SB Nation - David Neill

Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe :: 11.25.09

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

29 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.

Kayakyakr's Week 3 Report Card

kayakyakr — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 20:42:53 -0000

Texas Tech v. Texas

As I mentioned when I got home last night, I am happy with the moral victory after that game. As a quick rundown, we hung with the #2 team in the nation for 4 quarters, held their offense to its lowest home output of 340 yards since 2007 against KSU (also 340 yards), and I really saw something out of this team that I hoped for but wasn’t sure of. I really don’t want to sound like I’m just trying to spin sunshine, but I honestly have to believe that this TTU team is better than a lot of people picked them to be.

Read on after the break for my positional breakdown

Position	Grade
QB	A
RB	F
WR	A-
OL	D
DL	A
LB	A-
DB	B
ST	F

Offense

QB

Taylor Potts had a great day, considering. I think that a lot of the grades that I’m giving are based on expectations vs performance and Pott’s grade is. Next year, if he has a 3 td, 1 int day against UT, I’d probably grade that a C, but this year, I’m ecstatic with that state line. That was one of my biggest question marks going into this game, "How will Taylor Potts handle his first road start in a hostile environment?" He handled it great, especially since he was being hit pretty much every play and was bouncing right back up. I think I’ve officially joined the Taylor Potts fan club.

If I have any complaint about the QB last night, it’s that he displayed a bit of a lack of situational awareness. I’m mainly talking about that set of series to start the 4th quarter where nothing really happened. I felt that Taylor failed to recognize that UT was bringing all-out pressure at that point and that before then, we had been tearing holes in the UT defense with the dink and dunk offense. It seemed like Potts was looking to go deep, 15+ yards down the field on his pick, fumble, and over half of the other plays in that series. Take what the defense gives you and we take advantage of the stop and punt or McCoy’s pick.

All that said, I still give Taylor an A for his performance on the night. Well deserved.

RB

All I can really say about the RB’s is that they were pretty much completely ineffective on the night. There was 1 18 yard run by Baron and a 12 yard run by Stephens, and outside of that, they never got going. It may have been the oline’s fault, but they’re also getting a poor score on the evening. Even in the passing game, the backs did nothing. And Batch, on the two catches where he looked like he had some room or at least a one-man-to-beat situation, he fumbled, losing one. I’m most disappointed that we didn’t see any of Harrison Jeffers. I’m not sure if he was held out for effort/disciplinary reasons or just because Stephens and Batch are much better in pass protection than him, but I was not happy to see him on the sideline.

I think we had the most room for running from the 2 back set. I really like the concept of handing off to one back while the other one leads. We ran from that set twice that I can remember, each going for short yardage, but I thought I saw the potential for bigger gains from there. I don’t like the 2 TE set anymore because, in order to run from that set, we have to also have a threat to throw. We just don’t have the personnel for that to be an effective formation and we won’t until we get a TE that can block and catch.

I think this is going to be the #1 thing for our coaches to figure out, how do we break open holes in our running game. Yes, it’s called the air raid and we live and die by the pass, but I don’t believe that our offense will play to its best potential until we can consistently gash defenses when they only have 6 men in the box. I give the unit an F and it makes me very sad to do so

WR

We have a very young crew of receivers. I’m pretty sure Lewis was still hampered by his hamstring and he didn’t see many reps, yet I don’t think our receiving corps missed a beat. I loved the constant rotation of receivers and that combined with our no-huddle we ran all night, caused headaches for UT all night long. I think Eddy B had a great makeup game for his drops and had the block of the night on a Zouzalik out route. Leong just knows how to score TD’s and Torres had his high in receptions for the year. I also don’t see what the vitriol for Jacoby Franks is. He had a drop (one of only 2-3 I can remember) early and he had the PI call late (that I think was just as phantom as Crabtree’s PI last year), but aside from that, he turned in his career performance in catches and yards.

I must reiterate that we have an incredibly young group of receivers. I’m giving them a score of A- on the night. The minus is because they did allow themselves to be bumped off of their routes, held up, or gave up on their routes once they felt they had been interfered with.

