SB Nation - Cornelius Douglas

Taking a Breath :: Looking Ahead to the Texas Tech Offense of 2010

Seth C — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:00:30 -0000

More photos » by David J. Phillip - AP

2 months ago: Texas Tech running back Harrison Jeffers (10) leaps over Houston linebacker C.J. Cavness (40) as he rushes for a first down during the second quarter of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Sept. 26, 2009 in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

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THE OFFENSE

With the football bye week, DTN is taking this opportunity to look at Texas Tech's offense and defense in 2010. Up today is a look at the 2-deep, the talented players who are on the roster, but have not contributed much this year, the 2010 offensive recruiting class and a look back at the past 5 years recruits and the washout rate of players who were recruited by Texas Tech.

Who Returns (2010 Projected 2-Deep)

POSITION	PLAYER	STATS	YEAR
LT	Terry McDaniel	6-7/335	SO
	Chris Olson	6-5/296	SR
LG	Lonnie Edwards	6-5/290	JR
	Chris Olson	6-5/296	SR
C	Justin Keown	6-4/302	JR
	-------
RG	Mickey Okafor	6-7/319	JR
	Deveric Gallington	6-4/350	JR
RT	LaAdrian Waddle	6-6/350	SO
	Joe King	6-6/319	SO
QB	Steven Sheffield	6-4/190	SR
	Taylor Potts	6-4/218	SR
RB	Baron Batch	5-11/205	SR
	Harrison Jeffers	5-9/204	SO
HR	Tramain Swindall	6-3/180	JR
	Adam James	6-3/216	JR
YR	Detron Lewis	6-0/205	SR
	Austin Zouzalik	6-1/181	SO
XR	Lyle Leong	6-1/165	SR
	Eric Ward	5-11/202	FR
ZR	Alexander Torres	6-2/196	SO
	Jacoby Franks	6-1/185	JR

So there's definitely some advantages to having so many injuries in a season. Right now, there's not any one position where there is not a returning starter on offense. Think about that for a minute. Almost the entire 2-deep has at least 1 start. If there was ever a reason to look forward to 2010 it's the offense. Right now, the offensive roster appears to be a well-rounded group, probably because of necessity. This doesn't take into account the various redshirts from the 2009 recruiting class that could step up and help and the other players that have experience, but just don't fit on the 2-deep.

Lots more after the jump.

Don't Sleep On:

OL: Kyle Clark (6-5/277; RS FR); Blake Emert (6-5/287; JR); and Joel Gray (6-6/306; RS FR)
WR: E.J. Celestie (5-11/174; RS FR); Aaron Fisher (6-3/182; RS FR); Derrick Mays (6-0/166; RS FR) and Cornelius Douglas (5-9/193; SO)
RB: Eric Stephens (5-8/182; SO) and Aaron Crawford (5-11/204; JR)
QB: Seth Doege (6-2/205; SO) (6-4/218; SR) and Jacob Karam (6-1/205; RS FR)

Irregardless of whether or not you like Potts or not as a player, you could probably argue that Leach might put Doege ahead of Potts on the 2-deep next year, but based on last week's results, that may not be the case. Still, Leach is still undecided on some level and there's competition, which is good. There's really not any one position that's going to be lacking over the next few years, especially if some of the younger players develop as we expect. And I'd also add that although Scotty Young (detailed below) appears to be just a tremendous football player, I'd just like to remind everyone that Karam is traveling with the team every week. That says something about his personality and what the coaches think of him. Don't anoint Young too quickly. It's easy to get wrapped up in the new guy, but sometimes it's the least likely guy that can lead your football team and Karam had an impressive pedigree -- 3,291 yards / 38 TD's / 10 INT's (thinking of some guy named Sheffield). Let's also not forget that Ward was a 4-star receiver last year, came to Texas Tech early and I'm hoping that he can make a significant impact sooner rather than later.

Recruiting, The 2010 Class

POSITION	PLAYER	STATS	RR	STARS
QB	Scotty Young	6-3/185	5.8	4
RB	Delans Griffin	5-10/181	5.8	4
RB	Aaron Spikes	5-10/185	5.6	3
WR	Kadron Boone	6-1/190	5.8	4
WR	Shawn Corker	6-1/183	5.7	3
OL	Beau Carpenter	6-7/269	5.6	3
OL	Eric Lawson	6-6/320	5.5	3
OL	James Polk	6-7/290	5.6	3
OL	Denton Simek	6-6/260	5.6	3
OL	Javius Townsend	6-4/297	5.6	3
AVERAGE			5.66	3.33

I think it's safe to say that offensively, the class is probably finished. Leach is recruiting at every position and just about every one of these recruits are high quality players and this year, there are no 2-star players on either side of the ball, which is an upgrade in talent. If I had to guess which players receive early playing time, you should probably consider Boone and maybe Corker. Both are supremely talented I also wouldn't be surprised if Griffin gets a look as well. I'd also imagine that considering the depth on the offensive line, all of these guys should redshirt.

Recruit Trends

YEAR	AVG. RR	AVG. STARS	WASHOUT RATE
2010	5.66	3.33	-
2009	5.51	3.10	1/10 = 10.00%
2008	5.58	3.00	0/7 = 0.00%
2007	5.49	2.80	6/15 = 40.00%
2006	5.47	2.79	8/14 = 57.14%

Disclaimer: I'm using the Rivals recruiting rankings and each player is assigned an RR number and a star.

I probably need some explaining as the wash-out rate, which is the rate of players that either played just 1 season for Texas Tech or never really made it on campus. The reason to even judge some of these players is that the rankings can look great, but if the players do not contribute or make it on campus, then you haven't done much. I think it's also important to add that the washout rate is something that's going to happen to any college football team and the trend that you would prefer to see is the rate to be lower than it was in 2006, but I think the key is that in 2006 and in previous years, the staff had two options: take safe, but less talented athletes or take more risky, but more talented players. I think that's the reason for the high washout rate in 2006 and in 2007, however, as the team improves, I think a staff is able to recruit a higher caliber player, both personally and on the field.

Post Game Thoughts :: Texas Tech Red Raiders 24, Texas Longhorns 34

Seth C — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 18:38:24 -0000

More photos » by Eric Gay - AP

3 months ago: Texas Tech receiver Lyle Leong (19) catches a pass for a touchdown as Texas defender Chykie Brown (8) looks on during the third quarter of an NCAA college football game in Austin, Texas, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2009. Texas won 34-24 (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

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SBN Box Score :: TTU Box Score

The Result :: Frustrating: I mentioned in this morning's Daily Diatribe that the result was frustrating, but on some level acceptable. As a fan, you always want your team to compete for a number of reasons, most importantly because you're a fan of the team and seeing your team getting blown out of the water is the worst.

