SB Nation - Louis Vasquez

Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe :: 11.21.09

Seth C — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 12:20:20 -0000

Let's hope this happens. ~~I'd love to give credit to whoever did this, if you know, leave a comment.~~ Texas Tech alum Brian Crowell gets credit for the photoshop skills. Thanks to Brian for the foreshadowing.

Senior Day: LAJ's Don Williams writes that on previous senior days, the Red Raiders have made it count. The first 2 paragraphs were pretty good:

Texas Tech tackle Marlon Winn started the week reminding teammates the added significance of today’s regular-season home finale against Oklahoma. It’ll be the last trip down the tunnel at Jones AT&T Stadium for 19 Red Raiders seniors.

"He said it (Sunday) night: ‘How would you want to be sent out when you’re a senior?’’’ Tech linebacker Bront Bird said. "’We have a lot of freshmen and sophomores playing right now. Think about whenever it’s your time, how you want your legacy to be left in the Jones.’ So I think the team’s going to rally around that.’’

Injuries Hurt Red Raiders and Sooners: LAJ's Don Williams runs down the injury situation for both teams and reminds me that the only significant injuries that Texas Tech suffered that year was DT Rajon Henley for 3 games and G Louis Vasquez and CB L.A. Reed for 2 games. I could spend quite a bit of time going over the injury situation this year, but it's certainly been significant.

Howard Has No Limits: FWST's Dwain Price features DE Daniel Howard, who fellow teammate LB Bront Bird feels that Howard isn't as known and opposing linemen should know about him:

"Maybe he’s not as tall as the other guys, or as strong, or maybe not even as fast, but he makes up for that in effort, that’s for sure," Red Raiders linebacker Bront Bird said.

"I’m not sure what [opposing offensive linemen] think of him, but I know they better respect him. He causes havoc off the edge, I know that much."

Here's Howard on coming to Texas Tech:

"I got recruited by the rest of the schools around here to play linebacker, and Tech was the one that came in and told me, 'You’re going to play defensive end.’ I said, 'OK,’ because everybody else told me I was too small [to play defensive end], I wasn’t fast enough and I wasn’t tall enough, and I think as a defense we’re making statements because we’re all those guys."

Go read the whole thing, it's worth your time.

Oklahoma Sooner and Big 12 Links: Crimson and Cream Machine with 5 keys to beating Texas Tech . . . NewsOK's David Ubben with the weekly blitz package . . . NewsOK's Jake Trotter writes that the Sooners might need some magic today . . . NewsOK's Berry Tramel writes that the Sooners have struggled on the road . . . the Tulsa World with 3 storylines for today's game . . . FWST's Mike Jones with a look at RB DeMarco Murray and WR Ryan Broyles are playmakers . . . LAJ's Adam Zuvanich wirtes that the OU defense is one of the best in the Stoops era . . .

Game Tonight: Lamar Cardinals vs. Texas Tech Red Raiders
Time: 7:00 p.m. :: Location: United Spirit Arena, Lubbock, Texas
Preview and Game Day Thread: Scheduled for 6:00 p.m. post

Stressing Defense: LAJ's Courtney Linehan writes that head coach Pat Knight is stressing defense:

Skeletons dance across the backs of the Texas Tech men’s basketball players. The frightful figures are printed on their T-shirts, but they carry a message coach Pat Knight hopes rattles his team this season: Play to the bone.

"It’s a fighting term: it means you have to fight to the end, until that final bell goes off," Knight said after the Raiders’ 94-75 win against Northwestern State on Thursday. "Look at boxing, how many guys lose it in the 12th round, get knocked out because they’re playing it safe or just think they have the fight won."

And Knight was not happy with the first the first half of the game against Northwestern St.:

"It was going back to the same old BS as last year: not guarding people, trying to out-gun the other team. You might be able to do that against some teams in the preseason, but you’re not going to be able to out-gun Texas and Kansas."

Post Game Thoughts :: Nebraska Cornhuskers Edition

Seth C — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 21:56:27 -0000

More photos » by Nati Harnik - AP

2 months ago: Texas Tech's Daniel Howard, center, with teammates LaRon Moore, left, and Bront Bird, carries the ball for a touchdown against Nebraska in the first half of their NCAA college football game in Lincoln, Neb., Saturday, Oct. 17, 2009. Texas Tech beat Nebraska 31-10.(AP Photo/Nati Harnik)

Browse more photos »

SBN Box Score :: TTU Box Score :: Post Game Quotes

The Result :: Not What I Expected: I'll be honest, I thought that the Nebraska offense would show up just a bit and that never happened. You can certainly credit the Texas Tech defense, as this group made plays all day long, but the Nebraska offense needs some help. In terms of the offense, I never expected Nebraska to out-gain the Red Raiders (259 to 285), again, credit needs to go to that Nebraska defensive line that was simply unbelievable. The offensive line continues to be decimated by injury and will need to improve moving forward, but they held it together, especially when I thought that the Red Raiders needed a touchdown to secure the win. Taking 5:00 minutes off the clock.

Let's get to the storylines and the MVP's after the jump.

