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Football: Talent, system key UNT running game

09:21 AM CST on Sunday, December 12, 2004


By Brett Vito / Staff Writer




When Colorado defensive coordinator Mike Hankwitz looks back on it now, he realizes the news the Buffaloes received in the hours leading up to a game against North Texas earlier this season wasn’t as good as it sounded.

Colorado knew defending national rushing champion Patrick Cobbs would not play and then found out his backup Kevin Moore didn’t make the trip to Boulder. Hankwitz thought Colorado might have an easy foe to defend, but ended up watching his team chase Jamario Thomas all over the field while he piled up 247 yards rushing.

Thomas’ performance was just one of several standout games UNT backs have posted against all types of competition the last several seasons, raising the question: Is the Mean Green rolling up rushing yards because of its system or talent?

The consensus among UNT’s players and coaches and the teams that have faced the Mean Green recently is that it’s a combination of both.

"We didn’t give North Texas the respect they deserved and their running back made us pay," Hankwitz said. "When the guys heard they were going to start their third running back, they didn’t come prepared."

Colorado still cruised to a 52-21 win, but was forced to rally against a team that has produced five 1,000-yard rushers in seven years under head coach Darrell Dickey.

That run of success has helped the Mean Green win the Sun Belt Conference title and earn a berth in the New Orleans Bowl in four consecutive seasons. UNT will face Southern Mississippi in this season’s edition of the game Tuesday at the Louisiana Superdome when the Mean Green will employ a simple plan for success.

"Their system isn’t tricky," said Memphis coach Tommy West, who faced UNT in the New Orleans Bowl last season. "They run the same four or five running plays all the time. They just run them better than anyone else and have good backs."

Those backs have ranked among the nation’s elite players the last two years. Cobbs won the national rushing title as a junior last season when he averaged 152.7 yards a game and finished with a school record 1,680 yards.

UNT plugged Thomas into the starting lineup for its game against the Buffaloes after Cobbs was lost for the season in the second week of the campaign with a sprained knee. A little over two months later, Thomas is poised to win the Mean Green’s second consecutive national rushing title.

Thomas enters the New Orleans Bowl averaging 189.9 yards a game rushing and has a 22-yard per game lead over J.J. Arrington of California.

Several players have won back-to-back rushing titles, but no school has produced two different players who have won the title in consecutive years since Jim Pilot and Bob Gaiters of New Mexico State in 1960 and 61.

Dickey’s system has put Thomas in the position to follow Cobbs into the record books and help the Mean Green make history.

"Our system is geared toward a feature back and showcasing his skills," Dickey said. "We have been fortunate in that we have had some very talented running backs who are capable of doing what we want to do within our system and we have a system that allows guys to post good numbers."

The staple of UNT’s offense is a simple zone running play. The Mean Green’s offensive line slants to the right or left while the running back looks for a crease to exploit in a defense.

Middle Tennessee defensive coordinator Bradley Dale Peveto credited UNT’s success not only to the system, but the Mean Green’s belief that its simple plan will work.

"They don’t panic on Saturday," Peveto said. "You might stop them for three quarters, but in the fourth quarter they are going to be successful. They are a well-oiled machine and play with a lot of confidence."

That confidence was evident in UNT’s regular season finale against Arkansas State. The Mean Green found out just before the game that Thomas would not play because of a pulled hamstring.

UNT simply moved fullback James Mitchell to tailback and saw him rush for 166 yards. The sophomore nearly doubled his career rushing total in one game.

The success UNT has enjoyed has helped the Mean Green attract higher quality players. Thomas was one of the state’s top recruits last season and picked UNT partly because he saw a system that could help him succeed.

Playing in the system for a season has only increased Thomas’ faith in it.

"We are successful because of our system," Thomas said. "It puts me in a position where I can do well."

BRETT VITO can be reached at 940-566-6870.

New Orleans Bowl

North Texas (7-4) vs. Southern Miss (6-5)

6:30 p.m. Tuesday (ESPN, KWRD-FM 100.7, KNTU-FM 88.1)

UNT’s 1,000-yard backs

North Texas has had a running back clear the 1,000-yard mark in each of the last four seasons. The following is a list of those players.

2004 Jamario Thomas 1,709*

2003 Patrick Cobbs 1,680

2002 Kevin Galbreath 1,298

2001 Kevin Galbreath 1,119

*Note – Total entering Tuesday’s New Orleans Bowl
12-12-2004 04:50 PM
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