OL

I think we saw 3 different types of offensive lines last night. The first, was the line that was being blown up and unable to create holes in the defense against a 4 man front. This was also the line that was unable to get out and deliver blocks in front of the backs on screens. We only saw them about 12 plays, but they didn’t do much for us.

The second OL we saw was the OL that was able to withstand 5, 6, and even 7 man rushes to give Taylor just enough time to get the ball into the hands of his receivers 5-15 yards down the field. I like this line.

The third line that we saw was the line that committed false starts and missed blocking assignments and got blown by on speed rushes. This line only reared its ugly head when we were backed up deep near the north endzone or when we were approaching that same endzone going the other direction. While the first offensive line certainly contributes, this is the line that earned a D for their performance.

I’m still impressed with the youth and depth of our line. Oakafor and Edwards are both sophomores and are both solid, despite their false start mistakes. I think Olson’s future is at center (an odd change from LT to center), so the questions next year will be at LT and RT and I’m confident we’ll have that figured out.

Defense

DL

We started this season with 4 DE’s. We took 1 of those to Austin with us. Your 4 DE’s for last night’s game (as determined by the DE warmup group): Daniel Howard – DE – 6’3" 240#; Jonathan Brydon – LB – 6’3" 220#; David Neill – DT – 6’5" 280#; Britton Barbee – DT – 6’2" 296#. Now, in the game, I think we saw the most of Bront Bird playing 3-technique or stand-up end, and Richard Jones, a DT, also lining up at end. I must say that this line unit did an exceptional job considering. Early in the game we stopped up their running game very well and got fair pressure on the QB once we started running stunts and twists in the line. Only one sack but 8 tackles for loss including 3 by Bront Bird.

I have to hand it to the coaching staff. They did the best with what they had and it worked until the 2nd half when UT finally figured out that we were backing our ends to make up for our lack of depth there and leaving the middle of the field without a 2nd level of defender. For what we had and what we were missing, this unit is deserving of that A grade.

LB

The linebackers did a solid job all night. I can only recall them getting outright beat 2-3 times, once on the long Chiles run and twice by Buckner, the Longhorns pseudo-TE. Good game by the backers and very little that I can say about their performance

For a solid night, they get an A but they get a minus tacked on for the missed plays and lack of stops in the 3rd and 4th quarters and a plus for Bront Bird’s ability to play end respectably. So again, A.

DB

On the one hand, our DBs didn’t get beat deep all night. On the other hand, we gave up a lot of underneath catches and 3rd down conversions because of how soft we were playing. I know that was a coaching decision, but I think that it was the wrong one. Our defensive line wasn’t going to be able to come up with the big play and so I don’t see why we shouldn’t try to put our backs in positions to force pass breakups and ints of their own. We pulled down 2 picks off of tipped balls, but because of the yards given up underneath, the unit earns a B.

Special Teams

I’m going to break this up by play type. Kick returns get an A, and I think this is the aspect of the game that Stephens made his greatest impact (not to downplay his in-pocket blocking). They kicked to Stephens every time and every time he took the ball up to the 35-40 except one. Unfortunately, half of those were called back on holding, but we’re close, and Stephens was close to breaking a few of those.

Kickoffs get a C for the night. We gave up about 30 yards per return which is not great, but acceptable. We also had that onside kick attempt that was in and out of the hands of, I think, Ed Britton. If it had worked, that would have evened the difference in the game, so I don’t mind the gamble in the least. I think the biggest keys for our kickoff team will be for Carona to continue to kick the ball deep in the endzone like we know he can (he had one touchback, one kick about 5 yards deep, and the rest of his kicks came down inside the 5), and for the coverage team to continue to get down the field even if Carona is booming kicks out of the endzone.

Punting gets an F for the night. This was the difference in the night, with Carona laying down a poor kick in the middle of the field that was returned for the only TD of the first half. The rest of the night, Erxleben punted for us, kicking a long of 46 but only an average of 38. On the other hand, he also kicked away from Shipley who only got 1 more return for -2 yards.

