SB Nation - Taylor Charbonnet

Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe :: 11.25.09

Seth C — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 12:03:49 -0000

19 days ago: Texas Tech defensive back Jamar Wall, right, reaches in to intercept a pass intended for Oklahoma tight end Trent Ratterree, left, in the fourth quarter of an NCAA college football game in Lubbock, Texas, Saturday, Nov. 21, 2009. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

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Friday Night Isolation: LAJ's Don Williams writes about the routine that the football program goes through each Friday night, which is going to the team hotel. DC Ruffin McNeill likes to isolate the team:

"I think you have to isolate the main core of the team,’’ said McNeill, the Texas Tech defensive coordinator. "They have got to be on the same page and have the same amount of football focus time as a group — as well as the coaches. It keeps us on the same page for a 48-hour period.’’

It was also fairly interesting to see Captain Mike Leach's comments regarding the proposed California legislation to outlaw (I like the word "outlaw") this practice:

"They act like it’s an unreasonable extravagance,’’ Leach said. "What about the burden on student-athletes having to go out there and perform in front of tens of thousands, furthermore, on national TV and not be able to put their best foot forward because they can’t get a good night’s sleep? It’s crazy. It’s crazy to the point I would like to meet the individuals in the Pac-10 that were foolish enough to propose it.’’

Influencing Academics: DT's Jon Vanderlaan writes about how Leach has positively affected the academics since he's been the head coach:

"I’ve got more degrees than I use. Than I know what to do with, really. And at one time more than I could afford," he said. "There’s no question you should have high academics. And there should be no excuse for not graduating people."

Despite the occasional temptation to be territorial between academics and athletics, Leach said, he supports the academic departments because it is another part of the university that enhances the quality of life for the students.

"I think attention to the university in general is very positive," he said. "For example, if someone looks to Tech for engineering or something like that and gets excited for our football team, that helps me. Just like if someone gets excited for the football team and looks at our math department, that helps our math department."

I love that this program graduates players and holds players accountable for their grades. Very proud of that.

Football Notebook: LAJ's Don Williams' notebook has the note that RG Brandon Carter will play in the East-West Shrine Game, which is scheduled for January 23, 2010 in Florida . . . a number of players were honored by being named to the academic All-Big 12 team:

First-team honorees were those with a grade-point average of 3.2 or higher. From Tech, those were linebacker Bront Bird (business major), cornerback Taylor Charbonnet (general business), safety Cody Davis (business), defensive tackle David Neill (human development and family studies), guard Mickey Okafor (pre-dental), tackle Chris Olson (general business), quarterback Taylor Potts (pre-physical therapy), flanker Alex Torres (general business) and inside receiver Austin Zouzalik (general business).

Second-team honorees were those with a GPA between 3.0 and 3.19. From Tech, those were kicker-punter Donnie Carona (general business) and defensive end Brandon Sharpe (human development and family studies).

. . . DC Ruffin McNeill talks about DB Trent Nickerson and LB Chris Wallace each getting a play during Saturday's game against Oklahoma because of their commitment to the team:

"Senior, great leader,’’ McNeill said Tuesday. "Great enthusiast on the sideline. He’s a guy who knew his role on the football team, accepted his role and took it to another level. He always has great support for whoever’s playing on offense, defense or special teams. He’s been a scout-team guy for us and gave us great looks.’’

Baylor Bear and Big 12 Links: Waco Tribune's John Werner writes that the Bears are bowing out earlier than expected, but in grand style at Jerry's World . . . the SAEN looks at the 8 teams that have a shot at playing the Alamo Bowl . . .

First Non-Conference Win on the Road Since 2006: That's all you really need to know. The game looked well in hand for a good part of the first half and second half, but the SFA Lumberjacks came storming back in the second half. This is the sort of game that we would have talked about had Texas Tech lost the game, even if it was close, but with a 1 point win, I don't know that we'll be talking about this game in a month. If this game were a loss, it would be discussed until the end of the season. As far as game-play is concerned, G David Tairu didn't have a huge game, but he did his the 3-pointer that put the game away. There was a point late in the game where Tairu chastised SF Mike Singletary for taking an ill-advised shot late in the game, when Tairu was incredibly open. It's interesting to see that dynamic with Tairu being one of the new guys but feeling comfortable correcting his teammates. Tairu is probably the most fundamentally sound player I've seen for Texas Tech, on both sides of the ball. I'd be completely fine if the offense ran through Tairu as I think he has the makeup to be that sort of player.

The thing that bothers me the most is that I'm not sure that this team has a guy that knows how or wants to set up his teammates. Right now there's a lot of one-on-one and not much offensive flow. I'm struggling as to why this team, which has a core players who have been around for 3 years, can't figure out how to get guys involved. Offensively, this team is frustrating so long as there isn't one guy willing to take the team on their back.

Defensively, there were frustrating points for sure. Singletary and Roberson still have their defensive lapses and I think there was 4 points that Singletary gave up because he simply lost his man under the basket . . . twice. I thought that for the most part, Tairu, PF Darko Cohadarevic, SF D`Walyn Roberts and SF Brad Reese all looked good defensively.

