SB Nation User Blog: Seth C

DTN's Community Projections // Cody Davis

Seth C — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 11:07:12 -0000

There's absolutely nothing to base the play of Cody Davis this year, because he will be a redshirt freshman starting at free safety with no game experience. We did see Davis play in the Red-Black scrimmage where he had 5 tackles and one interception that he returned for a 100 touchdown.

What I Think:

You'll note that I've got a wide range of possibilities for Davis and I don't think it's unfair to have high expectations for Davis as I'm expecting him to be pretty darn good. He obviously won't be as good as Darcel McBath was as a senior, but I think he's going to surprise a lot of people.

Poll

Predict the season statistics for Cody Davis.

Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe // 07.03.09

Seth C — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 10:54:45 -0000

Odds and Ends

Happy 4th!

Don't forget about these guys as we celebrate the 4th of July.

US Marines wait for helicopter transport in Helmand province. A US soldier is believed to have been captured by insurgents in Afghanistan, the military said, as a commander for a hardline Taliban faction claimed his militia had the trooper. (AFP/Manpreet Romana) via d.yimg.com

Not going to get political, just think a good thought for our troops today and tomorrow.

Texas Tech Football

#12 Most Anticipated Game

Rutgers blog Protect R Turf is previewing the most anticipated college football games of 2009 and they've tabbed the Oklahoma Sooners @ the Texas Tech Red Raiders as the #12 game:

If you watched Texas Tech's triumph over the Longhorns in Lubbock last year (and how could you miss it - Harrell to Crabtree has been replayed all off season), you know that a big game means everything to the Tech fans. From Raiderville to Mike Leach's ridiculous comments to the media to the Red Raider jokers in the first row to the rushing the field (twice) before the end of the game, that was one of those special college football games that happens only ever so often for a program. Their version of Rutgers-Louisville '06, if you will. The Sooners will come in with all of the hype (as usual), especially if they're undefeated, and we'll see if the Red Raiders can hang with them, especially in the early going. A big game in Lubbock means the world to them, and in the last 2 years the Techies have knocked off both of the big boys in Lubbock (Texas and Oklahoma both).

Scouting the Enemy

FOOTBALL OUTSIDERS: Football analysis and NFL stats for the Moneyball era - Authors of Pro Football Prospectus 2008
I'm just giddy about this, but Football Outsiders has released their preview for the Big 12 South. I can't say I understand all of the numbers, but I love this stuff. If you're a stats guy, you'll love this book.

Wait, does Texas need more from its running game? - Dr. Saturday - NCAA Football - Rivals.com
In fact, if there's any incentive to shift a heavier burden to the running game, it's keeping McCoy upright; he's never been seriously injured, but after well over 300 carries through the years by a guy who doesn't know how to slide, there have to be fewer sands left in that hourglass. Texas can't afford to lose its quarterback, which seems like a good enough reason to shift some of McCoy's carries to the backs. But that's just spot relief. Assuming they still let Colt throw at least 30 times a game, the results speak for themselves: The Longhorns' title drive is only going to be derailed by another offense -- like Texas Tech's last year -- explosive enough to set the pace, or at least keep up with it. Unless McCoy's arm goes limp between now and October, there's no reason for Texas to let off the pedal.

2009 OU Football Preview: Running Backs/Fullbacks - Crimson And Cream Machine
In addition to a Heisman winning quarterback, the nation’s top tight end and at least one game breaker at receiver (tight ends & receivers preview coming next) Oklahoma also returns two 1,000 yard running backs. The significance of this is that the Sooners return 100% of their rushing yards in 2009, along with every significant passing yard, to make up one of the top backfields in the country.

Texas Tech Basketball

Pat Knight and Gary Williams Should Have Lunch

Pat Knight has made it clear that he's not a big fan of programs and coaches that cheat. Well, neither is Maryland's Gary Williams, who makes it abundantly clear that the NCAA is too tolerant of programs and coaches that cheat and he doesn't seem to understand how programs are currently skating:

We recruit 'em ['em being one-and-doners], but whenever we do we get yelled at for recruiting 'em. You know, I got yelled at for not cheating this year. It's unbelievable. They were yelling at me because I wouldn't cheat.

...

But I mean, that's where it is. I've been in it a while now, I guess 31 years as a head coach, and there's a lot more cheating going on right now than I've ever seen before.

...

