UNT fared pretty well across the board on the NCAA’s annual Academic Progress Rate report that was released today. Here is UNT’s report.

UNT scored a 966 for the 2011-12 school year and a four-year average of 951 in football, well over the 900-mark that teams have to maintain to remain eligible for the postseason.

The UNT men’s basketball team scored a 940 for 2011-12 and a 964 for the multi-year period.

The UNT women’s basketball team scored a 946 for the year and a 952 for the multi-year period.

UNT was hit with scholarship penalties several years ago in football, but has continued to improve pretty much on a yearly basis since. Dan McCarney has mentioned several times that he will have 85 scholarship players for the first time in his tenure this fall. UNT’s continued improvement is a big reason why.

UNT’s score of 966 for the year was a dramatic step forward over the 938 the team scored last year.

UNT has also gone through a coaching change in men’s basketball and several in women’s basketball and still managed to maintain its performance academically. That can be tough to do when a team is changing coaches.

The Florida International men’s basketball team received a post-season ban, while Louisiana-Monroe was also hit hard, receive practice time reductions and several other penalties.

UNT is still in the midst of its summer camp series. Recruiting really is one of the more interesting stories of this time of the year in college sports.

On the UNT front, the guy who has really taken off in terms of targets is Nick Orr, the younger brother of Zach Orr. I talked a little about him during my live blog from the first stop of the Mean Green’s tour.

I thought his story would be worth revisiting today, largely because of this:

DeSoto DB Nick Orr was offered by #TCU today. 247sports.com/Player/Nick-Or…

— Brian Perroni (@Perroni247) June 11, 2013

Yep, TCU is now in the hunt.

When I talked to Orr the other day, Baylor, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, Missouri and Kansas were among the teams that offered. Orr said Baylor, Missouri, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech are the schools he has visited or will visit. I would assume that he will visit TCU as well now.

“I am going to try to make my decision at the end of the summer,” Orr said. “I’m still considering North Texas. It doesn’t make that much of a difference that Zach plays here. It would be a good thing, but it won’t really affect my decision. I want to be in a comfortable environment with the coaching staff.

“Staying close to home does not matter much.”

UNT will do fine in recruiting. I just wouldn’t count on Orr being in the class.

And finally, I haven’t dipped into the mailbag in some time, but a few people asked about my post-spring questions series, specifically about UNT’s offensive production and quarterback play.

One quick point here.

A lot of people like to talk about how Scott Hall, UNT’s last great (yes, great) quarterback was a product of the running game. To some extent that is true, but he is also UNT’s ALL-TIME leader in passing efficiency with a rating of 132.26 and ranks third in touchdown passes with 50.

Hall may have benefited from playing with good running backs, but he also was great in the play-action game and hit on big passes down the field. He didn’t get a ton of opportunities in a spread system. When he threw it, he had to capitalize.

Just for example, take some of his performances in the 2003 season.

UNT 44, ULL 23
Hall: 9-for-16, 222 yards, three TDs
UNT 37, Utah State 27
Hall: 8-for-12, 109 yards, two TDs
UNT 33, Middle Tennessee 28
Hall: 10-for-13, 230 yards, two TDs
UNT 28, ULM 26
Hall: 11-for-17, 205 yards, two TDs
UNT 58, ASU 14
Hall: 10-for-16, 185, three TDs

Granted, those are his top games, but the point still holds. Hall racked up some big games and big numbers, and he didn’t do it throwing swing passes to his wide receivers and hoping they would make a big play, which was a staple of UNT’s offense before Mike Canales took over.

Hall threw it down the field effectively, which kept defenses honest.

There is a reason we are still talking about him nearly 10 years after his career ended.

No one has come in since and surpassed what he accomplished as a quarterback and leader at UNT.

I usually don’t mention the decisions of high school recruits who commit to schools other than UNT unless there is a pretty good reason.

Today seems to be one of those times.

Defensive Verkedric Vaughns of Mesquite Poteet committed to Arkansas State today. He also had an offer from UNT.