Darko's Big Night: LAJ's Courtney Linehan focuses on Cohadarevic leading this team with 18 points and 3 boards. Here's head coach Pat Knight on his depth and the play of Darko:

"Lew and Corbin, they gave us some good minutes, then Darko got his stuff together on the bench, came back in and played well," Knight said. "I think that’s the best thing, if your kid’s struggling, the bench is almost like brain surgery."

And Darko knows that he must rebound better:

"I should go for boards more," he said. "This should not happen again."

Linehan has a notebook with this quote from PK:

"It’s huge. They say you can’t take anybody lightly on the road, even after you built a big lead you think it’s over, but they’re able to hang on like that," he said. "We got down early, came back, got the lead, got a big lead, let them back in. It will help us prepare for the Big 12."

. . . PF Corbin Ray returned after suffering a concussion in a pre-season scrimmage . . . Darko takes some of the blame on himself for trying to post-up too much rather than screen for teammates:

"After I hit the 17-foot jumper, I thought for a second, they’re not guarding me. Then after I got the post move under them they fouled me and I realized they cannot guard me low because I’m technically sound. I realized I’ve got to post up. Later on I got lost a little bit, I posted up too much, and the coaches wanted me to down screen away, down screen, flare screen to get other guys open, but I got caught up in posting up too much. I can take the blame for them catching up our 15-point lead because of that."

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

Seth C — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:00:29 -0000

by Dave Weaver - AP

Nebraska's Chris Brooks (1), is brought down by Texas Tech's Cody Davis, in the second half of their NCAA college football game in Lincoln, Neb., Saturday, Oct. 17, 2009. Texas Tech beat Nebraska 31-10.(AP Photo/Dave Weaver)

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THE DEFENSE

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 defensive 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
DE	Ryan Haliburton	6-4/245	SO
	Aundrey Barr	6-3/238	RS FR
	Christopher Knighton	6-3/240	RS FR
	Kerry Hyder	6-3/255	RS FR
DT	Colby Whitlock	6-2/287	SR
	Chris Perry	6-4/300	JR
	Pearlie Graves	6-1/278	RS FR
	Myles Wade	6-2/340	JR
LB	Bront Bird	6-3/240	SR
	Brian Duncan	6-1/240
	Tyrone Sonier	6-2/225	JR
	Sam Fehoko	5-11/220	JR
	Brandon Mahoney	6-2/203	RS FR
	Dion Chidozie	6-1/194	RS FR
CB	LaRon Moore	5-9/200	SR
	Taylor Charbonnet	5-10/175	JR
	D.J. Johnson	6-0/170	SO
	Yashua Williams	6-3/181	RS FR
S	Franklin Mitchem	6-2/198	SR
	Cody Davis	6-2/200	SO
	Brett Dewhurst	6-0/193	JR
	Will Ford	6-1/186	SO

If it's not incredibly clear, the weakness of this team will be at defensive end. I've mentioned this a couple of times and for 2 years straight, Texas Tech is losing quite a bit of production from the defensive end position. The key to all of this is that no one has seen any of these guys play on the collegiate level, other than Haliburton, who has done reasonably well in some spot duty early in the season and filling in for Howard, Sharpe and Henley during the early part of the season when there were so many injuries.

The strength of the defense will be up front with the return of Whitlock and Perry, who should form a formidable front and I think there's plenty of talent behind them in Graves and Wade. Much like Jacob Karam, Graves travels with the team and that's an indication that his personality in infectious and reading the tea leaves, he is going to be a player next year. I'd also mention that I do not see any of these tackles moving to defensive end. Perhaps that changes during the spring, but for the time being, I think this is your 2-deep.

Linebacker also returns 2 of the 3 starters from this year. Marlon Williams has been servicable, but he's been virtually non-existent for the better part of conference play, this past weekend's game excluded. You can expect Sonier to fill Williams spot at WLB. I'm also intrigued by Mahoney and Chidozie, who perhaps represent a change in the type of linebacker that Ruffin McNeill wants, which are projectable athletes who can run. If you see a change in philosophy, I think it starts at linebacker and continues to the secondary.

Jamar Wall will be the only player that needs replacement in the secondary next year and Johnson will have to step up his game during the offseason. I think the staff is enamored with his athletic ability, but you saw against TAMU how athletic ability can only carry you so far, he's got to be better from a technique standpoint as well. Ford should also take a step in the right direction this offseason and I may be in the minority, but I'd like to see more Charbonnet and expect Y. Williams to get some time next year as well. All in all, a pretty experienced group returning next year.

Lots more after the jump.

