North Texas seemed to be on its way to a breakout season just a few weeks ago following a season-opening win over Ball State.

What transpired from that point on wasn’t nearly what UNT had hoped for, but head coach Todd Dodge said Monday that there were plenty of promising aspects of the Mean Green’s performance if one is willing to look beyond a 2-10 finish.

“We are very excited about what we have coming back,” Dodge said. “We have four or five offensive line starters coming back and 10 of 11 overall on offense returning. The offensive line guys will be third-year starters and we will have an offense with a lot of guys who will benefit from another year of experience. Nine of 11 starters are coming back defensively.

“We knew as we went into this year that we would continue to build depth and experience.”

UNT is hoping that experience will pay off next fall, when the Mean Green will look to win more than three games in a season for the first time since 2004.

UNT athletic director Rick Villarreal said Monday that the school is still in the process of evaluating the performance of the program and its coaching staff before determining if any changes will be made. Villarreal was still in the process of trying to set up a time to talk with university president Gretchen Bataille about the program.

Bataille is out of the country.

Dodge has compiled a 5-31 record in three seasons at UNT, but has assembled a cast of talented young players he believes will help the Mean Green turn the corner soon.

Sophomore running back Lance Dunbar rushed for 1,378 yards, the fourth-best single-season performance in UNT history, despite starting just eight games. Quarterback Riley Dodge threw for 1,962 yards and nine touchdowns while battling a series of injuries that forced him to miss two games and significant parts of three others, including the Mean Green’s season finale against Arkansas State after breaking his arm.

Both Riley Dodge and Dunbar are expected to be back to lead an offense that will add two key pieces in Oklahoma transfer Tyler Stradford and Oklahoma State transfer William Cole, a pair of wide receivers who are expected to add speed and playmaking ability to UNT’s passing game.

UNT will lose offensive lineman Tyler Bailey and running back Cam Montgomery, who began the year as a starter before Dunbar’s career took off in a loss to Middle Tennessee in the fourth week of the season.

UNT will also have several of its key players back on its defense that showed signs of improving under Gary DeLoach. The former UCLA assistant completed the second year of his second stint as UNT’s defensive coordinator this fall.

UNT allowed 36.1 points a game this season, down from 47.6 points a game a year ago.

Linebacker Craig Robertson will return after leading UNT with 94 tackles as a junior, while safety DaWaylon Cook posted 72 tackles as a sophomore.

The Mean Green will have more rebuilding to do on the defensive side of the ball after losing linebackers Tobe Nwigwe and Kylie Hill, cornerback Adryan Adams and defensive lineman Eddrick Gilmore.

Nwigwe was UNT’s leading tackler after six games with 57 stops before a foot injury ended his season. Adams was UNT’s fourth-leading tackler with 54 stops, while Hill had 42.

Gilmore finished second on the team with 8.5 tackles for loss. Defensive end LaChris Anyiam spent the season as a redshirt following shoulder surgery and could contribute next season.

UNT will also have to find a new kicker to replace senior Jeremy Knott, who struggled most of the season and had an extra point and a field goal blocked in the Mean Green’s season finale.