SB Nation - Stephen McGee

The State of Oklahoma: Muschamp's Big Test This Season

TheElusiveShadow — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 03:25:55 -0000

Zac Robinson will be the most dangerous QB we've faced this year.

When I was keeping up with the Texas Tech-Texas A&M game through ESPN Gamecast, I could not believe what I was seeing. It was very similar to the feeling when I was watching UTEP run over the Houston Cougars. It made little sense, and I was mixed between shock and laughter. But before I laughed too hard, my memory hearkened back to the end of the disappointing 2007 season, when we watched our defense get gashed for over 200 yards through the air in the first half and nearly 400 in the game by... Stephen McGee. Stephen. Freaking. McGee. Thinking back on my years as a fan, that may have been the most furious I've been at the defense. Ever. I was throwing things at the TV, yelling throughout the house, and thinking dark thoughts about what I'd do if I saw Akina or MacDuff (remember that guy?). I'm not a guy who likes to jump on the "Fire Coach ____" bandwagon, but that game was the final straw in a slew of poor performances, and after that I wanted Akina demoted and MacDuff gone. Please. Anyone else but them. Mack Brown thought so too, and in comes Will Muschamp. And boy, this has turned out to be one of the best moves in Mack Brown's tenure.

Muschamp isn't perfect and not above criticism, but the guy has delivered, and fans can already see the change in attitude and demeanor the defense has undergone in two seasons. Now is his chance to deliver again when we face probably the most balanced offense we'll see this year. Heck, that might extend to the bowl season as well, because it's not like other top teams have been lighting up the scoreboard.

The big story going into the game is the status of both Dez Bryant and Kendall Hunter. Bryant, as you all know, will not play this game or for the rest of the season. Hunter is expected to return but in a limited capacity. These are no small losses for OSU, but at the least they were lost early in the season and OSU has had time to adjust. Even so, the Pokes will present the stiffest challenge to our defense to date, and I'll list why:

Offensive Line: This is not a dominating unit and they've had their problems in the interior with their new guards, but it will be the strongest line we've seen. They returned three starters with significant experience including left tackle Russell Okung, who will present an interesting matchup against our ends. Behind them, the running game has moved relatively smoothly along and Zac Robinson has only be sacked four times.
Running back depth: I'm not discounting the loss of Hunter, but Keith Toston and Beau Johnson have shown to be capable runners in his place. They are not as talented as the duo from Oklahoma, but their line is better and they are very capable of picking up chunks of yards when given the chance.
Zac Robinson: This year in the Big 12, we've faced Cody Hawkins (yawn), Taylor Potts (first year starter and who is done at Tech), a not-quite ready Sam Bradford for a handful of plays, Landry Jones (RS freshman), and a gimpy Blaine Gabbert (also first year starter). Clearly, Robinson will be the most dangerous QB this defense has faced all year, a three year starter with decent mobility, an underrated arm, and some scrappiness. Robinson is quietly leading the Big 12 in passing efficiency.

There are, though, some issues this offense faces as well. While they've been a fairly successful unit, they are far from the best offensive in the country that some predicted that would be. Again, I feel like making lists, so here's another:

WR depth: Hubert Anyiam has stepped up nicely in Dez Bryant's absence, but Bryant, despite missing the last four games, still leads the team in yards and touchdown receptions. Keith Toston is the third leading receiver at RB. I think they have some decent options such as Dameron Fooks, but this is not a very dangerous receiving group. They miss Pettigrew a lot here. Thus, I'm going to have disagree a little with Brandon Chatman, who was nice enough to answer our BON questions via email.
Lack of competition: If OSU has the best offense we've seen so far, we definitely have the best defense they've seen by a long shot. This is a team that, despite scoring 33 on Missouri, left a lot of points on the field even with a huge field position advantage throughout the game.
Interior Line: I mentioned this above but it's worth mentioning again. A&M had some success sending pressure up the middle. Our DTs should be able to get some penetration.

This is a solid offense but has obviously lost some explosiveness without Hunter and Bryant. The loss of Bryant hurts the most, as Robinson has had some chemistry issues with his receivers, leading to mistimed throws, inaccurate throws, and some drops. Still, OSU will still take shots down the field via the playaction game, and Anyiam has the size to be a threat.

Misdirection and Screen Game

One thing I've noticed watching OSU against A&M and Missouri is their use of playaction and other misdirection or option type of plays. Sometimes the playaction fake is honestly a bit half-hearted, but with their reputation running the football it is often an important fake nonetheless. Not only that, they like to employ their backs on screens and get their offensive line in the open field to block. In the run game, they will employ the zone-read, although Robinson has kept the ball a lot less and has had limited success on the ground this year. They will also use the option to get Robinson out on the edge.

I'll focus on a couple screen plays for OSU because I think it will be an interesting thing to look for as we try to bring the heat at Zac Robinson.

Against Missouri

Oklahoma State is in a two TE set with Toston in the backfield.

The receiver goes into motion and a handoff is faked to him, causing the linebackers to take a step towards their left.

Keith Toston goes to the flat to receive the screen pass. Notice he has both room and blockers to pick up a nice gain. The play fails because Robinson's pass is poor and it falls on the ground.

Against Texas A&M

This is the first play from scrimmage for Oklahoma State, and this time they have three receivers on the left side of the field. Toston is with Robinson in the backfield.

A receiver, like the play against Missouri, goes into motion, moving back to sweep behind Robinson. The faked handoff is to Toston, but the reverse action still causes the A&M linebackers to take a false step.

