SB Nation - Julius Howard

The Defensive Revolution Begins

Seth C — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 11:43:28 -0000

More photos » by Duane A. Laverty - AP

Let the revolution begin. LAJ's Don Williams writes this morning that redshirt freshman S Daniel Cobb (who was also from Killeen, but his mother and family are safe from the Fort Hood tragedy) will hopefully replace current weak-side linebacker Marlon Williams, who will play his last game for the Red Raiders in January. Read the article first, as Williams goes through a couple of different scenarios regarding who will play where, including going through the motions of eliminating Sam Fehoko (will play middle linebacker), Julius Howard (will continue to play safety) and Tyrone Sonier (will play strong-side linebacker).

Per defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill, the solution is going to be moving Daniel Cobb:

"I think he can handle it," McNeill said this week. "He’s been doing a pretty good job for us. When you move a DB down, it’s the run game he has to get used to. But he’s got athleticism and a really good mentality about him. The pass-coverage part, he’s been a safety and that helps him in pass coverage quite a bit. The run game is the phase he’ll have to learn."
Snip

"There’s a certain type of guy that I want at (weak-side linebacker)," McNeill said. "I’m looking for that guy that can cover down more on wide receivers. He has to cover down on wide receivers more than a (strong-side linebacker) normally. People are spreading us out."

For those of us who have wondered why McNeill continually puts a linebacker, who we all know cannot cover a slot receiver, on a slot receiver, then this move, as admitted by McNeill, that it's time for a change. And it's not just the slot receiver, but it's also the running quarterback that simply plagued this year's squad (Houston, TAMU and Oklahoma St.) in terms of being able to run out of the pocket and pick up incredibly easy first downs.

When Leach, McNeill & Co. recruited and signed 6 defensive backs in the 2009 recruiting class, there were some of us that were curious as to why McNeill would sign so many defensive backs, but the potential signing of another large group of defensive backs will continue in 2010:

2009: Terrance Bullitt, Daniel Cobb, Will Ford, Yahshua William, D.J. Johnson and Jarvis Phillips
2010: Urell Johnson, Desmond Martin, Russell Polk, Tre'Vante Porter and Brandon Smith

The 2009 list doesn't account for LB Brandon Mahoney, who apparently had a shoulder injury all year while redshirting, but has quite a bit of explosiveness and LB Dion Chidozie, who according to McNeill, hasn't played with confidence while redshirting, but is getting more comfortable later. Both Mahoney and Chidozie are speed guys, but McNeill is looking elsewhere. I have no idea if McNeill has the same type of thought with the 2010 class and if I had to guess, Carter S Russell Polk might be the most likely candidate to eventually make the move.

Without looking ahead, it's comforting that McNeill sees the same thing we see when DTN discusses a game and one of the flaws of the defense. And for those of us that aren't in the locker room or in staff meetings, I think this is confirmation that the team understands it's defensive limitations, but the staff understands that it's foolish to throw out a player out on the field that doesn't have some experience, and despite physical limitations, that experience plays into how this staff makes personnel decisions.

Personally, this makes me truly excited about the future. I think this staff is trying ot adjust, but adjusting during the middle of the season isn't always easy, especially when the potential options available don't have the speed that a true freshman has, like Cobb. It was one thing to get Will Ford and D.J. Johnson early playing time, but that may have been out of necessity, with such little returning depth in the secondary, especially safety. I don't think it's any sort of heresy to suggest that McNeill sees the exact same thing that we all see, whether it be a linebacker struggling to keep pace with a slot receiver or that same linebacker being unable to contain a quarterback on the run. Implementing change, especially during a season can be difficult, but the fact that the staff recognizes the problem and is actively trying to address the issue is encouraging . . . very encouraging.

