[North Texas football schedule, 1969] Page: 4 of 21
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THE '69 OUTLOOK
When will the bubble burst?
The Eagles, or Mean Green as a lot of folks prefer,
have been flying at a dizzy height for three straight
seasons, the last two with Rod Rust at the controls.
Odus Mitchell's coaching farewell in 1966 was an 8-2
record. Rust has followed with 7-1-1 and 8-2 charts, giv-
ing NT a sparkling 23-5-1 performance for three years.
Rust, for one, subscribes to the theory that it's tougher
to stay on top than getting there. On the other hand, he
values the "winning habit" that can carry over from squad
to squad.
No doubt, the Eagles have the nucleus to put big
winner No. 4 on the field. Rust, an expert with the under-
statement, sizes up 1969 this way: "We have a chance to
have a good team."
The three big pluses appear to be (1) a winning
quarterback in Steve Ramsey, (2) the three-year tradition
of being winners and (3) a schedule that on paper does not
appear as formidable as a year ago (there may not be as
many "names" to drop, but there's the same number of
chances to get beat).
Three minuses would be the opposites of above: (1) an
injured Steve Ramsey, (2) "senioritis" or complacency
and (3) failure to respond to every challenge on the
schedule.
This will be NT's most experienced squad in a number
of years with 22 seniors on the roster. Six of the veterans
will be starters for the third straight year with a 15-3-1
varsity record behind them: Ramsey, flanker Ronnie
Shanklin, guards Glen Holloway and Mike Marr and de-
fensive backs Bernie Barbour and Ret Little.
The offensive outlook is particularly bright. Ramsey,
Shanklin, split end Barry Moore, tight end Bob Helterbran
and halfback Leo Taylor occupy five of the six "scoring"
positions.
Guards Holloway and Marr and tackle Jim Brewster
are returnees in the interior. Thus, eight of 11 offensive
regulars are back. Of the vacant berths, only fullback
remains questionable.
Defensively, there are more gaps to fill with seven,
maybe six, starters back. Little and Barbour are the old
men of the secondary but Barbour will be at rover or
strong safety after two years at right corner.
The three linebackers-Chuck Mills on the left, Rich-
ard Gill in the middle and Steve Atchley on the right-
are returning starters but only Mills is in his old position.
The switch from a 5-2 to 4-3 alignment moved Gill
from middle guard and Atchley from right end.
Up front, Cedric Hardman is, set at left end after
sharing the position a year ago. Wes Ballou is the seventh
starter if he can regain his right tackle slot from Jimmy
Franklin.
In summary: a potentially potent offense loaded with
veterans, a revamped defense with several new faces.
Depth overall remains barely adequate and the Eagles
need continued good luck in the health department.
(See pages 8, 10 and 11 for personnel rundowns.)RUST SAYS ABOUT...
RECEIVERS...
We have excellent receivers. The two wide ones
(Shanklin and Moore) catch the ball well under pressure.
OFFENSIVE LINE.. .
We assume they'll play better than in the past. . .
ought to be pretty good.
RUNNING BACKS.. .
Taylor has proven himself to be a good one. The
others though are total question marks going in.
PASSING. . .
It should be good... our strongest weapon offensively.
OVERALL OFFENSE.. .
We hope it's be pretty good. Ramsey, Taylor, Helter-
bran, Moore and Shanklin are proven players in five of
the six scoring positions.
DEFENSIVE LINE. . .
A big question mark because we have no regulars
starting at front four positions where they played last
year (Hardman an alternate starter last year, Ballou ran
No. 2 often in spring).
LINEBACKERS.. .
Adequate. I hope there's a chance they'll get better
than adequate. We're spoiled with outstanding linebackers
in the past (James Ivy 66-67-68, Johnny Mata 66-67).
DEFENSIVE BACKS...
Two good ones in Little and Barbour. The others at
the two corners are question marks (Barbour moved from
corner to rover or strong safety).
OVERALL DEFENSE...
Two things make it a question mark. First, we lost
an All-American (Joe Greene) and several all-conference
players (most notably Ivy). Second, many of the players
we do have coming back are at new positions because of
different defensive structure.
SQUAD SPEED...
I'd have to say it's just average. . . probably not as
good as a year ago.
SQUAD DEPTH.. .
About the same. . . not quite as good as we had
hoped for in the spring.
KICKING.. .
Average.
TEAM LEADERSHIP...
It should be very good since this is a big senior class.
CONFERENCE RACE...
I look for a close fight. It's hard to predict because
of the turnover of head coaches.
AND FINALLY...
We have a chance to have a good team.6
7g
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North Texas State University. [North Texas football schedule, 1969], book, Autumn 1969; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1310045/m1/4/: accessed June 12, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.