The long and winding career of North Texas defensive lineman Eddrick Gilmore will reach a milestone of sorts Saturday.

Gilmore has made a series of memorable plays during his time at UNT, but few were as important as two critical stops he posted last season in a 27-26 win over Western Kentucky.

Eddrick Gilmore

The Hilltoppers were driving for a potential game-winning field goal late in the fourth quarter when Gilmore cut down former WKU quarterback K.J. Black after a 2-yard gain on first-and-10 from the 27-yard line with less than three minutes left. Gilmore came back on third-and-7 two plays later following a penalty and tackled Black after a 7-yard gain on third-and-11.

Those stops forced WKU to attempt a 38-yard field goal that went awry because of a bad snap.

The win is one of just two UNT (0-8) has posted in 20 games under head coach Todd Dodge.

“I just walked out of the film room and watched those last two drives,” Gilmore said Tuesday. “That changed a lot, making those plays down the stretch in that drive. I remember that game. It helped me a lot with my confidence to run [Black] down and make that play on third down.”

Gilmore will look to build on that play Saturday when the Mean Green tries to break a nine-game losing streak since that victory against the Hilltoppers (2-6). What has transpired since that night hasn’t always been pleasant for Gilmore or the rest of UNT’s players and coaches.

Gilmore sat out much of fall practice while regaining his eligibility and had to switch positions due to a run of injuries along the Mean Green’s defensive front. Those injuries and other problems have contributed to the Mean Green ranking last nationally in scoring defense with an average of 50.0 points allowed per game.

Part of UNT’s problem has been a defensive line that has been decimated by injuries. Defensive tackles Joseph Miller and Charlie Brown have missed large chunks of the season, forcing younger backups into action.

UNT has compensated by moving Gilmore from defensive end to tackle, where he will play for the third straight game this weekend.

“We know the talent level of Eddrick,” UNT head coach Todd Dodge said. “In the future, we hope that he can move back outside, but with the injury to Joseph we needed to get more active inside. When Charlie Brown got hurt, that solidified it even more. Eddrick has a great frame and has put some weight on. He is holding up quite well and making plays like we thought he would.”

Gilmore (6-5, 240) finished with four tackles and a sack in addition to breaking up a pass while playing tackle in UNT’s 35-23 loss to Louisiana-Monroe two weeks ago. UNT shut out the Warhawks in the second half of its best defensive performance of the season.

Gilmore said it has taken him some time to adjust to moving inside to tackle from defensive end, his natural position.

The adjustment is one of several that Gilmore has dealt with since he arrived at UNT at the beginning of the 2005 season as one of the Mean Green’s top-rated recruits. Some publications rated Gilmore among the top 100 college prospects in Texas.

Gilmore played as a freshman, but sat out the 2006 season as a redshirt after failing to meet NCAA eligibility requirements.

“I was young coming into college and got behind the 8-ball,” Gilmore said. “I had to be perfect in everything I did to catch up. What happened off the field will help me on the field. It has been one big learning experience.”

Gilmore said he is on track to graduate this summer, but will wait until next fall to finish out his course work.

“It was a mixture of a few things,” Gilmore said of what forced him to get off to a late start this season. “Part of it was that I had to catch up on class this summer and go through some clearance issues [with the NCAA].”

Gilmore has worked through those problems and will be a key part of UNT’s plans to slow down WKU, which is averaging 147.8 rushing yards a game.

Dodge said slowing down the Hilltoppers’ ground game will be one of the keys to victory for UNT, which will look for Gilmore to make a few key plays similar to those he produced to help the Mean Green win its last game nearly a year ago.

“It’s a matter of executing, being in the right place and making plays,” Gilmore said. “I know that we can win. The scores show that we have been blown out, but we were in most of our games into the third quarter. A couple of big plays hurt us and the games got out of hand. We feel like we can win the rest of our games.”

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