D-line, a growing offense and a new kicker: Can UNT keep building?

North Texas kicked off spring practice on Wednesday, but here are a few big questions they'll try to answer during their run of 15 practices. 1. Can a quick fix fill holes on the defensive line? Seth Littrell welcomed six early enrollees from this year's recruiting class, including four junior college players. Tillman Johnson and Andy Flusche left two big holes along the Mean Green's defensive line, but 255-pound Darrian McMillan and 272-pound Tuulau Sa'afi--both at 6-foot-3, are both on campus and will be on the practice field. Freshman Dayton LeBlanc, whose father is defensive line coach Derrick LeBlanc, is also practicing this spring. La'Darius Hamilon and Tony Krasniqi both saw time last year and combined for five tackles for loss. Both defensive end spots should be among the most compelling position battles in spring. 2. How good can this offense get? It's fueled North Texas to the most successful two-year run in almost two decades, but C-USA Offensive Player of the Year Mason Fine returns five of his six top receivers, each with at least 25 catches and 250 receiving yards. It should be an experienced, deep group ready to take aim at reigning champion Florida Atlantic, who beat UNT twice last season. As good as they were last year, there's still plenty of room for improvement after averaging more than 35 points a game. The Mean Green only averaged 6.14 yards a carry in 2017, 34th nationally. Leading rusher Jeffery Wilson is gone, but Arlington Martin alum Nic Smith ran for 684 yards and six scores as a redshirt freshman behind Wilson. He's well suited to step into a heavier workload as a full-time starter. UNT gave up an average of 49 points in their five losses last year, and with offenses like FAU on the schedule again, the Mean Green might need to score at will to do more than win a division next year. We'll get a sense of how potent this offense could be in the spring. 3. Do the Mean Green have a kicker? Trevor Moore gave UNT outstanding stability at kicker for four years, including a stellar senior season with 20 made kicks on 22 attempts. He also finished his career with zero misses on 152 extra point attempts. Cole Hedlund arrived after the season as a graduate transfer from Arkansas, and he'll challenge redshirt freshman Zach Williams to be first in line to replace one of UNT's most settled positions. More big questions for spring football: