North Texas head coach Todd Dodge has added a veteran to his staff and switched the assignments for three assistants, moves that completed the Mean Green’s coaching lineup heading into spring practice next week.

Todd Dodge

David Rausch, who coached UNT’s defensive ends the last two seasons, will take over as outside linebackers coach. Defensive coordinator Gary DeLoach coached UNT’s linebackers last season and will continue to coach the Mean Green’s middle linebackers.

Mike Nelson joined the Mean Green’s staff as defensive tackles coach in early February, but will now coach UNT’s entire defensive front.

Dodge also hired former Texas A&M-Commerce head coach Scotty Conley as his director of football operations. Conley will replace Mark Barrow, who left the school to join his family in California.

“Having Gary coach just our middle linebackers will free him up a little more as a coordinator,” Dodge said. “We felt this is the best way to use our man power on defense.”

Conley was the linebackers coach at Texas when Dodge was playing for the Longhorns. He has also worked at several other Bowl Subdivision schools as an assistant coach, including Texas A&M and Rice.

“Scotty wants to step into the administrative side of things,” Dodge said. “What I like is that when we go into a staff meeting, he has been in every chair in the room. He has been a graduate assistant, a college assistant and a head coach. He was also a high school coach. He brings a wealth of experience, but what set him apart from the other people we interviewed was his knowledge of the state of Texas. Our operations guy deals with recruiting a lot. I don’t know if I could have found someone else who has recruited the state of Texas his whole career.”

Johnson among players

to miss spring

Starting center J.J. Johnson is among six players who will not go through spring practice while recovering from injuries.

Johnson started all 12 games last season and is expected to return in the fall after recovering from a shoulder injury.

Guard Tyler Bailey will miss spring practice while recovering from a broken leg he suffered in a win over Western Kentucky on Nov. 1. Wide receiver Alex Lott, defensive end Sam Owusu-Hemeng and running backs Jeremi Mathis and Micah Mosley are all recovering from shoulder injuries and will also miss spring drills.

While UNT will be missing several key players during its spring workouts, it will get offensive lineman Kelvin Drake back.

Drake was a second-team All-Sun Belt Conference selection as a sophomore, when he started all 12 games. He missed last season with an ankle injury.

Cook among those making a switch

Sophomore DaWaylon Cook (6-2, 210) will work at safety when UNT opens its spring workouts after spending his first season with the Mean Green as a cornerback.

“We are excited about DaWaylon’s size and range,” head coach Todd Dodge said. “He has grown into a safety.”

The Mean Green’s staff has also moved Jeremy Phillips from safety to linebacker and Joe Hawthorne from defensive end to defensive tackle.

“We think Joe can carry 275 pounds on his frame before his career is over,” Dodge said.

Phillips has long been projected to move to linebacker. His older brother Jason Phillips finished with 315 tackles at TCU and is the only player in the history of the Mountain West Conference to be named first- or second-team all-conference in four straight seasons.

Wide receiver Sam Roberson is moving from outside receiver into the slot.

UNT has also decided to have incoming junior college offensive lineman Jeremy Bean work out at both guard and tackle.

“With Tyler Bailey being out, we are going to have to double-train him,” Dodge said. “It will be good for him, so he can go into the fall and swing to either position.”

UNT to host open practice

UNT will have a practice open to fans on March 6 at Fouts Field.

The Mean Green will practice at both Fouts and the Darrell R. Dickey Practice Facility, the fields adjacent to the Mean Green Athletic Center, during spring drills.

Dodge said fans who want to watch practices at the athletic center can stand outside the fence that surrounds the field.

UNT’s scrimmages will take place on March 10 and March 27. The spring game will take place on April 4 at Fouts Field.

Briefly…

Redshirt freshman quarterback Riley Dodge weighs 190 pounds, up from 175 when he signed with UNT out of Southlake Carroll. … UNT is still waiting on the NCAA to rule on an appeal that would grant wide receiver Tyler Stratford, a transfer from Oklahoma, immediate eligibility at UNT. … Former Mesquite Horn standout Justin Chatman, a defensive back who transferred to UNT from Minnesota, will be eligible this season.

BRETT VITO can be reached at 940-566-6870. His e-mail address is bvito@dentonrc.com .