What makes Vaughns newsworthy is that his brother Vertrail transferred to UNT from George Mason and will play for the Mean Green men’s basketball team this fall (great pickup for Tony Benford, by the way).

Just might be re: Verkedric Vaughns RT @blakewbaker: Howwwwwwl yea! A great birthday present! #redwolfnation #redwolvesrising

— Brian Perroni (@Perroni247) June 11, 2013

S/O to Verkedric Vaughns. #RedWolves got a good one. “@vthedreadhead: Just committed to ARKANSAS ST! #RedWolfNation #Howlyes #PackPride“

— Damon Sayles (@DamonSayles) June 11, 2013

Vaughns is a consensus three-star prospect

UNT is out on its camp tour of the state. We should start to see some movement on the recruiting front in the next few weeks. UNT has picked up commitments from DeSoto defensive linemen Johnavhon Grahm and Shaquel Jackson, a couple of good prospects from the Dallas area.

North Texas running back Antoinne Jimmerson pulls away from South Alabama linebacker Jake Johnson last season at Apogee Stadium. UNT will look to Jimmerson this season in an effort to make its offense more efficient. (Denton Record-Chronicle/David Minton)

Over the course of a season, there are always turning points or highlights one looks back on.

Last season, on the positive side, there was Antoinne Jimmerson’s long catch-and-run for a touchdown that gave UNT a win over Louisiana-Lafayette on national TV and Hilbert Jackson breaking up a fourth-down pass late in the fourth quarter that gave UNT a win over Florida Atlantic.

On the other end, UNT blew a ton of chances, missed three field goals and failed to convert two red zone opportunities in a 14-7 loss to Troy.

And that brings us to question No. 6 in our off-season series: Can UNT improve its efficiency offensively?

A look across the board shows that UNT didn’t resemble a well-oiled machine at times last year. UNT ranked ninth out of 10 teams in the Sun Belt in completion percentage (57.1), passing efficiency (121.0 rating), third-down conversion percentage (33.1) and was last in red zone offense (71.4 conversion percentage).

The easy thing to do is place all the blame on the offensive coordinator and the quarterback. I’m sure both Mike Canales would like to change a call or two and Derek Thompson a throw or two, but UNT’s problems were deeper than that.

UNT didn’t have many weapons out there at wide receiver outside of Ivan Delgado and Brelan Chancellor, who was lost to injury late in the season. UNT also lacked speed overall.

Teams sat on UNT in the running game all year.

Dan McCarney and Mike Canales have talked about opening up UNT’s offense next season. The hope is UNT can be more explosive, and hopefully more efficient.

What the Mean Green has to hope is that it is better equipped to make the critical plays when the time comes, and hopefully create big plays on a consistent basis.

UNT has a couple of proven playmakers in Chancellor and Jimmmerson.

The hope is that Texas transfer Darius Terrell and Purdue transfer Reggie Pegram also make UNT’s offense more effective and efficient. The development of Carlos Harris will also be critical.

UNT averaged 20.9 points a game last season. Only Florida Atlantic and South Alabama were worse in the Sun Belt. Conference USA had six teams average at least 30 points a game last season.

Only Southern Miss averaged less than 20 points a game in C-USA at 19.7, and the not so Golden Eagles didn’t win a game.

After Kansas transfer quarterback Brock Berglund went down with a hamstring injury in the spring, it looked more and more like UNT will have to depend on a lot of the same faces in the same places next season.

UNT just can’t have the same results offensively, not if it wants to improve on a 4-8 finish.

UNT has to be more efficient.

Here’s our list:
No. 1 — Is Mac still the same old Mac?
No. 2 — Can Derek Thompson get it done?
No. 3 — Is a tough schedule a killer for UNT?
No. 4 — Can UNT find some help at wide receiver?
No. 5 — Is UNT in trouble up front defensively?
No. 6 — Can UNT improve its efficiency?

UNT wrapped up the first stop of its summer camp tour late this afternoon.