Don't Sleep On

DT: Britton Barbee (6-2/296; SR) and David Neill (6-5/280; JR)
DE: Jonathan Brydon (6-3/220; SR)
LB: None
CB: Jarvis Phillips (6-0/189; RS FR)
S: Jared Flannel (5-11/167; JR); Aaron Charbonnet (5-11/201; RS FR); Andre McCorkle (6-2/204; JR); Daniel Cobb (6-1/211; RS FR) and Terrance Bullitt (6-3/182; RS FR)

I think the only guys that I'm comfortable stating could make an impact from this group is Cobb and Bullitt, although I like Barbee and Neill from a depth perspective

Recruiting

POSITION	PLAYER	STATS	RR	STARS
DE	Kedrick Dial	6-5/215	5.6	3
DE	Jackson Richards	6-4/245	5.8	4
DT	Coby Coleman	6-3/290	5.7	3
DT	Lawrence Rumph	6-4/270	5.7	3
LB	Zac Winbush	6-2/200	5.5	3
DB	Urell Johnson	6-1/185	5.6	3
DB	Desmond Martin	6-0/173	5.6	3
DB	Russell Polk	5-11/200	5.6	3
DB	Tre'Vante Porter	6-0/185	5.7	3
DB	Brandon Smith	6-1/175	5.6	3
AVERAGE			5.63	3.09

If additional recruits are added, I think it's on the defensive side of the ball, namely at defensive end or linebacker. The one guy that I think could get some burn next year is Rumph, especially with the lack of defensive end. Keep in mind that Rumph was luke-warm when he committed to Texas Tech, so I would not count on his commitment until he's actually signed. I think you could also see Richards make an impact next year and Dial is another player who might make a difference next year. Richards is one of the more higher rated players of the class, he's a mature player and already has the size to play defensive end on the collegiate level. At this point, I'd imagine that it's about technique more than anything else. The sleeper of this group might be Martin, who was highly impressive in his film and possibly Porter.

Recruit Trending

YEAR	AVG. RR	AVG. STARS	WASHOUT RATE
2010	5.63	3.09	-
2009	5.57	3.00	2/15 = 13.33%
2008	5.63	3.13	5/8 = 62.50%
2007	5.47	2.70	2/10 = 20.00%
2006	5.53	2.89	7/19 = 36.84%

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

To explain again, the Washout Rate are players who either never made it on campus or played only 1 year. As you'll note, the 2008 class was small, only 16 recruits total (keep in mind that there will be some classes that are smaller than others and a staff is typically limited to a certain number of scholarships in relation to the number of players on scholarship) but you had guys like Joey Fowler, McKinner Dixon, Broderick Marshall, Brandon Sesay and Brandon Reid (who could return to Texas Tech after a stint at JUCO) that all never made it at Texas Tech. This was Ruffin's first class officially, but this was also the same year that he replaced Setencich. If you wanted to take a look at the year that McNeill was in place early as the defensive coordinator then it's really the 2009 class that's his first class from start of the recruiting season to signing day. In that 2009 class you only had Romario Cathey who never made it on campus and James Scott, another guy who has gone the JUCO route but has a good chance of returning to Lubbock.

Five Reasons Texas Tech Will Win :: Kansas Jayhawks Edition

Seth C — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 17:00:44 -0000

More photos » by Mike Fuentes - AP

about 1 month ago: Texas Tech quarterback Seth Doege throws in the fourth quarter of an NCAA college football game against Texas A&M in Lubbock, Texas, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2009. Doege came off the bench to replace the starter Taylor Potts. Texas A&M won 52 - 30. (AP Photo/Mike Fuentes)

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This weekly feature considers five reasons why Texas Tech will win and five reasons Texas Tech will lose to each opponent. Related: Five Reasons Texas Tech Will Lose :: Kansas Jayhawks Edition.

Reason #1 :: Might Be Motivated: I think Texas Tech fans could collectively hit this reason right out of the park. If this team isn't highly motivated on Saturday afternoon, then I shudder what will happen the rest of the season. I know this is supposed to be 5 reasons why I believe Texas Tech will win, but there better be a whole lot of fire from this club, both offensively and defensively. At this point of the season, it's really not about comments made about players' girlfriends or learning about transitive results in college football, it's about execution on the field. In comparison to last year, this team has really had to pull itself up a number of times, namely because of injuries or a suspension or two, and I'm hoping that this will serve the team well moving forward.

Reason #2 :: Do What You Do Best: I don't know if I need to consider the TAMU game an anomaly or if I need to base my thoughts on the collective whole of the season. For the season, this defense has been pretty good, and prior to last week was 50th in the nation in total defense, but was quickly reletaged to 78th in the nation after last week. Despite only having 1 sack last week, the defense as a unit is still 11th in the nation in total sacks. I know this defensive line can play better and I know that the linebackers can play better. I've seen it with my own two eyes. I can't say that I know any of these players, and this somewhat relates to item 1 above, but I hope like hell that the front 7 took last week's game personally. This is a pride issue with the team. I've seen DT Colby Whitlock dominate a game all by himself. I've seen the defensive end trio of Howard, Henley and Sharpe get in a quarterback's back pocket all day long. All I'm asking is for containment and collapsing the pocket. I've seen it happen many times before, let's see it again.

