Todd Dodge almost didn’t need to bother with a formal interview with Greg Peterson when he began looking for a new wide receivers coach.

Peterson had recruited the Dallas area for years while coaching at Colorado State, Kansas State and Washington State and always stopped by to scout Dodge’s players during his rise through the high school coaching ranks.

Dodge suspected that Peterson would be a perfect fit as a wide receivers coach at UNT, and was convinced of it after taking with legendary KSU head coach Bill Snyder.

Dodge confirmed that Peterson would join UNT’s staff on Monday night.

“Anytime you are going through your coaching career, you are potentially interviewing for your next job,” Dodge said. “Greg recruited the area the whole time I was at [Southlake] Carroll, Fossil Ridge and [Carrollton] Newman Smith. I don’t know if I could have had a better interview than the time I got to know him. He’s a classy guy. That’s the biggest reason I hired him right there.”

That and his impressive experience as a wide receivers coach.

Peterson has coached wide receivers for most of his career, including all but one of the years he spent at KSU from 1994-2005. Peterson also coached wide receivers at Idaho and CSU, where he had worked since 2008.

Peterson has coached eight candidates for the Biletnikoff Award that goes to the nation’s top wide receiver, in addition to nine wide receivers who were All-America selections.

“I got a great recommendation from Bill Snyder,” Dodge said. “He’s a coach I have a tremendous amount of respect for.”

Peterson has tutored several players who went on to the NFL, including Jordy Nelson and Yamon Figurs.

Peterson will take over a group of wide receivers with several of its key members returning, including Jamaal Jackson and Darius Carey. Jackson was a second-team All-Sun Belt selection after catching 71 passes for 701 yards, while Carey caught 57 passes for 509 yards as a freshman.

“Greg is a guy who will be really good for us,” Dodge said. “He will recruit for us. We will use his strengths in the Dallas area.”

UNT finalizes schedule

UNT released its 2010 schedule on Monday that includes a season-ending game against Kansas State on Nov. 27 at Fouts Field. The game will be UNT’s last at the 58-year-old venue.

UNT will play six home games for the second straight season while closing out the stadium. The Mean Green will host Rice in its first home game on Sept. 11.

UNT will open the season at Clemson on Sept. 4. A game at Army on Sept. 18 will round out UNT’s nonconference schedule.

“As this program begins to turn the corner, it was important to schedule regionally attractive games against opponents that are competitively comparable,” UNT athletic director Rick Villarreal said. “Our fans are familiar with Rice and Kansas State, and to be able to schedule home games against those teams is a validation that this program is moving forward.”

UNT will open conference play at Florida Atlantic on Sept. 25.

Briefly…

UNT will open spring practice on March 23 and have its first scrimmage on March 27. … Starting quarterback Riley Dodge and backup Nathan Tune are both expected to be ready to participate in spring drills after recovering from a broken arm and shoulder injury, respectively, suffered in the Mean Green’s season finale against Arkansas State on Nov. 28. … Offensive lineman Nate Jenkins has left the program.

BRETT VITO can be reached at 940-566-6870. His e-mail address is bvito@dentonrc.com .

* — Sun Belt Conference game