North Texas football: Mean Green hoping for bounce-back 2020 season

Defense will hope to find more consistency under Clint Bowen

North Texas was a very inconsistent defense last season and they hope that will change with new defensive coordinator Clint Bowen who is coming over from Kansas. Bowen was inconsistent himself leading the Jayhawks’ defense, but he had them playing well in spots.

The defensive line will be a strength for the Mean Green and that is due to the play of Dion Novil. He was an honorable mention on the All-Conference USA team and I expect him to make the leap and improve upon last season when he recorded 61 total tackles and 3.5 sacks.

Davontae McCrae is a JUCO transfer who is hoping to make an impact as a pass rusher.

The top two tacklers on the team, KD Davis and Tyreke Davis, return to help keep the defensive disruptive and they were also second and third on the team in sacks, respectively, and with top pass-rusher LaDarius Hamilton off to the NFL, both players will have to step up and cause more havoc.

The other starting linebacker, Joe Ozougwu, is also returning and that will be a big help for Bowen to build his new defense around.

The secondary is where there is cause for concern for the defense. They are only returning one starter in cornerback Cam Johnson, but new starting safety Makyle Sanders has experience, having played in 10 games and starting seven. If the new starters, Jaxon Gibbs, Quinn Whitlock and Leandre Davis, come together quickly, this defense should see some improvement.

There are some nice pieces in the front-seven to be disruptive, but the secondary will need to get good fast if the Mean Green hope to make the postseason again.