SB Nation - Brent Nickerson

Post Game Thoughts :: Baylor Bears Edition

Seth C — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 12:00:40 -0000

by Jerry Larson - AP

19 days ago: Texas Tech's Lyle Leong scores against Baylor's Joe Pawelek in the second half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Nov. 28, 2009, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/ Waco Tribune Herald, Jerry Larson)

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SBN Box Score :: TTU Box Score

The Result :: Just Okay: We've discussed this to a point, but it wasn't the best possible win. Perhaps this is something that should be expected coming off a game like the Oklahoma game, but it was just okay. I was happy as hell to get out of the Cowboys Stadium with a win and I hated that I was nervous about it for such a long period of time.

I was thinking of saving this thought for off-season thoughts, but I'll throw this out there now. Perhaps the thing that interests me the most about this team is the fact that we as a community have become that much more critical, and I mean that in the best possible way. I've always thought that Texas Tech has this stigma that Red Raider fans are apathetic in the sense that we're happy with occasional wins against various opponents, but the expectations of excellence were never really there. The days of going into a game with no expectation of a win and being completely disinterested with a loss are behind Red Raider fans. That's a good thing. I/we/DTN is now firmly behind expectations of excellence and I'm happy about that. That's not to say that the most difficult mornings for me personally are the mornings where I have to think of something worth-while to write after a loss and I think that's an indication that DTN and this program has arrived to an extent. That makes me happy (not the losses).

Storylines and MVP's after the jump.

The Storylines ::

About that Defense: At first blush, I thought the defense had a less than stellar game. For the game, the defense gave up 342 yards, only 176 yards in the 2nd half and of those 176 2nd half yards, 60 came on the last drive. The Bears had 3 plays that accounted for more than 20 yards, the first being the long pass to Gettis for 57 yards. I've only had time to watch the replay once, but on that play, it appeared that CB Jamar Wall was expecting help over the top and I believe that FS Franklin Mitchem just didn't get there. The 2nd big play was to Kendall Wright for 24 yards and I think this was scheme issue as LB Brian Duncan was trying to cover one of the fastest players on Baylor's team. It's hard to fault Duncan on this play as he's just not capable of covering a slot receiver. The 3rd big play was to Terrance Ganway, another situation where LB Marlon Williams was asked to cover him out of the flat and in open space (this is the play I'm not sure about). That first play led to Baylor's only touchdown, the second play was a play that ended in a Baylor field goal and the third play resulted in a punt. The point being here is that although the defense gave up 3 big plays, which accounted for 105 yards were the bulk of the Baylor offense. I've always hated how folks will take certain plays out of context of a game, but I'll do it now because it totally serves my purpose and you've got a defense that gave up 237 yards for the game, good for a 3.33 yards per play average. The big plays hurt the defense, but all 3 of these big plays were, at least in my opinion, were the result of bad match-ups and a bad play by a safety that's had a pretty good season.

Improved Line Play: By my count, this same set of offensive linemen have been together for 4 straight games, starting with the Kansas game. We've all talked about how with a better offensive line, the overall play will get better and other than the Oklahoma St. loss, that's been the case. That's not to say that this group didn't have some kinks to work out, including giving up 5 sacks against Kansas, all at the feet of QB Seth Doege, none with Potts; 1 against Oklahoma St.; 2 against Oklahoma; and 1 against Baylor. For a string of 7 halves, the offensive line only gave up 4 sacks and if there's a reason for the team's better play, that's a good place to start. Another indication that when the team runs the ball, good things happen: 32 carries for 105 yards rushing against KU; 14 carries for 50 against OSU; 35 carries for 161 yards; and 28 carries for 101 yards against Baylor. Run the ball and this team will have success.

Making Plays: I've always sort of thought that the hallmark of a good defense isn't necessarily the yards or the points, but the plays that the individuals make. For the 2nd year in a row, the defense is in the top 4 in the conference in sacks, 34.0 in 2008 and 40.0 in 2009. In 2007, the defense only mustered 26.0 sacks. Same goes for passes defended. Top 4 in the conference in passes defended as 2008 the team had 18 interceptions and 55 passes broken up (5.62 per game), in 2009 it was 8 interceptions and 68 passes broken up (6.33 per game), while in 2007 the defense had 10 interceptions and 55 passes broken up (5.00 per game). It may not seem evident over the course of time, but this defense has become more aggressive, especially in the secondary. The defensive play-makers are trending up, despite losing talent on at defensive end at in the secondary. The same could be said for Saturday's game where the defense broke up 4 passes, including one beautiful interception by Brent Nickerson, forced 3 fumbles and 4 sacks. That's a pretty good day at the office.

The Disappearance and Emergence of Receivers: This is probably going to be an offseason project, but I find it absolutely fascinating how certain roles have been completely reversed in some cases with the offense. In the early part of the year, the team was greatly dependent on guys like Detron Lewis and Tramain Swindall, but recently, it's been the emergence of Alexander Torres and Austin Zoualik with a fairly consistent bit of Lyle Leong mixed in for good measure. I can't give you an explanation, other than defenses may be keying on Lewis and Swindall or the thought that Lewis and Swindall may not be giving maximum effort in practice, but it's interesting. Be patient, I promise an much more comprehensive post after the season (this is absolutely a tease and intended to keep you guys around for a while).