The Storylines ::

Making Big Plays: The very first drive was a microcosm of the entire game. QB Steven Sheffield completed 18 yards worth of passes to WR Alexander Torres and then bad things started to happen. A false start and Sheffield taking a sack led Texas Tech to have to make a play on 3rd and 13. Sheffield completes one of the highlight catches of my life to WR Lyle Leong for 34 yards. The Red Raiders now have a first down and Sheffield promptly gets sacked for 10 yards and Texas Tech then faces a 3rd and 17 only to have WR Detron Lewis catch a pass for 22 yards. What looked to be a simple screen pass to RB Baron Batch sealed the drive (his skip into the endzone reminded me a bit of Eric Morris - shoutout) as the Nebraska defenders just could get around to catching Batch get to the pylon.

This team faced adversity almost the entire game, or at least it looked that way from where I was watching the game, but responded at just about each and every call. It may have been the offense at times, it may have been the defense at times, and it may have been the special teams at times.

At the end of the day, this team is a team of hard-working individuals and they are a team . . . collectively, they work together.

This was probably expressed better than I've ever seen this before in LAJ's Don Williams post-game discussion with defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill:

"One night during fall camp,’’ defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill said, "(running back) Baron Batch got up and he says, ‘We had some great players last year — Graham Harrell, Michael Crabtree, Louis Vasquez, Brandon Williams. This year, it’s more about the Double-T — what’s on our chest and not necessarily the names on our back. Nothing against those guys. We love those guys. But this team is more worried about not letting the other guy down.’’
The Raiders are working all the angles.

The last couple of weeks, they’ve voted on captains based on what have you done for me lately?

This week, you watch, they’re going to elect a sideline captain.

"If you participated in sports, having your teammates cheer for you is a big, big deal, and we make a big deal out of it,’’ McNeill said. "Our kids take pride in it. We travel some guys right now who, they know they’re not going to play one second. They know their job is to come, go through pre-game and cheer the team on.’’

So McNeill’s eyes lit up when I asked if that means he’s going to arrange a vote for a sideline captain.

"That’s a good idea,’’ he said. "I’m going to take it to the boss.’’

Who would be some leading candidates? McNeill mentioned players such as true freshmen Pearlie Graves and Jacob Karam and veteran backups such as Britton Barbee and Brik Brinker.

I've noticed Karam and Barbee being involved on the sidelines, which is a surprise since Barbee has seen little to no time this year and Karam can be expected not to see a snap all year. But I have no doubt that these guys love their school, and despite not participating, they may be this team's biggest cheerleaders and there's something about that sort of attitude that makes me love this team even more.

Dominating Defense: As mentioned above, Nebraska had their own problems on offense, but to simply point to that would not be fair to the Texas Tech defensive unit. Ruffin McNeill and his unit kept Nebraska to 70 yards rushing and 215 yards passing. When the game was still relatively close the Red Raider defense allowed only 37 yards in their first 4 possessions (one of those being the fumble return for a touchdown). The next possession was Nebraska's best possession as they drove 11 plays and 74 yards, only to be limited to a field goal. With first and goal from the Texas Tech 10 yard line, Nebraska could only manage 3 plays to get to the Texas Tech 4 yard line. Perhaps this was a situation where the defense was a bit tired, but truthfully, limiting Nebraska to a field goal on their first 5 possessions is success.

This is a successful day: 5 tackles for a loss (all being sacks), 1 fumble return for a touchdown, 1 interception, and 7 pass break-ups. That's making plays all over the field. From the defensive line that was able to pressure QB Zac Lee to the defensive backs that were able to cause 7 Nebraska incompletions to a return for the touchdown.

DE's Brandon Sharpe and Rajon Henley (we'll get to D. Howard below) were huge yesterday and I still go back to the ideal that Sharpe, Henley and Howard may not be the most talented bunch, but they'll sure as hell out-work you. And for those of you who complain about McNeill not blitzing and being creative enough, I'd suggest that you watch Howard for the game as he was all over the place prior to the snap in the Joker position and the defensive line as a whole did a tremendous job of creating a pocket and containing Lee. Howard was instrumental in ensuring that there were few gaps for Lee to run after the ball was snapped. McNeill deserves a ton of credit for turning around a defense in such a short period of time after Setencich was let go. That's not to say that this Texas Tech defense has arrived, but I do think it's appropriate to say that this defense is leaps and bounds better than where it was in 2007.

Captain Mike Leach acknowledged the defense in his post-game thoughts:

On if the defensive performance on the day ranks high in his career coaching at Texas Tech: "I think so. I think it does for a couple reasons, and I think one reason it does is because, like I said, when things weren't really going our way, we were losing yards on offense as quick as we were gaining them for a period of time out there, and our defense just stepped up over and over. We tested them in about every way we could. Bad field position, good return on the punt or the kickoff, offense gets a three and out, then another three and out, when you think of this defense when you've got to make it happen, they just kept stepping up. I thought it was a real credit to our D-line, which is a real quick unit. Really I thought both D-lines had a pretty big day."

Offensive Line Woes: When LT Terry McDaniel went down with an apparent knee injury I became incredibly nervous. McDaniel has been a steadying influence along the offensive lines and you guys talked about it in the game-day and post-game threads. Perhaps all of the injuries and suspension along the offensive lines create a situation where this unit will be much better off in 2010 as guys have to pick each other up, but as woeful as Nebraska was on offense in the 1st half, the Texas Tech offense wasn't good in the 2nd half, sans 1 drive. Other than the touchdown drive, Texas Tech managed only 46 yards on 5 drives and time of possession of only 4:22 in the 3rd quarter. Credit the Nebraska pressure defense that rattled Sheffield early and often in the second half. For the day, Nebraska had 8 quarterback hurries and 5 sacks for the day, in addition to 13 tackles for a loss. Whether or not the offensive line wasn't 100% or not, this must change and I'm sure that OL coach Moore will address this issue during the week.

The Nebraska defense looked a lot like the Texas Tech defense in that they rushed their front 4 almost all day. The biggest difference between what I saw against Nebraska and what Oklahoma did against Texas, was that the Sooners were stunting and blitzing all over the place. I don't know that this line will see another line as talented and strong as Nebraksa, but OU is going to be incredibly tough.

Leach Thoughts: I'm guessing that Leach was in a good mood after yesterday's win and it showed in some of his comments after the game. There's really no point to any of this other than to highlight some of the more quotable portions.

When Leach was asked about how whether there was any doubt the team would respond in the second half, he had this to say about his defense:

"We have blackshirts there at Texas Tech too. Every one of our guys is wearing a black shirt underneath their pads. I'm proud to say the blackshirts won this one."

I'm not sure if Leach knew before the game that Pelini gave out the blackshirts to 13 of his defensive players yesterday, but if he did, then this was both smart and thoughtful way to convey to his team that they play pretty damned good defense too.

When asked about Sheffield's performance and some of the pressure he faced on Saturday:

"He got a lot of pressure,’’ Leach said. "He generated some for himself, too. There were a couple of them where he’d go back there and run in a circle, run in a circle and look up and then there’s two guys there. I wasn’t real cranked about that. I wanted him to throw the ball and hit some fat guy in the stands. That didn’t consistently happen. We had a conversation on that.’’

What percentage of college coaches use the word "cranked"?

When asked about whether or not it was important to score on Texas Tech's first possession, Leach launches into a bit about Sheffield and the money quote is at the end:

"I think it's really important, and I think (Sheffield) was really instrumental in that. I think he does a great job just with the whole team. He is one of our captains this week. He was really instrumental in having all of our guys excited to play. Then he went over there and kind of put his money where his mouth is or whatever. That's basically one of the worst cliches I've used in a long time, I'm usually better at making them up."

Kickoff Woes: No one takes more special teams grief than K Donnie Carona, and I'd be more than happy to learn that the short kickoffs were part of the game play, but for the game, Carona only averaged 54 yards a kickoff. That's about kicking it off to the 15 to 20 yard line. I'm surprised that Special Teams coach Russell has been so forgiving of Carona and it took one punt for Carona to get the boot as the punter, but field position is a big part of the game and I'd really just like to see Carona be more consistent.

Contrarian MVP's :: Due to the strange nature of this game, I thought that this week's MVP's should be a little different too.

The Offensive MVP :: DE Daniel Howard: The conventional offensive MVP would have been WR Detron Lewis, who had 5 catches for 100 yards or Steven Sheffield for leading the Red Raiders to a win on the road against a ranked opponent. But these are contrarian MVP's. Howard had the longest play of the game, 82 yards, returning a fumble and putting Texas Tech ahead for the game. Who would have thought that Howard's play would have been the one to put Nebraska away for he game, but it was.

The Defensive Co-MVP's :: FS Franklin Mitchem and SS Cody Davis: The convention defensive MVP would have to be DE Brandon Sharpe, who had 7 tackles, 4 sacks and broke up 1 pass. Incredible game, just absolutely incredible. But the contrarian MVP goes to the two safety-mates in Davis and Mitchem. I thought Mitchem's support in and around the line of scrimmage was absolutely tremendous, and then to top it off, he snagged an interception. Davis' hit on that 3rd down that caused the Nebraska player to drop a sure catch was tremendous. That kid can play. One last thing about Mitchem and Davis, and someone please tell me if I'm wrong, but has Texas Tech been burned deep thus far this year? It's a testament to DB coach Mainord, but it's also a testament to the guys in the program.

The Special Teams MVP :: SS Brett Dewhurst: In addition to getting a ton of playing time as the nickel and dime defensive back, he also had 4 special teams tackles for the day. A convention MVP would have been K Matthew Williams, who hit a field goal for 32 yards and all of his extra points, or P Ryan Erxleben, who has no idea he's a freshman, punting in a hostile environment.

Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe :: 09.03.09

Seth C — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 11:24:26 -0000

Odds and Ends

Sprinting Towards Tier 1 Status: Because Texas Tech raised $24.5 million, the state of Texas is matching $21.5 million in funding. This is huge, huge news. And I'll echo the thoughts of Ayleein at RaiderAde in that you have one person to thank, and that person is Kent Hance, who didn't mince words when it comes to competing and "winning" at this particular game:

"I think it sends a very strong signal that we're out on the forefront," Hance said, adding he would have been embarrassed if Tech had not come out on top.

You betcha Mr. Hance. I may be reading too much into those comments, but personally, I think Hance sees this not only as an opportunity to further Texas Tech, but also as a competition and something tells me that Hance doesn't like to lose at anything.

College Football Starts: Here's your weekend schedule and I'll be staying up late tonight catch the Boise St. Broncos and the Oregon Ducks. Cannot. Wait.

Texas Tech Football

Texas Tech Football Notebook: LAJ's Don Williams has some good nuggets this morning, including the notion that DE Ryan Haliburton will most likely back-up Rajon Henley at LDE due to the fact that Sandy Riley is apparently out with an injury (this may be a blessing in disguise as there will be a need for experienced defensive ends in 2010 and Haliburton is the most likely player to receive playing time) . . . still no decision on the left tackle position as Terry McDaniel and Chris Olson continue to fight for that spot, as are Donnie Carona and Ryan Erxleben . . . the staff is still not sure if they intend on redshirting WR Eric Ward (I think they need to let him get some time, especially if he's going to be the primary backup to Edward Britton and should expect some time next year) . . .

Fighting Sioux: LAJ's Adam Zuvanich writes a fairly presumptuous article about how the North Dakota Fighting Sioux know that there may not be much of a chance on Saturday (I've just never heard a team admit that). Here's UND head coach Chris Mussman:

"Obviously, we know what we’re up against with that quality of an opponent," said second-year North Dakota head coach Chris Mussman, whose team opens its season on Saturday at Texas Tech. "At this time with our program, it’s probably not the best time to be playing that game, but we’re going to try to make the most of it."

The official UND website has some news and notes and UND QB Jake Landry is anxious to get on the field;

"I'm ready to finally get out and play a football game," Landry said. "We've been in camp for over a month now, and we're ready to get out there and play somebody different."

What??? Honestly, I was a tad bit shocked whenever I read ESPN's Tim Griffin's rankings of the Big 12 defenses and was shocked to read that he thinks the Red Raiders have the 4th best defense in the Big 12. Now, Griffin readily admits that the drop-off from 1-3 to 4 is steep (I would also admit this) and this is only one man's opinion, but I still think that this is about right:

This is where the big drop-off starts from the top three teams. The Red Raiders will miss pass-rushing threats McKinner Dixon and Brandon Williams from last season, but have an experienced unit back. Rajon Henley and Brandon Sharpe are set to fill in as the pass-rushing threats and Colby Whitlock can be a terror at times -- particularly against Texas. Brian Duncan is a producer and the team’s leading tackler at middle linebacker. Jamar Wall is one of the better cover corners in the league. But the unit will depend on the improvement of two projected starters: redshirt freshman free safety Cody Davis and strong safety Franklin Mitchem.

Not entirely accurate as Daniel Howard should get the start next to Henley. But this is the Texas Tech defense in a nutshell and I really think the difference is how quickly will Cody Davis and Franklin Mitchem adjust to their roles and pick up their play. Overall, I do think there's an upgrade in athleticism in that the combination of Davis and Mitchem I think is more athletic that Darcel McBath and Daniel Charbonnet with Charbonnet being the player that I think there's a slight upgrade in the athleticism. Lots to look forward to this season.

Neglected Audio and Video: Fox34 on the Red Raiders preparing for North Dakota:

Big 12 Links: Barking Carnival continues the tour with the state of the union for their pals, the Oklahoma Sooners . . . ESPN's Tim Griffin on why Oklahoma St. needs a second receiver to develop (remember that the starting tight end just left the team) . . .

2010 Recruits: Tom Lemming released his top 25 at each position and I found a couple of Red Raider commits, including QB Scotty Young as the #11 pro-style quarterback and WR Karone Boone as the #4 wide receiver . . .

Alumni: Article from Jay Paris on new Chargers offensive lineman Louis Vasquez . . .

Depth Charting // The Offensive Line

Seth C — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 15:00:10 -0000

Offensive Line

Left Tackle	Left Guard	Center	Right Guard	Right Tackle
Chris Olson (70) JR; 6-5/296	Brandon Carter SR; 6-7/344	Shawn Byrnes (51) SR; 6-4/307	Mickey Okafor (77) RS SO; 6-7/319	Marlon Winn (67) SR; 6-6/287
Terry McDaniel (68) RS FR; 6-7/335	Lonnie Edwards (78) RS SO; 6-5/290	Justin Keown (73) JR; 6-4/302	Joe King (59) RS FR; 6-6/319	LaAdrian Waddle (65) FR; 6-6/350

I've only guessed on the two deep here because I'm not sure where some of the freshmen play, other than Joey Gray is going to be at left tackle. I think that if there are injuries or any issues, then you're going to see some players jump around a bit. The only player that I think bears mentioning is Deveric Gallington (66; SO; 6-4/350) who is also backing up at right guard at this time.

Left Tackle: The battle for the left tackle spot is a two man race. On one hand, you have the incredibly versatile and hard worker in Chris Olson and on the other hand you have the raw, but very large and talented Terry McDaniel. I've said my peace here, if it were me, I'd choose McDaniel, but even if he doesn't get the nod right here, he'll still get time. Not to mention, he's fairly young and he's already pushing older players. He'll force himself into the line. As far as Olson is concerned, if there's an injury, you're going to see Olson be the first player to take that spot, whether it be center, right tackle or left guard. If Olson's not careful, he's going to be an incredibly valuable player once he moves on to the NFL.

Left Guard: Carter should finish out his senior season much like Louis Vasquez did. I think Moore was smart to think about Carter at left tackle, but the truth of the matter is that he's just not quite fleet of foot to be in that much open space. He's a better mauler anyway. Lonnie Edwards looks to be the guy that will be able to anchor this spot for two years after Carter graduates and I'm very comfortable with that thought. Edwards was an immensely talented player coming out of high school and it's high time that he put that to use.

Center: Shawn Byrnes is earning what was taken away from him and I like that. I'm hoping like hell he has a chip on his shoulder all year long. It also seems as if Byrnes has put on some weight, so I'm hoping that he's just as agile as I remember him. After watching the spring game, I've come to appreciate Justin Keown as a more than capable center. When Byrnes does move on next year, I feel the same way about Keown that I do about Edwards in that after watching him play, I'm very comfortable with his skill set.