Early this week, Leach contemplated the downside of what could happen to a program if you lose early and badly:

"The school’s got a duty to help do the wise thing," he said. "You can get money on the front end, short term, but if it weakens the team overall — then all of a sudden they take a couple more losses that they wouldn’t have or they don’t go to as good a bowl as they might or they miss going to a bowl — you impact a lot of things.
"You impact recruiting. You impact your team’s performance that year. You impact your team’s performance the next year perhaps through recruiting. You impact the mentality of your team as far as their ability to be successful. You may impact their chances once they get to conference, and then ultimately you may impact the chances of how well (a school) can sell seats and market their program."

All of these things considered, I think that the only thing that didn't happen was that the Red Raiders didn't get the win. And to be truthful, there were a lot of positives coming out of that game, despite the loss.

Who Needs Defensive Ends: Seriously, they're all over-rated. Just kidding, sorta. Perhaps this turn of events is what we may consider in the very near future as what turned this defense into what many want it to be. The defense used an odd and effective mix of Daniel Howard, Richard Jones, Bront Bird, Chris Perry, Sam Fehoko and just about anyone else at defensive end. This is a group of versatile and sometimes quick players that were able to contain Texas' most potent weapon in Colt McCoy. I could not have been any more impressed with Bront Bird's play. He was made to play whatever position he was playing on Saturday night. Daniel Howard was a grunt, and I mean that in the most positive way. The guy put forth effort all night and I know that he probably didn't see much, if any rest. Richard Jones surprised me with his quickness.

Besides, it's events like this that can sometimes galvanize a team and Richard Jones mentioned after the game:

On stepping up with a lot of the defensive ends hurt: It was hard with us not being deep at D-line but we had to suck it up and step it up and do what we had to do. I’m proud of everybody that played D-line, I think we played good and we fought until the end, that’s all we could do.

Walk-On's Can Play: I'm sure this happens all of the time. Player gets injured or is awful and player is replaced by a walk-on. SS Franklin Mitchem doesn't even make the trip to Austin and former walk-on Brett Dewhurst more than just filled in for Mitchem.

On experience like for you being a walk on and starting against the No. 2 team: I don’t think of it as the No. 2 team, I think of it as another game, but I have confidence in myself and I go out there and practice like I play. It happened to be Texas, a conference game and everything but I didn’t think of it like that, I just came out here and played the game.

His stat-line for the day was only 5 tackles and 1 TFL, but I thought he played well.

Donnie Carona thought it would be best to simply punt the ball as low and as short as possible and the result is a Shipley punt return for a touchdown. Enter walk-on Ryan Erxleben who was punting for Lake Travis last year and now he's punting in the biggest and best teams in the nation. Erxleben's punting wasn't flawless, but it was just fine I shudder to think what would have happened had he not been in the fold.

Perhaps this exemplifies the biggest difference between Texas and Texas Tech. A Longhorn goes down and they get replaced by an all-state player that has a tremendous pedigree. A Texas Tech player goes down and we're talking about making things work with what we have.

They're All Growns Up: You're seeing some freshmen be difference makers on defense. For those of you who've never seen CB D.J. Johnson, then you're seeing the future at cornerback. Redshirt freshman FS Cody Davis laid the hit on the Longhorn and although the pass was high, perhaps that's the why the ball wasn't caught. Johnson was there to make the play. True freshman RB Eric Stephens looks like a seasoned kick-returner and he's going to return one sooner rather than later. Redshirt freshmen receivers Alexander Torres (7 : 59), Cornelius Douglas and Austin Zouzalik (5 : 73) got playing time on one of the biggest stages in the college football world.

The Offensive MVP :: QB Taylor Potts: I'm going to quote Leach again on his thoughts on Potts, which as I said this morning, may have been the highest praise that I've seen a quarterback receive:

He’s really tough. He got hit hard a number of times and got up. I don’t think it affected his play to the negative. He’s a rare, rare, rare quarterback. There are a lot of great quarterbacks out there that ultimately have great careers that can’t do what I just described, and that is; getting hit really, really, really hard, and then come in the next play, the next series, and march down the field at 10 yards a clip, and he did that twice. I think anyone that had any doubts about Taylor Potts not being able to be a good Division-1 quarterback, I think those can pretty much be dispelled.

Potts finished the day with a less than stellar 6.77 yards per attempt (46-62 : 420 : 3 TD : 1 Int), but I don't recall seeing a Texas Tech quarterback do what he did. He can make just about every throw and despite not going deep very often, he was awfully effective, completing near 75% of his passes.

The Defensive MVP :: LB Bront Bird: Bird catches a lot of crap from me on DTN and I hope I've qualified my complaints this year about Bird in that he's a helluva run defender, but struggles in the passing game. I blame the coaching staff, not Bird, for putting him in those situations, but last night, Bird was a machine. Playing defensive end, a position, he's probably never played before, he finished the day with 8 tackles, 3 TFL and 1 QB hurry. You could make a case that the rest of his linebacker mates could have deserved this honor, each had 10 tackles, or make a case for the beleagured defensive line, but in my opinion Bird deserves this all by himself.

The Special Teams MVP :: P Ryan Erxleben: I mentioned Erxleben above, but averaging 38 yards a punt, getting off a punt that should have been downed inside the UT 5 yard line and coming off the bench completely cold. Again, all as a preferred walk-on and true freshman.

Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe :: 09.11.09

Seth C — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 11:34:59 -0000

Odds and Ends

9/11: I don't want to ignore the significance of this date, but I don't want to get political either, that's not why you're here, but it is still a significant date and a time to reflect. I hope you do that some time today.

Going to the Game: I'm headed to Lubbock sometime Friday morning and will be there way too close to kickoff but if I don't go to the game this weekend, it's going to be quite some time before I'm able to head that way. Very excited about the game, although I'm not excited about the chances of rain.

CN Writing Guide and Community Rules: If you ever wanted to know essentially how I feel about community guidelines for DTN and how to write FanPosts, FanShots, etc., then check out Corn Nation's post yesterday. I'm thinking about copying and pasting the entire thing and claiming it as my own (I'm kidding . . . sorta).

Texas Tech Football

Swindall to Play: LAJ's Don Williams reports that IR Tramain Swindall will play on Saturday, according to receivers coach Lincoln Riley, and will likely bump either Adam James or Cornelius Douglas to the third team:

"He’s practiced a lot harder and a lot better (this week),’’ Riley said. "You see a sense of urgency with him that we didn’t see in camp. I think anytime you’re a guy that’s played some and you get demoted to scout team for three weeks, all of a sudden your effort and intensity and all that magically seems to pick up.

There's also a bit about Matt Baldwin, Captain Leach's agent, in this article, mentioning something about how although he played for Rice in the late 90's, he's cheering for Texas Tech because of Leach. Really? There's no school loyalty? I think now we know why this took a meeting between Leach and Hance to get things done.

Williams also has a recruiting update at the end of the article, noting that the Red Raiders will likely take 1 more offensive lineman, 3 or 4 defensive linemen and a linebacker, although this is the most prevelant part:

Tech’s two oral commitments this week give the Red Raiders 19 pledges for their 2010 class. With Tech likely to sign 24 or 25 players, that leaves five or six spots to fill.