I also like the idea that McNeill isn't completely selling out to only recruit speed linebackers as there have been years that McNeill converts high school defensive ends to linebacker (Fehoko and Sonier come to mind immediately) and McNeill also has a commitment from Fred Harvey, a 5-11/230 middle linebacker type of player and Zac Winbush, who already has a 6-2/200 frame that will eventually fill out nicely.

Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe :: 11.02.09

Seth C — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:38:57 -0000

Bye Week: I think I needed a break. No game this weekend and as a result, there are no previews to write and I'm sure the pace will be a bit slower on DTN. I've worked on some previews to 2010, both offensive and defensive, with looks at recruiting and past recruiting classes as well as a projected 2-deep for 2010. I'll also have some basketball preview articles to get everyone amped up about that.

Leach Joins the Car Wash: If you don't have a job or have access to the television today, you'll be able to catch Mike Leach on ESPN's car wash, which is essentially Leach appearing on a bunch of ESPN related shows. Here's his tentative schedule:

10:40 am - ESPNU College Football Podcast -- Host: Ivan Maisel :: 11:00 am - College GameDay Tailgate Radio -- Host: Jon Stashower :: 11:15 am - ESPN First Take -- Host: TBA :: 12:20 pm The Herd -- Host: Colin Cowherd :: 12:40 pm - ESPNU - Taping -- Host: TBA :: 1 pm -2:45pm - College Football Live -- Host: TBA --tape Dr. Lou questions-- :: 1:50 pm - 3:15pm ESPN.com Chat :: 2:20 pm - 6pm SportsCenter Taping -- Host: TBA :: 2:40 pm - Scott Van Pelt Show -- Host: Scott Van Pelt :: 2:50 pm - Football Tonight Radio -- Host: TBA :: 3:10 pm - ESPNews -- Host: TBA :: 3:25pm - ESPN.com Football Recruiting section -- Host: TBA

Do you think Leach is more excited about doing an internet chat or talking to Colin Cowherd?

Feel free to post FanPosts or FanShots as new content becomes available.

Bye Week High Note: LAJ's Don Williams writes that the Red Raiders are happy to start the bye week on a win rather than a loss. I wrote yesterday about how RB Baron Batch gave Taylor Potts the credit for checking into the right running plays in the second half and C Shawn Byrnes confirms this again today:

"The quarterbacks just made great run checks,’’ center Shawn Byrnes said. "When he came up to the line and checked into those plays, I thought that was the best plays we could have run. I just called the fronts and got us into a scheme that I thought was best, and it worked out great.’’

And S Julius Howard, who was a captain last week, couldn't decide which was better, the special teams or the defense:

"I’m proud of all three sides of the ball,’’ he said. "Special teams stepped up another week and played. Defense, we brought it this week. And offense, they struggled the first half, but the second half as defensive people, we just told them to ‘keep going, keep going; we’ve got y’all.’ They started rolling, and we were good after that.’’

KU vs. TTU Links: There are still some links to Saturday's win, including LAJ's Don Williams report card . . . TR's dedfischer Post-Mortem and RRR's look at the game . . . OBK Hiphopopotamus' Post-Mortem . . .

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

2 months 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)

Browse more photos »

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 :: 09.25.09

Seth C — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 11:19:52 -0000

Odds and Ends

A Few Things: Interesting article from DMN's Rick Gosselin who talked with Hall of Famer QB, Joe Montana, who thinks that the spread offense can keep players from the NFL, although both of his sons play almost all or some of the spread concept . . . Ryan Hyatt and Don Williams have a brand new website . . . alcohol and beer is finally in Lubbock (hat-tip DC @ BON):

Students, vendors enjoy first day of alcohol sales (via DailyToreador)

Texas Tech Football

Collier Leaves Team, Three DE's Return: LAJ's Don Williams is reporting that WLB Blake Collier has left the team and linebacker turned safety, Julius Howard, is now moving back to linebacker to back up Marlon Williams. Here's Captain Leach commenting:

"I’m not concerned about it,’’ Leach said. "The guys that are here, you coach them.’’

