BY BRIAN GOSSET
Fresh off its 49-47 bowl win over San Diego State, starting quarterback Drew Mestemaker and starting running back Caleb Hawkins announced they were entering the transfer portal.
Mestemaker, an Austin Vandegrift grad and redshirt freshman, put in a stellar second season with the UNT Mean Green – throwing for nearly 4,400 yards in 14 games along with 34 touchdowns.
He threw for 250 yards and three scores against San Diego State on Saturday in the Isleta New Mexico Bowl in Albuquerque. UNT ends the season 12-2 with its first bowl win since the 2013 Heart of Dallas Bowl – snapping a seven-game bowl skid.
UNT, #25, were led by Hawkins, who rushed 30 times for 198 yards and three total touchdowns (two on the ground). The Mean Green hung on after SDSU (9-4) made a fourth-quarter comeback.
UNT led 21-6 after the first quarter and 42-20 after the third.
The Aztecs scored 27 points in the fourth, but came up short.
Will Jones II, who played at Mansfield Summit, was named Defensive MVP with a career-high 14 tackles, seven solo tackles, an interception, a tackle for loss and a forced fumble. The senior ends the season with three picks, 82 tackles, four forced fumbles and five pass break-ups.
Hawkins, a freshman from Shawnee, OK, accounted for over 1,800 total yards (1,434 rush) and 29 touchdowns (25 rush).
UNT has a new coach in Neal Brown after Eric Morris went to Oklahoma State.