Dallas Madison offensive lineman Javius Townsend (6-foot-4, 300 pounds), who committed to Tech on Tuesday, and Navarro College’s Lawrence Rumph (6-3, 270), who has played both defensive end and defensive tackle, are expected to visit campus this weekend.

According to the Rivals.com recruiting service, Rumph has scholarship offers from Arkansas, Baylor, Missouri, Oklahoma State and Southern Mississippi, but not yet from Tech. He was a high-school teammate of Tech defensive tackle Chris Perry at Keller Fossil Ridge and was credited with 16 sacks as a senior.

Rock M Nation Dominates the Interwebs: Rock M Nation has a couple of items that need pointing out, first up is the Week 2 Big 12 Roundtable Recap and in addition to that is the Beyond the Box Score for all week 1 Big 12 games last week and I encourage you to read the whole thing, but the numbers say that Texas Tech must do a better job running the ball:

Tech fell into WAY too many passing downs for this caliber of opponent. Potts' three interceptions came on 3rd-and-15, 2nd-and-13, and 3rd-and-15. Granted, he should really learn what passes he should and shouldn't make, but...a 29.4% rushing success rate? Against North Dakota? That MUST improve, and immediately. Tech is obviously not tremendously likely to beat Texas or OSU on the road, and they'll certainly be underdogs against OU at home, but with poor line play and no threat of a run, suddenly trips to Houston and Nebraska become dicey (especially against NU's defensive line), as do home games against Kansas and Baylor. You have to figure Tech will go 8-4 like they almost always seem to do, but if they can't even pretend to be capable of running the ball, then they're in trouble.

Freshman Focus on Joel Gray: LAJ's Don Williams looks at the redshirts this year and LT Joel Gray is up and offensive line coach Matt Moore likes what he has in Gray:

"Joel is just one of those guys that very consistently wins,’’ Moore said. "It’s not always pretty, but he seems to get the job done. That’s the same thing he did in high school. He always found a way to win, and he’s real competitive. He’s athletic, has really good feet. That helps him out a lot.’’

Owls Look to Rebound: The Chron's Jeffrey Martin writes that the Owls must rebound quickly from their loss to UAB last week and focus on the Red Raiders.

"You want to put (UAB) behind you, but you have to remember it in a way," sophomore safety Travis Bradshaw said. "You don't want to have that feeling again, but it's something you also want to use as motivation.

"We were confident going in, and we knew what we had to do. We just didn't execute."

Rice Finding Identity: DT's Adam Coleman notes that the Owls are still looking for their identity after losing so much talent last year (Jarrett Dillard, Chase Clement and James Casey come to mind) and Captain Mike Leach (emphasis mine) says that his team would be stupid to look past the Owls:

"If they’re that stupid, we’ve got a lot of problems," said Leach, whose Red Raiders take on Rice at 6 p.m. Saturday at Jones AT&T Stadium. "I mean, we’re only playing Rice this week."

And Leach acknowledged that although Rice lost quite a bit, much like Texas Tech, they manufacture talent and production:

"They’re missing a quarterback from last year, who I thought was a great player, one of my favorite all-time," Leach said. "I enjoyed watching him play. Everybody says ‘Well, they lost so-and-so.’ Well they also coached and manufactured these guys to some point, so there’s nothing to say they can’t do it again."

Thoughts from Tortilla Retort: I've fallen a little behind on linking to the Tortilla Retort and dedfischer and RRR have thoughts on the UND game (here, here and here).

Neglected Audio and Video: KAMC and Fox34 ask the same question, which is if Texas Tech looking past Rice. Check out the video for the surprising answer.

National and Big 12 Links: ESPN's Tim Griffin looks at how effective the Big 12 offenses and defenses are and predicts outcomes for this weekend's games . . . The Rivalry Esq. previews the USC vs. Ohio St. game . . .

2010 Recruiting Tidbits: Tonight, quarterbacks Scotty Young and Zack Lee will face off as Young's Denton-Ryan Team will take on Lee's McKinney squad. Young is committed to Texas Tech and Lee, initially looked at Texas Tech, committed to LSU . . . the first commitment this week, LB Fred Harvey talks about his commitment to Texas Tech:

"The first time I ever talked to coach Simmons, he had told me that whenever they were able to send me a scholarship offer, they were going to do it," said Harvey, who tallied 78 solo tackles and 21 sacks as a junior last season.

"Out of all the schools, (Texas Tech) recruited me the hardest. They made sure I always had e-mails coming from them. ... It's like they were really working hard, wanting me to come there."

Smart Football on Wes Welker: Smart Football's Chris Brown guest-posted on the NY Times pro-football blog, the Fifth Down and had this about former Red Raider Wes Welker and how he is so effective in New England (I would love for some of our current receivers to read this):

He does this by running every imaginable route that can be run from a depth of about 5 to 15 yards. Although he has enough speed to get downfield, it is his quick feet that are his biggest asset, and he marries them with his precise routes — revealing his art like a great violinist playing his favorite Vivaldi pieces. Keep in mind that Welker stepped in with a low profile and almost immediately earned Brady’s trust simply by getting open, all this in an offense not designed to get the ball to a single guy on a given play, but rather to spread the field and let the expert reader of defenses deliver the ball to the open guy.

Drive Chart :: North Dakota 13, Texas Tech 38

Seth C — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 13:08:19 -0000

Participation

Offense

Starters: LT Chris Olson, LG Brandon Carter, C Shawn Byrnes, RG Mickey Okafor, RT Marlon Winn, QB Taylor Potts, RB Baron Batch, IR Adam James, IR Detron Lewis, WR Edward Britton, WR Alexander Torres. Reserves: IR Cornelius Douglas, IR Austin Zouzalik, WR Jacoby Franks, RB Harrison Jeffers, WR Lyle Leong, RB Eric Stephens, RB Aaron Crawford, RT Joe King, RG Devric Gallington, LT Terry McDaniel, LG Lonnie Edwards.

Defense

Starters: DE Rajon Henley, DT Richard Jones, NT Colby Whitlock, DE Brandon Sharpe, SLB Bront Bird, MLB Brian Duncan, WLB Marlon Williams, CB Jamar Wall, FS Cody Davis, SS Franklin Mitchem, CB LaRon Moore. Reserves: S Will Ford, S Julius Howard, S Jared Flannel, CB Taylor Charbonnet, S Brett Dewhurst, WLB Blake Collier, CB Nathan Stone, MLB Sam Fehoko, S Daniel Cobb, SLB Tyrone Sonier, DE Sandy Riley, DE Ryan Haliburton, NT Victor Hunter, DE Daniel Howard, DT David Neil, DT Chris Perry.

Drive Chart Texas Tech Offense

Texas Tech Drive 1

What Went Right: 10 of Texas Tech's 40 rushing yards came from this drive, while Taylor Potts completed passes to Detron Lewis, Lyel leong, Austin Zouzalik and Adam James. Batch finished up the drive with a 3 yard touchdown

What Went Wrong: Not much. Only one incomplete pass to Britton

Texas Tech Drive 2

What Went Right: This drive was about to fall flat but was kept alive with a UND facemask. Potts then had a 14 yard completion to Alexander Torres and Potts rushed 1 yard for the touchdown.

