SB Nation - Jonathan LaCour

Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe :: 10.12.09

Seth C — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 10:40:52 -0000

Busy This Week, Need Assistance with BlogPoll: This is going to be an incredibly busy week for me personally. Everything should be back to normal next week, but my job is to be as honest with you as possible, and as I look at the week ahead I'm going to be very busy. I'm not going to be able to get to a crunching the numbers segment today and I'll probably try to combine that weekly post with a matchup post this week.

But in addition to that, I need help with the BlogPoll. To make my life easier, I thought I'd ask you guys who are the top 12 teams in the nation? You use whatever criteria you feel is appropriate, but give me the top 12 teams in the comments and I'll cobble together DTN ballot for the BlogPoll that's representative of you guys and gals.

Tide Turning: LAJ's Don Williams reports this morning that QB Steven Sheffield is taking more steps to take over at quarterback (I should also mention that RRS.com's Chris Level tweeted (?) that Sheffield is now a captain). Both Captain Mike Leach and Sheffield appreciated the play of the offensive line:

"There’s no question they played better,’’ Leach said. "They played significantly better. I thought the whole offensive line unit played well. I thought (left guard) Lonnie Edwards stepped up and had the best game that he’s had. I thought all five of them played good.’’

Sheffield said the linemen "played their hearts out’’ and "it couldn’t have been easier for me.’’ He said when he leaves the pocket, sometimes it’s to get a better view of receivers. Even if that’s not the case, he said he and his blockers can still make a play work.

"Like I tell them, ‘If one (rusher) is coming up field, don’t quit him on just because he beats you,’ ’’ Sheffield said. " ‘Turn around, and I’m going to step to the side. Block him again, and I’m going to get out of there.’ ’

Football Notebook: LAJ's Don Williams looks at the kicking game this morning, including the thought that I mentioned yesterday, which is that K Donnie Carona needs to be more consistent, but appreciated Carona's ability to make takles:

"There’s no doubt, yeah,’’ Russell said. "Not by design, but we needed it last night. He did a great job in that area, and he’s not afraid. That’s certainly an extra weapon, because teams don’t usually account for 11 (in kickoff coverage) on there. They account for 10. It’s good to have that guy in case something does break down.’’

. . . there is no punter-controversy as current starter Ryan Erxleben will not be unseated by previously suspended P Jonathan LaCour . . . Leach is very happy with the combined effort of the running backs, Baron Batch, Harrison Jeffers and Eric Stephens:

"I thought they did a pretty good variety of things,’’ Tech coach Mike Leach said Sunday. "First of all, we got three (running backs) involved. I thought they all caught the ball well, I thought they all rushed the ball well, and I thought they all blocked well. They complemented each others play pretty good.’’

. . . QB Taylor Potts, C Shawn Byrnes, DE Daniel Howard, S Cody Davis and CB LaRon Moore all returned to practice last night . . .

Other KSU Post-Game Thoughts: TR's dedfischer writes that Texas Tech is getting it right . . . RA's ayleein hands out grades . . . as does LAJ's Don Williams . . .

Big 12 Links: CJOnline's Austin Meek answers 3 questions about KSU vs. TT . . . KC Star's Blair Kerkoff rounds up the college football world . . . Omaha.com's Rich Kaipust writes that Nebraska RB Roy Helu is just fine . . .

2011 Commit, Estacado's Wagner: How about that, per LAJ's Courtney Linehan, Pat Knight has secured the commitment from 2011 point guard, Kevin Wagner (5-8/145), a junior from Estacado:

Wagner has started since his freshman year at Estacado, where his father Tony Wagner is the head boys basketball coach. Kevin helped carry the Matadors all the way to last season’s state championship game, where they lost 68-66 in overtime to Madison.

He said Tech coach Pat Knight has a style he feels fairly familiar with.

"I like the way Pat coaches; it reminds me of my dad," Wagner said. "I play for my dad now, so it will be easy to adapt."

I couldn't find a profile for Wagner on Scout, but was able to find one for Rivals and ESPN. There's no information on Wagner, but maybe some of you local folks could help us out on what type of player Wagner is and what he can do on the court.

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

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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 // 07.16.09

Seth C — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 11:35:09 -0000

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Odds and Ends

I Missed A Lot

I went to sleep somewhat early last night, after getting up at 4:00 a.m. yesterday morning, and I think its safe to say that I missed quite a bit. Let's get to the news.

Texas Tech Football

Harrell to Canada

Thanks to the post last night from Tech92, it appears that QB Graham Harrell is headed to Canada to play with the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the CFL and Harrell will join WR Eric Morris on the team. I really thought that Harrell would hang on through NFL training camps, but perhaps he felt that his best option was to just get out on the field. This isn't the way that Harrell planned his post-collegiate career, but you make the best of the situation and go from there.

Big 12 Suspends P LaCour

This seems completely out of left field as P Jonathan LaCour, per LAJ's Don Williams, has been suspended for six games by the Big 12. I guess I had no idea that the Big 12 could actually suspend a player for off-the-field conduct. Here's Mike Leach's comment on the situation:

"It reduces our depth a little, but I don’t anticipate any problem,’’ Leach said. "We’ve got a couple walk-ons. I think somebody will step up and punt, and Carona’s looked good punting as well.’’