The Guy That Matters Wasn't Happy: I didn't catch this until yesterday, but I noted in Chris Level's Twitter that Leach wasn't happy with the 20 points on Saturday as he ran the team through a padded practice on Sunday. Not only that, Leach pitted the first team against the first team and the work was spirited. I get the feeling that this perception that Leach is fairly easy on the team, but much like this community is changing there's this thought that Leach is changing as well. We all like not being satisfied with just being mediocre and the fact that Leach made the team practice on Sunday is certainly a good thing.

The Offensive Co-MVP's :: WR Lyle Leong and IR Austin Zouzalik: Zouzalik made some really nice grabs (7 for 92 yards), most of them over the middle of the field. Leong gets credit for making some really nice touchdown grabs (6 for 58 yards and 2 TD's).

The Defensive MVP :: DE Brandon Sharpe: It's fitting to think that he couldn't even get on the field last year, but finished the year as Texas Tech's single-season record holder for sacks.

The Special Teams MVP :: KR Eric Stephens: Another season long reward for his work on kickoff returns. You always like to see a player make up for a bad play as Stephens' 64 yard return late in the game was a huge game-changer. The rest of the Big 12 gets 3 more years of this guy.

Five Reasons Texas Tech Will Win ::Oklahoma Sooners Edition

Seth C — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:00:21 -0000

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

Reason #1 :: Desperation: I try hard not to claim that a particular team is any more desperate than the other, but I do believe, or perhaps I hope to believe that the Red Raiders realize the road in front of them. Win on Saturday and your team has quieted quite a few critics, your team becomes bowl eligible and you go into the last game of the season not playing desperate football. I would guess that the Sooners are playing desperate football too, but there's this hopeful thought that the fact that it's the seniors last game, that this team will make it happen.

Reason #2 :: Stopping the Run: I pointed out the other day that the Sooners are highly successful when they run the ball, but when they cannot get the ground game going, the Sooners tend to lose. I'm sure that Jones has the potential to be Texas Tech, but if it were me, I'd make him win the game. If the Red Raiders can stack to stop the run, limiting DeMarco Murray and Chris Brown to the type of yardage that they get in losses, which is about 100 yards a game, then consider that a success. In fact, the stats tell the same story for the Red Raiders. In wins, the defense only gives up 84 yards a game, but in losses, it's 210 yards on the ground. If there was ever a clear statistic to a Texas Tech victory, this might be it.

Reason #3 :: Despite the Offense: Despite all of the issues with the offense, whether it be inconsistent quarterback play, receivers dropping passes, the offensive line ushering defenders to the quarterback or running backs that may not run as hard as we'd like, but you're still talking about the #2 passing offense in the country and the #6 offense overall. I'll certainly grant you that the offense would be significantly better if the quarterbacks cut down all of the turnovers, but that's the key here. Despite certain parts of the offense, it's still getting done. The lowest point total for the year was last week against Oklahoma St. with 17 points. I'd be willing to be quit a bit of money that there's no way that the Sooners could or would really want to pull off the same type of gut-punching drives that the Cowboys did last week. Leach hardly cares about time of possession, but when your down close to 15 minutes to the opponent, you tend to think that if the Red Raiders had the ball more, Texas Tech would have scored.

Reason #4 :: Pressuring Jones: Sometimes when the Red Raiders do well in a certain category, I tend to discount that success and consider it an anomaly. I somewhat feel that way about the fact that the Red Raiders are 2nd in the nation in sacks. Perhaps I discounted the importance of having Brandon Sharpe, who if you recall wasn't available for the Texas game and was a shadow of himself during the Texas A&M game. That's 2 losses that you would think would have been closer had the Red Raiders had Sharpe's contributions. That's not to say that the workman-like effort produced by Daniel Howard isn't wholly appreciated and the pressure by Rajon Henley (1 sack last week) should create some true match-up problems for the Oklahoma offensive line. It's one thing to plan for just one defensive play-maker, but there should be plenty of contributions for Howard, Henley, Colby Whitlock, Richard Jones and possibly Bront Bird on Saturday.

Reason #5 :: Thank You: Edward Britton :: Austin Burns :: Shawn Byrnes :: Brandon Carter :: Ryan Hale :: Rajon Henley :: Daniel Howard :: Victor Hunter :: Richard Jones :: Jake Myatt :: Brent Nickerson :: Sandy Riley :: De'Shon Sanders :: Brandon Sharpe :: Jamar Wall :: Chris Wallace :: Marlon Williams :: Marlon Winn.

Five Reasons Texas Tech Will Win :: Kansas Jayhawks Edition

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

More photos » by Mike Fuentes - AP

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Position Matchups :: Kansas St. Wildcats Edition

Seth C — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 17:00:31 -0000

Texas Tech Passing Offense vs. Kansas St. Passing Defense

Texas Tech Pass Offense: This is going to be a bit tricky for Texas Tech. As much as everyone loves the backup quarterback, QB Steven Sheffield certainly has his deficiencies. He doesn't have the arm that Taylor Potts possesses, but I think the offense is in fine hands with Sheffield. What Sheffield does bring to the game is more mobility and because he doesn't have the big arm, he's going to rely on the short quick passing game, which if it looks anything like it did last week, then you can expect to see quite a bit more of Harrison Jeffers catching passes out of the backfield. Right now, it's a grab-bag of receivers and I think this is going to be what you see week-in and week-out. Someone is going to have a big day, whether it's Tramain Swindall, Lyle Leong, Alexander Torres, or Detron Lewis. And that's the rub, there is no Michael Crabtree drawing a double-team every play and these receivers need to work their tails off to get open each and every play. The fact that the offensive line will have Brandon Carter back is significant for this group. Although the line stumbled last week against New Mexico, giving up 5 sacks for 54 yards. That's uncharacteristic of this group, but that's the sort of thing that happens when an offensive line coach is trying to fill gaps on the line.

