College Confidential

is gundy wearing thin?

im really tired of hearing about oklahoma state coach mike gundy's rant of last season. for the last time, i thought he had a point that was lost when he made a fool out of himself. but that's old business, though the first question he fielded at the recent big 12 media gathering in kansas city was about  his YouTube celebrity.

more to the point. the cowboys opened camp today after all 105 players expected reported.

two things i find interesting. only a couple of days ago, i had a conversation with a former athletic staff member who recently dropped by the department. he said he was stunned to hear the buzz that there is a hole in the pickens-holder invisible protective shield we have all supposed gundy was under. it's time for him to produce or dodge the produce. osu officials are already worried that they can't fill up the stadium and ticket policies, etc., have continued to anger a faction of cowboys fans. we all know that winning soothes the angry beast and talk is--of course it's just talk--that the pokes have got to have a 9-10 win season to make everything nice. with another shaky defense predicted and the continued aspect of competing in one of college football's toughest divisions--the big 12 south--that looks like a pipe dream akin to $2 gas.

then, reading online today of some comments from osu fans, it appears there is some basis--i said some--to that point of view that gundy's charmed existence may be over. and let me say again, i continually doubt the collective i.q. of 90 percent of the people who post, to the point of wondering who dresses them for work in the morning.

that aside, this may be a drama worth checking in on from time to time.--Mike Jones.   

english appendectomy wont leave a scar

dont lose any sleep over ou defensive end auston english losing any practice time between now and the sooners' opener against chattanooga. defensive end ranks up there with running back and receivers as the deepest, talented positions on the squad.

english is supposed to be back for the kickoff. but even if he's still taking it easy by then, the sooners won't lack for productive bodies to plug in.

start with alan davis and jeremy beal, who really responded last season when english went down with the bone fracture. john williams is coming off achilles tendon and for that reason alone is an unknown factor right now, but he can play as he showed iln 2007. and in keeping with the reloading philosophy ou continually shows, redshirts frank alexander and jonte bumpas move up to the active roster. plus true freshmen R.J. Washington and David King will be given an august look. star-telegram staffers who saw washington play at keller fossil-ridge say he will be the next major star at a position that has a long history of being superlatively productive.

of course dont discount the high-rev motor that drives the hardnosed english. he knows there is a lot of depth behind him. an appendectomy does not affect your hearing.--Mike Jones.

UNT picked 7th; FAU dominates team

From Sun Belt Conference media days in New Orleans:

UNT is 7th out of 8 teams in the SBC preseason poll. Florida Atlantic is picked to repeat as the SBC champion. Only Florida International, which beat UNT last season, is picked lower than the Mean Green.

Wide receiver Casey Fitzgerald and center Kelvin Drake are preseason all-conference picks for UNT. FAU has eight players named, including QB Rusty Smith as preseason offensive player of the year. FAU linebacker Frantz Joseph is defensive player of the year.

Somewhat surprised that UNT linebacker Craig Robertson isn't on the preseason team, but now he's got something to prove.

--Troy Phillips

Frog reaches the Majors

Former TCU left-hander Eugene Espineli is the latest Horned Frog to reach the majors. The lanky reliever was called up Saturday night by the San Francisco Giants. Geno also won't be headed to Beijing on the OIympic team because of the move. His Team USA roster spot will be filled.

In his debut, Espineli threw one scoreless inning of relief with one strikeout in the Giants' 7-4 loss to the Brewers on Sunday.

- Rick Herrin

Luna update

Here's a quick update on former Carroll High School and Rice standout Aaron Luna. He received a $150,000 signing bonus from the St. Louis Cardinals, which was above slot money for the 9th round. Right now, Luna is 11 games into his professional career playing outfield for the Class A Quad Cities River Bandits. He is hitting just .206 but already has three home runs to go with a triple and double. Five of his seven hits are for extra bases.

- Rick Herrin 

UNT's loss of Horton illustrates tragedy

UNT coach Todd Dodge revealed this week that DE Alonzo Horton, one of Dodge's most impactful signings to date, was ineligible and could not transfer from Northwest Mississippi JC as planned.

The loss of Horton (6-4, 260), a former prep standout from New Orleans Abramson High, came at high cost to UNT. Dodge had already signed few DLs in his short time in Denton. Horton was a steal, having decommitted from Ole Miss after Ed Orgeron's firing. Recruited by the likes of LSU, Auburn, Tennessee, Michigan State and others in 2005, Horton was a potential difference-maker.

Worse is what this has cost Horton. He first signed with Auburn to start a disastrous college career that appears over athletically and academically. At least in the Bowl or Playoff Subdivisions, he's done.

After piecing together where Horton's path began and ended, I wonder if Horton could have succeeded at UNT, anyway.

2005: Signed with Auburn, redshirted. Weeks into fall semester, learned that an aunt and two brothers died in Hurricane Katrina.