The penalty that the Alabama football team got, for instance; they have to forfeit games, ok? And they get probation for three years or whatever it is. That has nothing to do with what you're gonna do this year. You can go to bowl games, you can play on TV. When we got our sanctions in 1990 we could not play on live television, we could not to go to the NCAA tournament for two years, we lost three scholarships and we had to give back a ton of money. And so basically they took the legs out of our program, because you can't recruit players to the ACC without television, NCAA Tournament hopes, things like that.

...

I'm a little concerned. I don't want to sound like the old head, like things aren't the way they used to be, but something has got to be done. Because you look at the teams this year that were very successful, a couple of them have been outed for what they did. And next year, when it comes time for college basketball to start again, they'll talk about certain coaches as being great recruiters that I know cheat, you know. And I could be a great recruiter if I was giving kids money, or if I was changing grades on a kid, I'd be a great recruiter, but that's where it is right now.

Off-Topic Pat Knight Interview

I have no idea what the Examiner is and who Rich Zvosec is, but he did a short off-topic interview with Pat Knight.

Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe // 07.02.09

Seth C — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 10:12:17 -0000

Odds and Ends

It's Pretty Quiet

I somewhat promised to the the motion offense primer on basketball done this week and I'm not sure this is going to happen, unless it happens tonight. I'm actually trying to spend more time away from DTN during the offseason in the hopes to curry the favor of my wife through the fall.

Texas Tech Football

Git Your Guns Up Desmond!

I'll try to have a full write-up either tomorrow or next week, but Leach, McNeill & Co. received their 10th commitment (and actually the 7th defensive commitment of this early class) in safety, Desmond Martin (Stony Point HS, Round Rock, TX). You can get your fix by taking a look at the ESPN, Rivals and Scout profiles. The Rivals and Scout profiles are behind a pay-wall, but the ESPN information is free and had this to say about Martin's abilities (and has free video):

Martin is a very solid defensive back and has the skills to be a strong safety at the next level. He has good size and is impressive by his aggressive play. Very physical safety when coming up on run support; has tremendous closing speed as he reads the play. Can react and change his closing angle on the ball carrier while on the move in order to keep leverage on the football. Especially good at attacking the perimeter versus the run, flare and screen pass. Very instinctive with real football savvy and a nose for the football. Takes great pursuit angles to the football when the ball breaks on the opposite side of the field; uses the sideline as an extra tackler.

Ummm, how about all of the times that he's hitting the receiver just as the ball is hitting the receiver. That's some tremendous timing. Martin probably isn't as fast as some of the players ranked ahead of him, but there's a lot to be said for timing and from the limited video, he looks like he has a pretty good understanding of where to place himself playing against the receiver.

And although his film looks great (who's doesn't?), I think this may be the best part about Martin, he's been named to Randy Rogers' (recruiting expert) Preseason All-Academic first team for Texas Football Magazine, which means that Martin carries a GPA of 3.00 or above and an SAT or ACT score of over 1,000 or 21. Here's he list and also note that OL commit Beau Carpenter made the second team offense list. I absolutely love that.

Toby Cecil to be Sideline Reporter for Texas Tech Radio Broadcast

Congrats for former Red Raider Toby Cecil, who will become the sideline reporter for the Texas Tech radio broadcast this year, taking over for Sonny Cumbie who is set to become a graduate assistant for the coaching staff. For those of you who don't remember, Brian Jensen gives you an update on Cecil's life after football, and here's his bio from his years at Texas Tech.

Reliving the Kansas Game

RRS.com's Joe Yeager takes us back to the Kansas game (I was very nervous going into this game, on the road against Jayhawks) and I think we're going to need more of the following this year:

BIGGEST PLAY: Harrell hit Edward Britton with a perfect strike down the middle of the field, and the El Paso speedster took it to the house for a 55-yard touchdown to give Tech a 7-0 lead early on. It would be a harbinger of things to come as Red Raider receivers ran free all day long and an unhurried Harrell connected with them at will.