On this play, Robinson's pass was good and a couple of good blocks sprang Toston free for a big gain.

Conclusion

Under Muschamp, Texas has proven to be a team that defends the screen well. They will need to continue that this weekend as Oklahoma State seeks to find ways to neutralize the pressure Texas is capable of bringing. Other ways Oklahoma State can neutralize pressure is to rely on playaction, as we also see here, and look for opportunities down the field. This is why the clash between OSU's run offense against our run defense is big. Even though they haven't lit the world on fire on the ground this month, OSU's offense still flows heavily through their runningbacks and they are persistent. If Texas can frustrate the run game, OSU is ill-equipped to simply drop back and fling the ball around against our secondary.

I expect a big day from Lamarr Houston in the interior, and Ben Alexander will be a good option this game to stuff runs up the middle. Robinson has not been that successful keeping the ball on the edge, so at this point it might be a good idea that he should be encouraged to keep the ball on options or zone-reads to see if he can gain good yardage with his legs. Either way, expect the backs to get the ball a whole lot more in those situations.

I'm excited for this game, and I have a lot of confidence that our defense can hold this unit down. Let's take this one in Stillwater en route to the Big 12 title game.

Poll

How many points does Oklahoma State score?

0-10

50 votes

11-20

413 votes

20-30

150 votes

30-40

14 votes

41+

8 votes

635 votes | Poll has closed

Monday Morning Coffee Lets Out A Whoooooop

Peter Bean — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 16:24:49 -0000

More photos » by Nick de la Torre - AP

Texas A&M defensive lineman Eddie Brown and linebacker Von Miller celebrate with an embrace, in compliance with the Spirit Council's recent ban on leaping hip-daps. Councilmembers unanimously ruled the popular on-field celebration to be "unbecoming of a True Aggie (TM)."

Browse more photos »

Housekeeping. As you've no doubt noticed, I'm struggling to get Morning Coffee together on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays (Big Roy has Tuesday-Thursday). Or maybe you haven't noticed, since Dimecoverage now provides us with the best daily link round up imaginable. In any case, as unfriendly as is my schedule to Morning Coffee, I'm aiming to keep my focus on my other weekly posts, while shifting my schedule to compose a Morning Coffee to run each Monday morning, with thoughts on the past weekend. We'll see how it goes.

Your first Monday Morning Coffee begins after the jump.

'Tis but a scratch. Barely a year after my barely platonic mancrush on Robert Griffin first began, news arrives that Baylor's superstar quarterback is done for the year with a knee injury. Perhaps not surprisingly, Griffin also does injury with otherworldly superiority: Though he first injured his knee on a 4th and 2 on the Bears' opening drive of the game, suffering pain Griffin described as a "10" on the severity scale, he spent only a few minutes on the bench before getting up to jog around and test the injury. Feeling better (the pain down "to a 4 or 5"), Griffin said he could go back in the game, where he proceeded to complete 11 of his next 14 first half passes, racking up 198 yards and 3 touchdowns by halftime, with the Bears in front 41-10.

Robert Griffin: Better on one leg than you are on two.

More Griffin. Beyond mere mourning for the loss of one of the game's brightest young stars, a couple additional thoughts on the Robert Griffin injury: First, while I couldn't feel anything but badly for Sam Bradford when he went down in the opening week, there was undeniable joy in contemplating the pain as pertained to Bob Stoops. Likewise, while my joylessness about Griffin's injury runs even deeper, I'm again pleased as pie that the quarterback's coach will suffer. The last time Art Briles was on Texas' fans radar came at the conclusion of last year's regular season, when the first-year Baylor coach might as well have cast Mack Brown's name in urine on his Coaches Poll ballot, voting Oklahoma #1 and Texas #5. It's gonna be fun when half the crowd in Waco this November stays to the end of a 50-point throttling to sing the Eyes of Texas.

Moving beyond retribution, the plague of injuries to high profile quarterbacks this year (Bradford, Griffin, Matt Grothe, Tim Tebow) demonstrates how quickly plans can change. While the need for McCoy to get going in 2009 has dictated he take most of the team's snaps during the first four games, Mack Brown would be wise to shelve his starter as early as possible in any future blowouts, both to protect McCoy and to continue to provide meaningful looks to Garret Gilbert. Not only would that help prepare Gilbert for any nightmare scenario this season, but also for next year, when Texas will have a loaded roster of returnees capable of contending for the title. From what we've seen so far, Gilbert is every bit as good as advertised; with the national picture clearing a clean path to Pasadena, Mack Brown should let his freshman QB run the show for as much of every second half as the lead allows.

Saturday night study time. A decade later, the debates about Mack Brown's scheduling philosophy have reached the same end point as the "field" of literary criticism -- increasingly nuanced, decreasingly useful. There's little left to be said beyond what is well-established: Mack's strategy serves us well for an undefeated run to the title game and poorly to emerge atop any one-loss scrum. Though I would prefer a different approach, there are merits to his method, at least insofar as the scheduling situation neatly serves Texas' Rose Bowl interests this year. The team can't lose, but among contenders, their path to Pasadena is the one of least resistance.