Kansas St. Pass Defense: The Wildcats have the 7th best passing defense in the nation, but this is a tad bit decieving. First, anytime you're in the top 10 of anything and the college football season is 5 games deep, there is something there, but in the case of Kansas St., of their 5 opponents they're not exactly throwing the ball around. UMass is 22nd in FBS, La-Lafayette is 74th, UCLA is 102nd, Tennessee Tech is 83rd and Iowa St. is 106th. Kansas St. hasn't quite played a true passing team so it will be interesting to see how the Wildcats hold up. K-State is led by SS Tysyn Hartman, who seems to do just about everything, but he's leading his team with 26 tackles, 3 interceptions and 4 pass break-ups. CB Joshua Moore is 4th on the team with 22 tackles, 1 interception and 3 PBU. The rest of the secondary is rounded out by CB David Garrett and FS Emmanuel Lamur. I mentioned the other day that K-State is having a tough time getting to the quarterback and thus far, the entire team has only managed 4 sacks for the year. I would imagine that K-State is going to do something to change that this weekend, or Sheffield is going to have plenty of time competing passes.

Advantage: K-State's been good thus far, but I'll put my money on Texas Tech.

Texas Tech Rushing Offense vs. Kansas St. Rushing Defense

Texas Tech Rush Offense: The rushing offense, despite the 120th ranking is improving. The problem is those pesky sacks getting included in the rushing totals. Last week, Harrison Jeffers (8 : 29 : 3 TD) and Baron Batch (8 : 47 : 1 TD) combined for 16 carries and 76 yards and 4 touchdowns. That's not too bad of production from this group and at the very least, it's better than what it was before where there was literally no production. I'll take 16 carries, although I'm still a proponent of more carries, especially when the running backs are having some success running the ball. Just as there will be an upgrade at right guard with the return of Brandon Carter, you can also expect to see the line struggle a bit with Justin Keown at center, if Byrnes is unable to go. I'm not as worried about Keown in the rushing game as I am in the passing game, but Keown is responsible for making the necessary reads and going into the meat of conference play with a brand new center is tough.

Kansas St. Rush Defense: A surprising (at least for me) 38th in the nation in stopping the run. Thus far, against their opponents, the Wildcats have allowed 110 (UMass); 102 (La.-Lafayette); 173 (UCLA); -19 (Tenn. Tech); and 207 (Iowa St.). Although statistically, K-State is pretty good against the run the numbers don't necessarily bear this out, especially when there are 2 games of over 170 yards. The defensive line and linebacking groups are led mostly by upper-classmen. LB's John Houlik and Ulla Pomele are seniors, while Troy Butler is a junior. DL Jeffrey Fitzgerald, Daniel Calvin and Hansen Sekona are all seniors, while DT Raphael Guidry is a sophomore. I'd like to think that a coach like Bill Snyder is going to try to take advantage of some young personnel along the offensive line and I'll be interested to see what, if anything, KSU does to stop the run against Texas Tech. Right now, the advantage goes to Kansas St.

Advantage: Just based on production alone, this goes to K-State.

Kansas St. Passing Offense vs. Texas Tech Passing Defense

Kansas St. Pass Offense: Some things are going to change with Grant Gregory at quarterback. I recall watching Case Coffman against Texas Tech last year and being relatively impressed, but I think Snyder likes the senior leadership that Gregory brings and it gives Coffman another year to take things in. I don't blame Snyder for wanting to win now and Gregory does seem give K-State a more steady signal-caller, but I do think the passing game takes a bit of a hit. Coffman's biggest problem was that he's already had 4 interceptions in only 95 attempts (that's 1 INT per 23.75 attempts, compared with Potts, who was just awful with 1 INT per 39.16 attempts). In any event, Gregory still seemed to find his play makers last week against Iowa St. in the speedy Brandon Banks (4 : 66 : 1 TD) and Lamark Brown (3 : 66 : 1 TD). Banks (23 : 289 : 2 TD) is clearly the game-breaker of the bunch as the rest of the receiving crew has 160 yards or less, but I think Red Raider fans would be wise to be mindful of TE Jeron Mastrud. Tight ends are something that Texas Tech really hasn't seen thus far this year and it will be interesting to see how that matchup will work.

Texas Tech Pass Defense: CB Jamar Wall and CB LaRon Moore were pretty good last week against New Mexico, enough to earn my defensive co-MVP, but I'm not sure how much these guys will get tested this week. I know what Ruffin is going to do defensively, and it's going to drive me insane, and I know that it should work against a quarterback that's not a game-breaker with his arm. That's not to say that Gregory can't beat a team, but Ruffin's going to make damn sure that doesn't happen. I'm not sure what McNeill is going to do at safety, but if neither Cody Davis or Franklin Mitchem are ready to play, I think you'll see a steady diet of Brett Dewhurst, Brent Nickerson and Will Ford willing in the safety positions. Julius Howard, despite being promoted to 2nd team linebacker with Blake Collier taking a leave of absense, could see a number of different positions on Saturday. The one thing I'd like to see the defensive line do this week is work on containment when K-State's Gregory goes back to pass.

Advantage: Push. Both have struggled to either really stop anyone or gain some yards through the air.