Reason #3 :: Lean On The Running Playmakers: I would truly appreciate it if someone could just send a memo of this reason to Captain Leach. To wit -- I know that you believe in your quarterbacks and I know that you believe that you can transform just about any human into a NCAA leading passing machine, but I think it might be in your best interest and the best interest of this team if you deferred to certain playmakers on this team who tend rush the football more than pass the football. I'm not at all asking that you abandon what you do best, and we all know that that is, but there's real talent at the running back position. In the second half of the game last week RB Baron Batch had 2 rushing attempts and RB Harrison Jeffers had 1 (please ignore the fact that he fumbled -- a complete fluke). I'm pretty sure that I've mentioned the running game a time or two and even yesterday, well respected DTN reader texastfan made a similar comment about the running game. I think you help out your offensive line and quarterback immensely if you can consistently run the ball.

Reason #4 :: Pressure Receivers: The more I think about it this week, I think I'm starting to understand McNeill's decision to play off of the TAMU receivers last week. McNeill was without his star freshman S Will Ford and reliable S Brett Dewhurst, and it's likely that this pair will also be out this week as well. Despite those two being out, this Texas Tech defense still leads the Big 12 in passes defended. I'm thinking that McNeill knew that he was going to have to play S Julius Howard and CB D.J. Johnson for a good part of Texas Tech's nickel and dime packages and McNeill didn't want to expose the defense to any big plays. I've tended to notice that McNeill is much more conservative at home and without being too critical, I think we can safely say that this failed miserably. This week however, I think McNeill re-thinks his strategy a bit. We know that starting safeties Cody Davis and Franklin Mitchem are completely healthy and we also know that senior CB Brent Nickerson filled in nicely at safety when either Davis or Mitchem were injured. I know that this guy isn't the biggest guy, but he's fast and he's reliable and he's proven himself on special teams, but I'd love for Ruff to give CB Taylor Charbonnet a shot at the other defensive back spot. It's obvious that what happened last week was an abomination, let's think outside the box a bit. I think what you may be dealing with in Nickerson and Charbonnet are two intelligent players that get the system. They may not have the physical ability to play like Johnson, who is physically gifted, but young, and Howard, who has struggled to find a role for much of his career at Texas Tech, but I think they'll play more aggressively and they won't get you beat. That's Ruff's mantra, I'm sure of it and I don't think Charbonnet or Nickerson will let Ruff down.

Reason #5 :: Then Open It Up: I'm not trying to be contradictory, but I have no doubt that once item 3 above is accomplished, it's going to absolutely open up the passing game for QB Seth Doege. Leach mentioned that Doege had good tempo when he came into the game and there's no doubt that the team responded. However, Doege also didn't press, which can be a good thing and a bad thing. Doege's longest pass of the night was 20 yards and his yards per attempt was 5.8 for the game. Granted, his receives didn't help him out a whole bunch, but part of Doege's success will be making plays down the field. There's plenty of guys to choose from: Alexander Torres, Tramain Swindall, Detron Lewis, Lyle Leong, Austin Zouzalike, etc. Once Kansas is backed off by the running game, Doege has to test the secondary and not just defer to either wide receiver and/or running back screens. There may be some mistakes made along the way, but playing it too safe isn't going to win this football game.

Post Game Thoughts :: Kansas St. Wildcats Edition

Seth C — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 14:16:41 -0000

via spotted.lubbockonline.com

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SBN Box Score :: TTU Box Score :: Post Game Quotes

The Result :: Stunning: There were only a few of us who predicted this outcome and to be quite frank, I never expected this and as a result, the outcome is simply stunning. In a game where there's a route, it's hard to be critical and hard to see where the team may need to work on some things before an incredibly tough opponent in the Nebraska Cornhuskers. I'd still contend that last night's K-State team isn't as bad as the final score indicated, but they are a team that can't score in bunches and by not keeping the contest within 2 touchdowns the Wildcats just couldn't keep pace.

But I'd be lying if I didn't say that this type of performance, where the team clicked on all 3 sides of the ball, is what the fanbase has been craving and I think that helps going into next week, on the road, against an incredibly tough and resilient Nebraska team.

The Storylines ::

Best Possible Scenario: To have QB Steven Sheffield play as well as he did was the absolute best possible scenario. There's never been a quarterback controversy at Texas Tech under Coach Leach and I wouldn't expect that to start now. I don't mean to say that Sheffield isn't pushing QB Taylor Potts right now, and he is, and I think that's absolutely wonderful, but if Potts hasn't so much as practiced all of last week, then the expectation that Potts could return this week doesn't seem conceivable. For the next week, the job seems to be Sheffield's, and with good reason.

Maybe the best course of action is to take this fluid situation week-by-week. I keep thinking that Leach named Potts the starter for a reason or two and he's not going to dismiss those reasons after a game and a half. That's not to discredit Sheffield, but Leach thought that Potts was the best player to lead his team from the spring game forward. Things change and I'm as excited as the next guy, but don't be surprised if Leach eventually goes back to Potts in the near future.

Sheffield was incredibly efficient, averaging 11.95 yards per attempt (excellent is 9 YPA), and finding 10 different receivers for 2 or more catches. That's really unbelievable in terms of what Sheffield did on the field. Let's not forget the 80% completion rate and the 7 touchdowns to 1 interception.

