mississippi State, who won the game on the field, 17-15, before retroactively forfeiting.
The Mean Green are also starting to pick up national pub, as they cracked the "receiving votes" section of the latest AP Top 25 poll, getting two votes in the poll.
So head coach Eric Morris has been trying to keep his team humble and focused this week, harkening back perhaps to what he learned from his college coach at Texas Tech, Mike Leach, who had some colorful, turned-viral ways of talking his teams down when he felt they were getting too big of a head.
"We're avoiding stuff," Morris said. "It's a little bit of a distraction and doing things for the wrong reasons (trying to go 5-0 to make history). When we've done the little things right and played for the right reasons, we've had some success.
"We have to avoid distractions and us thinking we're a little better than we are right now. There are so many examples in college football where a team's favored and then, holy smokes, you look up and wonder what happened."
Senior offensive lineman Jimto Obidegwu said the hot start feels good, but he and his teammates know the assignment – not to have starting 5-0 for the first time in nearly 70 years as a program benchmark.
"Yeah, it feels good, but we have to stay humble and continue to work every day and treat every team like it's a championship caliber game," Obidegwu said.
O-line playing at high level, no matter who's in
The UNT offense has been hitting on all cylinders this season, averaging 439 yards per game, including 176.8 yards per game on the ground, as Morris has employed the running game perhaps more than he has in his entire stint in Denton.
A big reason for that is the play of the big guys up front, and the production there hasn't just come from the starters.
Sophomore Braydon Nelson, senior Gabe Blair, senior Tay Yanta II and sophomore Johnny Dickson III have started all four games thus far, but starting right tackle Jimto Obidegwu has missed a couple of games with injury, when Desmond Magiya and senior Larry Moore III filled in seamlessly, while other guys shifted around up front.
"It's probably the closest offensive line I've ever been a part of," Obidegwu said. "We want to be there for each other and we want to protect (quarterback) Drew (Mestemaker). We're all real close and that's a factor in why we're playing so well. There's accountability in that room. It's not just a love thing, but it's true brotherly love, if someone messes up, someone else lets them know. That's what you want."
Morris said this current run of play is the best offensive line play he's seen in his two-plus years in Denton, and he said the bond the group has is a big reason why.
"These guys have good chemistry and they're used to making the calls together and being in the trenches together," Morris said. "It's not always fun. It's hard work. When you're 300-to-330 pounds and going out there in 100 degrees in knee braces every day that's not the most fun thing for them sometimes. But they do it, and there's a bond there and that chemistry continues to grow."
Offense cooking thanks to efficiency
A big reason for UNT's offensive success through four games has been because of the efficiency on display.
One of the biggest improvements from a year ago has been in red zone efficiency, where UNT has scored 26 times in 27 red-zone chances, which is ranked 20th in all of FBS after finishing 119th last season. UNT has scored 21 touchdowns in those 27 red-zone trips, which is tied for second in FBS.
Another key has been third-down efficiency, as UNT ranks 16th nationally and second in the American at a 53.3% conversion rate.
"Drew's been great with the ball, and we've been able to run the ball more effectively, which has really helped us," Morris said. "The OL has been good and the running backs have been breaking tackles, and we've gotten some tough earned yardage down there (in the red zone) where things get tight. Plus, our QB has been able to execute at a high level."
Obidegwu credited the way he and his offensive teammates practice the situations in mid-week to get ready for Saturdays.
"Our third downs come from how we practice on Wednesday," he said. "Wednesdays, we do a lot of third down emphasis. That's a must have for us. We don't play around on third down. Play calling has been excellent on third down, too. We know we have to have it."
Linebackers spearheading defensive success
Trey Fields, Ethan Wesloski and Shane Whitter have more in common than just being linebackers at UNT.
All three have waited for their chance to be key contributors, and all three have gotten that chance on different timelines – but all are in the midst of banner seasons for one of the better UNT defensive units through four games in recent memory.