Williams points out that Ryan Erxleben a freshman walk-on who played for Lake Travis last year and had a 44.3 yards per punt average (yes, this is the same Lake Travis team that had QB Garrett Gilbert). There was also this fairly lengthy article this spring from Don Williams that briefly mentions that K Donnie Carona was also working in as punter, but mainly focused on the work that new special teams coach Eric Williams had with LaCour.

I very briefly looked at the official Big 12 website to look for some bylaws as to what the Big 12 can suspend an athlete, but didn't find anything at first glance.

Reliving OSU

Fox34 with a look back at last year's OSU win:

Scouting the Enemy

Rock M Nation's the Boy with a look at the beyond the box score Texas Longhorns defense.

Dr. Saturday's Matt Hinton predicts Conference USA and it appears that Houston is going to be the head of the class, with Rice finishing near the bottom of West division.

CFN's Pete Fiutuk with some roundtable thoughts on the Big 12.

Rivals.com's Olin Buchanan thinks that the Oklahoma St. Cowboys may be overrated.

Texas Tech Basketball

Burgess in Belize

This is a little out of the blue, but it appears that former Red Raider and point guard, Charlie Burgess, is playing basketball in Belize for the national team (I'm not real sure about all of the details, but he's in freaking Belize, playing basketball, I think life must be pretty good):

Charlie Burgess, from New York City
"I am Charlie Burgess from New York City, when to Texas Tech University and then I was overseas one year. I went to Uruguay and then I was back and now I am here in Belize hopefully to defend the title that we had won previously so hopefully we could bring it back to the level that it needs to be at."

Keith Swift,
"How do you feel to be playing for the national team?"

Charlie Burgess,
"Oh it feels great, especially seeing the smile on my mother’s face because I haven’t seen my mother in a long time and she is actually here in Belize so it is a great opportunity. Not many get this chance so I am just blessed."

Colleen Burgess, Mother
"Oh my God, I can’t even explain how I feel. I feel pretty good. I am so excited. Very excited about this young man."

Keith Swift,
"What can we expect from you?"

Charlie Burgess,
"I am just going to go out there and give it my all. Play every game like it is last. I love winning more than I love lo lose."

Five Things // Improving the Special Teams

Seth C — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 15:00:20 -0000

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

Improving the Special Teams

To say that special teams has largely been ignored by the Captain would be an understatement. Clay McGuire was the special teams coach last year and did so without any sort of experience. When running backs coach Seth Littrell left for Arizona, Leach moved McGuire to running backs coach, the position he played at Texas Tech, and hired Louisiana Tech's special teams coach Eric Russell.

The point of this exercise is to take a look at where the special teams was last year and Russell's La. Tech teams from 2008 and 2007 as well as 2006, the year before he arrived at La. Tech (Russell was previously at North Texas).

Since I haven't seen a lick of La. Tech football in the last two years, I would think the argument could be made as to whether La. Tech's success at special teams is based on scheme or the players, and for the sake of this post, we'll give credit to Russell for the scheme since I do not have an opinion as to the types of players at La. Tech.

1: Punt Returns

	2008	2008	2007	2006
Punt Return	9.90 (1 TD)	12.97 (3 TD)	13.92 (0 TD)	5.00 (0 TD)
Punt Return Allowed	11.93 (2 TD)	6.00 (1 TD)	7.53 (0 TD)	9.25 (0 TD)

This is fairly significant and it doesn't take any type of specialized degree to note that prior to Russell's arrival in 2006, La. Tech was simply woeful at both punt return and punt returns allowed. Things changed fairly quickly, and if there's one thing that I'm hoping with Russell's arrival, is that the Red Raiders can and will improve in both of these categories.

The key here in punt returns is who will actually be returning those punts for Texas Tech. In previous years, Leach has opted for the safe and reliable option, in Eric Morris and Danny Amendola. Both guys weren't necessarily game-breakers, but were incredibly reliable. It will be interesting to see if Russell opts for a similar player. Perhaps Austin Zouzalik or Cornelius Douglas are a couple of options.

Additionally, I'm interested to see what Russell does in terms of coverage, and I think all of these stats are something that I'm going to want to watch all season long, but this appears to be something that Russell can remedy fairly quickly. How happy would you guys be to see the allowed yards to dip under 10 and hover closer to Russell's marks at La. Tech of 6.00 and 7.53 per return?

2: Kickoff Returns

	2008	2008	2007	2006
Kickoff Return	22.20 (0 TD)	23.42 (1 TD)	23.13 (1 TD)	21.70 (1 TD)
Kickoff Return Allowed	21.00 (0 TD)	18.09 (0 TD)	23.73 (1 TD)	21.33 (1 TD)

Slight improvement on Russell's part, although allowing less than 20 yards a kickoff return in 2008 is significant. In fact, in 2008 La. Tech ranked 8th in the nation so a few yards makes a difference in being a highly ranked unit and being middle of the pack, like Texas Tech at 59th in the nation. It's certainly not a stretch to think that Russell will have a somewhat significant impact here as well especially in terms of coverage.