This week, Sheffield thought he played better:

Probably an A-minus, yeah. I mean, I made some stupid decisions, and I didn't need to. It was like I threw one that they took to the house that was me not making a good decision and not making a routine play. That's what I need to let go. At the same time I'm not going to beat myself up about it. You know, Coach Leach always preaches on play the next play, and that's what you've got to do. Forget about that one and go on to the next one.

There's really not much else you can say about Sheffield's performance other than it was simply superb. I'm sure there are other performances in the Leach era that equal Sheffield's of last night, but it's right up there in terms of efficiency.

Stifling Defense: Perhaps this was the story of the game for me, i.e., the fact that the defense was so dominant. Through the first half, the Kansas St. offense managed 77 yards on 6 possessions, 39 of those yards came in the first drive and of those 39 yards, 24 came on 1 play, a RB Daniel Thomas rush up the middle. To say that the defensive effort was a collective effort may be the understatement of the year. No player had mre than 5 tackles for the game, SS Franklin Mitchem, K Donnie Carona and CB D.J. Johnson. That's right, Corona had 5 tackles on kickoffs alone, which tied for the team lead. There were 4 players that had 3 tackles and the rest of the team had no more than 1 or 2 tackles.

Even Leach paid attention:

Thought it was really good. Wish we would have gotten out of the blocks the first drive a little bit better. But after that I thought they played really tough. We came close to getting even more turnovers. Would like to have seen him get those, but got some and I thought that was good. I thought where we kept them out in four downs down there. I thought that was really impressive. That was something else.

In fact, as I'm sitting here typing this, I'm not sure who deserves the defensive MVP. The team allowed K-State 116 yards on the ground and 168 through the air. That's a dominant performance all the way around.

Freshman Focus: Perhaps the best part about the rash of injuries and players having to step up their game is that these freshmen, both redshirt and true freshmen, are learning how to play quickly and significantly. We've already mentioned that CB/S D.J. Johnson is seeing significant time in the secondary and because CB LaRon Moore went out early with an injury, Johnson was superb. Johnson is a versatile player who might be the best overall defensive back (I think he's playing both cornerback and safety in different packages) this program has had in quite some time. And he's only a freshman.

Fellow S Will Ford had a relatively quiet game and I think the reason may be is that the Big 12 is already figuring out very quickly that he can play and there may be other players that opposing offenses can pick on.

The freshmen running backs are simply dynamic. RB Harrison Jeffers doesn't look like a running back that Texas Tech usually gets, he looks like a running back that the Sooners usually get or the Longhorns. I think Jeffers has elite talent. I'd also add that true freshman Eric Stephens didn't get a ton of playing time last week, but this week, he closed out the game with some late game carries.

And last, but certainly not least, QB Seth Doege, led this team almost the entire 4th quarter, and you're always happy for a guy to get his first completion of his career and his first touchdown reception. After the Texas Tech spring game, a lot of people wrote off Doege and were automatically passing QB Jacob Karam or high school QB Scotty Young over Doege as the heir apparent to the Texas Tech quarterback position. I'm all about letting competition work itself out and proclaiming anyone an heir apparent at any position is premature.

Perhaps this is a testament to Leach and the entire program in general, but there's talent at just about every position, and not the kind of wishful thinking sort of talent that you hope and pray develops, but the sort of talent that makes you wonder who should be the starter.

Doege, the forgotten one, finished the game 6 of 8 for 64 yards and a touchdown. Congrats to Doege on a job well done.

Credit Up Front: I thought the defensive line, despite not having much show up in terms of statistics, played about as well as a team could play. The Red Raiders were without DE Daniel Howard, who's been the most consistent pass-rusher all year and DE Brandon Sharpe, despite not worrying about containment at all in the 24 yard Thomas run mentioned above, had an excellent game. Sharpe finished with 2 sacks, while DE Rajon Henley, who's been too quiet, had 1 sack and 2 TFL. I thought from a philosophical standpoint, the front guys did exactly what they were supposed to do, and certainly credit goes to the linebackers as well, which is stop the run at all costs and make Kansas St. beat you through the air. The pressure that the Texas Tech offense put on K-State had something to do with it, but make no mistake, stopping the run was a priority and I think it was good for this unit with the Cornhuskers looming.

Resurgent Running Backs: For the past 2 weeks, excluding the quarterbacks, the running game has certainly made a big appearance. The collective efforts of Baron Batch, Harrison Jeffers and Eric Stephens on the ground against K-State yeilded 182 yards on a mere 21 carries. And despite Jeffers getting most of the touchdowns last week, it was Batch who led the way with 87 yards, a 9.6 YPC average, and a touchdown. Add another 77 receiving yards to the total and you've got 259 yards of production, on 33 just touches, from the running back position. Last week, it was 200 yards of production from the running backs on 24 touches.