Kansas St. Rushing Offense vs. Texas Tech Rushing Defense

Kansas St. Rush Offense: The backbone of the K-State team is their rushing offense. Led by RB Daniel Thomas, who sits at 16th in the nation with 105.8 yards a game and 4 touchdowns. Add to that dual-threat QB Gregory and you've got me worried. Again, Gregory only had 29 yards last week against Iowa St., but from what I've read about Gregory, he's an athletic quarterback that can run if he wants. Behind that rushing attack is solid mix along the offensive line. The left side is led by LT Nick Stringer, a senior, and LG Zach Kendall a junior. The right side of the line has two sophomores leading the way, Colten Freeze and Clyde Aufner while C Wade Weibert rounds out the rest of the line. To speak a bit to K-State's efficiency in running the ball, Daniel Thomas has only had 19 lost rushing yards in 116 carries. When K-State gets a push, they move forward.

Texas Tech Rush Defense: Statistically, this group has made the most improvement over the past year and stopping opponents against the run is one of the biggest indicators of a successful team. Last year, the rushing defense was giving up 100.00 yards a game, good for 25th in the nation, against 2 FCS teams and SMU and Nevada. This year, playing against just 1 FCS team and 2 top 20 teams, the Red Raiders sit at 28th in the nation at 105.40 yards a game. I know you're thinking that this is not improvement, but this group has been better and Ruffin McNeill has done a good job of working in plenty of depth, regardless of whether or not he was forced to do it. The linebacker crew continues to play well, but there's room for improvement. I should also say that my favorite trait in watching Daniel Howard play is that he has a motor that just doesn't quit and the more I watch the defense, I keep thinking that the rest of the group has adopted that philosophy in just continuing to work the offense, play after play. Eventually, the offense is going to wear down or make a mistake.

Advantage: Kansas St. is the clear winner here.

Ed. Note: I've been a little busy this week and this is all I had the time to write.

Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe :: 10.02.09

Seth C — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 10:23:28 -0000

Potts Not Perfect: LAJ's Don Williams writes that QB Taylor Potts hasn't been perfect in his first four starts, but almost all of Leach's quarterbacks have struggled to some extent, but none of them have had to face two ranked teams in two consecutive weeks:

It’s tempting to say Taylor Potts’ first four games have been the most eventful. Each generated major discussion points. Week one: Problems with mechanics lead to three interceptions. Week two: He throws seven touchdown passes, something Graham Harrell never pulled off. Week three: He takes some serious shots — one possibly illegal — at Texas, but wins major points with teammates and fans for having the toughness to climb up off the ground and keep producing. Week four: Um, that whole quarterback sneak thing.

Every week, there’s something new to talk about with Taylor. In part, it’s because no other Tech quarterback this decade had to face two ranked teams so early as a starter.

Nickerson to Start at Strong Safety: LAJ's Don Williams reports that former cornerback Brent Nickerson could get the start at strong safety, replacing Brett Dewhurst, who has been filling in for the injured Franklin Mitchem. Defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill thinks the move has been a relatively simple one:

"Once they learn (a position), you can move them somewhere else and it makes sense to them,’’ McNeill said. "Brent’s been at corner, so he’s got a tie-in call with the safety. That wasn’t really a difficult move.’’

Byrnes Looking to Lead Offensive Line: FWST's Dwain Price talks with C Shawn Byrnes about almost committing to New Mexico, so many years ago, and how to lead this team in the absence of RG Brandon Carter. Byrnes feels that he and RT Marlon Winn will be able to handle the responsibility:

"He brings a lot of intensity and he’s a great player," Byrnes said of Carter. "But I think that me and [guard] Marlon [Winn] will be out there.

"We’re two fifth-year seniors and we know how to handle situations well, and we’ve played in a lot of games together."

Byrnes and his teammates believe Carter is just one part of Tech’s offensive puzzle.

"I don’t think we’re going to let it get to us," Byrnes said. "Obviously, we want Brandon there.

"He’s one of our brothers on the line, but we can’t have him this week. Things happen."

Freshman Focus on Phillips: LAJ's Don Williams focuses on freshman CB Jarvis Phillips, who played quarterback at Carter H.S. in Dallas, and was moved to cornerback. DC Ruffin McNeill suggested to D. Williams that he feature Phillips, and McNeill had this to say about Phillips:

"Every Thursday night, he gets better and better," McNeill said, referring to the team’s weekly post-practice scrimmage for young players. "You see him making play after play. Jarvis is really doing good at corner."

That wasn’t a given since Phillips didn’t play much defense in high school.

"You see him come up and make a hit. You see him break on the ball better. You see him play with (proper) pad level the whole day. It’s little things like that that you notice. It’s not any special plays in particular. It’s just his development."

Putting Aside Distractions: DT's Adam Coleman writes that both New Mexico and Texas Tech are looking at putting aside the distractions and playing football on Saturday. Captain Mike Leach on playing football:

"I think coaches and players need to be stable and just improve for the sake of playing football," said Leach, whose Red Raiders are looking to end a two-game skid — the first since the 2007 season. "Just be excited about it. We just have to raise the confidence level. We have a bunch of young guys playing that are better than they think they are and their abilities are at higher level than some of them think."

New Mexico Lobo Links: The Tech Talk guys have a Q&A with Greg Archuleta of the Albuquerque Journal . . . per the NM Daily Lobo, the Lobos are looking for a fresh start on Saturday . . .

Big 12 Links: Rock M Nation with the Week 5 Big 12 Roundtable Recap . . . the official Big 12 site previews this weekend's games . . . KC Star's Blair Kerkoff with his weekly Big 12 Insider . . .