La. Tech was also highly ranked in terms of kickoff returns, coming in at 17th in the nation last year. Again, this is something where a few yards makes a big difference as La. Tech ranked 17th in the nation in punt returns, while Texas Tech ranked 39th. Again, not bad, but not great either. Jamar Wall (20) returned a majority of kickoffs last year, followed by Detron Lewis (8) and LaRon Moore (7), and I've always thought that this is a perfect opportunity to get a guy like Harrison Jeffers some touches. I've always preferred a bigger return man, especially in kickoffs and if Jeffers could get two or three touches a game from kickoffs alone could be a real positive in his overall development.

3: Punting

	2008	2008	2007	2006
Punting	35.65	40.49	41.30	38.18

This is one of those stats (much like any kicker related statistic) that you could probably say is related to the actual player rather than the coach, but since we're giving credit to Russell for the sake of this post, there's obviously some room for improvement here. La. Tech didn't light the world on fire last year in punting, coming in at 42nd in the nation, but at least the Bulldogs didn't find themselves at 118th. Yep, Jonathan LaCour, who exhibited a fairly strong leg his freshman year, had a sophomore slump in 2008 as he punted for a net average of less than 30 yards a game. Wind or no wind, that's unacceptable and I don't know how much Russell is going to be able to improve LaCour, but he is doing one thing that Leach didn't do last year, which is give LaCour a little competition. This spring, Donnie Carona, who has had mixed success (yes, I'm putting this lightly) at kicking, tried his leg at punting and although it may not mean anything during the course of the season, it might. LaCour probably needed someone to push him a bit and here's hoping that Carona can. I'd also love to see if Russell can get LaCour over any mental hump that he might have had, perhaps teaching him a little better technique.

4: Kickoff

	2008	2008	2007	2006
Kickoff	65.22 (27.08% TB)	62.32 (7.69% TB)	-	-

You'll note that these statistics only go back to 2007 and if there's one thing that Donnie Carona did right last year, it was kickoffs. He may not have been great at getting it through the upright, but he was good at getting it to the endzone, putting a little over 27% of his kickoffs back for touchbacks. Although we were going to give credit to Russell alone, this is very much a single player type of statistic. Either the kicker does, or does not kick it a long ways and if Carona can do anything, it's kick it a long ways.

5: Place Kicking

	2008	2008	2007	2006
Field Goals	7/13 (53.8%)	14/28 (50.0%)	12/21 (57.1%)	8/12 (66.7%)
Extra Points	70/76 (92.1%)	38/40 (95.0%)	25/26 (96.2%)	30/31 (96.8%)

As bad as the field goal kicking was last year, it was at least on par with what Russell was previously doing at La. Tech. Anyone who watched Texas Tech last year knew that Donnie Carona (4/9; 44%) was kicking the ball too low last year on field goals, giving opponents the ability to block his field goals relatively easily. Walk-on Matt Williams (2/3; 67%) was better, but really didn't have many opportunities. I have no idea how Russell is going to solve this problem, although something to keep in mind is that Texas Tech did signa preferred walk-on in Blinn CC kicker Brad Hicks. I haven't been able to find much on statistics on Hicks, but he did make 11 field goals last year and 52 extra points. As far as Carona is concerned, I think this is all mental and technique. If he could just have a little success, I think he's fine and I hope that Russell is what can get him back on track.

Double-T Nation Tuesday Morning Football Notes - Real Solid Edition

Seth C — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 10:54:07 -0000

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Odds and Ends

Spring Game Update

The official Texas Tech website released some more details about Saturday's Red-Black Spring Game, which will include an autograph session after the game:

The Red-Black Game kicks off at 1 p.m., preceded by a free kid's clinic from 11-11:30 a.m. and the alumni game from 11:30-noon. Each event will take place on the turf of Jones AT&T Stadium, and the kid's clinic will involve current members of the Red Raider Football team. Admission is free.

I'll see if I can't find out who's going to play in the alumni game.

Texas Tech Football

Adrian Reese Hopes for "Breakout Year"

LAJ's Don Williams feature story is with junior tight end Adrian Reese, who is moving to split end, is looking towards a breakout season:

"That’s what I’m looking forward to doing, having somewhat of a breakout year,’’ Reese said last week. "I’ve been here, this is going on my fourth year. I have yet to score a touchdown. So I’m going into it with a chip on my shoulder, (having) a little bit to prove.’’

Receivers coach Dennis Simmons likes what Reese brings to the outside receiver spot:

"He gives you a bigger, physical body — a more physical player at that position,’’ Simmons said. "Eddie (Britton) is a home-run hitter with his speed. (Reese) gives you a much more physical, durable guy out there on the perimeter. And then his height, that’s always a plus.’’

