– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
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DENTON, TEXAS — Leave it up to a 10-year old — in this case, the son of North Texas head football coach Eric Morris —to possess all the wisdom needed to get through the day, and the coach’s son’s advice was in no small part the reason the Mean Green remain undefeated on the season.
Running back Caleb Hawkins had 218 total yards and three touchdowns, including a 27-yard scoring run with 1:59 remaining to seal North Texas’ 36-22 victory over South Alabama inside DATCU Stadium to remain undefeated on the season. Quarterback Drew Mestemaker threw for 234 yards while throwing and running for a touchdown as the Mean Green have now started a season 5-0 for the first time since 1959.
Hawkins finished the day with 16 carries for 140 yards and two rushing touchdowns to go with two catches for 78 yards and a highlight-reel catch-and-run 68-yard touchdown reception early in the third quarter to give the Mean Green a 21-7 lead.
“After last week’s game at Army, my 10-year-old son said, ‘How many times did you give it to him?’ I said 13, and he said, ‘How many TDs did he have?’ I said four,” Morris said of Hawkins. “He said, ‘Dad you should probably give it to him a little more.'”
That’s exactly what North Texas did on its final scoring drive after South Alabama pulled to within six, 28-22, with just over six minutes to play. On the seven plays from scrimmage after that Jaguars’ touchdown, Hawkins touched the ball on three of those play, with the last being his 27-yard scamper that put the game away.
“That kid is actually insane,” Mestemaker said. “I’ve never seen someone run the ball like that. No one can tackle him. I told him every time he scored today that he’s that guy and no one can mess with him. Having him on the offense and having him break out is a great thing for this offense.”
Hawkins’ eight total touchdowns are the most by a North Texas freshman in his first four games in the last 25 years and his seven rushing touchdowns leads all freshmen in the FBS this season.
*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from Saturday afternoon’s game, with photos taken by ALOST photo editor Ross James. After clicking on a photo to enlarge the picture, press the left and right arrow buttons on either side of the caption to scroll through the rest of the pictures that appear on the first page, Also, click on the numbers and/or arrow appearing immediately below the picture grid to load the next set of photos. There are 34 pictures in total.
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