Here's Drew with Fox34 taking us back:

Brian Duncan #13

Again, thanks to Fox34's Drew for continuing the countdown for most important player on the Red Raider roster as LB Brian Duncan checks in at #13:

Upgrade/Downgrade // Defensive End

Seth C — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 10:57:36 -0000

There's been a lot of questions about the number of starters returning and thought that it would be a great idea to ask you if you think the new 2009 starter will be an upgrade or a downgrade from the 2008 starter. Click on the player names for a comparison of statistics, but the big question is if you think that Daniel Howard is an upgrade over McKinner Dixon (As an aside, I realize that Jake Ratliff was the starter last year, but I think it's fair to say that Dixon was the better player and because of that, he's being included rather than Ratliff. I'm also assuming - perhaps wrongly - that Dixon will not be able to pull himself back into the coaching staff's good graces. I hope I'm wrong, but I don't think I will be).

Last Year:

McKinner Dixon

#43 / Defensive- End / Texas Tech Red Raiders

Height: 6-3

Weight: 250

Year: junior

This Year:

Daniel Howard

#53 / Defensive- End / Texas Tech Red Raiders

Height: 6-3

Weight: 239

Year: junior

Poll

Is Daniel Howard an upgrade or a downgrade from McKinner Dixon?

Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe // 07.01.09

Seth C — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 10:19:35 -0000

Odds and Ends

Ask and Ye Shall Receive

So yesterday I mentioned (begged?) that I would love, love, love some photos of the Red Raider Style Show that's scheduled to take place August 5th as part of Texas Tech's Women's Football Clinic. Well a good DTN reader, a female, emailed me last night and said that she would be attending and taking lots of photos. Now all we need to do is pray that our dear Captain Leach is somehow involved in the fashion portion of the show. I know, I'm gettin my hopes up, but it's the offseason.

Let's just say I'm giddy either way.

Texas Tech Football

Prediction for Big 12 Media Days

I mentioned it earlier last week, but the Big 12 media days have been announced, and I immediately thought that Captain Leach would bring who he wanted, not who the media wanted. RRS.com's Joe Yeager opines that it will be RB Baron Batch, LG Brandon Carter, QB Taylor Potts, DT Colby Whitlock and LB Brian Duncan. That seems like a pretty good group of guys and wouldn't have too much to add to that, although I think that CB Jamar Wall, DE Rajon Henley and RT Marlon Winn should get some consideration as well. Leach likes bringing underdogs who are also seniors to this event.

Leave any of your guesses in the comments.

Preseason Ranking

The Jacksonville Sun/Gatorsports blog's Arnold Feliciano has Texas Tech ranked #20 in their preseason poll. I don't know how accurate their synopsis is, but it's interesting that a paper/blog in SEC country thinks this highly of your Red Raiders:

Strength: Coach Mike Leach, who appears set to lead an overhaul now that his contract is settled. Leach has become a yearly candidate for a big-time job.

Weakness: Offense. Texas Tech loses the bulk of its offensive line, a star quarterback (Graham Harrell) and a superstar receiver (Michael Crabtree).

Gamer Stuff

I'm not a gamer, in fact I don't play any video games, but I thought you guys might enjoy this interview from the Chicago Sun-Times Kevin Allen of EA Sports Ben Haumiller and the progression of NCAA Football 10.

Five Things // Improving the Special Teams

Seth C — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 11:55:23 -0000

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

Improving the Special Teams

To say that special teams has largely been ignored by the Captain would be an understatement. Clay McGuire was the special teams coach last year and did so without any sort of experience. When running backs coach Seth Littrell left for Arizona, Leach moved McGuire to running backs coach, the position he played at Texas Tech, and hired Louisiana Tech's special teams coach Eric Russell.

The point of this exercise is to take a look at where the special teams was last year and Russell's La. Tech teams from 2008 and 2007 as well as 2006, the year before he arrived at La. Tech (Russell was previously at North Texas).

Since I haven't seen a lick of La. Tech football in the last two years, I would think the argument could be made as to whether La. Tech's success at special teams is based on scheme or the players, and for the sake of this post, we'll give credit to Russell for the scheme since I do not have an opinion as to the types of players at La. Tech.

1: Punt Returns

	2008	2008	2007	2006
Punt Return	9.90 (1 TD)	12.97 (3 TD)	13.92 (0 TD)	5.00 (0 TD)
Punt Return Allowed	11.93 (2 TD)	6.00 (1 TD)	7.53 (0 TD)	9.25 (0 TD)

This is fairly significant and it doesn't take any type of specialized degree to note that prior to Russell's arrival in 2006, La. Tech was simply woeful at both punt return and punt returns allowed. Things changed fairly quickly, and if there's one thing that I'm hoping with Russell's arrival, is that the Red Raiders can and will improve in both of these categories.