Hmmmm. Seems like a strange response and you would think that if the feeling was mutual, Leach's response would have been different, like "we wish Blake the best of luck". This makes the weakside linebacker position a little thin, and I think that you'll see one of the freshmen linebackers, Brandon Mahoney or Dion Chidozie, battle with Howard to fill the spot next year.

Also in the story, out for this week's game is FB Ryan Hale and SS Franklin Mitchem, while DE's Rajon Henley, Ryan Haliburton and Brandon Sharpe all return for the Houston game.

Erxleben to Remain Punter: LAJ's Don Williams writes that freshman punter Ryan Erxleben will continue to punt for the Red Raiders and special teams coach Eric Russell talks about Erxleben:

"That’s what we’re going to get from him as a young guy,’’ Russell said. "As he gets stronger and things like that, obviously the distance will come. The thing he’s pretty consistent with is an adequate hang time, and his operation time is pretty good at getting the ball off.’’

Russell also talks about Corona losing the job and the role he will continue to fill with the team:

"No one’s more disappointed than Donnie was, obviously,’’ Russell said. "His previous punt, even though it wasn’t as big a punt as that one (against Texas), wasn’t really what we were looking for. It was too big a game to let it happen again.

"So take a little pressure off him, let him handle kickoffs. I knew Ryan mentality wise, it wasn’t going to bother him being in Texas (stadium). He’s kicked in that stadium before, and I’ve been telling him to stay ready every week.’’

Freshman Focus on Chris Knighton: LAJ's Don Williams is shining the spotlight on redshirt freshmen and up this week is DE Chris Knighton. Here's defensive line coach Charlie Sadler on Knighton:

"He’s like most of the young guys," Sadler said. "He’s done really a very good job competing. I say that based upon Thursday evening scrimmages that we have. The thing you like about him, and I can see about our young redshirt defensive ends, is they have all gotten better each week. I’ve been pleased with their progress so far."

Kingsbury Conflicted: SAEN's Jerry Briggs sits down with former Red Raider Kliff Kingsbury, who the Captain says helped change the culture at Texas Tech:

"When we first started," said Leach, who took over for Spike Dykes at Tech in 2000, "a lot of folks thought I was nuts to throw the ball, and they thought 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 only at Tech, but also nationally. He was very instrumental in where we are today."

And Kingsbury remembers those late nights studying film:

"We took our bumps and bruises early," Kingsbury said. "We spent many Sunday nights up there until 1 or 2 a.m., just me and him, watching film and trying to improve. And, eventually we did."

High School Competitors: The Reporter News' talks with the high school coaches for both QB Taylor Potts and QB Case Keenum.

Familiar Look: ESPN's Tim Griffin writes that the Red Raiders are set to face a very familiar team in the Houston Cougars. Defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill talks about what Houston does offensively:

"They are a challenge for anybody," McNeill said. "Houston has a great set of skill-position people and a big, strong offensive line. They do a good job of blending and mixing plays. They like to stretch you vertically and horizontally and make it tough for a defense."

So whether Holgorsen really has an advantage over the Red Raiders is debatable.

"I think it’s a draw," McNeill said. "He knows me as well as well as I know him. I think the game will depend on which team ends up making the most plays."

Assorted Texas Tech, Houston Cougar and Big 12 Links: Rock M Nation with Beyond the Box Score for week 3 and the SB Nation Big 12 Roundtable Recap . . . with DT's Alex Ybarra writes about the renewed SWC rivalry between Texas Tech and Houston . . . the Chron's Steve Campbell writes that a win against Texas Tech will be the next step for Houston . . . the Chron's Richard Justice writes that the Cougars are gaining confidence . . . ESPN's Graham Watson writes that Houston hopes that their maturity keeps them humble . . . SI's Stewart Mandel writes that Kevin Sumlin has the Cougars in the BCS hunt . . . Kansas City Star's Blair Kerkoff has a well written Big 12 Insider . . .