If Exhibit A was Oklahoma's opening week loss to BYU, Exhibit B will be on full display Saturday evening hen OU travels to Miami. ABC announced over the weekend that the contest between the Sooners and 'Canes will be the Saturday evening showcase (7 p.m. CT, ABC). The Longhorns, meanwhile, will get to spend their bye-week Saturday night studying how Oklahoma plays a top-tier opponent. Certainly, we won't know for a while yet how all this plays out -- a one-loss OU team that beat Miami and Texas en route to winning the Big 12 might get into Pasadena -- but the situation as it stands at the close of September clearly favors the Longhorns. Texas will have two weeks to rest and prepare for their next two opponents, Colorado -- a team that doesn't look capable of competing with the Longhorns in Boulder, let alone Austin -- and Oklahoma.

Red River Shootout preparation begins in earnest right now; join us here at BON on Saturday night when we, like the football team, will settle in to study the Sooners.

One of these things is not like the other. Answer: "Through four weeks, college football's top eight offenses in total yards per game." Question: "Who are Houston, Florida, Auburn, Texas, Hawaii, Kansas, Alabama?"

A good guess -- and good for you for remembering that offensive witch doctor Gus Malzhan is on the Plains -- but not quite right: The aforementioned are CFB's second- through ninth-ranked offenses in total yards per game. Topping the list is... Texas A&M? Can that possibly be right?

Ball don't lie. Okay, maybe a little -- the Agros rank 13th in yards per play (6.7 on the season) -- but the basic point is undeniable: Texas A&M is not sucking against crappy teams. Progress! Open your wallets, Aggie comrades, the Bill Byrne Reclamation Project is turning a corner.

Speaking of which: I was fortunate to receive an advance release of the opening to Byrne's Wednesday Weekly; let's take a look and see what he's got to say about the team's strong start:

The wheels are turning, brothers and sisters. Our ship is set to sail! Or better put: our rowboat is about to begin its rowing... (Perhaps needless to say ((you knew I'd say it anyway)), the top-seeded Lady Ags won the Southwest Region Rowing Championships this past weekend. that other university in a city centrally located in our state did not even win their heat. Whoooooop! (((For future reference, when I italicize the text it is to indicate audible commentary. Thus, when I wrote Whoooooop! a moment ago, I bellowed a hearty Aggie Whoooooop! when I typed out the sentence. Readers are encouraged to join along by reading aloud future italicizations.))))

If you could not tell from my opening salvo, I am in quite the mood for metaphors today. So let me propose another: The Fightin' Texas A&M Football Team is fearsomely marching behind their General Sherman. (No need to say those aloud, Friends. Here, I italicized for emphasis, to be sure you picked up on my metaphor. Maybe I should use underlining to indicate audible portions of the text? Or perhaps CAPS LOCK, which seems to be the preferred method on the Internet for indicating a raised voice. If you have a strong opinion about which you'd prefer, I invite you to use the AggieAssist texting service.) ((It occurs to me that the Sherman marching line may be a pun, not a metaphor. I am tempted to revise this blog, but as I hope is very clear I am making every effort to be "genuine" with each blog I write. My understanding is that there is a stream-of-consciousness element to the endeavor; I strive to welcome you "inside my head," metaphorically speaking, (Whoooooop!), where we can meander together through the great passions that unite the Aggie Family.))

Damn. Maybe we'll get more in the full text on Wednesday.

It's fair to point out that A&M's offensive aptitude has come at the expense of three miserable teams (New Mexico, Utah State, and UAB), but let's face it -- this is progress for a team that a year ago managed just 14, 28, and 21 points in a home loss to Arkansas State and narrow wins over New Mexico and Army. Having distance between Stephen McGee and a football field is undoubtedly helping, but the Aggies have thus far been more than "Not As Inept As McGee." The excellent tailback duo of Cyrus Gray and Christine Michael are taking pressure off of quarterback Jerrod Johnson, a talented player coming into his own as a full-time starter. Whether the offensive line will fare so well against stiffer competition is another question, but A&M is at least fielding playmakers well-suited to Big 12 play.

Texas fans might ponder the question Scipio Tex and I discussed on our podcast: Among the final four games on Texas' schedule (vs UCF, at Baylor, vs Kansas, at A&M), which opponent looks to present the toughest game? Even before Griffin was injured, both of us wondered whether the season finale in College Station might be the trickiest challenge. The Jayhawks are the superior team, but must travel to Austin. Time will tell, perhaps as quickly as this weekend, when we'll get our first look at A&M against a competent team, as the Aggies and Razorbacks square off in Jerryworld.

Passing

		Passing									Rushing					Sacks
	G	Rating	Comp	Att	Pct	Yds	Y/G	Y/A	TD	INT	Rush	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD	Sack	YdsL
Tommy Dorman	2	--	2	3	66.7	0	0	7.3	0	0	3	16	8	5.3	0	-	-
Jerrod Johnson	3	167.1	75	111	67.6	0	0	8.7	9	0	38	196	65.3	5.2	4	-	-

Rushing

		Rushing					Receiving
	G	Rush	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD	Rec	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD
Tommy Dorman	2	3	16	8	5.3	0	0	0	0	0	0
Cyrus Gray	3	44	200	66.7	4.5	2	6	37	12.3	6.2	0
Jerrod Johnson	3	38	196	65.3	5.2	4	0	0	0	0	0
Christine Michael	2	28	187	93.5	6.7	1	3	35	17.5	11.7	0
Uzoma Nwachukwu	3	1	39	13	39	1	8	168	56	21	3
Ryan O'Bryant	1	1	-1	-1	-1	0	0	0	0	0	0
Bradley Stephens	3	17	88	29.3	5.2	1	0	0	0	0	0
Jay Tolliver	1	5	17	17	3.4	0	0	0	0	0	0