Punt returns get an incomplete for the night seeing as we never touched one of his punts. It seems like Eric Russell has just as much trouble figuring out that rugby punt as Clay McGuire did. UT has one hell of a punter, though.

Overall, this unit was the difference in the night. UT had that punt return for a touchdown and that was basically the difference in the game. On the plus side, Matt Williams kicked his career long of 41 yards. Way to go Matt. F for the rest of them, though.

Refs

I’m only going to say one thing about the refs:

Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe :: 09.18.09

Seth C — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 11:21:22 -0000

Odds and Ends

Lots of Coverage of Texas Tech vs. Texas: I did a Q & A with BON and the Tortilla Retort (Part I & Part II) and I hope to have a similar Q & A with BON later today. LAJ's Don Williams also did a Q & A with BON and the SB Nation Big 12 Roundtable for week three is over at Clone Chronicles.

Football 201: Chris Brown at Smart Football has a whole post on understanding coverages and attacking them with the passing game. This is highly recommended reading.

Texas Tech Football

Injury Update: As noted last night, DE Rajon Henley, DE Ryan Haliburton and SS Franklin Mitchem is not traveling with the team. This is awful news, and in LAJ's Don Williams football notebook he suggests that Jonathan Brydon (6-2/220), a junior defensive end, is an option, and that DT Pearlie Graves is also on the travel roster. The complete lack of depth at defensive end is worrisome and losing a starting safety in Mitchem could be disastrous. I have no idea how this all works out but here's a couple of thoughts.

Defensive End: My first thought is that at defensive end you could have LB Bront Bird fill in as much as possible. The other options to play at defensive end, although they are not defensive ends is for the aforementioned Graves to get some time there, but I think another option is DT David Neill. None of these are perfect options and the problem with all of this guessing is that there are only two defensive ends listed on the dress roster, Howard and Sharpe. Someone has got to play and step-up.

Strong Safety: At strong safety, Brett Dewhurst is listed as the backup to Mitchem, but I'm guessing that you'll see plenty of Will Ford and Julius Howard on Saturday night.

Freshman Focus with Williams: LAJ's Don Williams continues his focus on the freshmen who will redshirt this year and up next is CB Yahshua Williams. Cornerbacks coach Brian Mitchell had this to say about Williams:

"He’s the prototype cornerback that you want in this scheme, to me," Mitchell said. "He’s tall. He’s rangy. He’s willing. When you can get a guy 6-1, 6-2 that can run and jump and be aggressive and make plays on the ball, that’s a no-brainer."

There's No Turning Back: DT's Alex Ybarra writes that ready or not, it's just about time to play the game and has this from UT head coach Mack Brown:

"You go back and look, this is our first real test, but it’s also Texas Tech’s first real test," Texas coach Mack Brown said. "We’ve both played teams in the first two ballgames that we were better than. Both teams could win the game without showing their hand and their cards and showing everything they’ve got."

09.19.09 = Talk Like a Pirate Day: Coincidence? LAJ's Don Williams talks with the gentlemen behind talklikeapirate.com and head coach Mike Leach notes that this whole pirate thing may have gotten a bit out of hand, but no worries:

"Flags pop up. Eye patches pop up. So it goes. I think it’s been good. I don’t really give it much thought or second guess it or intellectualize it a great deal. I mean, I like pirates, and I read about them and the rest. When you consider this business and what (label) you can get stuck with, I’m very thankful that I get to be the pirate guy, instead of I have to be whatever the other stereotypes (might be).

"Oh, believe me, heck yeah, it can get worse than pirates."

Don’t believe it? Think Leach is just posing as a pirate lover?

Well, just in the last few days, another wall-sized mural went up in the Tech Football Training Facility that’s heavy on the pirate theme.

And no, Leach reiterated, he never gets tired of what he started.

"You answer some of the same questions again and again," he said, "but it seems to me a lot of people are having fun with it as they wear their gear. And I don’t think it hurts recruiting either, because it kind of gives you an identity."

Potts is Famous: DMN's Chuck Carlton and ESPN's Tim Griffin both write that QB Taylor Potts is the next quarterback at Texas Tech.