Fields had success at Sam Houston before transferring to UNT along with his defensive coordinator, Skyler Cassity, when he was hired to the same position in Denton prior to this season. Whitter came from playing primarily special teams at Oklahoma to a leadership role on defense at UNT, and Wesloski is the one who has been in Denton for the entirety of his college career and is finally getting his shot as a key leader on the defense as a junior.
They're the three leading tacklers on the team and have combined for two interceptions, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.
"All three of those guys, they've all waited their turn to be at this place, at this level, and performing at this level," Morris said. "This is kind of the first time that those three have been relied on so much on a consistent basis, and they've bought into it."
Obidegwu said he saw what was coming for opposing offenses in the spring and in fall camp.
"They play with their hair on fire," Obidegwu said. "They come downhill. I went against them in the spring and in camp, and you better have your Ps and Qs when they're coming down because they bring it. They're continuing to grow, too. I haven't seen any letdown. It's been exciting to see."
Players, coach hoping for more support Saturday
As the Mean Green return home looking to make some program history, the team is hoping to have some strong fan support on Saturday for the 11 a.m., kickoff on what should be a nice, fall day.
"As we continue to build a homefield advantage here, and this team continues to compete their tails off and has been fun to watch with turnovers and scoring in different ways with different people, it will come," Morris said of fan support. "If we continue to build this thing the right way and put a great product on the field, they'll keep coming in waves. We just have to keep doing our part every week, and I think these crowds will continue to grow."
Obidegwu echoed the sentiment and called upon Mean Green Nation to do their part, while he and his teammates and coaches do theirs.
"Pack the DAT," he said. "We're going to bring it every week. We need them to come out and bring the noise. Bring it in spirit and we'll bring it on the field just as hard. We need all the support we can get."
Head coach Eric Morris and select players spoke to the media on Tuesday and discussed, among other things, avoiding distractions while looking to go 5-0, the great play of the offensive line, the offense's efficiency on third down and in the red zone, a trio of veteran linebackers finally getting their chances to shine and another message to fans ahead of an early kickoff.
Staying focused in run of success
UNT's win at Army on Saturday afternoon pushed the Mean Green to 4-0 on the season, which is the first time UNT has started 4-0 since 2018. A win this week, and it'll be time to dig deep in the history books.
The last time UNT started a season 5-0 was 1959. The Mean Green technically started the 1977 season 5-0, but that included a forfeit win in the season opener over Mississippi State, who won the game on the field, 17-15, before retroactively forfeiting.
The Mean Green are also starting to pick up national pub, as they cracked the "receiving votes" section of the latest AP Top 25 poll, getting two votes in the poll.
So head coach Eric Morris has been trying to keep his team humble and focused this week, harkening back perhaps to what he learned from his college coach at Texas Tech, Mike Leach, who had some colorful, turned-viral ways of talking his teams down when he felt they were getting too big of a head.
"We're avoiding stuff," Morris said. "It's a little bit of a distraction and doing things for the wrong reasons (trying to go 5-0 to make history). When we've done the little things right and played for the right reasons, we've had some success.
"We have to avoid distractions and us thinking we're a little better than we are right now. There are so many examples in college football where a team's favored and then, holy smokes, you look up and wonder what happened."
Senior offensive lineman Jimto Obidegwu said the hot start feels good, but he and his teammates know the assignment – not to have starting 5-0 for the first time in nearly 70 years as a program benchmark.
"Yeah, it feels good, but we have to stay humble and continue to work every day and treat every team like it's a championship caliber game," Obidegwu said.
O-line playing at high level, no matter who's in
The UNT offense has been hitting on all cylinders this season, averaging 439 yards per game, including 176.8 yards per game on the ground, as Morris has employed the running game perhaps more than he has in his entire stint in Denton.
A big reason for that is the play of the big guys up front, and the production there hasn't just come from the starters.
Sophomore Braydon Nelson, senior Gabe Blair, senior Tay Yanta II and sophomore Johnny Dickson III have started all four games thus far, but starting right tackle Jimto Obidegwu has missed a couple of games with injury, when Desmond Magiya and senior Larry Moore III filled in seamlessly, while other guys shifted around up front.