Receiving

		Receiving
	G	Rec	Yds	Y/G	AVG	TD
Don Bishop	1	1	1	1	1	1
Jeff Fuller	2	12	136	68	11.3	1
Cyrus Gray	3	6	37	12.3	6.2	0
Brandal Jackson	2	6	43	21.5	7.2	0
Terrence McCoy	1	3	24	24	8	0
Jamie McCoy	3	13	169	56.3	13	0
Kenric McNeal	2	3	57	28.5	19	1
Christine Michael	2	3	35	17.5	11.7	0
Howard Morrow	3	9	96	32	10.7	0
Uzoma Nwachukwu	3	8	168	56	21	3
Ryan Swope	1	2	12	12	6	1

NFL Games To Watch This Week: Aggies In The NFL

Beergut — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 17:46:21 -0000

There are 24 Aggies playing for NFL teams. In order to watch them play, here are the games to watch:

Player	Games
Martellus Bennett	Dallas Cowboys @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Rocky Bernard	Washington Redskins @ New York Giants
Red Bryant	St. Louis Rams @ Seattle Seahawks
Melvin Bullitt	Jacksonville Jaguars @ Indianapolis Colts
Dan Cambell	Detroit Lions @ New Orleans Saints
Jason Carter	Philadelphia Eagles @ Carolina Panthers
Corey Clark	San Diego Chargers @ Oakland Raiders*
Ron Edwards	Kansas City Chiefs @ Baltimore Ravens
Robert Ferguson	Miami Dolphins @ Atlanta Falcons
Mike Goodson	Philadelphia Eagles @ Carolina Panthers
Danny Gorrer	Detroit Lions @ New Orleans Saints
Geoff Hangartner	Philadelphia Eagles @ Carolina Panthers
Chris Harrington	Denver Broncos @ Cincinnati Bengals
John Jolly	Chicago Bears @ Green Bay Packers
Shane Lechler	San Diego Chargers @ Oakland Raiders*
Stephen McGee	Dallas Cowboys @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Seth McKinney	Buffalo Bills @ New England Patriots*
Mike Montgomery	Chicago Bears @ Green Bay Packers
Don Muhlbach	Detroit Lions @ New Orleans Saints
Cyril Obiozor	Chicago Bears @ Green Bay Packers
Cody Wallace	San Francisco 49ers @ Arizona Cardinals
Ty Warren	Buffalo Bills @ New England Patriots*
Pat Williams	Minnesota Vikings @ Cleveland Browns
Billy Yates	Buffalo Bills @ New England Patriots*

Each player's team is bolded. * Monday night game

Five Questions With I Am The 12th Man

Jeremy Mauss — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 02:47:03 -0000

The football season is just around the corner, and throughout the non-conference season here at the Connection and we will be interviewing various bloggers with five questions about the upcoming game. This edition features the blog up is I am The 12th Man which is a Texas A&M blog. Also, check out their site for my answers to the five questions later this week.

1. Last year Texas A&M lost their home opener to Arkansas State, how serious are the Aggies taking New Mexico?

The team has already indicated that the Arkansas State game is in the back of their collective mind, and they're ready to start the new season off right. My only concern would be with them getting overconfident because they did beat New Mexico last season on the road, but the fact that the Lobos are bringing in new coaches and a new scheme means we have an unknown factor in there, and that will make the team take them seriously.

Last season, we had some issues with team chemistry, and players worried more about their individual success instead of the success of the team. Those players are gone now, and many of our younger players have stepped up to take leadership roles and take ownership of the program. We'll be ready for New Mexico.

2.What is expected for Quarterback Jerrod Johnson now that he does not have Stephen McGee hanging around?

Jerrod gained some valuable experience last season after taking over for McGee, throwing for a school-record 21 TDs. I think 3,000 yards passing, 25 or more TDs, and fewer interceptions than the 10 he had last season are all reasonable goals. I also think he'll have better rushing stats, and take fewer sacks with our revamped offensive line this season. Johnson has the size and skills to be a very special player for us.

3. Is the expectation of using the no-huddle an effort to boost scoring that was 11th in the Big XII?

We are going to a no-huddle spread offense in order to get more plays in each game, and take advantage of our strengths on offense. Our offensive line was a weakness last season, and we've revamped our line this season.

While the hope is that we'll be better, the definite strength of our offense is at the wide receiver and running back positions, so the move to a spread offense is an attempt to get thos eplaymakers out in space and take advantage of their talents. You want to score as many points as possible, but the move to the spread has more to do with our personnel than it does with a need to score more often.

4.Is the defense formerly know as the Wrecking Crew any closer to getting its name back this season?

I think we're still a year away, at a minimum, from seeing the return of the Wrecking Crew. We're very young on defense (two true sophomores will start on the interior DL, and our starting LBs will be a redshirt sophomore, a redshirt freshman, and a true sophomore), and I expect some mistakes as our freshmen and sophomores get over the learning curve.

The Wrecking Crew was a name synonymous with defensive dominance, and I don't think we'll be a completely dominant unit this season. I think we'll be somewhere between average to good, but we're not at thepoint of dominance that signals the return of the Crew yet.

5. Is MIke Sherman really on the hot seat after one season?

NO, and I mean that emphatically. The people who think Sherman is on the hot seat have no understanding of college football, or they are just functionally illiterate. Sherman has a guaranteed, seven-year contract that he is only entering the season season of, and the people who have been listing him on the hot seat either have forgotten about that, or they didn't read about his contract when he was hired. We Aggies may be patient to a fault when it comes to our coaches, but I do know that Mike Sherman will be given ample time to get this program turned around and build it into a winner again.