And Reese is still adjusting to the position:

"I feel like I have somewhat of an advantage,’’ Reese said. "I’m more of a bigger-type receiver. You don’t find too many DBs that can match up with me. I feel like I can bring an advantage when we go goal line — just throw a jump ball and be a little bit more physical at the line.’’
In Tech’s offense, the split end always lines up to the left side of the formation and the "Y’’ inside receiver — what Reese played in the past —is always anchored to the right. One of the adjustments, then, is that Reese is learning to catch passes over the other shoulder.

He said there also seems to be more reading of coverages at split end.

"Now I’ve got to see what the cornerback’s doing, what coverages they’re dropping into,’’ he said. "Just little things like that, that’s probably the biggest adjustment I’ve had.’’

Receivers Adjusting

DT's Alex Ybarra writes about how the receiving group is adjusting to life without Harrell & Crabtree. Ybarra talks with Detron Lewis who said he's frustrated with how he's receiving passes:

"I talked to coach about that (Monday), I told him I was a little frustrated in one-on-ones and (skeleton drills) with how the ball was thrown," said Lewis, who is one of the more experienced receivers in a young, talented stable. "I just talk to him on the regular about it, and he just tells me to control what I can control, and that's all I do."

But goes on to say that he understands it's a progression:

"I know it's a progression, they all need that experience," Lewis said. "I bet Graham, his sophomore year when he first started, I bet he wasn't just like he was his senior year. I just know it's a progression, and (Potts) is gonna get better as each day goes by."

Ybarra mentions the same thing that I was thinking, which is that although Taylor Potts is not lighting the world on fire, the receivers have dropped plenty of passes this spring. Receivers coach Lincoln Riley seems to agree that there's plenty of blame to go around:

"Just guys not doing their job, not trusting what their job is, what their responsibility is," Riley said. "When you go against the defense, the same guys for several practices in a row you almost feel the need to do something different or try something different.
"We just gotta have confidence and faith in what we've been coached to do and go out and do it every time and not try to do anything different than that."

Ybarra also goes into detail about a depth chart if the season were to start today:

X: Edward Britton and Adrian Reese
H: Tramain Swindall, Adam James and Cornelius Douglas
Y: Detron Lewis and Austin Zouzalik
Z: Alex Torres and Jacoby Franks

Red Raiders Football Notebook

LAJ's Don Williams' Red Raiders Football Notebook talks about a number of items, including a good day for Taylor Potts:

Taylor Potts had a good day running the offense and the Captain was pleased:
"I thought Potts was real solid,’’ Tech coach Mike Leach said. "I thought Potts had a very good day. (Steven) Sheffield and (Seth) Doege both did some good things, but then they get impatient and try to make too much happen.’’
Left tackle Brandon Carter returned to practice.
Receiver Rashad Hawk is moving inside and outside to fill in where needed.
Donnie Carona is being worked as a punter to push Jonathan LaCour.

Mr. Crabtree is Just Fine

For those of you worried about Michael Crabtree's draft status (i.e. not you guys), don't be as there appears to be that Mr. Crabtree's stock is just fine. Yahoo! Sports Charles Robinson (hat-tip pcrawttu), ESPN the Magazine's Seth Wickersham and SI's Peter King (page 4) have all talked with NFL talent evaluators and here's the consensus:

He's pretty good.

Neglected Video, Audio and Photos

Tech Talk's last third of the first hour and the entire second hour was Texas Tech football, although there was nothing ground-breaking. A very nice interview in the second hour with running backs coach Clay McGuire.

Fox34 with a practice report from yesterday.

DT's report on receivers:

Receivers still confident despite loss of Crabtree, Morris from Daily Toreador on Vimeo.

Texas Tech Thursday Morning Football Notes - Coached By One of the Best Edition

Seth C — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 11:48:33 -0000

LaCour Irritated

LAJ's Don Williams sits down with sophomore punter Jonathan LaCour and he's irritated at the wind and according to Williams, the average wind speed since practice started is 17 m.p.h. Welcome to Lubbock. Here's Jonathan LaCour:

"It’s pretty irritating,’’ LaCour said after one of last week’s workouts, "because no matter how I drop the ball, the wind’s going to take it, the nose of the ball’s going to go down, the ball’s going to shift to the side, and then I have to match my foot up with it.’’

New special teams coach Eric Russell says that this LaCour is talented, but inconsistent:

Asked for an early impression of LaCour, Russell said, tongue in cheek: "He probably kicks better the more you yell at him.
"Talented leg. Pretty athletic, just inconsistent,’’ Russell said. "But he’s got the tools to be a good Big 12 punter. It’s just getting through some mental stuff — just letting him trust his ability to turn it loose instead of thinking his way through kicks.’’

LaCour is also disappointed by his performance last year and I thought that this was pretty interesting about LaCour's mental aspect to the game:

LaCour said his spring objective is as much about improving his mental approach as anything mechanical. He wants to work on relaxing and doing what comes naturally.
"It’s just stuff I’m doing on my own,’’ he said. "I considered talking to a sports psychologist, just to keep me relaxed and clearheaded, but I think I’ll be able to keep myself like that.’’

Russell said he thinks LaCour is hungry and likes that he wasn’t happy with how he performed last season. Now they’re trying to work through LaCour’s tendency to overthink and try to be too perfect.