What Went Wrong: Looks like some end-arounds and fancy running plays rather than straight ahead rushing. Potts also missed on 3 pass attempts.

Texas Tech Drive 3

What Went Right: Started nicely with a 15 yard completion to Harrison Jeffers and another pass completion to Lewis for 21 yards.

What Went Wrong: Potts first interception of the day while inside the UND 20 yard line. That's either 6 or 3 points that get taken off the board because of Potts mistake.

Texas Tech Drive 4

What Went Right: Potts gets back on track with a nice 6 play 74 yard drive. Completes passes to Torres, Britton, Cornelius Douglas, and Lewis gets the touchdown.

What Went Wrong: Nothing, other than an incomplete pass to Jacoby Franks.

Texas Tech Drive 5

What Went Right: Started great with completions to Torres for 9 and Lewis for 14 yards. Then things fall apart

What Went Wrong: After those 2 completions Potts gets sacked, fumbles the ball and Marlon Winn recovers. Perhaps Potts is a little gun-shy or is wanting to do too much. Remember that Texas Tech is again on the UND 26, within field goal distance, and Potts throws his 2nd INT of the day on 3rd down and 15. It's the end of the half, but there's 3 or 6 more points not on the board although Texas Tech was primed to score.

Texas Tech Drive 6

What Went Right: Nothing.

What Went Wrong: A Matt Goetz false start and this is a whopping 3 play drive for 1 yard. Carona punts and Nathan Stone recovers a fumble giving Texas Tech the ball back.

Texas Tech Drive 7

What Went Right: Potts completes passes to Britton (15), Leong (11) and Britton (6) again.

What Went Wrong: Terry McDaniel holds on first down and this is the last you see of McDaniel for the game. Potts pulls Texas Tech out of the whole and gets Texas Tech to the North Dakota 3 yard line on 4th down, but a jump-ball pass to Detron Lewis falls flat. Again, this is the 3rd drive for Texas Tech inside the UND 20 yard line and no points are on the board.

Texas Tech Drive 8

What Went Right: This is the infamous 4 down on the North Dakota 1 yard line with Potts scoring on the 4th down play. In between then, Potts completes passes to Franks (4), two to Jeffers (24 and 5) and Lyle Leong (8).

What Went Wrong: It takes Texas Tech 4 times to score from UND's 1 yard line.

Texas Tech Drive 9

What Went Right: A nice 19 yard completion to Detron Lewis.

What Went Wrong: Potts' 3rd and final interception of the day.

Texas Tech Drive 10

What Went Right: The return of RB Baron Batch. Batch touches the ball 4 times in this 10 play drive that ended in a Matthew Williams field goal. Also included was a pass to Leong for 28 yards and a 13 yard run from Batch.

What Went Wrong: Texas Tech was driving down the field nicely, but a false start penalty stalled the drive and this is the 4th drive of the day that ended in the UND 20 yard line, although Mike Leach did finally go for the field goal.

Texas Tech Drive 11

What Went Right: Potts completions to Torres for 12 yards and an 18 yard touchdown pass to Adam James.

What Went Wrong: Nothing.

Drive Chart Texas Tech Defense

North Dakota Drive 1

What Went Right: A three and out is always a good outcome. Tackles by Brian Duncan, Jamar Wall and Rajon Henley with blocked punt by Edward Britton.

What Went Wrong: Nothing.

North Dakota Drive 2

What Went Right: Not much, other than the defense finally holding from their own 22 yard line and allowing a 39 yard field goal. Lots of little gains for UND including a big 13 yard 3rd down completion from Jake Landry.

What Went Wrong: How about two personal foul penalties, the 1st one on Marlon Williams and the 2nd one to some unknown player. That's 30 gifted yards to UND

North Dakota Drive 3

What Went Right: 3 plays and 4 yards, thanks to a UND illegal formation penalty.

What Went Wrong: Nothing.

North Dakota Drive 4

What Went Right: Too much yardage given up here including 1 pass for 18 yards and 2 for 10 yards. UND's kicker made a 52 yard field goal, so this wasn't a situation where the defense just gave up a ton of yards. Only 45 to be exact.

What Went Wrong: A 9 yard pass interference penalty by Julius Howard kept the drive alive.

North Dakota Drive 5

What Went Right: End of half.

What Went Wrong: End of half.

North Dakota Drive 6

What Went Right: Another 3 and out, 3 plays 8 yards.

What Went Wrong: Nothing.

North Dakota Drive 7

What Went Right: And another 3 and out, 3 plays 9 yards.

What Went Wrong: Nothing.

North Dakota Drive 8

What Went Right: Not much.

What Went Wrong: 13 plays and 80 yards, with a 9 yard rushing touchdown from UND and a roughing the passer penaltty that gave the ball to UND on the Texas Tech 9 yard line. Too many small completions in the soft underbellly of the Texas Tech defense.

North Dakota Drive 9

What Went Right: Not quite a 3 and out, but a 5 play, 13 yard drive led to another UND punt.

What Went Wrong: Not much, other than a 13 yard pass given up by Cody Davis.

North Dakota Drive 10

What Went Right: A 3 and out, but a Daniel Howard sack led to a 3 play, -7 yard drive.

What Went Wrong: Nothing.

North Dakota Drive 11

What Went Right: This was the end of the game and Sam Fehoko made two tackles. The clock ended this drive.

What Went Wrong: Nothing really and it was nice to see Fehoko make two stops for little yardage.

Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe // 08.26.09

Seth C — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 11:31:19 -0000

Odds and Ends

Only Three Posts Today: Including this diatribe, we've got a look at both offensive and defensive lines later today. I'll also be finishing up the previews of Texas Tech opponents either this week or this weekend. I've got a ton of things to do to get ready for the game week.

What Happens When Your Local Paper Hires A Graduate From Your Rival: K-State fans can't catch a freaking break. Bring On The Cats breaks down the situation of one of the local papers that covers Kansas St. hired a Kansas Jayhawk graduate. Not only that, this new writer also had a Jayhawk fan website and in his writing, he made a number of derogatory remarks about Kansas St. Say what you will about LAJ's Don Williams (who I really like, respect and will stick up for his work if challenged), but Williams is one of us and that is comforting.

Texas Tech Football

Britton and Swindall on Opposite Side of Fence: LAJ's Don Williams expounds on the receiver situation, that SE Edward Britton has stepped up his game, but that IR Tramain Swindall has not. We're talking about the receiver depth chart here, but as Williams and the coaches note, Swindall needs to step up his game:

"When you have a guy, especially a young guy, that has success, you’ve always got to ward off complacency," Riley said. "It’s easy, it’s human nature, especially when you have success at a young age, to take things for granted. There’s been a little bit of that with him."