Final score prediction: Texas A&M 38 New Mexico 16

So, there you have it five questions from I am the 12th Man gp check their site for more info on the New Mexico game.

Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe // 07.28.09

Seth C — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 11:16:33 -0000

Odds and Ends

Things are starting to heat up, and that's good news for all of us. In fact, were under 40 days until kickoff. You've made it this far, you can make it the rest of the way. We've got a ton of stuff on a bunch of different opponents as Oklahoma St., Texas A&M and Nebraska all had their turn yesterday at the Big 12 Media Days and they are all on Texas Tech's schedule in 2009. For those of you who are bored at work, or really obsessed, you can watch a live feed of the action on the Big 12 website.

On a completely different note, I'll continue to harp on this until the NCAA does something about it, but now AAU organizers are charging coaches up to $300 for player names and numbers for a tournament. At what point does the NCAA start cracking down on things like this? How far will it have to go before the NCAA starts doing something about these AAU programs?

Texas Tech Football

I've found a bit more information on new Texas Tech commit, WR Shawn Corker. Last night I found as much information as I could, including some quality video of Corker playing for Cardinal Gibbons HS in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. The Corker story in in the Miami Herald, twice. In the second link, you can see where Corker was ranked the #7 pre-spring by the Herald. Corker also talked with LAJ's Don Williams about the process of picking Texas Tech, and how's this for a money quote, emphasis mine:

"There were people down here saying I should stay at UM, which is like 30 minutes from my house,’’ he said. "But when you look at it football-wise, you have more opportunities to make plays at Tech.’’

I never thought I would live to read those words.

Scouting the Enemy

It's Big 12 week for Matt Hinton at Dr. Saturday and asks when will the North rise again, comparing Colt McCoy and Vince Young, and whether or not the Aggies will finish last in the Big 12 South.

A&M ties for last place last year and was blown out of the water by the team with whom it shared that tie; the prognostoscenti doesn't have many options. This team showed zero positives in Sherman's first year with the occasional exception of the passing game, and even that collapsed in the three-game losing streak, when Johnson threw six interceptions and eventually yielded to the equally ineffective (and now departed) Stephen McGee. There's still enough talent on hand to do more damage against other bad defenses, of which there are a lot in this conference, including Baylor. Avenging last year's disaster against the Bears may get A&M out of rock-bottom, but if that's the highlight of the year, it might not be worth making the distinction.

TAMU safety Trent Hunter sat down with NewsOK's Brandon Chatmon and had some nice things to say about former Red Raider Michael Crabtree and current Red Raider, WR Detron Lewis:

One of the most underrated players in the Big 12 is Detron Lewis of Texas Tech. I played against him in high school, and that's probably why he stands out.

LAJ's Don Williams writes about both TAMU's Mike Sherman and Nebraska's Bo Pelini believing that their respective programs are headed in the right direction. NYTimes college blogger Thayer Evans writes about the Aggies wishing to move on from last year's finish and Nebraska coach Bo Pelini managing expectations.

Tulsa World's Dave Sittler writes that Oklahoma St. is looking to get tough on defense, and much like Texas Tech last year, this is what's holding the Cowboys back from being elite. DT's Jon Arnold thinks that Oklahoma State is going to be the 2009 version of the 2008 Texas Tech team:

Gundy said the leadership that players such as Sexton and cornerback Perrish Cox bring will be the biggest difference for this year's defense, which returns six starters.

Still, like Tech, the Cowboys have to play in Big 12 South division, which also includes Texas and Oklahoma - teams who are likely to be in contention for a national championship.

Yahoo! Sports' Jason King writes about that OSU defense and I'm still holding some reservations about how much an improvement OSU can make on defense. I know that Texas Tech had a good enough defense in 2008, but I just don't know enough about OSU to make that same sort of leap of faith that I did last year.

For everything that I did miss, make sure and check out BON's Dime Coverage for a tremendous recap.

Texas Tech Baseball

I somewhat forgot about this as I got busy with fishing and other things, but sophomore pitcher Chad Bettis has completed his tour with Team USA and the official site has an interview with Bettis. I have no doubt that Bettis is going to be absolutely lights out for the Red Raiders in 2010:

How do you think this experience will help you heading into your junior season at Texas Tech?
I think it is a big stepping stone to where I want to go with my baseball career. I learned a lot this summer that will help me, and hopefully teammates here this year. I'm looking forward to getting back and helping out Tech as much as I can.

Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe // 07.27.09

Seth C — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 11:12:02 -0000

Odds and Ends

I'm changing the format a bit today, as an experiment, because as football season gets closer, the more information I'm going to gather each morning and just last week I was somewhat running out of the house a tad bit late for work. And it's only going to get worse as the Big 12 Media Days start today with Nebraska, Oklahoma St., Texas A&M and Iowa State (the Captain and OL Brandon Carter, CB Jamar Wall and DT Colby Whitlock are set for Wednesday), and I've got a feeling that we're going to have a ton of news stories this week.

Long story short, same content, different look.

Da Wiz emailed me last night about the football poster contest of 2009 and the Texas Tech poster is currently losing to Air Force by a wide margin. Make it happen guys and gals.

Give a warm welcome to Double -T 104.3 (website was not live as of posting this morning), where you'll be able to find Chris Level and Robert Giovannetti as well as some new Texas Tech related programming. Not quite ready for live streaming over the internets, but I understand this process is a bit tricky, but it's hopefully on it's way.