Texas Longhorn Links: Barking Carnival discusses why pass protection is everything and Pirate Sundry . . . the Statesman's Kirk Bohls writes that the UT secondary is short on memory and long on talent . . . SAEN's Mike Finger on RB Tre' Newton . . .

Big 12 Links: ESPN's Tim Griffin has his predictions for the week and 10 things to watch this week in the Big 12 . . . Rivals.com's Olin Buchanan looks at week 3 of the Big 12 . . .

Position Matchups :: Texas Tech Red Raiders vs. Texas Longhorns

Seth C — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 17:00:16 -0000

via spotted.lubbockonline.com

View full size photo »

Fancy table and tremendous analysis after the jump.

	MATCHUP
QB/WR: The biggest problem with QB Taylor Potts is that he's still prone to make mistakes, which is natural. Rice had a couple of interception opportunities but could not capitalize. I have no doubt that Potts will have those same mental errors, he's human and to expect a perfect game is not fair. The best thing about Potts is that he's not afraid to throw the ball to any receiver on any given play. If there's one thing that should worry Longhorns, it's that Potts can and does complete the ball and doesn't necessarily have a favorite. Despite losing IR Detron Lewis, Potts didn't miss a beat with Tramain Swindall, Austin Zouzalik, and Lyle Leong picking up the slack.	QB/WR vs. DB	DB: I think you'll be looking at a starting defensive backfield of Aaron Williams and Chykie Brown at cornerbacks and Blake Gideon and Earl Thomas at safety. The Longhorns haven't had a ton of interceptions to date, but they have done a nice job of breaking up 13 passes for the year (PBU), including 3 by Thomas. The safeties are young, but very active, and you can expect to see quite a bit of Curtis Brown in the nickel package. As a unit, they are giving up less than 200 yards passing and like Texas Tech, it is difficult to judge the first two weeks of performance because of the quality of the opponent.
RB: The actual running backs, not whether or not the running backs are getting the ball, are actually very talented. I cannot recall a time that Texas Tech had two explosive running backs. Harrison Jeffers, the redshirt freshman, and true freshman, Eric Stephens, have forced themselves on the field despite returning running back Baron Batch running with furious anger. Batch is back, and I think he'll be even better this week against Texas. On talent alone, this group is as talented as I've seen and have the ability to break huge plays. The problem is that Leach/Potts isn't checking down to the running game nearly enough.	RB vs. LB	LB: The Texas linebackers are active and thus far, Roddrick Muckelroy is second on the team in tackles (10) while Dustin Earnest (8) and Keena Robinson (7) are in the top 10. All three of these linebackers are in the 230 range and I think when faced with a spread offense, you'll see more of Curtis Brown than Dustin Earnest. Again, thus far, the Longhorns have had quite a bit of success, depsite the lackluster opponents (Texas Tech fans have no room to talk) and it will be interesting to see the mix of players that UT will utilize against the Red Raiders.
OL: A better performance, but not perfect. The line gave up no sacks and did a much better job protecting Potts with some players making some changes including Chris Olson at LT, Lonnie Edwards at LG, Shawn Byrnes at C, Brandon Carter at RT and Marlon Winn at RT. Olson and Edwards are hard workers, but I don't know that they're strong enough or experienced enough to handle UT's improving defensive line. Still need to get the running game situated and trying to do this in Austin is a tough place to start.	OL vs. DL	DL: The Longhorns haven't had the expected production from DE Sergio Kindle, but they have had quite a bit of production from DT Lamarr Houston and DE Sam Acho. In fact Acho had 5 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 forced fumble and 1 sack last week. Houston was equally disrruptive with 6 tackles 2 TFL, 1 pass break-up and 1 sack. Collectively, this unit is peforming on a high level, and they should at this point. The opponent have both been teams that Texas should dominate. I give the edge to UT here based on the fact the Texas Tech unit still hasn't been able to run.
