Football: UNT gets three recruits into fold
08:07 AM CST on Tuesday, December 21, 2004
By Brett Vito / Staff Writer
The North Texas football team laid the foundation for its next recruiting class with a pair of players from a familiar source this week.
Tight end Jimmy Chaney and defensive lineman Chase Pistole of Northeastern Oklahoma A&M junior college both confirmed Monday that they have committed to play for the Mean Green.
Ryan Davenport, a linebacker from Fredericksburg who spent last season at the Air Force Academy’s prep school, has also decided to transfer to UNT.
Davenport will have all four years of eligibility remaining, while Pistole will have three and Chaney two.
"These guys will give us a good basis for another good recruiting class," UNT defensive coordinator Kenny Evans said. "It gives us a head start on some needs we needed to meet immediately."
All three players will transfer to UNT at the semester break and participate in spring practice.
UNT has signed multiple players from NEO over the past few seasons, including Michael Pruitt who was a second-team All-Sun Belt Conference selection last season.
Pistole is the highest ranked recruit among the three players UNT added in its first group of signees. The 6-3, 270-pound former Moore, Okla., standout is rated as a two-star recruit on a scale of five by Rivals.com, a Web site that covers college football recruiting.
Missouri and several of UNT’s rivals in the Sun Belt Conference recruited Pistole.
"UNT is close to home and I really liked the coaching staff and the fact they play Big 12 teams every year," Pistole said. "I hope to come in and make an impact."
Evans said Pistole could play any position on UNT’s defensive front. The Mean Green lost all four of its starting defensive lineman after last season when the team won its fourth straight Sun Belt title before falling to Southern Mississippi in the New Orleans Bowl.
"We needed someone to come in at defensive line," Evans said. "Chase was the best at NEO and one of the best in the league [Southwest Junior College Football Conference]."
Chaney will also fill an immediate need for UNT, which lost first-team All-Sun Belt tight end Andy Blount at the end of the season.
Chaney, 6-5, 260, has the size to be a physical blocker and the skills to be a threat in the passing game.
Chaney said UNT offensive coordinator Ramon Flanigan told him to watch Blount when the Mean Green played in the New Orleans Bowl because he would have a chance to fill a similar role for UNT.
Chaney visited Kansas and was also recruited by Bowling Green, Louisiana-Lafayette and Louisiana-Monroe.
"Of the places I visited, UNT had the best coaching staff," Chaney said. "I felt like I would be a part of a team that would win there."
Chaney also named the chance to block for running backs Jamario Thomas and Patrick Cobbs as one of the reasons he decided to play for UNT. Cobbs won the national rushing title in 2003. Thomas averaged 180.1 yards a game this year and is in line to capture UNT’s second straight national rushing championship following the conclusion of the bowl season.
Davenport could play multiple positions for UNT, including linebacker and fullback.
"For us signing Davenport is like getting a high school senior," Evans said. "He will get to go through spring practice, plus he has the experience he gained at Air Force’s prep school. He may not have an immediate impact, but he will make an impact for us at some point in the future."
BRETT VITO can be reached at 940-566-6870.
UNT recruits
The following is a list of players who have committed to play for the North Texas football team next season.
Pos. Player Pvs. school
DL Chase Pistole NEO
TE Jimmy Chaney NEO
ATH Ryan Davenport AFA prep
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