Right Guard: No one is talking about the fact that Okafor is a redshirt freshman and will be stepping into a starting role along the offensive line this year. I can honestly say that I didn't watch too much of Okafor during the spring game, but if I didn't notice anything blatant about his play, good or bad, he must be solid. Not to mention, Matt Moore has been incredibly good about picking the right players. I trust that Moore has done that here. Joe King was mentioned earlier last week as being a guy that Moore is grooming to be up and down the offensive line. If that's the case, then King is improving how valuable he is to the team each practice that he's able to help out at another position. This is really something that we're going to have to watch the longer Texas Tech has Moore in Lubbock, is that he may finally be getting to how he wants to run his line after three years. Versatile players who can play multiple positions if needed.

Right Tackle: This is the position that's received the second most press, not because the starter, Marlon Winn, has done anything negative, but apparently little known recruit LaAdrian Waddle has pushed himself to the second team. I think what this means is that if there's an injury, you'll see Olson at right tackle, but Moore likes what he sees in Waddle so much that he's grooming him to take over for Winn next year. That's impressive. And keep in mind that when we all complain about recruits who don't seem to be highly rated, sometimes the coaches know what they're doing. Moore keeps saying that Waddle, had he been in a major city, would have been recruited by every major school in the country. When the staff signs guys like James Polk and Coby Coleman, relative unknowns, I like to think that Texas Tech has had to mine talent in different places to be successful at what they do and Waddle may be a perfect example of that.

Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe // 08.25.09

Seth C — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 11:03:06 -0000

Odds and Ends

Another Quiet Day: It's another day and it's relatively quiet from a news perspective. Thank goodness you're going to get four, that's right four, posts out of me today. Spaced out over the morning, check back early and often for a preview of Oklahoma St., depth charting the receivers and my adventures in fly-fishing.

Texas Tech Football

Howard Adjusting to the Change: LAJ's Don Williams writes that linebacker turned safety Julius Howard is continuing to adjust to playing safety. Defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill on Howard:

"The last couple of days, and really the last week, he’s done a good job for us back there," McNeill said. "He’s a smart player, understands the game, has been around. But he’s also run around real well and is showing some athleticism back there."

And Howard just wants repetitions to be ready:

"It’s going real good," Howard said of the move. "I’ve got it down. I just need to keep playing and get more reps and more reps, over and over. I’m good as far as playing safety."

Here's the bit from Williams' article that interested me the most, especially as we try to piece together a depth chart:

The player who will join them in six-DB packages hasn’t been settled. Cornerback Taylor Charbonnet, being short and quick, fits the profile of an underneath cover man for slot receivers. He’s worked there in practice.

Mainord said he’s still looking at Howard, Dewhurst and Jared Flannel for that job, too. Freshman Terrance Bullitt also is likely to play this season, according to coaches, although Bullitt’s tall, rangy build suggests he’s more likely to be an over-the-top deep safety than an underneath coverage man.

This news, coupled with yesterday's quote from Ruffin McNeill where he stated that CB D.J. Johnson, S Will Ford and S Terrance Bullitt would not redshirt means that those veterans who think they might have a safety position might not. It will be interesting to see how this plays out over the course of the season.

Neglected Audio and Video: For those of you who wonder what the players think about the Red Raiders not being in any of the preseason polls, Fox34 did just that with a somewhat lengthy report below. Make sure and stick around for all of it as you'll hear DE Rajon Henley talk about the team working their balls off and DT Colby Whitlock with a post-practice dip:

Scouting the Enemy: TB from Bring On The Cats gets back from his honeymoon last week (congratulations!) and is already back at work with his Kansas St. Wildcats preview . . . Burnt Orange Nation with a long look at the Texas Longhorns with the help of some friends . . .

Big 12 Links: The St. Louis Dispatch previews the Big 12 . . . ESPN's Brent Musburger and Kirk Herbstreit preview the Big 12 . . .

Alumni: The official San Diego Chargers website on Louis Vasquez on his NFL debut . . .

Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe // 08.20.09

Seth C — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 11:19:27 -0000

Odds and Ends

Day Off: Its a quiet day today as the team had Wednesday off from practice. That means we'll have a lot more stuff tomorrow morning, plus I've been working on a preview, as have a lot of SB Nation college blogs, in partnership with CBS Sports. You may or may not have noticed that most SB Nation blogs are included on the CBS Sports team pages, including Double-T Nation.

Texas Tech Football

Freshman Safety Focus: LAJ's Don Williams features two freshmen safeties, Daniel Cobb and Will Ford who are not intimidated by the expectations of left behind by Darcel McBath and Daniel Charbonnet. Here's Cobb:

"It shows you the coaches are going to put you in a position to do well,’’ said Cobb, a 6-foot-1, 206-pound Killeen Ellison graduate. "You’ve just got to be able to make the play when they put you there.’’

And Ford on his and Cobb working together to be better football players:

"We chill with each other outside of football as well,’’ Ford said, "and we also study plays with each other and try to make each other better when we come out here. That way we can execute fast.’’

Events: Don't forget that today is the Kickoff Luncheon, starting at 11:15 a.m., but don't expect to get tickets today and this Friday is Autograph Night.

Carter Named to Lombardi List: Congrats to G Brandon Carter who has been named to the Lombardi Award Preseason Watch List.