DL: As dominant as the UT defensive lien was against Wyoming, so were the Red Raiders against Rice. There were 6 different players earning sacks last week, including Brandon Sharpe, Marlon Williams, Daniel Howard, Colby Whitlock, David Neill and Chris Perry. This is what Ruffin McNeill has wanted since he's been at Texas Tech, a 2-deep defensive line that can bring some heat on their own. With Rajon Henley injured last week, look for Ryan Haliburton to get the backup time. If Henley is healthy from the get-go, I do like Texas Tech's no-name defensive line doing what they do. I won't say that the Red Raiders are superior athletes or more highly recruited players, but this is a hard-working bunch that I think will (must) have some success on Saturday.	DL vs. OL	OL: You might say that LG Charlie Tanner struggled a bit last week against Wyoming (here and here). Again, not being able to watch any UT games thus far, I get the distinct impression that Ulatoski isn't perfect either. So it appears that the offensive line is struggling to the tune of managing 191 on the ground and only 1 sack against Wyoming. It might be a bit of an over-exaggeration, to say that the demise of the UT offensive line is a bit premature, but it's true. They're still quite good at what they do, and although not perfect, they're not all that bad.
LB: Marlon Williams has literally been all over the field, with 6 tackles, 3 TFL, 1 sack and 1 interception. A one man wrecking crew on Saturday night. Surprisingly, Brian Duncan has been somewhat quiet this year and strongside linebacker Bront Bird is terrific against the run, but absolutely awful in pass coverage. Bird will play, and depending on what the coaching staff does with Bird, who plays hard every game, but just should not be asked to cover a slot receiver, especially with the arm of McCoy. This is the position matchup I'm most up in the air about and most of the others seem like relatively easy decision. Perhaps the game comes down to whether or not the Texas Tech linebackers can stop the Texas runners?	LB vs. RB	RB: Who is the best running back thus far for the Longhorns? Is it Vondrell McGee who has 26 carries and 131 yards? How about Tre' Newton who has 90 yards on only 12 carries? For sure it's D.J. Monroe with 14 carries and 79 yards? A lot like Texas Tech, the Longhorns have a lot of talent in their running back stable, but to say that one guy has or has not stepped up isn't necessarily a problem at Texas Tech and it's probably not a problem at Texas. I think the days of a dominant running back are gone for a while at UT and there's nothing wrong with that so long as one guy can find his rhythm during the game and finding that "right" player can be easier said than done.
DB: Another lights-out performance from this group led by the one returning starter from last year, CB Jamar Wall. It's evident that this group feeds off of each other and after a week of not having one pass break-up, the Red Raiders logged 11 against Rice. The defensive backs were clearly more aggressive and it was nice to see. Again, guys pushing the envelope a bit in the defensive backfield isn't such a bad thing. Cody Davis and Franklin Mitchem each had 5 tackles while LaRon Moore had the hit of the night where he absolutley de-cleated a Rice defender. The backups of Brett Dewhurst, Will Ford and D.J. Johson can play. Dewhurst was on the slot receiver quite a bit in the second half as was Ford.	DB vs. QB/WR	QB/WR: You can hate them all you want, but the fact of the matter is that the Texas passing game is one of the best in the country. WR Jordan Shipley is dangerous, but aside from Shipley, the Red Raiders will have to contend with Malcolm Williams (we all remember him), James Kirkendoll, Dan Buckner, and John Chiles. All are around 6-feet plus, 180 to 220 pounds and can get behind the defense. Yep, Colt McCoy didn't have a great game, but the fact that he had a bad half and still was able to lead his team to a 31 point win on the road isn't bad (despite the opponent being really crappy).

