University of North Texas Athletics
Saturday, October 10
Denton, TX
2:30 PM CT
University of North Texas
vs
Charlotte
Mean Green Riding Momentum Into Charlotte Game
10/6/2026 4:37:00 PM | Football
DENTON – The UNT football team returns home on Saturday on the heels of a thrilling, come-from-behind overtime road win last week to host Charlotte at 2:30 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPN+, with the radio broadcast set for 1190 AM/The Varsity Network.
Head coach Neal Brown and select players spoke to the media on Tuesday and discussed, among other things, the dynamic duo of Tayven Jackson and Jahiem White, not overlooking a Charlotte team still searching for its first win and making a push for students and the Denton community to support the program on Saturday.
QB/RB duo proving to be among nation's best
Through five games this season, two experienced vets who are new to the Mean Green are quickly making their presence felt in Denton.
Quarterback Tayven Jackson and running back Jahiem White both transferred in from Power-4 programs and have quickly become some of the nation's best in their respective positions.
In fact, UNT is the nation's only FBS program with a top-10 passer and top-10 rusher in the country, as Jackson's 1,519 passing yards ranks fifth in the country and White's 582 rushing yards is good for ninth.
"It's def a confidence booster; he's a great player," Jackson said of having White by his side. "I kind of feed off his energy and feed off everyone else's energy. We're together as an offense, it's not just me and Jahiem. Everyone makes plays in this offense. It's not just two guys. We might have the numbers, but those guys are in the dark doing the dirty work."
Brown said aside from the big numbers Jackson put up in last week's 45-44 thriller at Tulsa, what made him the most happy was the way his signal-caller responded after the few poor decisions he made.
"I was really proud of how he responded on Thursday night," Brown said. "He had a really poor pick before half, comes back and throws a touchdown to start the third. Throws a really bad pick at the end of the game and throws a strike to Grayson [O'Bara] to start overtime. I was really proud of how he responded. That's growth for him. At certain points in his career, he would let things snowball."
White had a career day at Tulsa, as the senior running back rushed for 219 yards on 32 carries and found the end zone. He's now third in FBS in yards per carry (6.59).
"He's played really well," Brown said. "I think the thing that I'm most impressed with, and that I was really complimentary of him yesterday in our team meeting is his maturity level has improved because he's taking care of his body at a higher level. Like two years ago, he couldn't have taken that many carries because of his conditioning level. How he took care of himself away from the building wasn't at a high enough level."
Mean Green not paying attention to Charlotte record
UNT is riding high into Saturday's game with the momentum of last week's emotional, come-from-behind overtime road win. Meanwhile, Charlotte will be coming to town still searching for its first win of the season.
And none of that matters to the Mean Green.
"The 0-5 is just a record," Jackson said. "I've been on a team like that. I know how hungry they are to come in here and get their first win. I don't look at the record. I look at the tape, and they great on tape."
Brown, who has several friends on Charlotte's coaching staff, said he knows the kind of football team his squad will see on Saturday and it won't be one resembling a winless program.
"They have a lot of skill talent on offense," Brown said. "They have speed. Their running backs and wide receivers can all go. Their defensive line is creating a lot of havoc. Sacks, TFLs, one of the better negative play units in our league. We have our hands full with that entire D-line."
Mean Green looking for big crowd on Saturday
Before Brown even began taking questions on Tuesday, he had a plea to make to Mean Green fans and the greater Denton community.
"I want to make a push here before I take questions. I really encourage our students and fans to come out and support this team," he said. "We have a really good football team. We are exciting to watch. I think we've got two of the better individual players playing at a high level in all of college football in Tayven Jackson and Jahiem White. And I'll say this, too. It's a lot of entertainment for not a lot of spending. So I encourage anybody local that's looking for a team to support, come out and give us a try."
He didn't stop there, saying he knew the game would go up against the big Texas-Oklahoma game in Dallas.
"It's a cool rivalry, I get it," Brown said. "Everybody can't get in there. It's a cool game, but that thing's sold out. We have tickets available. I promise if you get premium seating we'll turn the TV on and you can watch it and watch us also."
Jackson echoed his coach's sentiments and said he wants to see another game like last year's sold out home game against South Florida, sooner rather than later.