"It's probably the closest offensive line I've ever been a part of," Obidegwu said. "We want to be there for each other and we want to protect (quarterback) Drew (Mestemaker). We're all real close and that's a factor in why we're playing so well. There's accountability in that room. It's not just a love thing, but it's true brotherly love, if someone messes up, someone else lets them know. That's what you want."
Morris said this current run of play is the best offensive line play he's seen in his two-plus years in Denton, and he said the bond the group has is a big reason why.
"These guys have good chemistry and they're used to making the calls together and being in the trenches together," Morris said. "It's not always fun. It's hard work. When you're 300-to-330 pounds and going out there in 100 degrees in knee braces every day that's not the most fun thing for them sometimes. But they do it, and there's a bond there and that chemistry continues to grow."
Offense cooking thanks to efficiency
A big reason for UNT's offensive success through four games has been because of the efficiency on display.
One of the biggest improvements from a year ago has been in red zone efficiency, where UNT has scored 26 times in 27 red-zone chances, which is ranked 20th in all of FBS after finishing 119th last season. UNT has scored 21 touchdowns in those 27 red-zone trips, which is tied for second in FBS.
Another key has been third-down efficiency, as UNT ranks 16th nationally and second in the American at a 53.3% conversion rate.
"Drew's been great with the ball, and we've been able to run the ball more effectively, which has really helped us," Morris said. "The OL has been good and the running backs have been breaking tackles, and we've gotten some tough earned yardage down there (in the red zone) where things get tight. Plus, our QB has been able to execute at a high level."
Obidegwu credited the way he and his offensive teammates practice the situations in mid-week to get ready for Saturdays.
"Our third downs come from how we practice on Wednesday," he said. "Wednesdays, we do a lot of third down emphasis. That's a must have for us. We don't play around on third down. Play calling has been excellent on third down, too. We know we have to have it."
Linebackers spearheading defensive success
Trey Fields, Ethan Wesloski and Shane Whitter have more in common than just being linebackers at UNT.
All three have waited for their chance to be key contributors, and all three have gotten that chance on different timelines – but all are in the midst of banner seasons for one of the better UNT defensive units through four games in recent memory.
Fields had success at Sam Houston before transferring to UNT along with his defensive coordinator, Skyler Cassity, when he was hired to the same position in Denton prior to this season. Whitter came from playing primarily special teams at Oklahoma to a leadership role on defense at UNT, and Wesloski is the one who has been in Denton for the entirety of his college career and is finally getting his shot as a key leader on the defense as a junior.
They're the three leading tacklers on the team and have combined for two interceptions, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.
"All three of those guys, they've all waited their turn to be at this place, at this level, and performing at this level," Morris said. "This is kind of the first time that those three have been relied on so much on a consistent basis, and they've bought into it."
Obidegwu said he saw what was coming for opposing offenses in the spring and in fall camp.
"They play with their hair on fire," Obidegwu said. "They come downhill. I went against them in the spring and in camp, and you better have your Ps and Qs when they're coming down because they bring it. They're continuing to grow, too. I haven't seen any letdown. It's been exciting to see."
Players, coach hoping for more support Saturday
As the Mean Green return home looking to make some program history, the team is hoping to have some strong fan support on Saturday for the 11 a.m., kickoff on what should be a nice, fall day.
"As we continue to build a homefield advantage here, and this team continues to compete their tails off and has been fun to watch with turnovers and scoring in different ways with different people, it will come," Morris said of fan support. "If we continue to build this thing the right way and put a great product on the field, they'll keep coming in waves. We just have to keep doing our part every week, and I think these crowds will continue to grow."
Obidegwu echoed the sentiment and called upon Mean Green Nation to do their part, while he and his teammates and coaches do theirs.
"Pack the DAT," he said. "We're going to bring it every week. We need them to come out and bring the noise. Bring it in spirit and we'll bring it on the field just as hard. We need all the support we can get."
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