Riley called sophomore Adam James and redshirt freshman Cornelius Douglas "1A and 1B" at Swindall’s position with Swindall needing to step up to reclaim his spot. Last year, he caught 46 passes for 561 yards – and that was in a backup role, in his first season of college action.

Snip

"He’s still going to have opportunities," Riley said, "but he needs to step up and be the player we know he can be and that he knows he can be. I think he will, but it’s like I told him: ‘You dug yourself into this hole, and you’ve got to climb your way out.’ I have every confidence in the world that he’ll battle back, but right now those other two guys give us the best chance to win at that position."

My worry level is about a 7 out of 10. This method of motivation is not new to the coaching staff and as this team becomes more and more successful, the better the players and as the players get better then the competition gets more fierce. If each player isn't willing to step up their game then you'll be left on the sidelines. It's that easy.

As far as Britton is concerned, receivers coach Dennis Simmons is more than pleased:

"I think it started, really, after the Texas game he kind of raised his level of play," Simmons said. "It carried on throughout the bowl, through spring ball and through fall camp thus far."

Texas Tech Football Notebook: LAJ's Don Williams checks in on TE Omar Castillo, who is converting from the defensive side of the ball to tight end and he's currently being utilized as a scout-team tight end per receivers coach Lincoln Riley:

"That’s always been a problem here, never having a scout-team tight end," Riley said. "That’s so important for the defense, with all the big tight ends we have in the Big 12, having a guy that can give you at least some kind of look – not just sticking a receiver there or an (offensive) lineman that doesn’t know anything about running routes."

. . . DE Sandy Riley was injured in practice and as a result, DE Brandon Sharpe is practicing at both DE positions, but was primarily working with DE Daniel Howard. This injury opens the door for DE Ryan Haliburton to get some time . . . the coaching staff is still considering whether to redshirt WR Eric Ward:

"That’s a decision that hasn’t been made yet," wide receivers coach Dennis Simmons said. "Eric Ward is still working hard. That’s a subject that’s still under serious consideration."

Potts Keeps System Moving: FWST's Dwain Price talks with QB Taylor Potts and head coach Mike Leach about Potts learning to be the Texas Tech quarterback, but it wasn't just the on-the-field aspect that Potts learned, but the off-the-field stuff:

"I learned how to deal with certain situations and learned how to handle phases of the team and learned what not to do with the team, and learned how not to be and what people like and what they don’t like and how they like to be treated," Potts said. "I just kind of figured out what he did right and what he was doing wrong, and hopefully put my own kind of personal touch to it.

"But also be cognizant of what I’ve learned over the past few years when I’ve handled certain stuff."

That's refreshing to see, that Potts was and is cognizant of what his eventual role will be and that he's learned from one of the best collegiate passers of all time about what works and what doesn't. Go read the whole thing.

Leach and Bo: I can't remember how I ran across this, but your Captain was on the radio with Sports Talk With Bo, which is a radio station in Arkansas.

EDSBS Gets Its Own Subject Line: EDSBS's Spencer Hall (who is moving to SB Nation!) has two pieces that I think will pique your interest :: "The Detestable Mr. Leach Makes a Devious Wager" and "Screw You Brandon: Aggies to Go Undefeated". The video below was on the Leach post and it got me a tad bit excited, but whatever you do, go read them both and enjoy:

Texas Tech vs Oklahoma St. 2008 (via WildmanZ33)

Scouting the Enemy: Rock M Nation previews the Oklahoma Sooners . . . Burnt Orange Nation looks at the OU defensive line . . . One Bronco Nation Under God (the SB Nation Boise State blog) with an interesting look at whether size matters on the offensive and defensive lines . . . Kansan.com discusses the lack of pass rush with the Kansas Jayhawks . . .

Depth Charting // The Receivers

Seth C — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 16:00:14 -0000

Receivers

X-Split End	H-Inside Receiver	Y-Inside Receiver	Z-Flanker
Edward Britton (27) SR; 6-0/167	Tramain Swindall (11) RS SO; 6-3/180	Detron Lewis (17) JR; 6-0/205	Alexander Torres (86) RS FR; 6-2/196
Eric Ward (18) FR; 5-11/202	Cornelius Douglas (2) RS FR; 5-9/193	Austin Zouzalik (6) RS FR; 6-1/181	Jacoby Franks (8) RS SO; (6-1/185)
Rashad Hawk (23) RS SO; 6-4/186	Adam James (82) RS SO; 6-3/216		Lyle Leong (19) JR; 6-1/165

X-Split End: The incumbent, Edward Britton, seems to have this spot locked up, as well he should. Britton is the speed threat on the outside that this offense needs, perhaps now more than ever with a quarterback who can just chunk the ball. I believe that Eric Ward was at another receiver spot, but has moved to this the X position, and I think it suits him well. As much as we're all falling over ourselves with the commitments of Kadron Boone and Shawn Corker (and we should, these are talented players), Eric Ward was the 2009 version of these guys. It's easy to forget about guys like Ward, but Ward has the skill set to be a tremendous playmaker. I'm not real sure about the third spot here and I'm guessing that it's Rashad Hawk, although I could be wrong. I had really high hopes for Hawk coming out of high school, but he's had a problem putting on weight and getting into the rotation. I'm not sure that the X position is what suits his skill set, although the thought of a big tall receiver that has speed to burn is certainly intriguing, but the problem is that he hasn't forced himself on the field yet.

H-Inside Receiver: Recent reports may mean that this position is subject to change and the coaching staff is not a staff that will stick a player with a position and refuse to make a change. Tramain Swindall was one of the players that I thought would have a break-out 2009, but if he's not impressing thus far, then I think the staff will have no problem making a change. Swindall has a ton of talent, but you've got to perform. Cornelius Douglas is the definition of inside receiver. He's shifty, incredibly quick, and from what I can tell, he's going to fit the mold of previous Texas Tech inside receivers. Adam James is the wildcard in that he was in Leach's doghouse during the spring, but has played well thus far. As I mentioned with the backfield, I'm not sure if James is going to be utilized as the second tight end that much this year, but if Leach does go in that direction then James will get plenty of time.

Y-Inside Receiver: This is the position that appears to have an abundance of talent. Deton Lewis is going to make lots of plays this year, I don't think that's much of a question. The real question is if Austin Zouzalik is having such a great training camp, and from all accounts he is, then he may be the guy that replaces Swindall if his play thus far warrants a promotion. If Zouzalik gets the time, then he's going to play well. After that, I'm really not sure. It could really be anyone at this point and it gets really messy if Zouzalik takes Swindall's spot at the other inside receiver position.

Z-Flanker: The battle for Crabtree's old position seems to be something fierce. We've heard that Alexander Torres is the guy who is catching everything thrown his way. He was very solid in the spring game and it wouldn't at all surprise me to see Torres start week 1. The conundrum of Jacoby Franks and Lyle Leong will work itself out as these things tend to do. I'm not sure if either one of these players will switch positions, but Leong is too talented not to be on the field and Franks has too much potential. If there's a logjam here, then I could see Franks getting moved somewhere else in order to get him some playing time.

Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe // 08.23.09

Seth C — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 11:02:16 -0000

Texas Tech Football

As Good As It Ever Was: LAJ's Don Williams features the offensive line this morning as offensive line coach Matt Moore thinks that this year's group will be as good as last year's group:

"My expectation is for them to be as good as they have been, and that’s their expectation for themselves,’’ said line coach Matt Moore, who is starting his third season at Tech. "There’s no reason they can’t. They’re actually deeper into the system, my way of teaching things, than the guys before were. So I expect them to be as good.’’

And Moore acknowledges that losing three starters from last year can affect how the unit plays together:

As a group, Moore said this year’s bunch probably moves better than last year’s. But Tech had three linemen receive some form of all-America recognition and two — Reed and Vasquez — are gone.

"Anytime you lose guys like Rylan and Louie and Hamby, just the cohesiveness of that unit being together for two years is really the hardest thing to reproduce,’’ Moore said. "Those guys were together for two years in a lot of different situations and grew together as an offensive line, spent two off-seasons together, spent so many snaps together."

Williams article doesn't necessarily shed light on where players are shaking out, but I think that this is fairly set at this point of the fall practices: Olson/McDaniel, Carter, Byrnes, Okafor and Winn. As an aside, I'm working on some depth chart analysis for later this week and next week just so we're all familiar with the players and where you think they are in the depth chart.

Running Back Haven: DMN's Chuck Carlton is touching on something that I've been thinking for a while and actually didn't get down on the computer until yesterday morning, but Mike Leach has a deep and talented roster of running backs. Also in the article is Batch's goal of gaining 1,000 yards rushing, but his Captain feels differently:

"There's nothing sacred about rushing," Leach said. "If you get 500 yards rushing, and I get 1,000 yards receiving, I'm still 500 yards ahead."

I also liked this bit about how Batch is an inspiration to his teammates:

"I've learned toughness," Jeffers said when asked about Batch. "Baron has taught me a lot that will help me a lot for this year and now on, learning to deal with criticism and just keeping my head on straight."

Texas Tech Football Notebook: LAJ's Don Williams writes that Baron Batch may be ready to go . . . right now. How bad do you think Batch wants it? There's small blip of KAMC video of Batch catching passes on Saturday. Also of note, RG Joe King is working on being that versatile offensive lineman, like Chris Olson, who can play multiple positions . . . punter Donnie Carona must get his punts off faster . . . the short list of punt returners continues to be CB Jamar Wall, RB Eric Stephens, IR Detron Lewis, IR Austin Zouzalik and IR Cornelius Douglas.

Scrimmage Report: RedRaiderSports.com's Joe Yeager has an article about the scrimmage earlier in the week and there's lots of good notes, including the idea that IR Austin Zouzalik has the best hands on the team, along with FL Lyle Leong and FL Alexander Torres. The defense did dominate, yet again:

For the second time in three workouts, the defense clearly got the upper hand against the offense. The first time was attributable to higher intensity and greater emotion on the part of the defense. But today’s dominance was due to execution and awareness. The defense simply seemed to know what the offense was going to do before the offense did. Screen plays were sussed out and stifled before they could get underway. Defenders shed blocks and blasted running plays right at the line of scrimmage. And even when the offense picked up blitzes—which they did a great deal—the defense managed to blanket the hot receiver. It was another thoroughly impressive performance by Ruffin McNeill’s unit.

I also found this interesting, in that McNeill has started to break out the cornerback blitz twice thus far in practice:

Ruffin McNeill busted out the cornerback blitz today. Taylor Charbonnet blitzed at least twice in team drills. He got to the quarterback neither time. Detron Lewis burned the first blitz and Taylor Potts could not find Harrison Jeffers on the second; the ball fell incomplete.

Really, go read the whole thing.

Potts Preparing for Opener: Abilene Reporter-News Greg Jaklewicz who talked with Taylor Potts as he readies himself for the North Dakota Fighting Sioux:

"It’s not like those are warmup games. We can’t look at the third game," said Potts, who will get his first big test Sept. 19 in Austin against Texas. Remember, Tech shocked No. 1 Texas last year and the Longhorns, who earned a preseason No. 2 ranking Saturday from The Associated Press, won’t have to be reminded how costly that defeat proved to be when bowl matchups were finalized.

The article is very well done, including Potts' thoughts on being the man this year at Texas Tech and what he learned from Graham Harrell last year. Go read the whole thing.

Scouting the Enemy: Co-starter RB Quentin Castille was dismissed from the team yesterday and Corn Nation looks at what this does to the Nebraska Cornhusker offense, which may include a name familiar to some of you, Rex Burkhead is in the #2 spot . . .

Neglected Audio and Video: KAMC with a small clip of Batch catching a pass, although the story focuses on the team ready to hit someone else . . .

SB Nation 2009 Big 12 Preview // Double-T Nation's Preview of the Texas Tech Red Raiders

Seth C — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 21:15:10 -0000

View full size photo »

SB Nation 2009 Big 12 Preview: In partnership with CBS Sports, the SB Nation Big 12 blogs are previewing each of their respective teams in the Big 12. This is Double-T Nation's entry and for all of those who are getting this way through the Texas Tech page on CBS Sports, we welcome you and hope you enjoy the content. Thanks to the Ralphie Report for compiling all of the previews and make sure and visit the Ralphie Report for a more extensive Big 12 conference breakdown.

TOP PLAYERS

Offense:
QB Taylor Potts
RB Baron Batch
OL Brandon Carter
OL Marlon Winn
WR Detron Lewis
WR Edward Britton
WR Tramain Swindall
Defense:
NT Colby Whitlock
DE Rajon Henley
LB Brian Duncan
LB Marlon Williams
CB Jamar Wall
S Cody Davis

OFFENSE: As is the case with each Texas Tech team, there is no question that the offense is led by its quarterback, and after three years of Graham Harrell, the Red Raiders usher in a new signal caller in junior Taylor Potts. It's easy of course to think that Potts will have a difficult time replacing Harrell's production, but Texas Tech has finished with the top passing offense in the Big 12 from 2008 through 2004. Something tells me that head coach Mike Leach understands a thing or two about running an offense. At receiver, the Red Raiders will lean heavily on inside receiver Detron Lewis to lead the way and although there are usually at least four receivers who receive a significant amount of passes, right now this may be a receiver by committee situation. Of course, the big question is who will replace Michael Crabtree at the flanker position and currently it's a three man race, with redshirt freshman Alexander Torres leading the group, followed closely by Lyle Leong and Jacoby Franks. Split end Edward Britton is the lone senior of the receiver corp and it would not surprise those who follow the program closely that inside receiver Tramain Swindall will contribute significantly in 2009. Most think that the offensive line lost three starters, but the truth of the matter is that center Shawn Byrnes started in 2007, lost his job to last year's starter, Stephen Hamby, but is expected to start in 2009. At left tackle, the starting job is between redshirt freshman Terry McDaniel, who showed that he is more than capable of protecting that left side, and all-purpose lineman, Chris Olson. At left guard the Red Raiders return an All-American candidate Brandon Carter and is moving from playing right guard last year. Sophomore Mickey Okafor will take over for Carter at right guard and incumbent Marlon Winn will get the nod at right tackle.