2010 Young Update: Per the Denton Record Chronicle, Denton Ryan QB Scotty Young is set to face cross-town rival Denton and thus far, Young has been pretty good:

Young has thrown for 1,495 yards and has 22 touchdown passes during 11 quarters of work in Ryan’s (4-0, 1-0) first four games. Last year the future Texas Tech triggerman torched Denton for 238 yards and five touchdowns in the first half of Ryan’s 58-14 win.

I love the potential of Young, but before we all think he's going to shoot up the depth chart next year, it's going to take him time. Let's all be patient.

Scrimmage Tonight: The baseball team will have a scrimmage tonight, starting at 5:00 p.m. It's events like this when I wish I lived back in Lubbock.

Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe :: 09.26.09

Seth C — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 11:06:38 -0000

Some Stuff: [Note by Seth C, 09/26/09 8:24 AM CDT ] I just wanted to point you to a couple of additional links this morning. First, the SB Nation college football sports stream is a good place to get your fix for all of the games this morning. Second, is the FanShot of the guys from Patton Productions with the Red Raider Roadshow. Lots of good pre-game video from last week's game.

Rivalry Renewed: LAJ's Don Williams writes that the UH vs. TTU rivalry is coming at a time when Houston is playing lights out. Williams talks with RG Brandon Carter, who is excited that the Cougars are playing at the top of their game:

"So early in the season, I think they’re still going to be hungry to play and excited to play," Carter said. "I wouldn’t have it any other way. I want them at their best, I want us at our best so we can have a good football game."

And CB Brent Nickerson is concerned about the calls that UH offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen will be familiar with on the Texas Tech defense:

"The challenge is, with coach Holgorsen being there, they know a lot of what our defense does," Tech defensive back Brent Nickerson said. "They know a lot of our checks, what we like to do as far as the secondary, as far as our blitzes and as far as our defensive line. But we have great play-calling on defense as well, so we’ll know how to counter their attack."

Jones Becomes a Man: FWST's Dwain Price profiles DT Richard Jones, who acknowledges that had he stayed home in the Houston area, he may not be the man he is today:

"I know if I would have stayed home there’s no telling what kind of trouble I would have been in," Jones said. "Just me being far away from home, I had no choice but to grow up.

"I had to learn how to survive on my own, I had to wake myself up every morning for classes, I learned how to grocery shop, and it made me a better man."

And Brandon Carter has some high praise for Jones:

"I’ve always enjoyed going against him because he challenges me and I believe and hope that I do the same for him," Carter said. "He’s a great athlete with his hands ... not many can move as fast and as quick as he can. I never see him taking plays off."

Go read the whole thing.

Five Good Minutes with Brandon Carter: ESPN's Tim Griffin sits down with RG Brandon Carter to talk about last week's Texas game and the Houston game this week. I thought this answer on the struggling running game was and is worrisome:

Your running game has struggled a little bit early in the season. What are you going to try to do to help improve that against Houston and during the rest of the season?

BC: With the running game, we’re just as close as we can be to getting it fixed. We’re one block from making some of those plays happen. We just can’t afford to make mistakes like that. We did better against Texas, but we’re still far away from where we want to be. And I think eventually, we’ll get there.

Carter sounds positive about the progress, but saying "we're still far away" makes my stomach hurt.

Craig James Set to Call Game: LAJ's Adam Zuvanich talks with ESPN color guy, Craig James, who is set to call a game with his son, Adam James playing. Craig says that he's going to be respectful about the game:

"You can be 100 percent certain that inside I will be going crazy excited about it," he said earlier this week. "But I’ll be fair and have integrity for the broadcast and for University of Houston fans and for college football fans. They don’t want to hear me up there being a homer."

Another Test for Texas Tech: DMN's Chuck Carlton writes that this is the second week in a row that Texas Tech is tested against a very good team.

Texas Tech Blogs: RA's ayleein on why Texas Tech hates Houston . . . TR's dedfischer with some thoughts on college football . . . RRS.com's Joe Yeager looks at the matchups . . .

Houston Cougar Links: The Chron's Steve Campbell dubs QB Case Keenum as Captain Case, who will hopefully lead the Cougars to a win . . . DMN's Kevin Sherrington writes that the Cougars are looking for national respect (as ayleein noted in his article, this was the same thought that Texas Tech fans were asking last year) . . . LAJ's Adam Zuvanich writes that Kliff Kingsbury and Dana Holgorsen bring the knowledge from Lubbock to Houston . . .

Writer Picks: Dr. Saturday's Matt Hinton with some thoughts on a Texas Tech win . . . kinda funny, Sporting News Dave Curtis picks games against his grandmother, his grandmother picks Texas Tech and she has a better overall record . . .RRS.com's staff picks a handful of games . . . NY Times staff is somewhat on board with a Texas Tech win . . .

Big 12 Links: Big12Sports.com's Wendell Barnhouse previews all of the Big 12 games . . . SAEN with a preview of the Big 12 games . . .

2010 Recruits Update: Last night, it appears that Scotty Young was pulled somewhat early as his Denton Ryan Raiders defeated Ft. Worth Rider 52-7 and Young was 21-36 for 320 yards 2 touchdowns and no interceptions (game story) . . . for those of you who want to see a great football game, Southlake Carroll is set to take on Houston area North Shore at 6:00 p.m. on FSN, while Texas Tech commit Jackson Richards for SLC and NS has a Texas commit Trey Hopkins, which should be a great battle . . . ESPN's Julie Turner sits down with LB V.J. Fehoko:

"My brothers both are so supportive. One thing that I know and my brothers told me is that I got to go and see all my trips for myself if I fit in that program," he said. V.J. has one official visit planned so far, a trip to Texas Tech on Nov. 20.

Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe :: 09.22.09

Seth C — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 11:22:33 -0000

Texas Tech Football

Defensive Line Changes Roles: LAJ's Don Williams writes that the defense showed their ability to sacrifice, perhaps personal success, to help the team by switching positions and filling in for players that are suspended on injured. Here's CB Brent Nickerson, who hasn't been mentioned as also having to fill-in, but he certainly did, learn to play safety in a week:

"I’ve never been part of a game like that,’’ Nickerson said Monday, "but what that shows me is we have a lot of soldiers and warriors on our defense, guys that are willing to do anything for a win.’’

And defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill on his team:

"They’re ready to handle things,’’ defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill said. "It’s a two-way street. I think the kids trust us enough to know we have the team’s best interest and their best interest at heart. We trust them, but they also trust us. Once you get that, now you have something special. Now you can demand more of each other.’’

And DT Richard Jones makes me giggle:

"To sack Colt McCoy, especially — maybe a future Heisman winner, future NFL player — it was just amazing,’’ Jones said. "I was, like, in shock. I couldn’t believe it. I actually beat a tackle on a speed rush. I’m more like a powerful man. But it was fun. If I had to, I’d do it again.’’

Football Notebook: LAJ's Don Williams writes that the reason that RB Harrison Jeffers has been limited on the field is because he's lacking in pass-blocking, a direct result of the offensive line struggling. Here's Leach on Jeffers, Eric Stephens and Baron Batch:

"The biggest difference is Eric’s more consistent," Leach said Monday. "We have three running backs who I think are neck and neck. We don’t have a guy that I think is ahead of the rest. You’ve got Harrison, who’s the most explosive. You’ve got Stephens, who’s the most consistent, and you’ve got Baron, who’s the most experienced.

. . . RG Brandon Carter talks about the points that Potts wins with the team by taking "the hit":

"We weren’t sure how he was going to react to that," Carter said. "Now that we have seen it, it makes us even more comfortable to have him back there. He’s not going to get all hectic, (and say), ‘Oh, what do I do now? I got hit.’ It’s football. He understands that. We were glad he reacted the way he did."

. . . head coach Mike Leach says that WR Austin Zouzalik is the starting Y receiver, the spot that Detron Lewis usually mans . . .

The Last Time I Talk About Helmet-To-Helmet: RRS.com's Aaron Dickens listened in on the Mike Leach Big 12 media teleconference and he was asked about the helmet-to-helmet on Kindle to Potts:

On whether they coach their players any differently because of the helmet-to-helmet rule:
ML: "You don’t coach any differently. You coach your guys not to do it. It will be real interesting to see how it’s handled. yeah, I think everybody saw it."

On Texas defensive end Sergio Kindle’s apparent helmet-to-helmet hit to Taylor Potts:
ML: "I thought he was extremely tough. Despite being the victim of really obvious helmet-to-helmet contact, he didn’t really allow him to phase him, he continued to play well."

I cannot remember where I read it, but UT defensive coordinator Will Muschamp said that if it wasn't called then it wasn't a penalty, sorta like a holding penalty, and I think that's a real easy rationale to get out of having to comment about his player leading with his helmet, which is fine, that's his prerogative. The fallacy with that argument is that just because you're not caught doesn't mean that it's not right. If I steal something from a store but no one ever catches me, the act in itself is still wrong (unless there is some sort of moral reason I could fall back on, i.e. I was stealing bread to feed my family). If Muschamp feels that it was a legal hit, then I hope Kindle and every UT defender levels the exact same hit and that Muschamp coaches his players to hit that way the entire season. I think if that happens, everyone gets what they deserve.

A Loss Is a Loss: LAJ's Adam Zuvanich writes that despite the good showing, a loss is still a loss, and I would agree, it's time to move on:

Playing in front of the largest crowd to witness a football game in the state of Texas, and with a national television audience tuned in, many said Tech played the second-ranked Longhorns closer than they had expected, perhaps earning the program a greater measure of respect. And for several Tech fans who I spoke with over the weekend, or who posted comments to our stories on redraiders.com, that was satisfying enough.

And there’s been praise all around for quarterback Taylor Potts – who was making his first start on the road, withstood several hits in the pocket and still gave Tech a chance to win – as well as for how the defense performed without two regular ends and a starting safety.

The bottom line, though, is the Raiders are the only team with a Big 12 loss, and they already have as many regular-season losses as they did all of last year.

Houston Cougar Links: It's somewhat sad, but the only new news coming out of Houston on the Cougars was an article in the Tulsa World on how the Cougars have a big opportunity in Texas Tech . . . the previously linked RRS.com's Aaron Dickens article has some thoughts from the Captain on Houston:

On the differences between Texas Tech’s and Houston’s offense:
ML: "They’re into motion more than we are. They motion players around some. I would say that would be one of the biggest things."

On Houston Director of Quality Control, and former Texas Tech quarterback, Kliff Kingsbury:
ML: "He was really a good player here at Tech. I think he was certainly the quarterback that lifted off the passing here at Texas Tech. When we first started, a lot of folks thought I was nuts to throw the ball and thought that Kliff was some guy out there that was just average and throwing it too much. Of course, he went on to rewrite the record books, not just at Tech but nationally. He was really instrumental to where we are today."