Safety Spots

DT's Alex Ybarra takes a look at the safeties, RS freshman Cody Davis and sophomore Franklin Mitchem. Ybarra re-tells the story about making the hit on Ed Britton, jarring the ball loose and snagging the ball out of the air for the interception:

"That's what I try and do," said Davis, a 6-foot-2, 205-pound redshirt freshman from Stephenville. "I think that's an up-and-coming staple of my game, I guess, just trying to make a loud hit and come downhill."

And Mitchem:

"I feel a little bit of pressure, because it's my first time starting for a Big 12 school," Mitchem said. "We got the best competition out there in the country, next to the SEC, so we gotta bring our game any time."

And defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill completely trusts safeties coach Carlos Mainord:

"(Mainord's) done well everywhere he's been, from college to pros and back to college," McNeill said. "So they're being coached by one of the best. (The safeties) face a top offense in the country every day passing-wise, and total offense-wise, so anything that they'll see in the fall, they will have no doubt have seen in the spring from our offense."

Red Raider Football Notebook

LAJ's Don Williams has a number of notes from yesterday's practice:

Rashad Hawk is in the doghouse, as are some of the regular players and as of right now, this is who saw the most time during the 50 play 11-on-11 scrimmage:
"It’s just a competitive situation," head coach Mike Leach said. "We’re looking at all of them, and we’ve got a variety of (passing drills) going on. But at each position, whoever the two are that we feel like are on top, those are the guys we’re repping."
On Wednesday, that was [Edward] Britton and Adrian Reese at split end, Detron Lewis and Austin Zouzalik at one inside receiver, Tramain Swindall and Cornelius Douglas at the other, and Alex Torres and Jacoby Franks at flanker.
Grad assistant Chris Hudler is moving on to a full-time coaching job in Mesquite, Texas or where his brother coaches in Louisiana. Good luck Chris.
Cameron Ely, a 6-6/230 quarterback from Harvard is looking at walking-on at Texas Tech. Someone with more time than me, look something up on him.
Quarterbacks were much better, although Taylor Potts did throw a couple of interceptions. I'm still not worried about Potts, I think it's natural to struggle in the offense when the quarterback is thrust into the starting role. I think it's a natural progression for the quarterback. I'm not even close to being in panic mode.

Neglected Video, Audio and Photos

Fox34 files a practice report from yesterday and Brandon Carter (not in pads) was back at practice, while the focus of the story is on RS freshman linebacker Tyrone Sonier.

The LAJ has a great set of photos from yesterday's practice.

The Fog of '09 - South Defenses

Bill C. — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 15:00:06 -0000

Defensive Lines

Oklahoma (DEs Auston English & Jeremy Beal, DTs Gerald McCoy & DeMarcus Granger)
Texas Tech (DTs Colby Whitlock & Richard Jones, DEs Brandon Williams & McKinner Dixon)
Oklahoma State (DEs Ugo Chinasa, Derek Burton)
Texas (DT Lamarr Houston, DEs Sam Acho & Eddie Jones)
Baylor (DT Trey Bryant, DE Jason Lamb)
Texas A&M (DTs Lucas Patterson & Tony Jerod-Eddie)

That's right, all four of OU's DL starters (plus DT Adrian Taylor) return. Granted, any of them could choose to go pro, but a) I doubt it, and b) if so I'd still probably have OU's line #1.

Linebackers

Oklahoma (Travis Lewis, Ryan Reynolds, Austin Box)
Texas (Sergio Kindle--for now, Roddrick Muckelroy, Jared Norton)
Oklahoma State (Orie Lemon, Patrick Lavine, Andre Sexton)
Texas Tech (Brian Duncan, Marlon Williams, Bront Bird)
Baylor (Joe Pawelek, Antonio Jones, Antonio Johnson)
Texas A&M (Von Miller, Anthony Lewis, Garrick Williams)

Seriously, OU is going to have BY FAR the best front seven in the conference. Their offense might struggle from time to time, but they'll still be in the South hunt because of a stud defense. Beyond OU, there's pretty much a logjam. If Sergio Kindle decides to go pro, then UT's LBs possibly fall to about #4 or #5 because OSU, Tech and Baylor all return pretty competent units almost intact.

Defensive Backs

Texas (CBs Chykie Brown & Deon Beasley, Ss Earl Thomas & Blake Gideon)
Oklahoma (CBs Dominique Franks, Brian Jackson)
Baylor (S Jordan Lake, CB Antareis Bryan)
Texas Tech (CBs Jamar Wall & Brent Nickerson)
Texas A&M (CB Jordan Pugh, S Jordan Peterson)
Oklahoma State (CB Perrish Cox, ...?)

Texas aside, everybody's secondary takes a step backwards. The Longhorn secondary, however, will be STOUT.

South Defenses, 2009

Oklahoma (17)
Texas (14)
Texas Tech (11)
Oklahoma State (9)
Baylor (8)
Texas A&M (4)

I'm starting to get the indication that Mike Sherman's second year at ATM won't be much better than his first. ATM is young, and they'll have some talent, but at some point they fell a step (or more) behind everybody else in the South.