Neglected Video: Fox34 with a preview of the defenses:

Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe :: 09.18.09

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

Odds and Ends

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

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

Texas Tech Football

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Drive Chart :: North Dakota 13, Texas Tech 38

Seth C — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 13:08:19 -0000

Participation

Offense

Starters: LT Chris Olson, LG Brandon Carter, C Shawn Byrnes, RG Mickey Okafor, RT Marlon Winn, QB Taylor Potts, RB Baron Batch, IR Adam James, IR Detron Lewis, WR Edward Britton, WR Alexander Torres. Reserves: IR Cornelius Douglas, IR Austin Zouzalik, WR Jacoby Franks, RB Harrison Jeffers, WR Lyle Leong, RB Eric Stephens, RB Aaron Crawford, RT Joe King, RG Devric Gallington, LT Terry McDaniel, LG Lonnie Edwards.

Defense

Starters: DE Rajon Henley, DT Richard Jones, NT Colby Whitlock, DE Brandon Sharpe, SLB Bront Bird, MLB Brian Duncan, WLB Marlon Williams, CB Jamar Wall, FS Cody Davis, SS Franklin Mitchem, CB LaRon Moore. Reserves: S Will Ford, S Julius Howard, S Jared Flannel, CB Taylor Charbonnet, S Brett Dewhurst, WLB Blake Collier, CB Nathan Stone, MLB Sam Fehoko, S Daniel Cobb, SLB Tyrone Sonier, DE Sandy Riley, DE Ryan Haliburton, NT Victor Hunter, DE Daniel Howard, DT David Neil, DT Chris Perry.

Drive Chart Texas Tech Offense

Texas Tech Drive 1

What Went Right: 10 of Texas Tech's 40 rushing yards came from this drive, while Taylor Potts completed passes to Detron Lewis, Lyel leong, Austin Zouzalik and Adam James. Batch finished up the drive with a 3 yard touchdown

What Went Wrong: Not much. Only one incomplete pass to Britton

Texas Tech Drive 2

What Went Right: This drive was about to fall flat but was kept alive with a UND facemask. Potts then had a 14 yard completion to Alexander Torres and Potts rushed 1 yard for the touchdown.

What Went Wrong: Looks like some end-arounds and fancy running plays rather than straight ahead rushing. Potts also missed on 3 pass attempts.

Texas Tech Drive 3

What Went Right: Started nicely with a 15 yard completion to Harrison Jeffers and another pass completion to Lewis for 21 yards.

What Went Wrong: Potts first interception of the day while inside the UND 20 yard line. That's either 6 or 3 points that get taken off the board because of Potts mistake.

Texas Tech Drive 4

What Went Right: Potts gets back on track with a nice 6 play 74 yard drive. Completes passes to Torres, Britton, Cornelius Douglas, and Lewis gets the touchdown.

What Went Wrong: Nothing, other than an incomplete pass to Jacoby Franks.

Texas Tech Drive 5

What Went Right: Started great with completions to Torres for 9 and Lewis for 14 yards. Then things fall apart

What Went Wrong: After those 2 completions Potts gets sacked, fumbles the ball and Marlon Winn recovers. Perhaps Potts is a little gun-shy or is wanting to do too much. Remember that Texas Tech is again on the UND 26, within field goal distance, and Potts throws his 2nd INT of the day on 3rd down and 15. It's the end of the half, but there's 3 or 6 more points not on the board although Texas Tech was primed to score.

Texas Tech Drive 6

What Went Right: Nothing.

What Went Wrong: A Matt Goetz false start and this is a whopping 3 play drive for 1 yard. Carona punts and Nathan Stone recovers a fumble giving Texas Tech the ball back.

Texas Tech Drive 7

What Went Right: Potts completes passes to Britton (15), Leong (11) and Britton (6) again.