On what stands out the most on film about (Case) Keenum:
ML: "I think he does a really good job of leading the offensive unit. I think those guys really draw from his energy and tempo out there. I think he really does a good job. the one thing that he does that all good quarterbacks do is the unit kind of feeds off of them and he makes the other players around him better. i think he’s a good example of that."

Texas Tech & Big 12 Links: FWST's Dwain Price has a notebook from yesterday's teleconference . . . NewsOK's Big 12 Power Rankings has Texas Tech sitting 4th . . . TWAHS has thoughts from Saturday's game as does TR's dedfisher, who had additional thoughts after the post-mortem . . . Husker-Extra with a bit on QB Taylor Potts and some Big 12 conference notes . . .

Texas Tech Basketball

Second Commitment: I'm falling a bit behind as the commitments, both basketball and football are piling up, but Pat Knight and received his second commitment of the year PG Javarez Willis (5-11/170), a point guard originally from L.G. Pinkston in Dallas, but is spending a year at Christian Life Center Academy to get his grades in order (fun fact, former NBA'er Karl Malone is Willis' uncle). Here's Willis' recruiting profiles: ESPN, Rivals and Scout. LAJ's Courtney Linehan talked with Willis about Texas Tech and what he brings to a program:

"People say pretty much the same thing, they want you, this and that," he said. "I got tired of it. I didn’t want to deal with recruiting anymore, and anyway, I felt like Texas Tech was a home."

Describing himself as "an attacker," Willis compares his style to former Texas guard D.J. Augustine. Recruiting Web site Rivals.com said he averaged 14.4 points and 4.5 rebounds per game as a high school senior. Although he’s good at creating scoring opportunities, he said his best skill is his leadership.

"I pick players up," Willis said. "I lead."

Lots of good information in the Linehan article.

ESPN's profile has a short scouting profile:

2009 prospect Javarez "Bean" Willis looks to score from behind the arc off the catch or dribble where he is streaky but has good elevation and release on his jumper. He also likes to attack the rim mostly going to his left where he is strong enough to finish through contact. Willis is an average athlete but competes at all times especially on the offensive end of the floor. At times he will take tough contest shots but he does play hard.

Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe :: 09.04.09

Seth C — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 10:57:06 -0000

Odds and Ends

Crazy Ending: Well, that's one way to start off a football season.

Texas Tech Football

Swindall and Nickerson, Will Not Play: LAJ's Don Williams reports that WR Tramain Swindall has not found his way out of Captain Mike Leach's doghouse and CB Brent Nickerson is apparently nicked up (Texas Tech does not release information regarding injuries so details are sketchy) and are not on the game-day roster.

More on the Parking Spot: LAJ's Don Williams has the story on the artist that created Captain Leach's parking spot and the Captain was appreciative:

"She did a tremendous job,’’ Leach said. "(Tech football staffer Antonio) Huffman came up with that (idea), so that was real nice of those fellows. I didn’t know it would be near that elaborate.’’

Redshirt Focus on Aaron Fisher: LAJ's Don Williams looks like he'll be profiling the redshirt freshmen candidates and WR Aaron Fisher is up first and receivers coach Lincoln Riley thinks that Fisher is going to play at the inside receiver "Y" position:

Fisher’s size and skill set reminds inside receivers coach Lincoln Riley of former Tech "Y’’ receiver Mickey Peters, who was a quarterback and state champion hurdler in high school.

"Especially at this age, having played receiver in high school, (Fisher) is more polished, maybe has better hands,’’ Riley said. "He may not be quite as fast as Mickey, but he does some things better than Mickey. Overall, they’re pretty comparable. Speed might be the biggest difference, but he’s not a slow guy by any means.’’

Neglected Audio and Video: Fox34 with the Red Raiders looking to play a team game:

. . . KAMC with a short clip on the Fighting Sioux.

2010 Recruit Tidbits: RedRaiderSports.com's Aaron Dickens with a free story on the current commits who are headed to Lubbock for the weekend . . .

Big 12 Links: This isn't really a Big 12 Link, but nice story from Dr. Saturday's Matt Hinton about a Mississippi State recruit tackling an armed student on a bus and potentially saving a bunch of lives . . . also from Dr. Saturday, Matt, Doug and Holly get reminiscent about Mike Leach and his summer contract issue . . . the Kansas City Star's Big 12 Insider . . . Rivals.com's Olin Buchanan with a breakdown of the Big 12 this weekend . . . ESPN's Tim Griffin with his weekend predictions for the Big 12 . . .

Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe :: 09.02.09

Seth C — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 11:25:42 -0000

Odds and Ends

No Time for Odds and Ends! There's always time for one, if you're into Twitter, go follow the Fake Mike Leach and don't forget that you can also follow Double-T Nation on Twitter.

Texas Tech Football

A Bevy of LAJ Preview Articles: You have your work cut out for you this morning as the LAJ staff has been busy. I want to start off with the article by Adam Zuvanich on remodeling of the roster, which is where I think quite a few Texas Tech fans think about the state of the program. There have been years where the M.O. was rebuild and not reload and Zuvanich takes a look at all of the question mark positions in great detail, including the receiver position, post-Crabtree. IR Detron Lewis on the expectations of this group:

"We’re going to have a better receiving corps than we did last year," said the 6-0, 205-pound junior, Tech’s leading returning receiver in both catches and yards. "If we all get on the same page, we’re going to have the best receiving corps to ever come through here."