Focus on Graves: RedRaiderSports.com's Brian Lane has today's freshman focus on DT Pearlie Graves and I liked this:

HOW HAVE THE OLDER GUYS UP FRONT HELPED YOU?

"My whole team, the whole defense I can look to my left or right and ask someone a question and know that they will help me out."

I know/hope Graves was joking (right?):

WHAT CLASS ARE YOU LEAST LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS FALL?

"I got to say all of them (laughing)."

Neglected Audio, Video and Photos: Fox34 had a small feature on new graduate assistant, Sonny Cumbie:

Scouting the Enemy: Corn Nation on WR Niles Paul emerging at wide receiver . . . . Rock M Nation's Beyond the Box Score on the Kansas defense . . . Rock Chalk Talk on the Kansas linebackers . . .

Big 12: ESPN's Tim Griffin and Ivan Maisel preview the Big 12 (video) . . . ESPN's Tim Griffin details the similarities between Texas Tech and Missouri . . .

Alumni: Per the Corsicana Daily Sun, it appears that G Louis Vasquez is finally returning to practice with the San Diego Charges . . .

Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe // 06.18.09

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

Odds and Ends

I'm Officially on Vacation

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

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

Texas Tech Football

Link Dump

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

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

If you say so.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Go read the whole thing. Good stuff.

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

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

And the accompanying impressive video:

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

Five Things // Building the Offensive Line

Seth C — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 15:00:18 -0000

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

Building the Offensive Line

I know that I'm not worried about the quarterback, the running back and the receivers, but this is an in-depth look at the offensive line.

1: Is Experience Overrated?

Much of Phil Steele's rankings are based on the experienced players returning and right now, Texas Tech sits at 106th in the nation. The experience factor is why Texas Tech isn't even in Steele's top 40 teams of 2009 (again, it's just someone's opinion) and much of that probably hinges on the fact that Texas Tech, on the surface, may be replacing 3 startes from last year, C Stephen Hamby, LT Rylan Reed and LG Louis Vasquez. There's really no way to write how much those guys meant to the Texas Tech offense last year especially if you consider how much time QB Graham Harrell had last year. Last year, Texas Tech gave up only 13 sacks the entire year (113 yards) and RB Baron Batch lost only 13 yards and RB Shannon Woods lost only 12 yards in 2008. That's a very low total of only 138 yards for the entire 2008 campaign. Again, that's an incredibly efficient offense that starts entirely up front with the offensive line, so to dismiss the importance of replacing starters along the offensive line isn't a bad line of thought when looking at offenses in 2009.

2: The Man at the Top

I had my doubts whenever Captain Leach hired little-known offensive line coach Matt Moore, hired from Troy University with only one year of college coaching experience and a number of years at the high school level. It seems like quite a stretch to be quite honest, but I'm not sure that this could have worked out any better for Texas Tech. I'm not sure who to attribute the quote, but it was something to the effect of find the guy that can hike the ball, and play the best four players after that. I don't think it was Moore, but you could certainly say that he believes in that philosophy. I'm not certain about this, but I believe that Moore, regardless of position, wants to find the best players and really doesn't worry too much about position. Of course, there are limitations to this, as you obviously cannot have a guy that has really bad feet or isn't athletic on the edge, but he did do this in some respect with Rylan Reed last year. Reed seemed to be a very athletic LT, but after his ankle injury in 2007, he wasn't as mobile as he had been the previous two years. Despite that, Moore felt that Reed was the best player available and he needed to be on the field.

3: Change In Tackles

Rylan Reed was a wonderful left tackle for Texas Tech, but he wasn't exactly mobile. He was incredibly strong and Texas Tech certainly played to his strength. Playing on an island, you can sometimes minimize the faults of a player, but it can also feature those faults. Brandon Carter started the spring out at left tackle and I thought at the time that this may not be the position best suited for Carter. Carter, much like Reed, is a huge guy and strength is his forte and I think he has decent footwork, but to me, he's not the kind of footwork to play left tackle. I'd even go so far to say that Carter's best position in the NFL will be at guard and I think he'll excel at that position. With Carter's knee injury, although not serious, he was replaced with redshirt freshman Terry McDaniel at left tackle. One of my thoughts during the spring game was that I was very much impressed with the way that McDaniel played and was especially impressed with his athleticism at this position. The difference between Carter and McDaniel, in my opinion, was that McDaniel seemed to have better footwork, but lacked the strength that Carter has, not to mention the all important know-how in playing along the line. There's no doubt that whoever plays at left tackle, that player is going to have to handle the likes of UT's Sergio Kindle and OU's Gerald McCoy, to name just two, and if it were me, I'd fall on the side of having the more athletic guy.

Marlon Winn is a guy that doesn't get much pre-season press, but if you want to talk about guys that are true athletes along the offensive line, I think you start with Winn. Winn, at least to me, represents the wave of the future with the Texas Tech line. Winn is the type of player that can contain most defensive ends and to be honest, prior to the spring, I thought that he would be a perfect replacement at left tackle. Not knowing the progress of McDaniel, especially since he didn't play all of last year, I thought that Winn would pick-up right where Reed left off and would protect Taylor Potts blindside for the next year. And perhaps this is a bit of forward thinking by Moore, but I get the feeling that Moore wants to have a guy in McDaniel to hold that spot for quite some time, which may explain the reason why he's staying at right tackle, but if push came to shove and none of the LT options work out, I have no doubt that Winn could step-in without missing a beat.