Notebook: I think that LAJ's Don Williams football notebook has some things that need to be mentioned, which included the fact that neither DE Daniel Howard or C Shawn Byrnes played at all last night. I think the staff was gambling that they weren't going to be needed this week, and I would expect that they would be ready to play next week. I was surprised to see LG Lonnie Edwards get the start against Kansas St. (despite what the graphic at the beginning of the game said). I thought Olson has played well all season and Edwards has struggled. That's not what I was expecting, but I didn't notice too much of a drop-off. I think I still prefer Olson over Edwards right now, but Edwards didn't have a bad game. With CB LaRon Moore going down at cornerback last night (which we saw the return of SS Franklin Mitchem, which was good considering FS Cody Davis was out), you had the aforementioned D.J. Johnson and CB Taylor Charbonnet stepping up their games last night.

The Offensive MVP :: QB Steven Sheffield: Not bad for a guy getting his first start of his career. I still think it's good to temper the excitement a bit, but the fact that the backup quarterback has a full game of experience and is pushing the starting quarterback is good for the program.

The Defensive Co-MVP's :: SS Franklin Mitchem and CB/S D.J. Johnson: Saturday night was a collective effort and I don't think you can spin this any other way than to have a few players receive this honor. You could credit the whole defensive line or the linebackers or the defensive backs, but the fact that Mitchem, coming off an injury that had him out 2 weeks, and Johnson, a freshman defensive back from a small Episcopal school in Austin who wasn't expected to even sniff the field and forced his way into the lineup, leads this team in tackles speaks about the strength of this team.

The Special Teams MVP :: K Donnie Carona: The guy had 5 tackles on special teams and kicked off 11 times. Corona's biggest issue is consistency and that was evident on Saturday night (kickoffs ranging from 45 to 70), but let's him credit for getting his nose in on some tackles, but let's hope he gets things on track with his kickoffs.

Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe :: 09.16.09

Seth C — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 11:06:28 -0000

Texas Tech Football

Linebacker Improvement: LAJ's Don Williams writes that the linebackers have show much improvement over the course of the year, WLB Marlon Williams, MLB Brian Duncan and SLB Bront Bird. Defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill says that the linebackers are finishing plays:

"The big key is making sure you finish plays when your number’s dialed,’’ defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill said. "You see a lot of people rush the passer or get a chance to make a play in the backfield, and they just about get there. They’ve done a good job of finishing plays.’’

And McNeill talks about calling a different game plan:

"There’s no need to blitz or move a guy here or there if he’s not able to execute the fundamentals,’’ McNeill said. "The better they’ve gotten with fundamental execution, now that enables us to do some more things with them. It just takes time. The longer we’re here, the more guys are in the system, the more things we can do with them.’’

Texas Tech Football Notebook: LAJ's Don Williams notes that there are three injured starters, DE Rajon Henley is still limping around, IR Detron Lewis wasn't in pads and S Franklin Mitchem had his arm in a sling (this is not good) . . . the tickets are selling quite well for the Baylor game in Cowboys Stadium . . . offensive line coach Matt Moore is leaning to using the same starting lineup this week as he did last week (LT - Chris Olson; LG - Lonnie Edwards; C - Shawn Byrnes; RG - Brandon Carter; RT - Marlon Winn) . . .

Potts Controls Offense: AP's Betsy Blaney writes that QB Taylor Potts continues the tradition of the spread offense and talks with all sorts of people about Potts including his high school coach, his mom, Will Muschamp and Mack Brown. Here's Muschamp on Potts:

"He’s got arm talent," Muschamp said. "He can make all the throws. Arm talent is what jumps out at you on the film."

Secondary to Prove Themselves: DT's Adam Coleman writes that the young secondary is out to prove that they can play. Texas Tech cornerbacks coach Brian Mitchell knows that the Longhorn receivers are talented:

"They’re a complete group," Mitchell said. "They’ve got some height, they’ve got some size, they’ve got some speed. They’ve got guys that know their role. They’ve got guys they need to run fast. They’ve got guys they need to be more physical that can play a little more H-back, tight end type and still have the speed and quickness to play wide receiver. They complement each other."

And Texas head coach Mack Brown praises the defensive coaching staff at Texas Tech:

"The defensive coaches at Tech to me are as good as anybody in the country and they don’t get credit because the offense has always been so good and they usually lead the nation in passing and the quarterbacks are spectacular," Brown said. "But I know all of those defensive coaches personally and I’m a tell you, that defensive staff is great. If you look at the resumes of all those coaches, there’s a lot of great coaching experience on the Tech defense and a lot of wins."

This is a Confusing Article: The Chron's David Barron titles his article Tech's leach tries to play the underdog against UT and claims that Leach is portraying Texas as the prohibitive favorite. Well . . . they are the favorites and 16 point favorites to boot.

#20 Commit: LAJ's Don Williams reports that the Red Raiders have received their 20th commitment from Navarro College DT/DE Lawrence Rumph. In reading Williams article it doesn't sound as if Rumph is as committed as you'd like for him to be, stating this:

"There’s a chance I could go somewhere else,’’ he said. "I’m still not completely sure about it, but I discussed it with my coach and some other people and they said I should go ahead.’’