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 // 08.19.09

Seth C — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 11:15:23 -0000

Odds and Ends

Possible Auburn Financial Crisis: Pretty interesting read from Chris Brown at Smart Football (did you know that Smart Football has a whole new look and is no longer at blogspot?) about a possible financial crisis for Auburn due to a booster and a member of the board of trustees being in some financial hot water. It's a good read and certainly interesting to consider the possible ramifications of something like this happening at any school.

Texas Tech Football

Stephens Impressing: LAJ's Don Williams features freshman RB Eric Stephens and Captain Mike Leach likes what he has in Stephens:

"Real good," Leach said of Stephens’ camp so far. "Smart guy. Able to put things together quickly. Just real levelheaded for a freshman. He’s been able to step in and not take that whole lack of confidence (approach). He goes out there, does what he can do, and then just learns more each day. I think he’s played impressive."

And fellow freshmen S Will Ford and S Daniel Cobb have some good things to say about Stephens:

"He’s a real shifty running back, has really good speed and he’s really strong," said safety Will Ford, another freshman. "So he’s a power back and a speed back."

Cobb, the freshman safety who dealt Stephens the first blow, had summed up his skill set this way a few days before: "He’s elusive. He’s quick. If you don’t break down (to tackle) on him, he’ll get you."

Personally, I'd love to see Stephens redshirt this year, otherwise you've got both Harrison Jeffers and Stephens on the same graduation path. I know, you always play your best players, but I can't help but think that with Batch, who's injury doesn't appear to be as serious, Aaron Crawford and Jeffers all at the helm, Stephens might not see that much time. Additionally, we constantly hear about how difficult it can be to learn the pass-blocking scheme for a running back and that this can take some time. If Crawford and Jeffers are more proficient in that area, then for myself, Stephens plays unless there is some catastrophic event. By the way, there's also a mention in the article about an Auburn assistant coach trying to come in and sign Stephens away from Texas Tech. It happened with Emory Blake and could have potentially happened with Stephens. Interesting.

Torres Backstory: We've all been somewhat wondering about WR Alexander Torres backstory and the El Paso Times Bill Knight writes a feature on Torres who is battling fellow WR Jacoby Franks for Michael Crabtree's old spot:

"Everything is going good ... going really good," Torres said after arecent Red Raider afternoon session. "Jacoby Franks (a sophomore out of West Orange-Stark) and I are battling for a job, but it's a friendly competition. We talk about the mistakes we are making, point out where the hole was. We're getting equal reps and we give each other a breather. That's the beauty of having the depth we have at wide receiver at Texas Tech."

The feature also discusses Torres walking-on at Texas Tech, his time at the Air Force Academy prep school as well as his time as a quarterback in El Paso (I had forgotten this):

"Coach (Tony) Grijalva (then the Franklin head coach) and all the coaches at Franklin helped me so much," Torres said. "They ran this wide open offense. And it helped me to play quarterback, to see where the holes are, to gain a different perspective, to see coverage differently. I think it has definitely helped me as a receiver."

Go read the whole thing.

Tech Notes: LAJ's Don Williams begins his notes article with the transfer of WR Adrian Reese to Northwestern State and best friend DT Rajon Henley says that Reese made the best decision for himself:

"It’s crazy how things happen — one day be here, and one day be gone,’’ Henley said. "It doesn’t really bother me. I think (Reese) made the best decision for himself, and I support him in anything. I still talk to him.’’

. . . the defense is trying to practice forcing fumbles . . . S Will Ford is working with the first team nickel defense as is CB Taylor Charbonnet . . . DT's David Neill, Pearlie Graves and Myles Wade have all been working with the third team unit . . . converted DT Victor Hunter is causing disruptions along the defensive line . . .

Scouting Practice: RaiderAde's ayleein has a detailed practice report from Monday night's scrimmage and DMN's Chuck Carlton checked in on practice.

Scouting the Enemy: Bring On The Cats previews the Kansas St. Wildcats running backs . . . Corn Nation expresses concern about the Nebraska Cornhuskers offensive line . . . Rock M Nation's Beyond the Box Score previews on the Kansas Jayhawks offense . . . Oread Boom Kings runs through the items that concern him about the Kansas Jayhawks . . . The Tulsa World looks at the Oklahoma St. Cowboys practice . . .

Big 12 Conference: SI.com predicts the Big 12 conference . . . ESPN's Tim Griffin predicts some things for the Big 12 . . .

Texas Tech Baseball

Top Recruits Remain: LAJ's George Watson details that all four players drafted in the MLB draft did not sign with their respective teams and will play for the Red Raiders:

The Red Raiders had four incoming recruits taken in the draft – pitchers Jay Johnson and Brandon Petite out of Canada and Robert Doran from Seward County (Kan.) College and slugger Stephen Hagan from Eastern Oklahoma Junior College.

