It's definitely a new era for North Texas football.

The Mean Green will have a new coach in Dan McCarney, open a new football stadium in 2011 and wrapped up their recruiting efforts with a 22-man class.

North Texas certainly won't be picked to finish very highly in the Sun Belt Conference preseason polls, but McCarney did make somewhat of a splash in recruiting. North Texas' haul included defensive back Freddie Warner, considered one of the top 175 athlete prospects in the nation by ESPN. The Mean Green lured Warner away from Texas Tech, where he'd made a verbal commitment.

Warner and Kerry Swarn, another Dallas-area prospect, give North Texas a pair of outstanding prospects who project as potential future starting cornerbacks.

The class included 11 players from the immediate North Texas region.

"There was not a long list or big group of guys who had visited campus," McCarney said. "It was wide open. We got in there and started throwing in tapes right away, getting our evaluations done and prioritizing. It was a matter of finding out who we wanted based on tape. In a short period of time, we had to find out about work ethic, character, academics, toughness, loyalty, unselfishness, and if they would be a great fit in the program. Is he a contender and a guy you want walk out there in that new stadium with you? I like the way that it worked. I appreciate my staff more than words can explain."

TOP OF THE CLASS

CB Freddie Warner (Pinkston High, Dallas, Tex.) -- The best individual talent in the signing class, Warner was recruited primarily by his future position coach, Justin Gaines. Warner has good quickness and route anticipation, and also has been praised for his ability to recover quickly when beat vertically down the field.

TE Andrew Power (Arizona Western Community College, Myrtle Beach, S.C.) -- Power verbally committed to Tennessee but the Volunteers rescinded the scholarship offer. North Texas benefits from that turn of events and brings in Power at a position in desperate need of a solid blocking tight end.

QB Brent Osborn (Northwest Mississippi Community College, Valley, Ala.) -- Osborn originally signed with Georgia Southern coming out of high school but left after a coaching change because the new offense installed did not fit his skill set. Osborn should immediately begin competing with returnee Derek Thompson for the starting job.

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