Note: This story is featured in the 2026 edition of Dave Campbell's Texas Football's Summer Magazine, which you can order here.

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DCTF’S TAKE  

The reward for posting the best season in program history was a factory reset for the Mean Green football team. Former West Virginia head coach Neal Brown takes over for Eric Morris, who is now leading the Oklahoma State Cowboys in the Big 12 alongside a bevy of former North Texas players and staff.  

Brown led Troy to three consecutive 10-win seasons and a Sun Belt Conference championship in 2017, the last time he was a head coach at the G6 level. His welcome to Denton, America, is a brutal non-conference schedule that includes trips to Indiana and Texas State as well as a home game against UNLV.   

North Texas is betting on a strong transfer portal class and believes it can be a bowl team in Year 1 of his tenure.  

 

THE OFFENSE  

North Texas lost virtually every significant player from a 2025 offense that led the nation in scoring and total offense. New head coach Neal Brown, who calls his own plays just like former head coach Eric Morris, plans on retaining the Mean Green’s reputation for high-scoring attacks, even if the way in which they score points changes.  

“We’re going to be able to attack opponents in different ways,” Brown said of his offense in the spring. “But I do feel like we’re a team that can run the football, and that’s how we built it. We’ve got to continue to improve and be more consistent, but I am encouraged by our ability to run the football.”  

North Texas invested heavily in the trenches during Brown’s first portal season in Denton. The Mean Green added potential starters Henry Fenuku (Missouri), Johnny Williams IV (Missouri), Neto Umeozulu (Texas), Chandler Strong (Georgia State), and Drew Cunningham (Charlotte) to a room that includes holdovers such as Keon Johnson, Dylan Shaw, and Amarion Berry.  

The staff also injected Power Four talent into the running back room by adding Jaheim White from West Virginia and Brendon Haygood from Missouri. White did not participate in spring ball while he recovered from a patella injury. Haygood is a former four-star from Sachse High School who played in one game and redshirted last year at Missouri. Jayden Becks, who Brown called the most improved player from last year, gives North Texas a potential three-headed monster at running back.  

“When you’re really good up front, you can run the ball when people know you’re going to run it,” Brown said. “That’s the goal here and we think we have an impressive and deep group of backs and linemen who can accomplish that for us right away.”    

Tayven Jackson is the experienced player in the quarterback room and exited the spring as the favorite to take the first snap in Week 1 on the road against Indiana. He spent last year at UCF after stops at Indiana and Tennessee. Brown says his great plays are NFL caliber and that consistency is the only thing holding him back.  

Chris Jimerson Jr. and Chaston Ditta, an East Carolina transfer, are redshirt freshmen quarterbacks with tons of upside. Brown does not plan on naming a starter until the fall. “I feel confident in all three guys that they can win games in our league,” Brown said.  

Wide receiver was the biggest question mark on offense during the spring. Brown likes the depth and overall talent in the room, but who steps up and emerges as go-to targets and frontline starters was to be determined.  

Baron Tipton was mentioned as one of the most improved players on the roster. Utah transfer Justin Stevenson and UAB transfer Corri Milliner are names to watch, as is TJ Chukwurah, who might have the best hands on the team. Josiah Martin and Dalton Carnes are working in the slot.  

Expect North Texas to use one tight end most plays with 12 mixed in based on situation and opponent. Max Reese had a great spring. Brec Long is a former JUCO All-American with potential. But the wildcard at tight end is Drew Clemens, who missed the spring with an injury.  

BY THE NUMBERS  

45.1 – Average number of points scored by the Mean Green in 2025, which led the nation and was over three points more than anyone else in the FBS.  

43 – Number of 30-plus yard plays for the North Texas offense, which was third nationally behind Ole Miss and UCF.  

78.48 – Percentage of red zone trips that ended with a touchdown. Utah and North Carolina State were the only teams to score more often.  

 

KEEP AN EYE ON  

Redshirt freshman quarterback Chris Jimerson Jr. is the fastest player on the North Texas roster and don’t be surprised if he carves out a role even if he doesn’t win the three-way battle for the starting spot against Tayven Jackson and Chase Ditta. Head coach Neal Brown believes in finding snaps for his best players and if that includes a backup quarterback, great. Jimerson, who won a state title at North Crowley, was banged up some in spring and missed a few practices, but his upside and playmaking ability is undeniable and it’ll be hard to keep him off the field entirely in 2026. 

 

BREAKOUT CANDIDATES  

RB Brendon Haygood – A former four-star recruit who returns home to the Metroplex after redshirting in his one season at Missouri. He holds the Sachse school record with 368 rushing yards in a single game and averaged 8.58 yards a rush over three seasons on varsity.  

WR TJ Chukwurah – The Arlington native appeared in 35 games and started 32 times at Black Hills State, a Division II program in South Dakota. He was a DII All-American in 2025 after leading the nation with 16 receiving touchdowns and ranking third in receiving yards with 1,100.  

 

PROJECTED STARTERS  

QB 2 Tayven Jackson 6-4, 212, Sr. Greenwood, Ind.  

RB 1 Jaheim White 5-7, 187, Jr. York, Pa.  

WR 3 TJ Chukwurah 5-11, 202, Sr. Arlington Seguin 

WR 0 Cori Milliner 6-2, 170, Jr. Alexander City, Ala.  

WR 11 Dalton Carnes 5-9, 176, Sr. College Station  

TE 7 Max Reese 6-2, 245, Sr. Chicago, Ill.  

LT 71 Johnny Williams IV 6-7, 329, Jr.  Macon, Ga.  

LG 54 Henry Fenuku 6-3, 310, R-Fr. North Crowley  

C 57 Chandler Strong 6-1, 288, Sr. Warner Robbins, Ga.  

