Kenny Buyers - cornerback North Texas

[Jimmy Chitwood]

consider him the rarest of the rare. if he were an animal, he'd definitely be an endangered species. North Texas sophomore Kenny Buyers is a White cornerback.

and get this. he is now the starter for the Mean Green at field corner (the position always covers the wide side of the field as the coaching staff feels this player is their best coverage db by a significant margin) and covers the slot in man-to-man when they go nickel.

Buyers was given the starting nod this week against Ball State after making several big plays in their first two games of the season, especially a huge interception against Ohio last week. here's a brief recap of the coaching staff's reasoning:

One of North Texas’ top defensive players from a year ago was yanked from the starting lineup Monday in a shakeup UNT hopes will help it avoid the big plays that have put the Mean Green in a hole early the first two weeks of the season.

Cornerback Zac Whitfield, who was a second-team All-Sun Belt Conference selection as a redshirt freshman last season, was beaten twice in key spots on Saturday in a 27-21 loss to Ohio and will be replaced by Kenny Buyers this week when UNT takes on Ball State.

Buyers, a former walk-on, intercepted a pass that killed a Ohio drive late in the third quarter with UNT trailing by seven.

“Buyers is going to start the game this week, barring any problems in practice performance,â€￾ UNT head coach Dan McCarney said. “He did a really good job and made a heck of a play on the interception. We had those guys [Whitfield and Buyers] on the same line. We are not going to stand around and watch guys be in position to go make plays and not make them.â€￾

(JC's note: the receiver that repeatedly burned Whitfield was the White Ohio speedster Chase Cochran.)

Buyers followed up the starting nod by playing an outstanding game against Ball State. he was all over the field, in coverage, run support, and helping cover up for his teammates, finishing the contest with a career-high 9 tackles (7 solo), a fumble recovery, and several teeth-rattling hits.

it should perhaps go without saying that Buyers (5-11, 177-pounds, 4.4 speed) is a former walk-on.

he will get a big test this Saturday when UNT heads down to Georgia. best of luck to one of the VERY few White corners in the Bowl Subdivision.

 

[seattlefan]

Found this on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZD4coemaL8

You can see him in several parts when UNT is on defense (green jerseys), he's #31.

 

[TwentyTwo]

Thanks Jimmy C for the head's up...will keep my eye on him this Saturday vs Georgia....maybe he will line up against Michael Bennet a few times!

 

[texasheat]

North Texas alumni checking in here ... and having just returned from watching North Texas vs Georgia between the hedges. Jimmy -- great job putting everyone on notice of Kenny Buyers! This kid is the real deal. I don't recall him leaving the field against Georgia & he was all over the place. Georgia tested him but he didn't get burned once. EX: It was our other CB who got toasted on that 98 yard pass play in the 2nd quarter. Buyers is our 5th leading tackler on the team, picked off a pass & has had 2 fumble recoveries. Hey, I'll take it!

 

[Jimmy Chitwood]

i watched the game against UGA, and i thought Buyers did a really good job. he looked nervous early, to me, and gave up too much cushion during the early portion of the game. fortunately for him, the "real" affletes in Georgia's receiving corps weren't able to take advantage as they had trouble connecting with their outstanding qb, Murray.

as the game settled in, i felt that Buyers did, as well. he looked comfortable and looked as if he quit giving so much respect to the SEC kids. i only saw his assignment catch 2 balls on the day (for 16 yards). meanwhile, as texasheat noted he was all over the field. he once again notched a career-high in tackles (10 total, 7 solo) as he covered a lot of ground in run support and in helping out his mates. additionally, for the third consecutive game he came up with a turnover, this time recovering a fumble. finally, he had 2 pass break-ups including a spectacular one in the endzone against the tall, very athletic UGA wideout, Michael Bennett.

finally, i kept hearing the announcers reference that he was being picked on by Murray. however, i just didn't see it. on one occasion there was a deep ball that he looked to be beaten on, but the receiver was also badly overthrown. other than that, though, i didn't see the Bulldogs test him downfield at all. "weird," that the announcers would claim that the one White cat in the secondary was struggling (even if he wasn't), huh?

North Texas faces off with Tulane this Saturday at 2:30 central time.

 

[Jimmy Chitwood]

despite the media commentary to the contrary, it looks as if the North Texas coach sees things as i saw them with regards to Buyers' play:

UNT head coach Dan McCarney said this week that he will continue to roll all four of his cornerbacks in during games.

He also indicated that Kenny Buyers is playing better than anyone else right now.

