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How our green got mean by Rufus Coleman
Fall 2004      
 



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How Our Green Got Mean

Voices of the Mean Green

An American Original

Academic vision

   

I enjoyed the moments I had on that team at that time, even though the work was hard as well as the scrimmaging and practicing against Joe (Greene) and practicing against the defense. Joe was just one of many good players. … Burkley Harkless ('72), Johnny Mata, Henry Holland ('69), Chuck Beatty ('76), Billy Woods, John Love ('72), James Ivy ('69) — that whole defense was really, really tough. I mean, headhunters. … But I was used to that type of work, so it didn't frighten me. It just made me better. It made me better practicing against them. … They say you can go through life and not have a handful of good friends, but I'm fortunate enough I feel like I have two or three handfuls of good friends. And they all centered around North Texas.

— Glen Holloway, 1966-1969, offensive guard, drafted by the Chicago Bears


Every time we would play the game we would always say Burkley (Harkless) would be in the backfield with the quarterback. It was a kind of a joke because he played on defense, and when the quarterback dropped back to pass, Burkley would be there with him all the time. We had another guy, Vidal Carlin ('76), who was No. 4 in the nation in passing. Many people don't talk about Vidal, but there are not a lot of schools that can say they had a person who was No. 4 in the nation in passing. … Ron Shanklin, of course, was the darling of the group because he kept us together laughing and was just a lot of fun. … He was a spectacular player — that word fits him because he could run full speed, lean back, catch the ball, come forward and go into the end zone. Just an incredible receiver. … Ed Brantley was a lineman. He had terrible knees, but he had great commitment to the game.

— The Rev. Victor G. Williams ('68), 1966-1968, fullback


We all knew each other and there was a tight, tight bond. We all just felt like we had a connection. We looked out for each other. We used to go out to the Sonic and whoever had the money had to buy. You
didn't keep score on that account. The guys knew that my mother would send me money on certain days. Chuck Beatty and Bill Woods, my roommates, knew the combination to my mail box and they'd bring the check and say, "Your mama sent us some money; let's go cash the check." You couldn't deny it, and you didn't deny it. It just seemed like that was the way it was supposed to be. And 40 years later, we're all still very connected. The friendships I made at North Texas are unparalleled.

— Cedrick Hardman, 1965-1969, defensive end, drafted by the San Francisco 49ers

 

 

 
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