Soooo . . . . I guess welcome and stuff. Here's Navarro's defensive stats for the year where he has 8 tackles and 1 TFL. I'll have to do a write-up on Rumph later, maybe next week, but for now, welcome to Texas Tech and git your guns up?!

Texas Longhorn Links: BON's GhostofBigRoy discusses the areas of concern for the Longhorns . . . Statesman's Alan Trubow writes that the Longhorns are not focused on revenge . . . FWST's Jimmy Burch writes that RB Tre' Newton is splitting the starting tailback job . . . DMN's Chuck Carlton also asks about DE Sergio Kindle . . . The Statesman previews the Red Raiders . . . ESPN's Pat Forde thinks Texas beats Texas Tech by 4 touchdowns . . .

Neglected Audio and Video: Fox34 with coverage from DS Austin Burns and CB Taylor Charonnet's big day in front of the microphone and Leach thinks that the Longhorns are looking past the Red Raiders:

Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe :: 09.15.09

Seth C — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 11:06:38 -0000

Texas Tech Football

The Spotlight Shifts: The spotlight is firmly on Texas Tech vs. Texas as there are more articles on this game than I can link this morning. There's no question in my mind that this is an important game for both teams for a number of reasons, including the fact that it's a conference game, it's an early game for the Longhorns who could use a resume booster as their fan base looks towards the national championship game (and I'm all about this type of attitude, assuming the Longhorns win), and it's the first road game for QB Taylor Potts, who has been at home the past two weeks, but that's Player of the Week Taylor Potts to you. And for those of you who don't remember why the Red Raiders moved up this game, it's all explained here by LAJ's Don Williams where your Captain Mike Leach considered a number of factors in signing off on this game:

"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."

Weekly Interview Controversy: This week, per LAJ's Don Williams, rather than QB Taylor Potts, RG Brandon Carter, CB Jamar Wall and DE Rajon Henley in the interview room on Monday, you got DS Austin Burns and CB Taylor Charbonnet. So is this a big deal or is this Leach just being Leach (it even made the news in Oklahoma)? Both, it's not a big deal and it is Leach being Leach, and I don't think this is sending any sort of message to the team or the fans or to anyone else any more than Leach just likes to stir the pot a bit. Leach's rationale:

"I just figured you got tired of them,’’ Leach told the assembled media. "If you’re not tired of them, I’ll bring them back next week. I mean, they’re fun, but I’m around them all the time; I get tired of them.’’

Snip

On whether Leach was trying to keep down distractions for more high-profile players: "Your guess is as good as mine. I’m as surprised as you are. Austin Bu-u-u-r-r-n-n-s? Who?’’

And what would a Leach press conference be without a little bit of a dig as to whether or not he thought that Texas S Blake Gideon was going to catch that interception in 2008:

"I didn’t think he’d catch it, for one,’’ Leach said. "For another, it’s always interesting to me that they highlight that one, because I could probably rattle off 10 other things that would have allowed us to win by more. So I don’t see it as particularly significant.’’

Texas Tech Focused: FWST's Dwain Price writes that the Red Raiders are focused on the Longhorns and QB Taylor Potts watched Texas QB Colt McCoy in high school:

"I watched him through high school because he played right down the road from us," Potts said. "I saw a lot of him in high school, so it’s going to be fun to play him."

Red Raider Blogs: Tortilla Retort has some thoughts on the game against Rice (here and here) and I think we're all on the same page . . . Raiderade's Ayleein has some thoughts on Saturday's win . . . RRS.com's Paul Lowery ranks the top 5 Red Raider newsmakers of the week . . .

Texas Longhorn Links: BC's Scipio Tex takes a look at this week's matchups . . . Statesman's Kirk Bohls wonders why DE Sergio Kindle is struggling, if he is struggling . . . DMN's Chuck Carlton writes that Texas head coach Mack Brown wants QB Colt McCoy to relax and have fun . . . the Statesman's Suzanne Halliburton writes that no one is forgetting the 2008 Texas vs. Texas Tech game . . . Orangeblood.com's Chip Brown with some notes . . . CT's Dave Matter with a good Big 12 notebook with a look at the Big 12's big game . . . ESPN's Mark Schlabach praises QB Taylor Potts for his game against Rice and mentions the big games this week, including Texas Tech vs. Texas . . . DMN ranks the top five wins for both Texas and Texas Tech . . .

Neglected Audio and Video: Fox34 with highlights from the game:

Texas Tech Basketball

New Commit: LAJ's Courtney Linehan (the LAJ must have a new writer -- congrats!) talks with the newest Texas Tech commit, SG Jamel Outler, and his father Willie says that Jamel isn't a finished product:

"He needs to work on being willing to go ahead and let that shot go early," Willie said. "Sometimes I accuse him of doing two moves in a situation when he was at a good spot on the floor. I tell him to just raise up and shoot the ball."

And Outler likes head coach Pat Knight:

"He was a player, so he knows what we go through as players," Jamel said. "He’s real down to earth, laid back. He acts like himself, even when he’s recruiting. He’s straightforward."