What Went Wrong: Terry McDaniel holds on first down and this is the last you see of McDaniel for the game. Potts pulls Texas Tech out of the whole and gets Texas Tech to the North Dakota 3 yard line on 4th down, but a jump-ball pass to Detron Lewis falls flat. Again, this is the 3rd drive for Texas Tech inside the UND 20 yard line and no points are on the board.

Texas Tech Drive 8

What Went Right: This is the infamous 4 down on the North Dakota 1 yard line with Potts scoring on the 4th down play. In between then, Potts completes passes to Franks (4), two to Jeffers (24 and 5) and Lyle Leong (8).

What Went Wrong: It takes Texas Tech 4 times to score from UND's 1 yard line.

Texas Tech Drive 9

What Went Right: A nice 19 yard completion to Detron Lewis.

What Went Wrong: Potts' 3rd and final interception of the day.

Texas Tech Drive 10

What Went Right: The return of RB Baron Batch. Batch touches the ball 4 times in this 10 play drive that ended in a Matthew Williams field goal. Also included was a pass to Leong for 28 yards and a 13 yard run from Batch.

What Went Wrong: Texas Tech was driving down the field nicely, but a false start penalty stalled the drive and this is the 4th drive of the day that ended in the UND 20 yard line, although Mike Leach did finally go for the field goal.

Texas Tech Drive 11

What Went Right: Potts completions to Torres for 12 yards and an 18 yard touchdown pass to Adam James.

What Went Wrong: Nothing.

Drive Chart Texas Tech Defense

North Dakota Drive 1

What Went Right: A three and out is always a good outcome. Tackles by Brian Duncan, Jamar Wall and Rajon Henley with blocked punt by Edward Britton.

What Went Wrong: Nothing.

North Dakota Drive 2

What Went Right: Not much, other than the defense finally holding from their own 22 yard line and allowing a 39 yard field goal. Lots of little gains for UND including a big 13 yard 3rd down completion from Jake Landry.

What Went Wrong: How about two personal foul penalties, the 1st one on Marlon Williams and the 2nd one to some unknown player. That's 30 gifted yards to UND

North Dakota Drive 3

What Went Right: 3 plays and 4 yards, thanks to a UND illegal formation penalty.

What Went Wrong: Nothing.

North Dakota Drive 4

What Went Right: Too much yardage given up here including 1 pass for 18 yards and 2 for 10 yards. UND's kicker made a 52 yard field goal, so this wasn't a situation where the defense just gave up a ton of yards. Only 45 to be exact.

What Went Wrong: A 9 yard pass interference penalty by Julius Howard kept the drive alive.

North Dakota Drive 5

What Went Right: End of half.

What Went Wrong: End of half.

North Dakota Drive 6

What Went Right: Another 3 and out, 3 plays 8 yards.

What Went Wrong: Nothing.

North Dakota Drive 7

What Went Right: And another 3 and out, 3 plays 9 yards.

What Went Wrong: Nothing.

North Dakota Drive 8

What Went Right: Not much.

What Went Wrong: 13 plays and 80 yards, with a 9 yard rushing touchdown from UND and a roughing the passer penaltty that gave the ball to UND on the Texas Tech 9 yard line. Too many small completions in the soft underbellly of the Texas Tech defense.

North Dakota Drive 9

What Went Right: Not quite a 3 and out, but a 5 play, 13 yard drive led to another UND punt.

What Went Wrong: Not much, other than a 13 yard pass given up by Cody Davis.

North Dakota Drive 10

What Went Right: A 3 and out, but a Daniel Howard sack led to a 3 play, -7 yard drive.

What Went Wrong: Nothing.

North Dakota Drive 11

What Went Right: This was the end of the game and Sam Fehoko made two tackles. The clock ended this drive.

What Went Wrong: Nothing really and it was nice to see Fehoko make two stops for little yardage.

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."

Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe // 08.28.09

Seth C — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 11:36:43 -0000

Odds and Ends

Day Off: Other than this daily diatribe, I'm taking the rest of the day off so no additional stories. However, feel free to look back at what was on DTN this week including the depth charts for the offensive backfield, the receivers, the offensive line, the defensive line, the linebackers and the secondary.

Ticket FanPosts: I think the idea of Ticket FanPosts is a great, but what I was thinking is that we could have one general post that I'll put up each week (I'll probably get around to this over the weekend) where we, as a community, can buy, sell or just give away tickets. I will ask that you guys help me figure out if you think anyone is a ticket broker. They have their own forums for selling tickets so if you're suspicious of someone, then let me know. This is for regular people who need to get rid of their tickets. I'm also thinking that here on DTN you sell your tickets for face-value or lower. I don't want this to be an avenue where people are trying to make money, but rather help out a fellow Red Raider. Also, once you've found a taker for your tickets, just exchange email addresses and let the bartering begin between the two of you.

Gillispie Will Not Coach at Texas Tech: I think there may have been an under-current of folks who thought that if Pat Knight had a tough year this year, Billy Gillispie's name would come up as a possible replacement. Ummm, I don't think that's an option any more as Gillispie was recently arrested for suspicion of DUI. I don't think there's anything wrong with having a few drinks, but there's no reason to get behind the wheel, and I think that's not an image that Gerald Myers wants attached to his career as athletic director at Texas Tech.

How Not to Post a FanPost: You're going to have to allow me some latitude here.

I was checking out all things Texas Tech and ran across the LAJ's blog RaiderBuzz, which is supposed to be a blog about what's being said about your Red Raiders. The problem with all of this is that whoever is in charge of posting content on this blog is just copying and pasting someone's work and adding a link. I posted a comment asking why this isn't plagiarism and I still haven't received a response and whoever is doing this is continuing to plagiarize other people's work.

I have an English degree from Texas Tech and as a result, this sort of thing bothers me to no end and rather than just rant about how there's a difference in blockquoting someone's work or making sure that everyone knows who is the original source, I thought that this is a perfect teaching opportunity on how to write a FanPost.

Don't do this.

FanPosts are supposed to be your own original thoughts, and you guys have truly stepped up the content lately.

And if someone from the LAJ is reading this, please stop plagiarizing. Have some original thoughts. Copying and pasting entire articles, even if it's from the Bleacher Report (I hate the Bleacher Report and refuse to post anything from the Bleacher Report), is not the way to run a blog. I'm sure I'm making friends left and right, but I would think a newspaper would know better.

Texas Tech Football

New Mexico Lobos Game Moved and to be on FSN: This is tremendous news for out-of-towners like myself as the official site announced that the New Mexico Lobos game will be moved to 2:30 p.m. but it will be on Fox Sports Net.

Special Teams Receiving More Attention: LAJ's Don Williams feature this morning is on special teams coach Eric Russell and the increased work that unit is receiving this fall. And I love and hate reading things like this:

"We spend a lot more," said Dewhurst, who was a key performer on Tech’s kickoff coverage last season. "When (Russell) wasn’t here, we only had one little period — we just did the team part. Now we have three periods. Since we’ve gotten (closer to) the season, it’s more team, but when we first started, it was so many different drills and techniques."

Safety Franklin Mitchem, who had most of his 15 tackles last year on special teams, said the time spent on teaching technique should pay off.

"I don’t think any of the (special-teams) drills are favorites; we get pretty winded," Mitchem said. "But I think the drills will help us focus on our technique in the game, because we haven’t really focused on technique this much (in the past)."

New found commitment. I. Love. It.

Potts is the Latest Wonderful QB: DMN's Kevin Sherrington feature this morning is on QB Taylor Potts who may be the NFL-type of quarterback that everyone seems to want Texas Tech to have, although Captain Mike Leach has no idea what the NFL actually wants in a quarterback. And Potts' job sounds like it should be pretty easy:

"I just need him to make the players around him better," Leach said. "Make the routine plays.