I talked to Dan McCarney for the video above and picked up some extra information when it was all over.

One of the interesting aspects of the proceedings was that around 400 players participated, up from just under 200 last year. There were guys from Texas, of course, but there were also players from Oklahoma, Florida, Arkansas and surprisingly just a couple from Louisiana, a state UNT used to recruit heavily. UNT has backed way off the amount of time and energy it spends on the state, but I thought there would be a residual effect.

Here’s a photo of the players who came lined up for the 40:

As far as name guys who were there, here are a few:

Keller Fossil Ridge defensive end Anthony Villalobos

Keller Fossil Ridge quarterback Jake Gnacinski

Texarkana linebacker Anthony Rhone

Sachse defensive end Hunter Swain

Rowlett safety Newton Anati

I put some other notes up in my running blog that I thought are worth repeating, including Nick Orr is strongly considering several other schools in addition to UNT, including Missouri, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech. Orr is the younger brother of Zach Orr. Just don’t bank on that being a guarantee he ends up at UNT.

Former UNT quarterback Nathan Tune is also headed to Denton as an assistant coach after starting his coaching career at Celina.

4:34 update — Nick Orr is not working out today at UNT’s summer camp. I ran into him on the sideline and had a chance to talk to him a little about where he stands in the recruiting process.

Missouri, Baylor, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech and UNT are among the schools that have offered him a scholarship. Orr plans on deciding toward the end of the summer where he will play in college and will take a series of visits in the next few weeks. Orr plans on visiting Missouri, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech. Orr said that his family’s connection with UNT and staying close to home will not be major factors in his decision on where to play in college. Orr said he just wanted to find a school where he feels comfortable. He isn’t opposed to going out of state.

This is just my gut feeling, but the fact that Zach Orr will have finished his career at UNT by the time Nick Orr starts his college career is a factor that will not help the Mean Green.

I also ran into Steve Tune, the father of former UNT quarterback Nathan Tune.

Nathan was coaching at Celina, but is joining the staff at Denton High for next season. The whole family is moving to Denton.

Nathan’s younger brother Clayton Tune is also a quarterback and is entering the eighth grade.

4:03 update — There are a few good defensive back prospects out at UNT’s camp today, including arguably the Mean Green’s most important target on the board — DeSoto defensive back Nick Orr. Nick is Zach Orr’s younger brother and is seeing his list of options grow by the day. Schools like Texas Tech and Missouri have offered. It would be huge for UNT to keep him home.

Christopher Smith of Mansfield Legacy also received a camp invite and is out today.

There are a host of players from the Metroplex around, including ones from Southlake Carroll, Argyle, Frisco, Wylie, Allen, Jesuit and Red Oak.

Derek Thompson and Andrew McNulty are out today, watching the quarterbacks.

I am at the opening stop of the UNT summer camp series over at Apogee Stadium and the Darrell R. Dickey Practice Facility.

I will update this with a few tidbits along the way and hopefully catch Dan McCarney or recruiting coordinator Noah Joseph afterward.

There are about 400 players here.

They have all completed the 40-yard dash. We are into position drills right now.

A few players were asked to run the 40 a second time after they put up great times.

Two of those players were Nick Houston of The Colony. He played both offense and defense last year and is headed to a camp at Southern Arkansas later in the summer. He has not been offered a scholarship yet and is hoping to catch the eyes of a coaching staff this summer. His mom happened to be sitting in the stands when he was called up for his second go at the 40.

Another player who put up a good time was Haltom cornerback Reuben Thompson. Check back for more later.

North Texas starts what will be a very important tour of the state tomorrow. Yep, it’s time for the Mean Green’s summer camps.

UNT’s staff will start out at Apogee and then make several other stops around the state before the end of July. UNT will hope to host some of the top seniors-to-be in the state.

UNT needs to continue to upgrade its talent as it makes the transition to Conference USA beginning next season. This tour is UNT’s best vehicle to do just that. Chad Davis of Fort Bend Bush stopped by one of UNT’s camp stops last year and ended up being arguably UNT’s best signee a few months later.