4: Versatility

Chris Olson represents Moore's philosophy more than any other player. Moore has said that Olson could essentially play any position along the offensive line. Olson is too good to be on the sideline this year, and if a guy struggles then you could see Olson relatively quickly. And that's not to say that Olson won't start either. But that type of versatility is something that's starting to show up in recruiting as well.

2009 signee Kyle Clark's ESPN evaluation starts off by saying that Clark is a versatile player:

Clark shows some versatility at both offensive guard and offensive tackle. He is a big tall and lean football player that can become a real talent if he works on foot agility and plays with better leverage.

Same goes for Joel Gray, where the ESPN evaluation states that Gray could play either tackle or guard:

Gray has a good motor as a strong side offensive tackle but is better suited for the guard position. He is an impressive 6'6" and at 285 pounds and has the dimensions you're looking for in an offensive lineman.

LaAdrian Waddle is another guy that was mentioned as coming in second in the discus throw in state, and the ESPN evaluation confirms that he's another projectable athlete:

Defenders have trouble getting around such a huge specimen and the long arms are effective in keeping pass rusher away from body. Must be careful to not be beaten underneath. Waddle has real potential because he moves well for such a big player. If he works on trimming down and improve foot quickness and technique he will be a highly sought after lineman.

Matt Goetz, I think is penciled in as a center, played guard in college, but there's nothing for me to think in his ESPN evaluation that he couldn't play guard or tackle:

Goetz is a very solid offensive lineman that is made for the guard position. He has good size and still could add strength and bulk. Very good run blocker that comes off the ball quickly and delivers a real jolt to the defender. Sometimes loses control and has trouble sustaining; needs to be consistent at locking into the defender's frame. Gives excellent effort and drives his legs after contact at the point of attack. Has a little problem with the backside cutoff and loses defensive man across his face. Good short stepper on the reach and zone block. Goetz should develop into a fine offensive guard at the next level.

5: Rounding Out the Rest

If you're wondering about the rest of the line, I think the same type of thing can be said about the rest of the group. Shawn Byrnes is expected to start at center, but I've come around greatly on Byrnes' backup Justin Keown. After watching him a bit during the spring game, he can play. The same goes for right guards, Mickey Okafor and Deveric Gallington, additional athletic guys that I think could play a number of positions if asked. After Winn graduates next year I get the feeling that if Olson hasn't found a spot anywhere else, he'll step up at this spot and Joe King could easily assert himself, much like McDaniel, during the offseason. Lonnie Edwards was one of the higher rated recruits coming out of the 2007 signing class, and although he's yet to find a spot, that's another player that could step up for Carter at left guard when he graduates next year.

Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe // 06.16.09

Seth C — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 11:12:58 -0000

Odds and Ends

Extremely Slow

It's extremely slow this morning and I'm really grasping for content this morning. Since most NFL teams are starting mandatory workouts, I've done some quick searches on some 2009 draftees and that's your notes for today.

[Note by Seth C, 06/16/09 6:21 AM CDT ] I've been meaning to ask this, but does anyone have a link to the Texas Tech football schedule in iCal? I had a reader inquire and I meant to ask last week. Leave a comment or shoot me an email.

Texas Tech Football

Red Raiders in the NFL

Up first, guard Louis Vasquez appears to be a player on the rise with the San Diego Chargers. In fact, SB Nation blog Bolts From The Blue writes that Vasquez is the 5th most important player for 2009 success:

5. Louis Vasquez, RG I know, I know. Two impact rookies. I'll admit, though, that I'm not sold on Kynan Forney. Even as a project, if there wasn't something potentially wrong with his health long-term I feel that he would've gotten a better offer than what the Chargers signed him for. I also think that if management trusted him to return to form, Vasquez would not have been drafted. Now, onto Vasquez. That is a big, strong boy. Not Two-Ton Fonoti big either. Louis Vasquez is a brick wall, which is exactly what you want out of your right guard. He doesn't necessary need to have the best footwork, he just needs to be able to steamroll a defensive tackle when a running play is coming his way. I love his potential and think he's starting in week 1. Young offensive linemen can really help invigorate the group and provide offensive options that weren't there before. The Chargers went from 9 wins to 14 wins in one season with the only changes being McNeil, McCree and Rivers. I think we could see a similar situation in 2009.

LB Brandon Williams is making strides with the Dallas Cowboys as he converts from a 4-3 DE to a 3-4 OLB and is ahead of fellow LB, Victor Butler:

Third-year veteran Anthony Spencer will replace Ellis in the starting lineup on the strong side. Behind Spencer is a pair of fourth-round picks, Brandon Williams and Victor Butler. Both were 4-3 ends in college.

Head coach Wade Phillips has been impressed with Williams' improvement but admits Butler is "pretty far behind" after missing all of the OTA's while waiting to graduate. He and seventh-round pick Mike Mickens (graduation) returned to practice Monday.

S Darcel McBath is working with the startes with the Denver Broncos, although he has a long trek ahead to beat veterans Brian Dawkins and Renaldo Hill.

Texas Tech vs. Minnesota - #20 Most Memorable Big 12 Game

ESPN's Tim Griffin writes that Texas Tech's very memorable 44-41 win over Minnesota in the 2006 Insight Bowl was the 20th most memorable game of the Big 12. Just think, at 8:39 p.m. I called (jokingly) the 28 point comeback. And if you've never seen this video of Mike Leach during halftime of this game, as well as the highlights from the game.