New poll! Who finishes first in the Big 12 South. We'll count this down as we lead up to the season.

Texas Tech Football

The Tulsa World's John E. Hoover (hat-tip djollie111) asks 12 questions about the Big 12:

5. Will Texas Tech's (insert QB's name here) lead all of creation in passing yards?

One wouldn't think so. Not after Graham Harrell owned the position for three years. But Mike Leach's offense has produced one-year wonders like B.J. Symons (5,833 yards), Sonny Cumbie (4,742) and Cody Hodges (4,238). Harrell in his debut season threw for 4,555. Even without WR Michael Crabtree, sophomore Taylor Potts will put up huge numbers.

Personally, I don't know that Taylor Potts will lead all of creation, but I don't know that I want him to do so either. There's a lot of talent at the running back position.

The Kansas City Star's Blair Kerkhoff writes that the story in the Big 12, the quarterbacks are the story. I think you could safely argue that the quarterbacks continue to be the story as I think they were the story last year as well. The article is a good primer for today, asking lots of questions about what to expect in the Big 12 this year.

DMN's Chuck Carlton has a couple of articles over the weekend, the first an interview with Big 12 Commissioner, Dan Beebe, and the second a preview of this week's Big 12 Media Days. Nothing ground-breaking in the Beebe article, but I wanted to blockquote this bit about the tiebreaker:

The Big 12's three-way football tiebreaker remained unchanged for this season. Are you comfortable with the process should history repeat?

At this point, I am. The membership has looked at it. The coaches have looked at it. The athletics directors have looked at it. There may be some more consideration about variances and some of our institutions perhaps may propose that. ... It's not perfect, just like the system isn't perfect. The BCS isn't perfect. The NFL playoffs aren't perfect. Our tiebreaker is as good as we can predict it will turn out. The athletics directors' last vote was not to change it but to continue to look at possible recommendations. I think there will be some coming forward.

And then there was this question about the financial disparity between certain schools, and whether that bothered Beebe:

Figures from 2007-08 reveal some Big 12 athletic departments and football programs, led by Texas, have been very successful financially. Other conference members, less so. Is that disparity a concern?

From the commissioner's chair it is. You want your strongest teams to be able to compete nationally against other comparable institutions, but you also want all the membership to be strong. We need for institutions to be able to play for national championships, not just in football, but all sports.

I'm not holding my breath that anything will change about the disparity, and I don't know that anyone has the right to make any changes, you know, capitalism and all, but the "have's" and the "have not's" are becoming more and more apparent.

In Carlton's second article, he laments that it's a shame, and probably done on purpose by the Big 12, that the Captain and TAMU head coach Mike Sherman won't be in the same room together:

Just about any year, Texas Tech coach Mike Leach is a viral video waiting to happen.

This July, Leach has more to talk about than normal.

He's coming off a breakthrough 11-2 season. He must replace quarterback Graham Harrell and receiver Michael Crabtree. He almost became the former coach at Tech before agreeing to a five-year, $12.7 million contract.

It's a shame that he and Texas A&M counterpart Mike Sherman aren't booked on the same day to debate the NFL prospects of Stephen McGee.

I readily admit that Leach make my job incredibly easy. Thanks, Mike.

Continuing the Fox34 countdown of the most important Red Raiders, up next is OL Chris Olson at #6:

Nothing would make me happier than to see WR Michael Crabtree just play football and not worry about a bunch of other stuff, but per The Press Democrat's Matt Maiocco, Mr. Crabtree isn't even close to signing with the San Francisco 49ers, and I completely disagree with Mr. Crabtree's agent (and Crabtree himself) line of thinking:

Rookie contracts are generally determined by where a player is selected in the draft. Crabtree, the two-time Biletnikoff Award winner as college football’s best wide receiver, was the No. 10 overall pick.

However, Parker believes Crabtree deserves a greater contract because he should have been chosen sooner, multiple NFL sources said.

I'm all for a guy getting paid, but thinking that you deserve more money because you believe you should have been chosen sooner seems incredibly silly. You got picked where you did, you are what you are.

Texas Tech Basketball

Former Red Raider Charlie Burgess is making it happen in Belize as he's still in the process of trying out for the Belize National Team, but also helping with a basketball camp for the youth of Belize and sponsored by UNICEF. Good for Burgess:

And while Dakin is the tallest, the 6’ 2" Texas Tech alum Charlie Burgess was by far the most popular.

Charlie Burgess, National Team Candidate
"We’re practicing two times a day getting familiar with the players, getting used to the court, getting used to the new coaching style that we playing here because here it is an up and down pace so it is just something different you have to adjust to but so far my stay here has been good. All the people treating me good, the food is great, I can’t complain too much."

Keith Swift,
"Is it what you expected?"

Charlie Burgess,
"For the most part. From what I remembered as a child being here, I remember always coming here and having fun and I am having fun as an adult being here."

Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe // 06.18.09

Seth C — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 11:11:52 -0000

Odds and Ends

I'm Officially on Vacation

After these morning notes, I'm officially on vacation. I know, I shouldn't even be doing these notes . . . obviously I have a problem. Like I said the other day, there's a number of scheduled posts that will be going up, I'll see you next week.