"Just focus on his job."

Texas Tech Football Notebook: LAJ's Don Williams writes that decisions are being made about the lineup including S Julius Howard being part of the substitution package for six defensive backs, along with freshman S Will Ford . . . DE Daniel Howard is still the stand-up linebacker (i.e. the Joker) and LB Bront Bird is the second option (this has me scratching my head this morning) . . . the offensive line has been cut down to eight players (LT Chris Olson and Terry McDaniel, LG Brandon Carter and Lonnie Edwards, C Shawn Byrnes and Justin Keown, RG Mickey Okafor, RG/RT Joe King and RT Marlon Winn) . . . RB Aaron Crawford is back practicing full-speed and he and WR Tramain Swindall are practicing with the scout team . . .

Lewis Wants Crabtree to Sign: FWST's Dwain Price talked with WR Detron Lewis, who would just like for Michael Crabtree to sign his contract:

"We need him to play and I want him to play,'' Lewis said. "I don't know what's going on.''

Snip

"I was looking at when he got drafted and I was thinking, depending on the year he had (with the 49ers), that would help a lot of our receivers out,'' Lewis said. "That's because basically when we come out they think we're just "system'' receivers anyway.''

Yea, all of this.

Wall Ready for Senior Season: DT's Adam Coleman talks with CB Jamar Wall, who is happy to be back on the field after being injured for most of the spring. Wall spent the spring trying to be as productive as possible:

"Tried to break down different things everyday," Wall said. "Looking at myself, how I performed my sophomore year starting to my junior year starting. What I did good, what I did bad. Things that could help me be a better player."

In addition to the usual lifting and weight training, Wall said studying film not only helped him keep pace during the spring, but it made him a smarter player.

This was his plan all along, however. He said it was his decision to have surgery, in hopes it would prevent the injury from nagging him. So Wall seemed prepared to go a few months without being on the field.

"It helped me develop a better aspect of the game," Wall said. "I couldn’t practice, so I had to get it mental. By getting it mental and being able to put it on the field, may as well make me a better player."

Motivation: DT's Alex Ybarra writes that the lack of attention for Texas Tech is motivation for the team to prove doubters wrong, although RG Brandon Carter doesn't care much:

"I don’t think we’re really worried about that around here," Tech offensive lineman Brandon Carter said. "I think everyone within the family here at Texas Tech, we all believe in ourselves and we all believe we can win every time we step out on that field."

While LB Brian Duncan is focusing on the defense being better than last year:

"As a whole, we are most definitely going to stop the run," middle linebacker Brian Duncan said. "We’re most definitely taking pride in the run. We’re taking it personal when teams score on us. We’re trying to get shut outs every game. The intensity and the running on our defense, swarming to the ball every time, we’re gonna pick that up."

Batch Ready to Play: ESPN's Tim Griffin writes that RB Baron Batch is ready to play after his recent shoulder injury:

"I've been hurt before, but that was a definite eye-opener," Batch said after a recent Texas Tech practice. "I was going in as the team's starting back and then I was thinking that it might all be gone that quickly. The injury wasn't what scared me as much of the thought of all the hard work I had put in to get where I was going down the drain."

I'm sure I'm right in line with the rest of you guys, but Batch is one of my favorite players and he's just so level-headed and a tremendous representative of this team.

Neglected Audio and Video: KAMC has a quick story and some reaction from recent Texas Tech verbal commitment, Tre'Vante Porter . . .

Big 12 Links: Over the Pylon previews the Big 12 . . . ESPN's Tim Griffin looks at the freshmen to watch in the Big 12 . . .

Scouting the Enemy: If you thought that Barking Carnival just liked poking fun of Texas Tech, you're wrong, they're equal opportunity offenders as the State of the Union tour continues with the Texas A&M Aggies . . . Rock M Nation Beyond the Box Score projections for the Aggies . . .

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.