Special Teams

Oklahoma State (K Dan Bailey, PR Dez Bryant, KR Perrish Cox)
Oklahoma (PR Ryan Broyles, KR DeMarco Murray, K Jimmy Stevens)
Texas (K Hunter Lawrence, P Justin Tucker, KR Malcolm Williams)
Texas Tech (K Donnie Carona, P Jonathan LaCour, KR Edward Britton)
Baylor (KR Mikail Baker, K Ben Parks, P Derek Epperson)
Texas A&M (PR Jordan Pugh, KR Cyrus Gray, ...?)

No complete unit among the group, but OSU is the closest.

Coaches

Oklahoma
Texas
Oklahoma State
Texas Tech
Baylor
Texas A&M

If I rank them again in 5 minutes, I'll probably get a completely different order. I didn't say this was scientific.

2009 South Rankings

Texas (43)
Oklahoma (43)
Oklahoma State (40)
Texas Tech (29)
Baylor (19)
Texas A&M (15)

Honestly, with the status of OU's offense, this surprises me, but there OU is, right in the thick of things. So how do the schedules shake out?

-- Schedules --

Baylor

10/10 - at Oklahoma
10/17 - at Iowa State
10/24 - Oklahoma State
10/31 - Nebraska
11/7 - at Missouri
11/14 - Texas
11/21 - at Texas A&M
11/28 - Texas Tech

North schedule: @ ISU, NU, @ MU. An unfortunate slate for Baylor, really. Yeah, they can probably take out NU at home, but traveling to Ames makes that one something of a tossup (I picked ISU in Monday's North preview, and I'm already regretting that one) and traveling to Columbia gives MU an edge there. I say 1-2.

South home slate: OSU, UT, Tech. Hmm. They're going to win one of these games, but I'm not sure which one. Tech, maybe? We'll go with Tech. Two upsets here is possibly too much to ask, but it's not unthinkable. 1-2.

South road slate: @ OU, @ ATM. You know Baylor will be gunning for their first bowl since Grant Teaff next year, and with a likely 3-1 non-conference record (@ Wake Forest, UConn, NW'ern State, Kent State), the bowl bid might come down to the ATM game. They stomped ATM in Waco this year...but for now we'll go with the home team. 0-2.

Waaaaaaay too early prediction: 2-6.

Oklahoma

10/10 - Baylor
10/17 - vs Texas
10/24 - at Kansas
10/31 - Kansas State
11/7 - at Nebraska
11/14 - Texas A&M
11/21 - at Texas Tech
11/28 - Oklahoma State

North schedule: @ KU, KSU, @ NU. The trip to Lincoln could be iffy, as could the trip to Lawrence, but...for now I'm sticking with 3-0.

South home slate: Baylor, ATM, OSU. Clearly, getting OSU at Owen Field is big. 3-0.

South road slate: vs UT, @ Tech. Only one true South road game for OU in '09, which gives them nice opportunity to break in a new O-line and possibly a new QB with fewer setbacks. But the youth will still bite them here. I favor UT in Dallas, and the trip to Lubbock screams "setback". 0-2.

Waaaaaaay too early prediction: 6-2.

Oklahoma State

10/10 - at Texas A&M
10/17 - Missouri
10/24 - at Baylor
10/31 - Texas
11/7 - at Iowa State
11/14 - Texas Tech
11/21 - Colorado
11/28 - at Oklahoma

North schedule: MU, @ISU, CU. This sets up very well for OSU. The trip to Ames might be a landmine if the Jack Trice Winds play a factor...but probably not. 3-0.

South home slate: UT, Tech. BIG games here. I say they beat Tech, but...Texas? Are they ready for that? That could decide the South right there. I change my mind later, I'm sure, but I'm going to say yes...yes, they can win that game. 2-0.

South road slate: @ATM, @BU, @OU. The Baylor trip could be a major landmine, but we'll say OSU pulls it off for now. They still lose to OU, though. 2-1.

Waaaaaaay too early prediction: 7-1.

Texas

10/10 - Colorado
10/17 - vs Oklahoma
10/24 - at Missouri
10/31 - at Oklahoma State
11/7 - Texas Tech
11/14 - at Baylor
11/21 - Kansas
11/28 - at Texas A&M

North schedule: CU, @MU, KU. Yeah, 3-0.

South home slate: vs OU, Tech. Only one true South home game, but they'll TCB. 2-0.

South road slate: @OSU, @BU, @ATM. I said OSU would win? Guess that means 2-1.

Waaaaaaay too early prediction: 7-1.

Texas A&M

10/10 - Oklahoma State
10/17 - at Kansas State
10/24 - at Texas Tech
10/31 - Iowa State
11/7 - at Colorado
11/14 - at Oklahoma
11/21 - Baylor
11/28 - Texas

North schedule: @KSU, ISU, @CU. 3-0? 0-3? Anything's possible here. I'll go homefield and say 1-2.

South home slate: OSU, BU, UT. 1-2.

South road slate: @Tech, @OU. 0-2.