TOP GAMES

1. @ Texas Longhorns :: 09.19.09
2. Oklahoma Sooners :: 11.21.09
3. @ Nebraska Cornhuskers :: 10.17.2009
4. @ Oklahoma St. Cowboys :: 11.14.09
5. Kansas Jayhawks :: 10.31.09

DEFENSE: Texas Tech lost quite a bit of production defensively and previous years, there would have been quite a bit of worrying about replacing both defensive ends and both safeties, but with the increase in talent at Texas Tech, the less of a worry it is replacing quality players. Both defensive ends have moved onward, Brandon Williams has moved to the NFL, and McKinner Dixon declared for the NFL supplemental draft this summer, but went undrafted. Replacing Williams and Dixon will be no small task, but former defensive tackle Rajon Henley has lost weight during the off season and will solidify one end position, while the other end position will be left to Daniel Howard, a JUCO transfer, who was close on a number of sacks last year, has a motor that just doesn't quit. Look for fellow seniors Brandon Sharpe and Sandy Riley to see plenty of time alongside Howard and Henley. Inside, nose tackle Colby Whitlock returns for his junior year and senior Richard Jones will start at defensive tackle. The second and third team could consist of some of the newcomers listed below, but should certainly include in the rotation Victor Hunter, Chris Perry, Britton Barbee and David Neill. All three linebackers return from 2008, including the highly underrated junior middle linebacker Brian Duncan, who could be an all-conference performer, this year. Backing up Duncan is Sam Fehoko, who many think will be could be an impact player right now. At the weakside linebacker spot is senior Marlon Williams, although look for Blake Collier to edge his way into the lineup as he has superior speed which is obviously useful in the wide-open Big 12. At the strongside linebacker spot is junior Bront Bird, who will be fighting off Tyrone Sonier. Left cornerback Jamar Wall returns for his senior season and opposite Wall there is a three man race with LaRon Moore, Brent Nickerson and Taylor Charbonnet all hoping to nab that right starting cornerback position. The Red Raiders lose both safeties from 2008, but redshirt freshman Cody Davis should surprise many in 2009 at free safety and Franklin Mitchem looks to be the starter at strong safety. Brett Dewhurst, Julius Howard and Jared Flannel round out the veterans amongst this safety group.

STRENGTHS & WEAKNESSES

Strengths: Quarterback position
typically performs at a high level,
quality receiver depth despite loss
of Crabtree, all starting linebackers
return and depth at defensive tackle.
Weaknesses: Lack of defensive end
depth as three ends graduated or
left the program, must replace or
improve right cornerback and
no experience at safety.

SPECIAL TEAMS: For the first time in the Mike Leach era, he's hired a full-time special teams coach, Eric Russell, and the talk during the spring and fall practices is that there's a noticeable difference in the attitude of special teams this year. Quite possibly the feel-good story of 2008 returns in plackicker Matt Williams, who was plucked from the stands to kick a field goal to win free rent, will return as the guy to kick short-yardage field goals and extra points. Donnie Carona returns to take care of the long field goals and should see competition from Brad Hicks. Punter Jonathan LaCour is suspended for the first six games and freshman Brian Exlerben and Carona will compete for the punter position. Returning punts, there are at least five or six option, but leading the charge is cornerback Jamar Wall, receiver Detron Lewis, running back Eric Stephens, while Stephens, receiver Jacoby Franks, receiver Edward Britton and Wall could each return kickoffs.

KEY LOSSES: LG Louis Vaszuez, LT Rylan Reed, C Stephen Hamby, IR Eric Morris, FL Michael Crabtree, RB Shannon Woods, QB Graham Harrell, DE McKinner Dixon, DE Brandon Williams, S Daniel Charbonnet and S Darcel McBath.

NEWCOMERS: The defensive side of the ball presents the most opportunity for newcomers to make a difference for this team as I think it takes at least a year to acclimate to the Texas Tech offense. With that being said, sophomore defensive tackle Myles Wade has the physical gifts to make an impact immediately, as does fellow defensive tackle Pearlie Graves. The Red Raiders signed six defensive backs in 2008 and although they are all talented defensive backs Will Ford, Daniel Cobb and Terrance Bullitt could all see time at safety in 2009. Receiver Eric Ward, a freshman who landed in Lubbock in the spring semester and has a leg up on the competition, has the talent to break into the receiver rotation quickly. Although technically not newcomers in the truest sense of the word, the aforementioned left tackle Terry McDaniel has the potential to start and running back Harrison Jeffers will surprise many opponents in 2009 as he should be the combination running back with Baron Batch. Also watch out for former quarterbacks turned receivers in Austin Zouzalik and Cornelius Douglas. Both are explosive athletes, Zouzalik may be one of the fastest players on the team, and Douglas is could be utilized in a Wildcat-type of formation.

Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe // 08.18.09

Seth C — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 11:20:56 -0000

Odds and Ends

Get Your Guns Up: You may have to get fairly close to your computer, but I don't think this picture needs any explanation (although there is one):

via kcbd.images.worldnow.com

Texas Tech Track

Roberts Runs at World Championships: This gets top billing this morning because 400m runner Gil Roberts competed in the IAAF World Championships in Berlin, Germany. Roberts ran in the 5th heat this morning and finished with a time of 46.41. Despite not qualifying for the next round, this is a huge honor and congratulations to Roberts for competing on such a high level.

Texas Tech Football

Collier Hopes to Rebound: LAJ's Don Williams features linebacker weakside Blake Collier, who is currently backing up Marlon Williams, and his rough past two years (tearing the same hamstring two years in a row), but is looking for 2009 to be the year he gets on the field again:

"It was frustrating at first," he said, "but then I just looked at it as time to get better, rebuild, get my body right, get more flexible.

"I think I got a lot stronger, so I think it was a good year. Everything happens for a reason. That was one of those things that you just have to find the good in it."

Collier's biggest motivation is that he's a junior this year, and should he continue to perform, he will replace Williams in 2010.

Scrimmage Update: LAJ's Don Williams has a scrimmage update from yesterday and freshman RB Eric Stephens is making plays and breaking tackles:

Freshman running back Eric Stephens highlighted the scrimmage with a tackle-busting 14-yard touchdown off a screen pass from Taylor Potts. Safety Daniel Cobb hit Stephens hard and square, but Stephens bounced off, ran through another tackle by linebacker Sam Fehoko and carried linebacker Tyrone Sonier the last few yards into the end zone.

"It was one of the most impressive runs of the camp,’’ Tech coach Mike Leach said.

Go read the whole article for more details on last night's scrimmage.

Tech Football Notebook: LAJ's Don Williams discusses IR Adam James pushing Tramain Swindall and Cornelius Douglas . . . autograph night is at 7:00 p.m. this Friday night . . . full pads are scheduled to Monday, which is the last day of open practices . . .