TEXAS TECH 2006 INSIGHT BOWL (via rjxavier2000)

Texas Tech Baseball

Kenworthy Playing Summer Baseball

The Victoria Advocate's Jack Molitor has an excellent feature on 2B Joey Kenworthy, who is playing in Victoria for summer baseball:

He's always been the shortest guy on the field at 5 feet, 4 inches. He is the youngest child in a family with five older sisters. And his parents didn't even know if he would play again after he broke his leg during his senior year of high school.

But Kenworthy has succeeded. He is heading into his senior year at Texas Tech as a starter, and he has become a key facet in the offense of the first-place Generals.

And he's done it with a smile and a positive attitude.

Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe // 04.29.09

Seth C — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 11:43:37 -0000

Odds and Ends

Recruiting Sidebar

Just an FYI, I did update the 2010 football recruiting sidebar, complete new profiles of DE's Jaqwaylin Arps and Kedrick Dial. Keep in mind that the reason that most players do not have any or only 1 star rating is that a majority of the potential recruits haven't been graded by either service and the default grade is 1-star or no stars. Those will change over the course of the year.

Red Defense

This should be posted at 10:00 a.m.

Texas Tech Football

Mike Leach Makes Friends, Part II

My wish has been granted, as TAMU Mike Sherman saying that he's said numerous times before that he thought QB Stephen McGee was a third or fourth round pick:

"There is nothing Mike Leach could ever say that would offend me," Sherman said in a statement. "I do find it unfortunate, however, that a college coach feels the need to question the handling of a player by a staff particularly without any knowledge of the facts or the extent of a player's injury. It is equally bothersome that a football coach would question the draft status of a player. This doesn't make any sense to me.
"I have stated numerous times before the draft I thought Stephen McGee was a late third or early fourth round pick. It is apparent the Dallas Cowboy's felt the same way. It was a great pick."

I did a quick Google search and turned up nothing before the draft about where he thought McGee would land, although I did find this article in USA Today, but Sherman doesn't let on where he thinks McGee is drafted and this article from the FWST regarding McGee's pro prospects. Someone help me out with this. And let me be clear, I have no ill will or animosity towards Sherman or McGee. Honestly, I always hope that anyone that has the opportunity to play football on the professional level is successful, despite where he went to college. I'm really just interested to see whether or not that's an accurate statement from Sherman.

Spread Quarterbacks and the NFL

I really wanted to write this up in a story format, but I didn't have enough time last night or this morning. The reason why Graham Harrell didn't get drafted is because, for whatever reason, the NFL scouts didn't like his measurables, whatever that is. If Matt Stafford had gone to Texas Tech rather than Georgia, there's no doubt in my mind that he still would have been picked #1 overall, despite the fact that he ran the spread offense. I have no idea if and when a Texas Tech quarterback gets drafted, possibly ever. If there was ever an instance where it might happen, it's going to be the next two year. The NFL is going to have a 6-4/220 quarterback with a strong arm in Taylor Potts. If there's ever a chance to get a guy in the NFL, it's Potts.

I would like to stress that just because Leach hasn't produced NFL success doesn't mean that he's not successful. Typically, Texas Tech doesn't get the guys with measurables, but that sure as hell doesn't mean that whoever he recruits can't play quarterback. I don't know that Seth Doege or Jacob Karam or Scotty Young will ever be drafted, hell I have no idea if they'll even been successful college quarterbacks. What I can say is that Leach has shown a propensity to make seemingly lowly rated quarterback prospects into collegiate winners. I have idea as to the star rating for guys like Kingsbury, Cumbie, Symons, or Hodges, but I don't think that it's so crazy to think that these guys weren't going to stick on an NFL roster.

Does it stink that Graham Harrell wasn't drafted? Absolutely, but all this tells us is that Leach is right about one thing, which is that the NFL values one thing, while Leach values another.

It seems as if the elite programs typically get quarterbacks with those measurables, but that doesn't mean that there aren't guys who are 6-0 or 6-2 that maybe weigh 190 with pretty good arms and an extreme ability to quckly read a defense can't or shouldn't play college football.

Ask any Missouri or Kansas fan if they would trade Chase Daniel or Todd Reesing for Kansas State's Josh Freeman (apologies to BOTC).

College coaches are paid to do two things, win games and graduate players. I'll let you decide the order, but right now, Leach does both. The fact that none of his quarterbacks have stuck on an NFL roster isn't indicative of his success at Texas Tech or his success at producing successful collegiate quarterbacks. Thus far, I think Leach has hit on almost all of his starting quarterbacks, and as of right now, he probably has a better track record than most NFL teams at developing quarterbacks.

Louis Vasquez to Block for L.T.

FWST's Dwain Price sits down with new San Diego Charger, Louis Vasquez, with an opportunity to block for one of the great running backs, LaDainian Tomlinson. A.J. Smith, Chargers GM, thinks that Vasquez will compete at right guard:

"Vasquez has a very similar temperament to Kris Dielman," Chargers general manager A.J. Smith said. "We had targeted him. We’ve got Kynan Forney at the right guard position, but Louis will compete."

And surprise, surprise, Leach thinks Vasquez is going to have a long, successful career:

"I’ve thought for some time that Louis is ahead of schedule as a lineman goes," Leach said. "He started real early in a position that’s very hard to start early, but I think he can get better and better.
"I think Louis is going to be really good. In fact I expect him to have a good career, and I think he’s a guy that can be even better than he thinks he can."