Waaaaaaay too early prediction: 2-6.

Texas Tech

10/10 - Kansas State
10/17 - at Nebraska
10/24 - Texas A&M
10/31 - Kansas
11/7 - at Texas
11/14 - at Oklahoma State
11/21 - Oklahoma
11/28 - at Baylor

North schedule: KSU, @NU, KU. 2-1.

South home slate: @UT, @OSU, @BU. Tech's been much better on the road this year than previous years, but without Harrell and Crabtree (and over half the O-line), there will be regression. I'll still have them beating BU, but that's it. 1-2.

South road slate: ATM, OU. 2-0.

Waaaaaaay too early prediction: 5-3.

Standings

Oklahoma State 7-1
Texas 7-1
Oklahoma 6-2
Texas Tech 5-3
Baylor 2-6
Texas A&M 2-6

Summary

I don't think I'm giving Baylor enough credit. They'll probably beat ATM or OSU or something, but who knows. Also, I'm probably giving OSU too much credit--expectations could overtake them. Honestly I'm already wanting to bump UT ahead of OSU and BU ahead of ATM, but that's just me thinking too hard.

Report Card: SMU v. Texas Tech

Seth C — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 18:56:40 -0000

Offensive MVP: Baron Batch

Defensive MVP: Daniel Charbonnet

Special Teams MVP: Taylor Charbonnet

QUARTERBACK
B	A much better performance by Graham Harrell, at least in my opinion. I thought he looked sharper this week than he has in the past, although I understand Leach's criticisms of Harrell, he's not quite on target yet, but I trust Leach to correct that problem. No interceptions, although there were a couple of balls that easily could have been intercepted, one coming to mind was the pass that hit the SMU defender in the back. As far as good numbers are concerned, Harrell finished with 8.7 yards per attempt, which is very good. Five TD's puts Harrell ahead of Kingbury all-time at Texas Tech. I'd still like to see Harrell not force the deep pass, just take what the defense gives you and the deep stuff will happen. I especially don't like it when you're down at your own 2. Get out of your endzone and get some positive yards. I thought Potts looked pretty sharp and the one thing that I try and watch with Potts is how long does he hold onto the ball, and last night he seemed to get rid of it much quicker than in past year. That's a sign that he's making quicker decisions and he's making good decisions (6 for 7 for 95 yards). It would have been nice to see him lead the team for a touchdown that last scoring drive, but I'm not complaining. I thought he looked sharp.
RUNNING BACK
A	This is the best I've ever seen the running game. As a group, Batch and Woods averaged 6.7 yards per attempt, had 27 carries, and if you're asking me, the offense looked so much better against SMU, in large part because of the outstanding running game. Batch had 98 yards on 10 carries and 1 TD. Batch seems to do a better job of breaking off for longer runs, a trend that's been true for the first 3 games. Out of the backfield, Batch accounted for 5 catches and 71 yards, for a 14.2 yard per catch average. Shannon Woods was running with attitude (my wife even noticed) and he seemed genuinely excited to be able to break out a bit. Woods finished with 86 yards on 13 carries for 6.6 yards per carry and 2 receptions for 47 yards. That's a very productive day by himself. I like where this is headed and I just hope Leach & Co. continue to feed the ball to Batch and Woods from here on out. Aaron Crawford did not play last night due to a turf toe injury .
RECEIVER
C	A strange game for the receiving corp. As a group, they missed more balls than I can remember and that usually just doesn't happen with this group, they're usually pretty sure-handed. Other than Michael Crabtree (8 receptions for 164 yards and 3 TD's), Detron Lewis (5 receptions for 86 yards and 1 TD) had the best game, but after that, no receiver did much to impress. At halftime, Leach said that he didn't have an X-receiver who could catch a ball, which is Britton and Todd Walker. With Lyle Leong in the doghouse, and Leach disappointed with his regular X-receivers (Britton and Walker), expect to see Rashad Hawk (4 receptions for 44 yards) and Tramain Swindall (4 receptions for 31 yards) continue to emerge and start taking away some playing time from the veterans. This is the second game in a row where Eric Morris (5 receptions for 25 yards) has had trouble getting open. It would be nice to seem him get on track.
H-BACK AND TIGHT END
C	Adam James caught 1 pass, late in the game, for 16 yards. I would like to see a more power running game when Texas Tech goes to the H-Back/Tight End Set, and this may be a criticism of the staff more so than the players, but if Texas Tech is going to utilize the set, then run the ball. I recall using the set on the last play of the 2nd half, where Harrell threw incomplete to Crabtree, and then at the end of the game, where we couldn't punch it in the endzone. Would like to see some improvement there.
OFFENSIVE LINE
A	Only 1 sack and 180 yards rushing. That's pretty good, of course the sack resulted in Harrell coughing up the ball. Vasquez let his man go and I guess he wasn't sure that Harrell had dropped back that far. Other than that, there were some really nice plays by the line. On Batch's touchdown run, Brandon Carter pulled and just unloaded on an SMU defender, allowing Batch to romp 43 yards for a touchdown. Reed played most of the game and I imagine the staff is trying to stretch him out a little bit before conference play.
DEFENSIVE LINE
B	As a group, I thought they did some really nice things. McKinner Dixon (7 tackles, 1 sack) was dominant and I thought they did a good a job of controlling the line of scrimmage. Daniel Howard (3 tackles, 1 sack) saw a ton of playing time, mostly standing up as a rusher. SMU only rushed for 61 yards on 23 carries, so I'm pleased with that effort. Colby Whitlock, Rajon Henley, Brandon Williams (2 tackles) and Richard Jones (1 tackle) didn't show up much in the box score, but they allowed the linebackers and defensive backs to make plays. I would like to see this group get a little more pressure, and I'm tempted to blame the gameplan more than the players. Rushed 4 almost all game long and I didn't see much in terms of blitzes or pressure from other points of the defense. Bottom line, this group did their job.
LINEBACKER
B	A pretty quiet night for the linebacking group. Brian Duncan (5 tackles) led the way, but this was a game where the linebackers weren't going to be too heavily involved. Marlon Williams (3 tackles) and Bront Bird (1 tackle) were a bit off statistically, but again, with so many pass attempts and the defensive line stuffing the run these guys weren't going to get much action.
DEFENSIVE BACKS
A+	I'm going to have a hard time complaining about the defensive backs. The player of the game was Daniel Charbonnet (2 tackles, 3 interceptions and 1 pass break-up) as he was around the ball all night long. You love to see that from your strong safety. We also saw Darcel McBath (5 tackles, 1 interception and 1 pass break-up) show some of the athleticism that we knew he had and probably should have had 2 interceptions on the day. Jamar Wall (3 tackles, 1 interception and 3 pass break-ups) redeemed himself from two subpar weeks with an outstanding performance. A very quiet night for Brent Nickerson, who didn't break into the boxscore, but that's a good thing. I didn't even notice him yesterday, which means that the quarterback never looked to his side or his receiver was covered up. L.A. Reed (3 tackles) was responsible for the lone touchdown, but I'm willing to cut him some slack as this was his first game back after nursing a injury the last two weeks.
SPECIAL TEAMS
B	Uggh. I'm still willing to stick with Donnie Carona (1-2, 35 yard make and 44 yard miss; 4-5 extra points; 8 kickoffs and 2 touchbacks). I see improvement, but he's still got a long way to go. I think Leach sees the improvement too, and he knows that Carona has the most potential and the more he works out his kinks here, the better Texas Tech will be in conference. Kickoff coverage limited SMU to 20.3 yards per return and the punt return, there was only 2 punts for Texas Tech for the game, resulted in -1 yard return. Taylor Charbonnet stood out last night on punt coverage. LaRon Moore (1 KO return for 25 yards) and Jamar Wall (1 KO return for 28 yards) were good returning kickoffs. While the Eric Morris (2 KO returns for 38 yards) had a nice 29 yard punt return, who was hit trying to return another punt, was solid. Jonathan LaCour (2 punts for a 45 yard average), the forgotten one, had a good day as well. I'm grading up here because I see improvement.
COACHING
B	Offensively, I thought Leach did a good job of taking advantage of a poor SMU run defense and thought it was great to see 24 rushing attempts. I like that Leach wants to see Harrell improve on his play, but I'm still not too worried, though I will be in two weeks if Harrell doesn't return to his 2007 form. Defensively, I would have liked to have seen a little bit more, but perhaps McNeill is waiting to for conference play to show his hand. D. Howard was utilized more this game than in previous games and that was an attempt to get some pressure on the SMU quarterback without having to change things up too much. Still, I'd like to see some safety blitzes or a linebacker streak up the middle of the opponents' line to pressure the quarterback.