I spent the last couple of months gathering opinions from national experts, Dan McCarney, local high school coaches, UNT assistant coaches and just about anyone else I could find for a big-picture story about where UNT stands and the importance of this summer’s tour.

Be sure to check it out tomorrow.

I will be at the camp. Check back on the blog.

And in other news …

Roger Franklin posted a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds for the U.S. in a 67-65 loss to Latvia in both teams’ opener at the “Four Nations Challenge” over in China. The Americans will continue the tour over the next several days.

Franklin was somewhat under appreciated during his time at UNT.

Make no mistake, UNT will miss Franklin’s hustle, his heart and his leadership, not to mention nearly 12 points and six rebounds a game next season.

On the track front, Shahaf Bareni finished seventh at the NCAA Championships in the high jump with a leap of 6-0. The women who finished in fifth through eighth place all posted the same height. The tiebreaker was on misses as always. Bareni scored two points to put UNT in the women’s team standings.

Bareni’s seventh-place finish was the highest for a UNT woman since Donna Thomas finished fourth in the long jump in 1983.

Steven White finished third in the 400 hurdles on the men’s side.

UNT has had a really nice season overall under Carl Sheffield.

North Texas senior Steven White finished third in the 400 hurdles at the NCAA championships on Friday. (Denton Record-Chronicle/Al Key)

Steven White posted the best race of his college career in his final appearance with North Texas at the NCAA Championships on Friday.

The senior sailed around the track at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., and finished third in the 400-meter hurdles in a time of 49.32, edging Ali Arastu of Michigan for an elusive spot on the medal stand.

Arastu finished fourth in 49.37.

Reggie Wyatt of USC won the gold medal in a time of 48.58, while Michael Stigler of Kansas took home the silver in a time of 49.19.

White shattered the UNT record of 49.82 in the event he set in the semifinals earlier in the week.

The Killeen native’s third-place finish is the highest for a UNT athlete at the national championships since Bill Schmidt placed second in the javelin in 1970.

UNT head coach Carl Sheffield talked about how much White just making the final and earning All-America status would be for the program before they left for the meet.

“If you look at our resumes and how our peers see us, if they see we have a Sun Belt champion, they ask, ‘Who’s in the Sun Belt?’” Sheffield said. “But if you say you have an All-American, they know what that is. That puts us on a different level. That is what our peers measure us by.”

White surpassed that goal and carved out a place in UNT track history.

That’s just what he set out to do.

“This is my last one,” White said before leaving for the meet. “It’s definitely important to me. I have to show what my four years here have done for me and go out with a bang.”

UNT senior Steven White won the bronze medal in the 400 hurdles at the NCAA outdoor meet tonight in Eugene, Ore.

White finished in 49.32.

Check back for more later

North Texas senior Steven White will run in the finals of the 400 hurdles at the NCAA Championships this afternoon. (Denton Record-Chronicle/Al Key)

UNT senior Steven White will run in the 400 hurdles final in the NCAA track meet out in Eugene at 6:40 p.m. today.

Track is a little off the radar, but this could be a big moment for the UNT athletic program as a whole.

UNT has been in positions like the one White is in today more often in the last few years. Rodolfo Cazaubon made the NCAA golf finals this spring. The UNT tennis team played in the NCAA tournament as well. The UNT soccer team played Texas Tech in the first round of the NCAA tournament in the fall.

UNT could really use a breakthrough performance in a spot like this, and White seems to be in position to provide it. He ran 49.82 in the semifinals and will be in lane three today. White had the fourth-best time in the semis and could easily find his way on to the medal stand.

UNT head coach Carl Sheffield talked about how important it was for the program for White to be an All-American. He’s done that already by making it to the finals and can take it a step further today in what could be the final race of his track career. White has not decided if he will run professionally.

It would be nice to see White go out on top.

He’s got a shot to do just that.