RG 68 Keon Johnson 6-4, 370, Jr. Akron, Ohio 

RT 72 Neto Umeozulu 6-4, 329, Sr. Allen  

K 90 Dominic De Freitas 6-0, 185, Soph. Nappanee, Ind. 

THE DEFENSE  

Matt Powledge was hired to orchestrate the Mean Green defense after spending the last three seasons as the defensive coordinator at Baylor, though head coach Dave Aranda called plays for the Bears in 2024 and 2025.  

Powledge is ready to take the reins of a defense that he can build in his own image and says that North Texas will base out of a four-man front and utilize an odd-man front “30 to 35 percent of the time.” That’s good news for a fan base that still has PTSD from the failed odd-man front defense in 2023 and 2024.  

Those defenses failed because the system wasn’t flexible and opponents figured out how to break it. Powledge is determined to be multiple up front and multiple in coverage, providing the Mean Green with different options to attack the wide variety of offenses they’ll see in the American Conference.  

“We’ll have this huge gun case with different guns and ammo in there to attack opponents, but we’re only going to pull out a couple of weapons each week that we need against that specific opponent,” Powledge explained. “If we’ve got a holster, there’s our two guns for that fight and we’re either using this one or that one.”  

Transfer Justin Benton, who previously spent time at East Carolina and Houston, is a twitch, hard-to-handle interior defensive lineman who showed toughness in the spring and will be the anchor of the defensive line. Curlee Thomas IV, Davion Rhodes, and Terrell Washington also received high praise for their spring performances along the defensive line. Thomas moved into the starting lineup in the spring, surprising even Powledge, who admitted they signed him believing he’d be more of a depth piece.  

Powledge separates his four edge rushing options into two categories – Ford trucks and sports cars. The two sports cars are David Onuoha and Udoka Ezeani. They’re stereotypical pass rushers with freaky athleticism. Onuoha started five times last year at UMass and finished the season with 42 tackles, including 4.5 for loss and 2.5 sacks. Brayden Knox and Davion Rhodes are the Ford trucks - tough, dependable, and willing to do the dirty work and set the edge against the run.  

Transfers Aaron Alexander (Arkansas State) and Cedric Roberts (Alcorn) were the two standouts at linebacker in the spring. Brenden Reese is a redshirt freshman nipping on their heels. SMU transfer Zakye Barker is the wildcard. He was recruited to be the green dot Mike linebacker but a lingering hamstring injury was aggravated in the offseason and that kept him out of spring drills.  

Baylor transfer Caden Jenkins was the most consistent cornerback in the spring. He’s a former Freshman All-American who arrived with Powledge from Waco and was reunited with cornerback coach Corey Jordan, who used to train Jenkins as a prep star. Chase Canada was the surprise in spring ball. Transfer Peyton Taylor is a playmaker.  

McNeese State transfer Brandon Jones was the talk of spring ball and he’s locked down one of the starting safety spots. Taye Seymore and C.J. Coombes are competing for the other spot. The Star (nickel) position was a four-way battle in the spring between Allen, Cam Jenkins, Anthony Benford II, and Tyson Wilson.   

 

BY THE NUMBERS  

28 – Number of total turnovers forced by the Mean Green, which was fifth most in the FBS and tops in the American Conference.  

26.5 – Average points allowed by the North Texas defense in 2025. That was an eight-point improvement from the 2024 season.  

42.36 – Percentage of third downs that opponents converted against North Texas, which ranked 105th in the FBS and eighth in the American Conference.  

 

KEEP AN EYE ON  

Jeff Crosby was hired as the special teams coordinator and he brought three crucial pieces with him from App State that should allow the Mean Green kicking and punting unit to excel in 2026. That includes kicker Dominic De Freitas, punter Ian Ratliff, and deep snapper Jacob Poff. De Freitas was a Third Team All-Sun Belt selection as a true freshman in 2025, hitting 21 of 27 field goals and converting all 33 extra points. Ratliff started his college career at Texas and averaged 43.8 yards a punt with a long of 70 in his one season at App State.   

 

BREAKOUT CANDIDATES  

DB Brandon Jones – The sophomore from Summer Creek finished his true freshman season at McNeese with 31 tackles and a pair of interceptions. The coaching staff raved about his range and high football IQ during the spring. He plays much bigger than his 5-foot-9 frame and is already a leader on defense.  

DE Udoka Ezeani – The Richmond Foster product was Honorable Mention All-CUSA a year ago at UTEP where he recorded 46 tackles, including 11 for loss and five sacks, to go along with a pair of forced fumbles. He started his college career at Missouri State and has spent time at Butler CC and Boise State.  

 

PROJECTED STARTERS  

DE 10 David Onuoha 6-1, 239, Sr. Aberdeen, N.J.  

DT 15 Justin Benton 6-0, 298, Jr. Atlanta, Ga.  

DT 93 Terrell Washington 6-1, 305, Jr. Lynchburg, Va.  

DE 91 Davion Rhodes 6-2, 248, Sr. Camilla, Ga.  

LB 3 Zakye Barker 5-11, 225, Sr. Norcross, Ga.  

LB 7 Aaron Alexander 6-1, 236, Jr. Belleville, Mich.  

NB 16 BJ Allen Jr. 6-0, 198, Sr. Aledo 

CB 8 Caden Jenkins 6-1, 177, Sr. Lewisville 

CB 5 Chase Canada 5-11, 187, Sr. Hahnville, La.  

S 0 Brandon Jones 5-9, 183, Soph. Humble Summer Creek 

S 4 CJ Coombes 6-1, 212, Soph. Bellefonte, Del.  

P 37 Ian Ratliff 5-11, 185, Jr. Humble Atascocita