SB Nation - Jonathan LaCour

Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe :: 10.12.09

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

Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe // 07.16.09

Odds and Ends

I Missed A Lot

Texas Tech Football

Harrell to Canada

Big 12 Suspends P LaCour

Reliving OSU

Scouting the Enemy

Texas Tech Basketball

Burgess in Belize

Five Things // Improving the Special Teams

Improving the Special Teams

1: Punt Returns

2: Kickoff Returns

3: Punting

4: Kickoff

5: Place Kicking

Double-T Nation Tuesday Morning Football Notes - Real Solid Edition

Odds and Ends

Spring Game Update

Texas Tech Football

Adrian Reese Hopes for "Breakout Year"

Receivers Adjusting

Red Raiders Football Notebook

Mr. Crabtree is Just Fine

Neglected Video, Audio and Photos

Texas Tech Thursday Morning Football Notes - Coached By One of the Best Edition

LaCour Irritated

Safety Spots

Red Raider Football Notebook

Neglected Video, Audio and Photos

The Fog of '09 - South Defenses

Defensive Lines

Linebackers

Defensive Backs

South Defenses, 2009

Special Teams

Coaches

2009 South Rankings

-- Schedules --

Baylor

Oklahoma

Oklahoma State

Texas

Texas A&M

Texas Tech

Standings

Summary

Report Card: SMU v. Texas Tech

B

A

C

C

A

B

B

A+

B

B