North Texas Football National Signing Day 2016 Recruiting Class and Preview

North Texas fans have watched closely late in this recruiting season as Seth Littrell and his staff have attempted to assemble a recruiting class that can take the Mean Green in the right direction. After being hired in December, Littrell immediately got to work on recruiting and promised to put together a staff that could recruit and would hit the ground running.

This list of areas that North Texas needs to improve following a 1-11 season isn't exactly a short one. The Mean Green finished the season ranked 119th in total defense and 117th in total offense. To say there is work to do would be an understatement. However, there are certain areas that could be seen as a higher priority with national signing day less than 24 hours away. After losing Carlos Harris, who caught seven of the team's twelve passing touchdowns, the Mean Green needs athletes who know how to get to the end zone. Along with the loss of Harris, the implementation of Littrell's "pass happy" offense warrants an even greater need for reliable receivers.

On the defensive side of the ball, North Texas needs help to compliment the talent at safety that the team has in Kishawn McClain and James Gray. The Mean Green have already made progress towards this goal by picking up two impressive JUCO athletes. Defensive end, Josh Wheeler, from Tyler Junior College and linebacker, William Johnson, from Arizona Western College are both three-star athletes that can make an immediate impact. Wheeler, who had 16 sacks in this past season, will be an excellent addition to a defensive unit that only had 19 sacks during the entire 2015 season.

Littrell has repeatedly expressed his intention to pull from the heavy recruiting base in the DFW area that surrounds Denton. While that plan seems to be working, the Mean Green are also looking to their neighbors to the north, picking up four late commitments from Oklahoma athletes. One of the most notable Oklahoma commits is quarterback Mason Fine who passed for 9233 yards and 124 touchdowns in his final two seasons at Locust Grove High School.

After spending most of the recruiting season ranked last in Conference USA, the Mean Green have made a late jump to 11th pulling themselves out of the basement. Check back here throughout National Singing Day to stay updated on if the Mean Green can jump even higher.