North Texas football wrapped up their fall camp with over a week remaining before their season opener against Abilene Christian. Head coach Seth Littrell addressed the emergence of new leaders who stepped up, focusing on senior safety Khairi Muhammad and redshirt senior defensive back Taylor Robinson.
“[Muhammad] and [Robinson] have taken a lot of snaps,” Littrell said. “I think overall the secondary looks good.”
Muhammad said the defense had progressed throughout fall camp, touching on subjects such as the development of younger players and position changes that have been made.
“Fall camp is going pretty good,” Muhammad said. “We’ve got some young guys making plays and guys in new positions. Overall, it’s been a good camp on the defensive side of the ball.”
When it came to position changes this offseason, junior Tyreke Davis descended from the secondary to take on the role of linebacker. Last season, Davis recorded a total of 50 tackles, with 31 being solo, an interception and a pass breakup at the nickel position.
“[Davis] is looking extremely well at linebacker right now,” Muhammad said. “One of the fastest linebackers I’ve ever played with from little league to high school to college – I’m very excited to see him play.”
Littrell provided insight into how the offense was adjusting so far with new offensive coordinator Bodie Reeder having time to implement his influence on the Mean Green.
“We’ve definitely tweaked things offensively, [Reeder] stepped in and has done a heck of a job,” Littrell said. “I think overall he’s brought some things to the table that I haven’t done in the past, which made a lot of sense to me.”
Before former offensive coordinator Graham Harrell accepted the OC position at Southern California, the Mean Green averaged 34.6 points per game and 460.5 total yards per game.
“ I think he’s one of the up-and-coming great coaches in this profession,” Littrell said. “Obviously you want great coaches but when guys have opportunities to move on and move forward, you want to be able to hire great coaches and there’s no doubt that [Reeder] has brought a lot to the table. I’m really looking forward to working with him this season.”
Regarding senior quarterback Mason Fine’s progression under Reeder in light of his upcoming final season with North Texas, Littrell noted that Fine hasn’t slowed down from a new offensive coordinator.
“I think he’s even stronger,” Littrell said. “Anytime you’re bringing in another quarterback coach/offensive coordinator, you’re going to see a little bit different perspective on things, you’re going to continue to learn and grow – and see it through a different lens, which is good.”
Former North Texas receiver Jalen Guyton went undrafted to the Dallas Cowboys following the 2018 season, leaving a vacant spot for the secondary wideout position, opposite of senior receiver Rico Bussey Jr. Littrell mentioned redshirt freshman wide receiver Jyaire Shorter as one of the standouts during fall camp.
“Now it’s about replacing that Z-position at receiver, I think some guys will step up,” Littrell said. “[Shorter]’s looked really good and has made a lot of big time plays for us, so we’re excited.”
Fine was able to cosign with Littrell by mentioning Shorter as the fall camp standout along with the progression of the receiving core.
“I think [Shorter] had a great fall camp,” Fine said. “I think in the spring he was a little hesitant – but he really just started opening up and running. I think he started to realize how great he can be this fall camp and he started getting more confidence and making plays. He’s been a great target for me this fall camp.”
Featured Image: Senior safety Khairi Muhammad speaks at the preseason press conference in the Athletic Center on Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2019. Image by Jordan Collard