There are a couple of non-sports Texas Tech notes. Russ Bookbinder, a former San Antonio Spurs executive, will be developing a national marketing plan for Texas Tech. A couple of years ago, I thought that marketing was just a bunch of hooey, but within the last year or two, I've realized the importance of smart marketing and advertising. I'm interested. Additionally, it was mentioned in a comment, but KTXT-FM is apparently back on the air. Not too much effort being put into it, but it's on the air.

Texas Tech Football

Link Dump

I was going to separate these out, but just won't have enough time. Athlon Sports is previewing Big 12 quarterbacks from a fantasy perspective and Taylor Potts is . . . #2?

2. Taylor Potts, Texas Tech (JR) — Bye Week — 10 — No. 5 overall QB This is one of the more interesting aspects of college fantasy football. Despite never starting a game, Potts is among the top five fantasy quarterbacks for 2009. One look at Mike Leach’s track record in Lubbock gives a pretty good idea of what to expect and why he should be one of the first passers off the board. Under Leach, the Red Raiders have averaged 4,960 passing yards per season and it would be a major surprise to see much of a change this year. Potts won’t have the luxury of throwing to Michael Crabtree, but there are plenty of weapons, led by Detron Lewis and the emerging Lyle Leong. Potts won’t quite post Graham Harrell numbers, but should be a first rounder in 120 leagues this season and taken among the first seven quarterbacks off the board.

If you say so.

Rivals.com's Olin Buchanan ranks the top 25 story lines from this past year and your Captain is part of two of them:

24. OUT IN THE COLD: Texas Tech coach Mike Leach often takes an unusual approach to dealing with different issues. He demonstrated that again in March when he forced wide receiver Edward Britton to study … at midfield of Jones Stadium in 30 degree weather with snow flurries. "Ed didn't like showing up and studying at places I felt like he needed to and like the academic people asked him to, so he can study out there on the 50-yard line," Leach said. Britton got the message and was back at practice a few days later.

11. VERBAL SPARRING: Texas Tech's Leach expressed dismay that his quarterback, Graham Harrell, who led the nation in passing, wasn't selected in the NFL draft but Texas A&M's Stephen McGee was. "I'm happy for Stephen McGee," Leach was quoted as saying. "The Dallas Cowboys like him more than his coaches at A&M did." McGee was injured much of last season and lost his starting job to Jerrod Johnson. Leach's quote led to an exchange through the media with Texas A&M coach Mike Sherman, who voiced his displeasure with Leach's comments. The Aggies hope to make Leach pay for his words on Oct. 24, when they play the Red Raiders in Lubbock. Well, maybe not. A&M hasn't won in Lubbock since 1993.

Smart Football has been on a roll lately, but make sure and check out the stuff on the shallow cross and the most famous "smash" of all.

Sporting News' Matt Hayes ranks the Big 12 non-conference schedules and your Red Raiders check in at #9.

Good stuff from Chargers.com's Casey Pearce on Louis Vasquez as people questioned whether or not he could adapt to a pro-style offense (sound familiar?):

"That was the number-one issue that I heard at the Combine and all the stuff before the draft," Vasquez said. "Can he run block? Can he come out of a three-point stance? Football is football at the end of the day. Obviously somebody thought enough of my talents to give me a chance. All you’ve got to do is learn it and I’m working really hard and feel like I’m picking things up."

The transition has required several adjustments. In college, he was often split as much as three feet away from the center, whereas the Chargers’ guards generally line up much tighter. The wide splits regularly left Texas Tech’s offensive linemen in one-on-one situations, whereas NFL running games utilize a heavy dose of combination blocks.

When the pass-heavy Red Raiders did run the ball behind Vasquez and company, they mostly utilized draws and sweeps, while the pro systems are more downhill. And Vasquez played primarily in a two-point stance in college as opposed to the three-point position he’ll set up in with the Chargers.

"Pass protection is a little different as well because we don’t get as much depth here," Vasquez said. "They run a lot of ‘power’ here. The first day was a bit of a transition for me because of the splits. I’m used to being out on an island. After that first day, I got comfortable and starting rolling. I’m having fun with it."

Go read the whole thing. Good stuff.

Want to get excited about incoming DT Myles Wade? Read this piece from Oregon Preps' Dirk Knudsen:

The winter of 2008 was a bitter one for the Wade family. Myles effectively was let go by the Ducks from the standpoint that communication stopped and by all accounts they were not going to put much stock in the fact he was going to make it. By November Myles was officially de-commited from Oregon and without a school. Lori's condition got worse and before Christmas came she was gone. Just when things looked like they could not get any worse a coach threw him a lifeline. Mike Leach heard about Wade and looked up some Video on him online. He was on the first plane out to Portland. The Red Raiders offered him and in so many ways believed in him. Having someone believe in you is sometimes all you need. That offer drove other offers but Myles and his family will never forget that emotional moment in January where he embraced his new coaches and said "I am coming to Lubbock,".

And the accompanying impressive video:

Myles Wade 6/09 Workout Video Leaving for (via CoachDirk)

Jerrod Johnson Will Be Showing Off The Arm

Beergut — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 20:56:54 -0000

Jerrod Johnson will be throwing out the ceremonial first pitch at tomorrow's Houston Astros-Chicago Cubs game at the Juice Box, Minute Maid Park in Houston. Tomorrow is Aggie Night, with $2 from ticket proceeds going to The Howdy Club, the Houston A&M Club, and the Reveille Club.

Jerrod came to A&M as a multi-sport athlete, signing on to play both football and basketball. After one season of playing basketball, he decided to focus on football. When Jerrod was at Humble High School, he also was a pitcher on the baseball team.