"We have one of the most explosive offenses in the country," Jackson said. "I think that's exciting to watch. I want to see that stadium packed. That's what I really want to see. I've never seen it. People say it gets loud. I hope the fans can rally behind us because we have some special things going on."
Head coach Neal Brown and select players spoke to the media on Tuesday and discussed, among other things, the dynamic duo of Tayven Jackson and Jahiem White, not overlooking a Charlotte team still searching for its first win and making a push for students and the Denton community to support the program on Saturday.
QB/RB duo proving to be among nation's best
Through five games this season, two experienced vets who are new to the Mean Green are quickly making their presence felt in Denton.
Quarterback Tayven Jackson and running back Jahiem White both transferred in from Power-4 programs and have quickly become some of the nation's best in their respective positions.
In fact, UNT is the nation's only FBS program with a top-10 passer and top-10 rusher in the country, as Jackson's 1,519 passing yards ranks fifth in the country and White's 582 rushing yards is good for ninth.
"It's def a confidence booster; he's a great player," Jackson said of having White by his side. "I kind of feed off his energy and feed off everyone else's energy. We're together as an offense, it's not just me and Jahiem. Everyone makes plays in this offense. It's not just two guys. We might have the numbers, but those guys are in the dark doing the dirty work."
Brown said aside from the big numbers Jackson put up in last week's 45-44 thriller at Tulsa, what made him the most happy was the way his signal-caller responded after the few poor decisions he made.
"I was really proud of how he responded on Thursday night," Brown said. "He had a really poor pick before half, comes back and throws a touchdown to start the third. Throws a really bad pick at the end of the game and throws a strike to Grayson [O'Bara] to start overtime. I was really proud of how he responded. That's growth for him. At certain points in his career, he would let things snowball."
White had a career day at Tulsa, as the senior running back rushed for 219 yards on 32 carries and found the end zone. He's now third in FBS in yards per carry (6.59).
"He's played really well," Brown said. "I think the thing that I'm most impressed with, and that I was really complimentary of him yesterday in our team meeting is his maturity level has improved because he's taking care of his body at a higher level. Like two years ago, he couldn't have taken that many carries because of his conditioning level. How he took care of himself away from the building wasn't at a high enough level."
Mean Green not paying attention to Charlotte record
UNT is riding high into Saturday's game with the momentum of last week's emotional, come-from-behind overtime road win. Meanwhile, Charlotte will be coming to town still searching for its first win of the season.
And none of that matters to the Mean Green.
"The 0-5 is just a record," Jackson said. "I've been on a team like that. I know how hungry they are to come in here and get their first win. I don't look at the record. I look at the tape, and they great on tape."
Brown, who has several friends on Charlotte's coaching staff, said he knows the kind of football team his squad will see on Saturday and it won't be one resembling a winless program.
"They have a lot of skill talent on offense," Brown said. "They have speed. Their running backs and wide receivers can all go. Their defensive line is creating a lot of havoc. Sacks, TFLs, one of the better negative play units in our league. We have our hands full with that entire D-line."
Mean Green looking for big crowd on Saturday
Before Brown even began taking questions on Tuesday, he had a plea to make to Mean Green fans and the greater Denton community.
"I want to make a push here before I take questions. I really encourage our students and fans to come out and support this team," he said. "We have a really good football team. We are exciting to watch. I think we've got two of the better individual players playing at a high level in all of college football in Tayven Jackson and Jahiem White. And I'll say this, too. It's a lot of entertainment for not a lot of spending. So I encourage anybody local that's looking for a team to support, come out and give us a try."
He didn't stop there, saying he knew the game would go up against the big Texas-Oklahoma game in Dallas.
"It's a cool rivalry, I get it," Brown said. "Everybody can't get in there. It's a cool game, but that thing's sold out. We have tickets available. I promise if you get premium seating we'll turn the TV on and you can watch it and watch us also."
Jackson echoed his coach's sentiments and said he wants to see another game like last year's sold out home game against South Florida, sooner rather than later.
"We have one of the most explosive offenses in the country," Jackson said. "I think that's exciting to watch. I want to see that stadium packed. That's what I really want to see. I've never seen it. People say it gets loud. I hope the fans can rally behind us because we have some special things going on."
Players Mentioned
QB
/ Football
RB
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