The University of North Texas football program is beginning a new chapter behind new head coach Eric Morris and athletic director Jared Mosley.
Morris has emphasized recruiting the state of Texas and the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex better as a fundamental principle in his vision for the program’s success. Wednesday’s National Signing Day was the first significant step in implementing his plan.
Including both freshmen and transfers, 17 of the 20 players signed by UNT are from the state of Texas, and eight are from the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.
That includes three big-time commits from South Oak Cliff’s Keith Smith and Taylor Starling and Galena Park North Shore’s Jayven Anderson. All three players were three-star recruits and ranked among the top 300 players in Texas.
Starling and Smith were two of 11 South Oak Cliff players to sign with Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) schools this recruiting cycle.
Starling was a last-minute signee as he flipped his commitment from Texas State on Wednesday. He had committed to the Bobcats on December 19, just a week after decommitting from the University of Colorado-Boulder.
He told the Denton Record-Chronicle, “The connection I made with the coaches put North Texas over the top. I had a great bond with coach Morris when we met each other. I also had a good connection with the players when I met them.”
Smith was Starling’s teammate at South Oak Cliff High School, which has won back-to-back state championships. He previously committed to North Texas in March 2022 but decommitted in December. On Wednesday, he signed his National Letter of Intent to play for the Mean Green.
Anderson had 12 Division I offers from notable schools, including the University of Texas-Austin and the University of Houston. According to 247Sports, he did not receive an offer from UNT until early January but committed to the school a month later.
North Texas also kept Denton Guyer’s Landon Sides home. Sides was also a three-star recruit and had over 1,300 receiving yards, and 16 touchdown catches for Guyer this season.
“I just love Coach Morris,” Sides told The Dallas Express. “I love Coach Davis too, the receivers coach. I’ve been talking to them a lot and keeping in touch with them, and they really sold me on UNT.”
Eight transfers were also added to the UNT program, highlighted by Louisiana-Monroe quarterback Chandler Rogers and Texas Tech wide receiver Trey Cleveland.
247Sports ranks Morris’s first recruiting class 111th in the country, while On3 has it ranked 119th, and Rivals does not rank teams beyond the top 100.
The class also ranks last in the American Athletic Conference, which UNT will be joining next season, according to On3.
Morris was scheduled to speak to the media at a signing day press conference on Wednesday, but inclement weather in the area forced its postponement.
UNT Athletics tells The Dallas Express a makeup date is still being determined.