Johnson in Focus: RedRaiderSports.com's Paul Lowery talks with freshman CB D.J. Johnson:

HOW HAVE THE OLDER GUYS AT CORNER HELPED YOU?

"Everybody, they’ve all played a part in it. The only thing is that [Jamar] Wall and the other cornerbacks teach you things, but you have to put your own little twist into it. So it’s like, ‘We’ll give you the basics, the things that you need to succeed but, you got to throw your own little twist into it to make if feel comfortable for you.’ What I do may not feel comfortable, but I mean everybody that’s on the team is helping me out tremendously."

Summary of 2009 Rule Changes: I'm pretty sure that I've posted something similar to this before, but Kevin Donahue of Fanblogs.com summarized the football rule changes in 2009.

Scouting the Enemy: per NewsOK, the Oklahoma Sooners believe that DT Frank Alexander will be pretty good this year . . . also per NewsOK, the Oklahoma St. Cowboys unveiled their T. Boone Pickens locker rooms . . . Rock Chalk Talk previews the Kansas Jayhawks cornerbacks . . . ESPN's Tim Griffin has scrimmage reports from Baylor, Missouri, Oklahoma St., and Texas A&M . . . Crimson and Cream Machine interviews SI's Phil Taylor . . . Bring On The Cats breaks down Kansas St. Wildcats quarterback situation . . . And The Valley Shook, a LSU Tigers blog, breaks down the Big 12 quarterbacks

Alumni: Former offensive lineman Glenn January is playing for Winnipeg in the CFL . . .

5 Things // Players You May Have Forgotten, But Shouldn't

Seth C — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 14:30:09 -0000

Five Things is a handful (i.e., five) of thoughts about a single topic. Hopefully, discussion ensues.

Players You May Have Forgotten, But Shouldn't

There's 105 players on the fall roster, you're bound to forget a few, but these are five players that that I think are important, in some way or another, to this team's success. I'd love to hear you add to this list or add your own five.

1: LB Blake Collier

You probably won't remember, but Blake Collier played in four games in 2008 totalling all of 5 tackles for the year. Collier missed almost all of last year due to injuries and I think he was able to redshirt last year, which may turn out to be a good thing. Collier was originally recruited as a linebacker out of high school, but his tremendous speed and athleticism had coaches thinking that he would be better suited for safety. Of course, with the evolution of the spread offense, this seems completely opposite of what you would want to do with fast and athletic players, Collier is no exception. At some point, Collier was moved back to linebacker, a move that makes sense and now he's firmly behind Marlon Williams at the weakside linebacker spot. Personally, I could see Collier being a fairly useful and versatile player. He has the speed to play safety, albeit a slow safety, and enough size to play linebacker, albeit a bit undersized. The point is that Collier is going to find a place on the field this year. Perhaps in a Jordy Rowland type of role where he could cover a slot receiver or a running back coming out of the backfield.

2: QB Seth Doege

I've heard just about everything about Doege, that he was going to push Taylor Potts for the first-team offense and that Doege had "it". Then the Red-Black game happened and Doege looked pretty bad, especially in comparison with Potts and second-stringer, Steven Sheffield. I was on the field after the scrimmage and you could tell that his performance bothered him to no end, but there are a couple of things to take away from a scrimmage. First, despite the fact that there was a crowd and different players in different colored jerseys, the Red-Black game should have no more or no less impact than any of the other scrimmages. We heard almost all spring that Doege was pushing Potts, and we heard very little about Sheffield. I'm pretty sure that if Doege can shake off two significant knee injuries, then one scrimmage shouldn't be too tough. Despite Sheffield's rise, I'm hoping like hell that Doege makes it tough on Potts and Sheffield the rest of the way. Complacency is never a good thing, and to be quite honest, I think Doege is too talented to be too far back on the bench. With Jacob Karam getting some press on Saturday, it's easy to forget about the guys that you were pretty excited about three or four months ago, but Doege is one of those guys for me.

3: DT Britton Barbee

Just like the other guys, Barbee is a guy that I tend to forget, and perhaps there's good reason why he's fallen off the radar a bit. Thus far, Barbee hasn't really made any sort of impact on the field and with all of the issues going on in the defensive line, you would think that Barbee is going to at the very least get a look at cracking the defensive line rotation. I know that we're all excited about the additions of guys like Myles Wade and Pearlie Graves, but I think we'd be a bit remiss if we didn't at least mention Barbee. Barbee hasn't made it onto the field, but he's making progress and the coaches are taking note. Barbee's first year was in 2006, redshirted in 2007, and was on the scout team in 2008. That scout team part is significant as Barbee was awarded the Defensive Scout of the Year in 2008 (Cornelius Douglas was the Offensive Scout of the Year). If I remember correctly, Barbee was a svelte 280 early in his career, and has beefed up to 296 over the course of this three years at Texas Tech (I even said during the Red-Black game that he looked like he had a high motor and he added weight). If Barbee isn't a big player in 2009, I can almost guarantee that he'll be a significant player in 2010. One other thing to note about Barbee is the fact that he's a pre-medicine major, which obviously leads me to believe that he's got a good head on his shoulder and that's got to be an advantage for Barbee's development.

4: RG Mickey Okafor

We've talked quite a bit about most of the other four starting offensive linemen, but there's been very little talk about the right guard spot, although this spot is being handed, at least right now, to a redshirt sophomore. Technically, this is the only position that Olson isn't a backup, although I have no doubt that he could play here if there are issues here. In any event, it appears that as of right now, offensive line coach Matt Moore is going with either Okafor or Gallington. I would imagine that true freshman LaAdrian Waddle might be the guy that Moore will eventually move to right guard, which means that you've got some real young guys at this spot. But back to Okafor, who is somewhat of a forgotten man along the line, although I think that the success of the Red Raider rushing offense is going to be awfully dependent on Okafor creating space for guys like RB's Baron Batch, Aaron Crawford and Harrison Jeffers.

5: S Julius Howard and NT Victor Hunter

Couldn't pick just five players, so this is a cop-out of sorts as I pick two players who are recently converted to new positions. Howard is one of those players who is blessed with seemingly incredible athletic ability, but just hasn't been able to put it all together to get on the field. With the crowd at linebacker, Howard was moved to safety during the spring in order to compete for playing time. Howard dropped his weight to 208 and I get the feeling that DB coach Carlos Mainord likes to have some experience in his nickel and dime packages, which makes sense. If Howard has even been remotely a good student of the game, he should have some understanding as to where he needs to be. Hunter on the other hand is a guy that was on the edge of being a linebacker and a lineman. Hunter checked in at 250 last year and mainly saw time at the middle linebacker spot in short yardage and goal line situations. The switch was made during the spring and Hunter has blossomed to 275. I get the feeling that Hunter will see similar time that he did in 2008 in that I do think he can be an effective player along the defensive line, and right now, I think he's right behind Colby Whitlock at the nose tackle position. I always like Hunter as a player, and I get the feeling that he's a good guy to have on your side.