We have also started to see a whole lot more of James Jones, a JUCO transfer who arrived this fall.

I talked to Jones today.

What he had to say, combined with what McCarney had to say, seems to indicate we could see the pairing of Buyers and Jones at corner quite a bit.

I would be surprised if those two guys weren’t the starters in UNT’s game against Tulane.

UNT has really struggled in its defensive backfield this year. Buyers made a few big plays last week in UNT’s loss to Georgia and Jones also looked good at times.

UNT has nothing to lose at this point by giving Buyers and Jones a long look.

 

[Jimmy Chitwood]

a quick update on Buyers after his two most recent outings ...

in a narrow loss to Tulane, Buyers was terrific. he was all over the field, and it showed on the state sheet as he finished with a team-leading 9 total tackles (8 solo), 1 pass break-up, 1 tackle for loss, and 1 sack. he is becoming a game changer on the perimeter.

against Middle Tennessee State, the whole "no man is an island" thing proved to not be entirely true. the Blue Raiders avoided Buyers, and he took away his side of the field in a dominating, but statistically-quiet (3 solo tackles), performance in a dominating North Texas win. it was the first time since Buyers was inserted into the starting lineup that he hadn't finished with at least 9 total tackles in the game.

despite starting just 4 games so far this season, Buyers is second on the team with 26 solo tackles (33 total) and leads the team with 3 pass break-ups. additionally, he has 4 passes defensed, 1 sack, 1 tackle-for-loss, 1 interception, and 2 fumble recoveries.

Buyers and his North Texas teammates head to LA Tech today to face off with the Bulldogs.

 

[Jimmy Chitwood]

Buyers had another strong outing in yesterday's UNT win: 9 total tackles (4 solo) and 1 tackle for loss.

it's very rare that you find a cornerback who is this strong in run support.

 

[Wes Woodhead]

Buyers had another strong outing in yesterday's UNT win: 9 total tackles (4 solo) and 1 tackle for loss.

it's very rare that you find a cornerback who is this strong in run support.

THats a true statement. Ive noticed that every time a white guy somehow ends up on the field as cornerback they are always good in run support.

 

[celticdb15]

THats a true statement. Ive noticed that every time a white guy somehow ends up on the field as cornerback they are always good in run support.

Probably the reason they are always moved to Safety!

 

[Jimmy Chitwood]

Buyers continues to be the difference for the Mean Green defense. since his insertion into the starting lineup, North Texas has seen HUGE improvement on the defensive side of the ball.

Buyers was his typical self in UNT's most recent game, against Rice. he once again finished with a game-high 10 total tackles (and a game-high 8), including several impressive open field tackles in run support. in the portion of the game that i watched, including the majority of the second half, Buyers wasn't even targeted in the passing game.

if he continues to play at this level (and improve as he most assuredly will), he is a candidate for some post-season accolades. and remember, he's just a sophomore.

as an aside, i've seen written online that he is the Mean Green's fastest player.

 

[FootballDad]

Buyers continues to be the difference for the Mean Green defense. since his insertion into the starting lineup, North Texas has seen HUGE improvement on the defensive side of the ball.

Buyers was his typical self in UNT's most recent game, against Rice. he once again finished with a game-high 10 total tackles (and a game-high 8), including several impressive open field tackles in run support. in the portion of the game that i watched, including the majority of the second half, Buyers wasn't even targeted in the passing game.

if he continues to play at this level (and improve as he most assuredly will), he is a candidate for some post-season accolades. and remember, he's just a sophomore.

as an aside, i've seen written online that he is the Mean Green's fastest player.

I'll have to watch one of the "Mean Blacks" games sometime so I can see this forbidden player for myself. Of course, he's not nearly the "athlete" as your favorite former Razorback that I've temporarily adopted as my avatar.........

 

[Twinkle Toes]

This point might be a little late but due to injuries true freshman corner back , Anthony Cioffi , for Rutgers got to start the last 2 games of the year including the bowl game against Notre Dame. He did break up 3 passes against Central Florida in his first career start.
I beleive Gavin McCarthy from Air Force started all year as well and also Dallin Leavitt from BYU should get the starting nod this year. Its to bad Sean Sylvia got moved back to safety for Boston College and Rocco Scarfone should get some good action for East Carolina this year as well.

 

[TwentyTwo]

Not sure how many games he started? But junior Austin McDaniel (Tulsa) played some Corner Back this year...he wears #37 just like Buyers.

Hope Kenny Buyers will get a chance at CB in the NFL!