2006: Struggled academically but played in nine games with three tackles. Didn't enroll for spring semester.

2007: In April, Jackson (Miss.) State announced it signed Horton for the '07 season. Somehow, after a year and a half at Auburn, Horton was academically ineligible to enroll at JSU, a Playoff Subdivision (formerly D-IA) school.

2007: Horton planned to play for Hinds (Miss.) Community College. Officials there held off putting out a release. He either didn't enroll or only took a few classes. In the fall of 2007, Horton turned up at Northwest Mississippi CC, played and became a recruitable commodity again. He committed to Ole Miss in September.

2008: Horton reversed his Ole Miss commit after the Rebels' coaching change. He talked to other schools and eventually signed with UNT. It's uncertain if other schools backed away. On track for an associate's degree last May, Horton fell short after NWMCC deemed he lacked enough transferrable credits from previous schools.

It's sad, really pathetic that Horton couldn't come through three (maybe four) schools with enough credits for an associate's degree. That he was allowed to sail along with insufficient academic progress not only indicts him, but whoever or whatever should have been at his disposal to get him to point B -- in this case enrolled at UNT by this fall.

--Troy Phillips

UNT, Dodge gearing up for fall, other stuff

Caught up with Todd Dodge and UNT athletic director Rick Villarreal today. Sun Belt Conference preseason media days for football start Monday in New Orleans, so it was time to reconnect a bit.

Some interesting stuff:

1. Defensive end Alonzo Horton (6-4, 260), a transfer from Northwest Mississippi Community College, won't be coming to UNT after not completing his associate's degree. Horton was expected to step in immediately next month at one DE spot. His absence and the recent departure of starting DE Eddrick Gilmore for undisclosed reasons are obviously tough blows. Working out In Denton for the past month or so has been Mack Cole, a 6-5, 245-pound end who will officially transfer from Fort Scott (Kan.) CC when he enrolls at UNT in August. Cole hasn't actually signed with UNT; the date for doing so has long passed. He was an honorable-mention All-Jayhawk Conference pick last year, forming a strong DE tandem that received several looks from D-I schools. For whatever reason, Cole and UNT made a match late in the game, and it's good thing for the Mean Green. Ryan Davenport and Sam Owusu-Heming just became very crucial pieces of the puzzle, too.

Dodge mentioned OL Troy Franklin of Celina, 6-5, 270 when he signed, as potentially moving to DT if the need arises. For now, UNT is a little thin on the interior, and apparently Franklin has grown somewhat since February (horizontally, not vertically).

2. Two walk-ons that would have helped UNT have departed. OL Jack Crumes saw time with the first and second teams this spring but won't be back. Thomas Moreland, last year's starting kicker, is gone. UNT had him penciled for mostly extra-point work in 2008. New signee Jeremy Knott took over field goals in the spring and should handle everything now.

3. Dodge continues to rave about new arrivals, in particular DB Kylie Hill, DB/KR James Hamilton, DB Royce Hill, DB Adryan Adams, DB Justin Edwards...see a pattern?

4. If Dodge is right, LB Craig Robertson -- probably this season -- will be UNT's next truly great defensive player. UNT's great one on offense, WR Casey Fitzgerald, has his post-football life already mapped out. He'll finish next season, student teach in the spring and join the high school (or middle school) coaching ranks in 2009. Hey Casey, good luck, but don't rule out playing on some pro level just yet.

5. Last but never least is stadium talk. Villarreal and company are still shooting for a 2010 groundbreaking. The design process continues with UNT's architect, but enough particulars are nailed down that a firm in Colorado has been contracted to market a stadium to potential naming-rights sponsors. Essentially, the firm is "recruiting" companies in -- let's imagine -- the soft-drink, telecomm/technology, energy, food, financial, large retail or other regional industries with the lure of potential exposure (or "hits" as the marketing types call it) of splashing one's name all over scoreboards, concourses, a stadium's exterior, field- or club-level ads, a press box or wherever. Villarreal also said that until a football stadium rises up on the old UNT golf course south of I-35W/I-35E, baseball is on hold.

As for my take (not Villarreal's): If UNT wants a stadium, it needs a naming sponsor. It's the only way UNT will have the necessary seed money to get the stadium off the ground, and the school won't even touch the issue of financing through a student-fee increase until all other private/corporate options are exhausted.

--Troy Phillips

Aaron Luna headed for pro ball

Rice outfielder and former Southlake Carroll star Aaron Luna is now a professional baseball player. He agreed to terms with the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday night. Luna was a 9th-round draft pick and is set to report to Davenport, Iowa on Thursday with the Class A Quad Cities River Bandits.

Luna hit .314 with 10 home runs and 53 RBI this season and played in the College World Series all three years in college.

- Rick Herrin