And Spencer likes his incoming pitchers:

Spencer expects Johnson and Doran to improve their draft standing after just one year at Tech, and with Chad Bettis back in the fold as a junior and expected to be a high draft pick in 2010, Spencer feels that will elevate the program in terms of future recruiting.

As well as Hagan, who could be a huge bat in the lineup:

Spencer said he expects all incoming recruits to make an impact in 2010, especially on the mound. Hagan could be the next top power hitter in the Big 12 Conference after leading the junior college ranks in home runs last season.

Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe // 08.07.09

Seth C — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 11:16:23 -0000

Texas Tech Football

LAJ's Don Williams has some less than encouraging news in that DE Brandon Sesay is not going to be on the preseason practice roster, which is capped at 105 players. Captain Mike Leach puts it succinctly:

"Contrary to popular belief, no train stops for Brandon Sesay,’’ Leach said.

I have no idea as to the actual issues that Sesay is dealing with, but you've got to think that either he's just not spending enough time in the classroom or he just can't make the grades. I'm hoping for the best, and it maybe by the time the season starts, Sesay will be eligible, but don't anyone hold your breath.

Williams has two additional notes football related items. Item #1 is one I never understood in the first place, but David Neill, former DT, then OL, and now DT, has switched back to the defensive line. I never understood why Neill was moved to the offense in the first place back in September of last year, perhaps because of some defections and players leaving the program, but the defensive line is typically the toughest position to recruit and with the graduation of so many players this year, Neill should have been a valuable backup at this point with the potential to start next year. At least Neill is 6-5/286, and we'll see if he plays at that weight and how his re-adjustment to the defense works out.

Item #2 is that DE Brandon Sharpe will be the co-first team at the right defensive end position with fellow DE Daniel Howard. Defensive line coach Charlie Sadler had this to say:

"Both of them will play a lot,’’ Sadler said. "I could see them anywhere from splitting reps to, when we get in situations where go 30 package (three defensive linemen on pass-rush downs), Daniel could be in the joker (standup rush) position and Brandon being at end. So they could be on the field at the same time.’’

I have no doubt that Howard and Sharpe had better be ready to play a lot, especially with the news about Sesay.

Off the field, Williams has a good breakdown of the current season ticket situation as well as the tickets sold for the Baylor game. Go check it out.

FWST's Dwain Price (for those of you who do not recall, Price is one of the non-Lubbock writers that writes about Texas Tech as much as possible) writes that the Red Raiders' confidence is sky high after an 11-2 season. Here's Captain Mike Leach:

"We had the best recruiting class that we’ve had since I’ve been here this year and now we’re starting to work on next year’s class," Leach said. "One positive by-product is a lot of people were excited about Texas Tech based on last season, so we have plenty of recruits that we’re writing to.

"I think everybody was excited about how can we best keep our forces together and maximize our efforts toward making Texas Tech as good a university as possible for our students, fans and alumni."

Lots of good information in the article itself, and only one item that I thought was inaccurate, which was that Price thought that DT Myles Wade would end up at defensive end, and at 6-2/340, there ain't no way that Wade plays defensive end. He should get plenty of time at defensive tackle, and as the LAJ article mentions above, the other defensive end spot will be split between Daniel Howard and Brandon Sharpe, opposite, Rajon Henley.

Doug Gillett from Hey Jenny Slater is filling in for Spencer Hall at EDBS and takes a look at the Hal Mumme coaching tree and comes to the conclusion that it's more of a shrub with the most significant branch being Mike Leach.

Scouting the Enemy: ESPN's Tim Griffin writes that Baylor QB Robert Griffin, III has put on 10 pounds and is just as fast as he ever way (I believe it) . . . BOTC's TB with some good thoughts on who will win the Big 12 North . . . ESPN's Tim Griffin notes that Oklahoma St. will need to find a second receiver to pair with Dez Bryant . . . Also from ESPN's Tim Griffin, a bit on Baylor OT Danny Watkins and his hockey career . . .