Johnson performed last season in his first action as starting QB after replacing the injured Stephen McGee three games into the season, setting a school record with 21 TD passes. For his efforts, he was named honorable mention Sophomore All-American by College Football News.

The Lone Star Showdown Trophy, which A&M retained after tying texas in all-sports competition between the two schools this year, will also be presented at the ballpark.

First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

Was Stephen McGee In The Wrong Run-Based Offensive Scheme?

Beergut — Sun, 03 May 2009 22:20:54 -0000

When Dennis Franchione decided after the 2004 season that we were going to become more of a run-based offense, he made the decision to go with a scheme based most closely on Rich Rodriguez's spread option scheme being run at West Virginia at the time. While the Aggies used some concepts of Urban Meyer's spread single-wing offense during 2004, in 2005 we went almost whole hog with Rodriguez's zone-read option spread offense. After Reggie McNeal was injured against Oklahoma, Stephen McGee came into the game, and ran the zone read-option scheme flawlessly, helping the Aggies roll up almost 300 yds rushing on the Sooners. The next game, against texas, McGee led a ground attack that featured two 100 yd rushers in the game as the texas was unable to slow A&M's running game, and forced to depend on their offense to outscore A&M. The zone read option scheme firmly entrenched, the Aggies went on to a 9-4 season in 2006, and a 7-6 season in 2007 before Franchione was fired.

The question remains, though: If we had stuck with Urban Meyer's single-wing spread offensive scheme, would McGee have been better served as a player? Rich Rodriguez's offense thrived on the talents of Pat White at QB; White is a superfast gazelle in the backfield who makes deciding who to tackle on the zone read a near impossibility when they had Steve Slaton or Noel Devine in the backfield, because every choice you made was the wrong one. McGee was a sufficiently mobile QB (second fastest 40 time for a QB at the NFL Combine with a 4.6) to run the zone read, but while White's game was speed, McGee's game was power. McGee was a battering ram while running the ball, never afraid to lower his shoulder to take on defenders. McGee's power running style would have fit much better in the Urban Meyer's spread single-wing scheme, with a running game based on the single-wing buck lateral series, than it did in Rodriguez's zone read-option scheme. The fact that McGee was able to succeed so well in a scheme that didn't take advantage of all of his talents is just a testament to his athleticism and his willingness ot sacrifice personal goals for his team.

When you add in the spread passing game of Meyer's offense, you can really see where McGee would shine. McGee played well in some mop-up duty in 2004, when we spread the field and passed the ball more. If he had been featured in an offensive scheme that allowed him to pass the ball in a balanced attack along with a power-running game, we might have spent the last few years hearing about how Tim Tebow is the next Stephen McGee.

Instead, we are just left wondering what might have been.

The Valley Ranch Review: More Quick Hits from Yesterday’s Mini-Camp

Aaron Novinger — Sat, 02 May 2009 19:28:07 -0000

More photos » by LM Otero - AP

Dallas Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips, left, shakes hands with team owner Jerry Jones during minicamp.

Browse more photos »

The Ranch Report has a great re-cap of yesterday's practice. A few highlights from their good coverage.

During stretching, FB Asaph Schwapp looked to be one of camp's most flexible players and made an acrobatic catch from Stephen McGee.
K David Buehler was seen participating in tackling drills and actually got to QB Rudy Carpenter. Buehler warmed up with the DBs and said he may be covering punts for the team.
Mini-camp observer, Michael Irvin, offered some pointers to Ogletree before moving on to help out WRs Manuel Johnson and Julian Hawkins.
The near-500lb. combo of T Robert Brewster and OG Travis Bright were working as the two-man wedge on kick returns, and ended up drilling Manuel Johnson.
McGee had nifty footwork and throws well on the run but Rudy Carpenter looks to have the the bigger arm. His deep passes had more power behind them than McGee's.
OC Jason Garrett was getting on the rookies yelling at them to pick up the tempo and for McGee to be more accurate after a low pass.
LBs Jason Williams and Stephen Hodge showed their speed. Both guys looked great in coverage and Hodge stripped TE Rodney Hannah of the ball after a catch and took off with it, to the delight of the rest of the players.

Although OL Robert Brewster could play guard, he is now slotted to learn RT.

Of the four Clemson players drafted last weekend, FoxSports writes that Cowboys' S Michael Hamlin will have the biggest impact.

In Dallas, he immediately steps into the backup strong safety role behind fifth-year pro Gerald Sensabaugh coincidentally, cousin to Clemson backup corner Coty Sensabaugh. Gerald, it should be noted, was signed to only a one-year deal, and Jacksonville made no effort to try to re-sign him. Hamlins greatest competition initially for the backup spot will be another 5th-round pick, Cincinnatis DeAngelo Smith, who played corner in college.

A lot of folks thought Hamlin projected as a situational player in their scheme, but Dallas employs the same ?quarters secondary coverage that Clemson used under Vic Koenning, so there should be an instant comfort there. Plus, if he simply doesnt bite on half the play-action passes, hell be beloved in comparison to the positions predecessor, Roy Williams.

In one year, it could be an all-Hamlin secondary, with Michael playing alongside free safety Ken Hamlin (no relation).

Here is the schedule for today and tomorrow's practice times:

Saturday, May 2

10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Practice

12:15 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. Locker room open to media

2:45 p.m. to 3:45 p.m. Practice

3:50 p.m. Wade Phillips available

Sunday, May 3

10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Practice

12:00 p.m. to 12:45 p.m. Locker room open to media