Don Williams writes about building a program at Texas Tech, and like most successful things in life, winning breeds more winning and DT Colby Whitlock likes the type of players at Texas Tech:

"Our defense is really starting to pick up," junior nose tackle Colby Whitlock said, "and a lot of the new recruits coming in are great athletes and great kids. Just the quality of recruit coming in right now is getting a lot better with our success."

And LB Marlon Williams can see a change as well:

"We’re getting better recruits and better playmakers on defense," Williams said. "I think when you put the improvement of our defense with the play of our offense — and the fact we’re getting guys who want to win, guys who are real passionate about football — they’re seeing our program rise to be up there with teams that have good legacies."

Zuvanich also writes about Texas Tech trying to keep pace with other universities with much larger athletic budgets and athletic director Gerald Myers gives honest answers about being in the red in the hopes of being able to compete on level (and sometimes at a greater level) with teams with much bigger budgets like Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska and Texas A&M. And speaking of keeping pace, one of the ways to increase revenue is to increase the seats and Williams has an update on the stadium expansion.

Williams also goes position-by-position about where Texas Tech currently stands and where the future lies.

Finally, Williams gives us an opinion piece, and I'm not one to usually complain, but I think Williams does a terrific job on these types of articles and I just wish he'd do more of them. In any event, the article focuses on how it's imperative that the Red Raiders cannot let an 11 win season simply pass them by, and that this 2009 incarnation must capitalize on that 2008 season.

Moore Smarter at Cornerback: LAJ's Don Williams features CB LaRon Moore who will be starting alongside fellow CB, Jamar Wall, who believes that Moore has become smarter at cornerback:

"He’s become smarter on the field,’’ Wall said. "He recognizes routes better. Something we both needed to do was get in the film room more. We’ve both been doing that a lot together, so us being smarter together on the field, watching film, knowing what’s going to happen, it gives you more confidence.’’

And cornerbacks coach Brian Mitchell believes that Moore made the move during Midnight Maneuvers:

Mitchell said he began to turn a corner shortly thereafter in the team’s early offseason program known as "Midnight Maneuvers.’’

"He just decided, ‘Hey, it’s my turn,’ ’’ Mitchell said. "He decided to commit himself day in and day out and within the drills. I’m very pleased with his progress.’’

Texas Tech Football Notebook: LAJ's Don Williams writes that CB Brent Nickerson will be the #3 cornerback, although Ruffin McNeill has already stated that S Will Ford and S Julius Howard will be a part of the nickel and dime packages . . . also of note, freshman CB D.J. Johnson will eventually work into the rotation . . . CB Jamar Wall talks about returning punts with former Red Raider, Danny Amendola:

Wall picked up some tips from Amendola when he was back in Lubbock before training camp.

"I caught some punts with him," Wall said. "He was telling me different things that he focuses on when he’s catching. His main (advice) was just get square. Standing there, you basically want to feel like the ball is going to drop and hit you in the face. It’s staying square, being able to catch it under control and make a play with it."

Torres' Second Chance: DT's Alex Ybarra talks with WR Alexander Torres and his second chance at Texas Tech after being injured at the Air Force Academy. Receivers coach Dennis Simmons talks about Torres:

"He’s kind of a throwback football player in my opinion, or as most people like to use the terminology now, a cold-weather receiver," Simmons said. "He’s gonna get open, may not always look pretty. I think he’s gonna surprise people with his speed a little bit."

And fellow flanker Jacoby Franks also talks about Torres:

"Toro is a big physical dude, catches everything and runs sharp routes," Franks said. "I learn a lot of things from Toro, honestly. I think we’re a real good one-two punch."

Fighting Sioux: DTN user and North Dakota fan, nodakroxfan, pointed us to SiouxSports.com for bloggy and message board material. The official site has some news and notes (pdf) up from yesterday as well as a video interview with the Fighting Sioux head coach Chris Mussman.

Fox34 and Double-T 104.3 Preview: I won't link to each segment, but for you out of towners (like myself) there's some video of a recent preview show hosted by Chris Level and Robert Giovannetti that aired in Lubbock. Scroll down for each segment.

Sportacular Interview with Leach: NewsChannel 11's Pete Christy talks with the Captain, Mike Leach.

Official Big 12 Preview: That's what you call a fancy subject line, as the official Big 12 site has officially previewed Texas Tech,

Big 12 Links: Bad news for the Oklahoma St. Cowboys as starting tight end Jamal Mosley has left the program and starting linebacker Orie Lemon suffered a season ending knee injury . . . speaking of OSU, Barking Carnival has their State of the Union . . . Rock M Nation has part two of the Beyond the Box Score national preview . . . ESPN's Tim Griffin ranks the Big 12 offenses and Texas Tech checks in at #5 . . .

Texas Tech Basketball

Basketball? Well, yeah. The Ft. Walton Sun's Randy Dickson talks with incoming guard/forward Brad Reese who sounds like he's excited about the season:

"This summer was basically learning about my teammates and what they like and what I like. It was about coming together as a family so when the season starts we will be on the same page and everything. So it was a good experience for me. "

Reese expects to play shooting guard or small forward and is excited about playing on the perimeter.

"I love it because that’s my natural (area)," he said. "I played down low (at center) in high school because we were (Class) 1A. And in JUCO I played the three (small forward).

"I can play (power forward) sometimes, but at the next level I have to play outside because (the inside players) are 6-foot-8, 6-foot-10. I’m long and athletic and I can use my athletic ability against smaller twos and threes. Hopefully that will help me out for my future plans and stuff."

Depth Charting // The Secondary

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

Secondary

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

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

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