Texas Tech Monday Morning Football Notes - Makes Plays Edition

Seth C — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 11:14:31 -0000

Back from a nice weekend in ~~South Texas~~ Texas' Hill Country and I the Red-Black spring game can't come soon enough.

Spring Notes Catchup

LAJ's Don Williams posted some notes on Saturday morning as well as some notes on Wednesday that I glossed over because of the "battle-royal".

Let's start with last Wednesday's notes first:

It seems as if there's quite a bit of attention on the receivers who are struggling a bit. I think the weather can take part of the blame, but Leach does not seem happy right now with the dropped catches and routes that aren't as sharp:
"We’re definitely going to roll some guys through and make some changes,’’ Leach said, "because right now as a receiving corps we’re not as tough as we need to be. Right now, I can’t think of any (receiver) I would put in the category of ‘tough.’ Not one.’’
Sophomore cornerback Taylor Charbonnet is making an impression on the staff, in a good way. Charbonnet is the guy that's supposed to be too small to make a difference (5-10/168) but last week he played after having two wisdom teeth pulled:
"You can imagine having a wisdom tooth pulled at 2 o’clock yesterday, and less than 24 hours later he’s back on the field,’’ defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill said. "His name moves up in my mind. His respect level moves up in my mind. Then he comes out and makes plays, not just going through the motions. He was supposed to not even be out there.’’
Offensive lineman Adrian Archie is done with football after battling injuries all of last year.

And Saturday's notes:

Pretty exciting for redshirt freshman left tackle Terry McDaniel as it was reported that he'll get all of the reps at left tackle while Brandon Carter is out with injury.
"I’ve just got to step up to the challenge,’’ McDaniel said. "We miss him. Hope he recovers fast and comes back.’’
Snip

"Bennie (Wylie) did a great job improving my strength dramatically,’’ McDaniel said, praising Tech’s strength and conditioning coach. "That’s one of the reasons I came here.’’

Snip

"Be confident. Just believe in yourself,’’ he said. "Every day’s a challenge. You’ve got to push yourself every second, every way.’’
Offensive line coach Matt Moore believes that the second offensive line unit will be better than the second unit last year because of experience. It appears that David Neill, the defensive end converted to right tackle is getting the second unit snaps.
The quarterback race is Taylor Potts to lose as he is getting twice as many snaps as the other quarterbacks. Captain Leach says that the backups vary with each day and Williams with the performance of the QB's:
"The young guys, it’s hard to gauge,’’ Leach said. "Right now, those young guys are leapfrogging over one another. Different ones will do well from one day to the next. I’m waiting for somebody (among the backups) to consistently have good days. I’m waiting for the same face to be the guy that has a good day one after the next.’’
During Friday’s 11-on-11, Potts completed 9 of 13 passes and had one intercepted by new safety Julius Howard. Doege went 4 for 8 and had one picked off in the red zone by linebacker Blake Collier. Loucks hit 3 of 6 and tossed a would-be interception that safety Franklin Mitchem dropped.

Neglected Video, Audio and Photos

Fox34 with a look at players stepping into leadership roles this spring, including sophomore linebacker Brian Duncan and sophomore receiver Detron Lewis.

SB Nation - David Neill

Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe :: 11.25.09

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

THE DEFENSE

Who Returns (2010 Projected 2-Deep)

Don't Sleep On

Recruiting

Recruit Trending

Kayakyakr's Week 3 Report Card

Texas Tech v. Texas

Offense

QB

RB

WR

OL

Defense

DL

LB

DB

Special Teams

Refs

Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe :: 09.18.09

Odds and Ends

Texas Tech Football

Position Matchups :: Texas Tech Red Raiders vs. Texas Longhorns

MATCHUP

QB/WR vs. DB

RB vs. LB

OL vs. DL

DL vs. OL

LB vs. RB

DB vs. QB/WR

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

Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe // 08.19.09

Odds and Ends

Texas Tech Football

Texas Tech Baseball

Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe // 08.07.09

Texas Tech Football

Texas Tech Monday Morning Football Notes - Makes Plays Edition

Spring Notes Catchup

Neglected Video, Audio and Photos