Depth Charting // The Secondary

Seth C — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 19:00:10 -0000

Secondary

Left Cornerback	Strong Safety	Free Safety	Right Cornerback
Jamar Wall (3) SR; 5-10/203	Franklin Mitchem (26) JR; 6-2/198	Cody Davis (16) RS FR; 6-2/200	LaRon Moore (28) JR; 5-9/200
Nathan Stone (40) JR; 5-8/181	Brett Dewhurst (30) JR; 6-0/193	Jared Flannel (22) RS SO; 5-11/167	Taylor Charbonnet (29) RS SO; 5-10/175
DeShon Sanders (21) SR/ 6-1/206	Will Ford (7) FR; 6-1/186	Julius Howard (13) JR; 6-1/208	Brent Nickerson (33) SR; 6-0/188

Cornerback:Jamar Wall is another better than average player. Not perfect by any means, but pretty good. I know that the right cornerback spot is still up for grabs and I find is somewhat problematic that no one has stepped up enough to force the coaches to make a decision, but I'm going to go with LaRon Moore for the time being. In party, I think that the coaches may like Taylor Charbonnet's ability to come off the bench and Charbonnet's slight stature may be somewhat of a detriment. During the spring game, I thought that quite a few of the cornerbacks made plays, but I don't think that I could tell you who they were. In any event, there is depth at this positin, enough depth for last year's part-time starter, Brent Nickerson, to potentially be relegated to the third team. Nathan Stone is another guy that I'm not sure that I could tell anything outstanding about Stone, other than he's a former walk-on who impressed immediately. At the end of the day, next year, this year's freshman class of D.J. Johnson and Yashua Williams should press the current crop of cornerbacks starting this year. I'd really like to see almost all of the freshmen play only as a last resort.

Safety: This is where we're crossing our fingers and rubbing on our collective rabbit's foot. After seeing Cody Davis and Franklin Mitchem perform in the spring game, I'm very comfortable with what these two bring to the table. Obviously, each lacks experience, but both appear to be heady players who have more than an understanding of how to play the position. Both have enough athleticism to be productive players in the Big 12. The backups behind Davis and Mitchem is a bit sketchy at this point, but I think it's safe to say that guys like Will Ford, Daniel Cobb and Terrance Bullitt are pushing the incumbents like Brett Dewhurst, Jared Flannel and Julius Howard. Competition inherently forces players to step up their games and I think that for the time being, it's going to be Dewhurst and a combination of Flannel and Howard, but those three had better not rest, otherwise you could see any combination of Ford, Cobb or Bullitt.

Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe // 08.25.09

Seth C — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 11:03:06 -0000

Odds and Ends

Another Quiet Day: It's another day and it's relatively quiet from a news perspective. Thank goodness you're going to get four, that's right four, posts out of me today. Spaced out over the morning, check back early and often for a preview of Oklahoma St., depth charting the receivers and my adventures in fly-fishing.

Texas Tech Football

Howard Adjusting to the Change: LAJ's Don Williams writes that linebacker turned safety Julius Howard is continuing to adjust to playing safety. Defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill on Howard:

"The last couple of days, and really the last week, he’s done a good job for us back there," McNeill said. "He’s a smart player, understands the game, has been around. But he’s also run around real well and is showing some athleticism back there."

And Howard just wants repetitions to be ready:

"It’s going real good," Howard said of the move. "I’ve got it down. I just need to keep playing and get more reps and more reps, over and over. I’m good as far as playing safety."

Here's the bit from Williams' article that interested me the most, especially as we try to piece together a depth chart:

The player who will join them in six-DB packages hasn’t been settled. Cornerback Taylor Charbonnet, being short and quick, fits the profile of an underneath cover man for slot receivers. He’s worked there in practice.

Mainord said he’s still looking at Howard, Dewhurst and Jared Flannel for that job, too. Freshman Terrance Bullitt also is likely to play this season, according to coaches, although Bullitt’s tall, rangy build suggests he’s more likely to be an over-the-top deep safety than an underneath coverage man.

This news, coupled with yesterday's quote from Ruffin McNeill where he stated that CB D.J. Johnson, S Will Ford and S Terrance Bullitt would not redshirt means that those veterans who think they might have a safety position might not. It will be interesting to see how this plays out over the course of the season.

Neglected Audio and Video: For those of you who wonder what the players think about the Red Raiders not being in any of the preseason polls, Fox34 did just that with a somewhat lengthy report below. Make sure and stick around for all of it as you'll hear DE Rajon Henley talk about the team working their balls off and DT Colby Whitlock with a post-practice dip:

Scouting the Enemy: TB from Bring On The Cats gets back from his honeymoon last week (congratulations!) and is already back at work with his Kansas St. Wildcats preview . . . Burnt Orange Nation with a long look at the Texas Longhorns with the help of some friends . . .

Big 12 Links: The St. Louis Dispatch previews the Big 12 . . . ESPN's Brent Musburger and Kirk Herbstreit preview the Big 12 . . .

Alumni: The official San Diego Chargers website on Louis Vasquez on his NFL debut . . .

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.