The key here in punt returns is who will actually be returning those punts for Texas Tech. In previous years, Leach has opted for the safe and reliable option, in Eric Morris and Danny Amendola. Both guys weren't necessarily game-breakers, but were incredibly reliable. It will be interesting to see if Russell opts for a similar player. Perhaps Austin Zouzalik or Cornelius Douglas are a couple of options.

Additionally, I'm interested to see what Russell does in terms of coverage, and I think all of these stats are something that I'm going to want to watch all season long, but this appears to be something that Russell can remedy fairly quickly. How happy would you guys be to see the allowed yards to dip under 10 and hover closer to Russell's marks at La. Tech of 6.00 and 7.53 per return?

2: Kickoff Returns

	2008	2008	2007	2006
Kickoff Return	22.20 (0 TD)	23.42 (1 TD)	23.13 (1 TD)	21.70 (1 TD)
Kickoff Return Allowed	21.00 (0 TD)	18.09 (0 TD)	23.73 (1 TD)	21.33 (1 TD)

Slight improvement on Russell's part, although allowing less than 20 yards a kickoff return in 2008 is significant. In fact, in 2008 La. Tech ranked 8th in the nation so a few yards makes a difference in being a highly ranked unit and being middle of the pack, like Texas Tech at 59th in the nation. It's certainly not a stretch to think that Russell will have a somewhat significant impact here as well especially in terms of coverage.

La. Tech was also highly ranked in terms of kickoff returns, coming in at 17th in the nation last year. Again, this is something where a few yards makes a big difference as La. Tech ranked 17th in the nation in punt returns, while Texas Tech ranked 39th. Again, not bad, but not great either. Jamar Wall (20) returned a majority of kickoffs last year, followed by Detron Lewis (8) and LaRon Moore (7), and I've always thought that this is a perfect opportunity to get a guy like Harrison Jeffers some touches. I've always preferred a bigger return man, especially in kickoffs and if Jeffers could get two or three touches a game from kickoffs alone could be a real positive in his overall development.

3: Punting

	2008	2008	2007	2006
Punting	35.65	40.49	41.30	38.18

This is one of those stats (much like any kicker related statistic) that you could probably say is related to the actual player rather than the coach, but since we're giving credit to Russell for the sake of this post, there's obviously some room for improvement here. La. Tech didn't light the world on fire last year in punting, coming in at 42nd in the nation, but at least the Bulldogs didn't find themselves at 118th. Yep, Jonathan LaCour, who exhibited a fairly strong leg his freshman year, had a sophomore slump in 2008 as he punted for a net average of less than 30 yards a game. Wind or no wind, that's unacceptable and I don't know how much Russell is going to be able to improve LaCour, but he is doing one thing that Leach didn't do last year, which is give LaCour a little competition. This spring, Donnie Carona, who has had mixed success (yes, I'm putting this lightly) at kicking, tried his leg at punting and although it may not mean anything during the course of the season, it might. LaCour probably needed someone to push him a bit and here's hoping that Carona can. I'd also love to see if Russell can get LaCour over any mental hump that he might have had, perhaps teaching him a little better technique.

4: Kickoff

	2008	2008	2007	2006
Kickoff	65.22 (27.08% TB)	62.32 (7.69% TB)	-	-

You'll note that these statistics only go back to 2007 and if there's one thing that Donnie Carona did right last year, it was kickoffs. He may not have been great at getting it through the upright, but he was good at getting it to the endzone, putting a little over 27% of his kickoffs back for touchbacks. Although we were going to give credit to Russell alone, this is very much a single player type of statistic. Either the kicker does, or does not kick it a long ways and if Carona can do anything, it's kick it a long ways.

5: Place Kicking

	2008	2008	2007	2006
Field Goals	7/13 (53.8%)	14/28 (50.0%)	12/21 (57.1%)	8/12 (66.7%)
Extra Points	70/76 (92.1%)	38/40 (95.0%)	25/26 (96.2%)	30/31 (96.8%)

As bad as the field goal kicking was last year, it was at least on par with what Russell was previously doing at La. Tech. Anyone who watched Texas Tech last year knew that Donnie Carona (4/9; 44%) was kicking the ball too low last year on field goals, giving opponents the ability to block his field goals relatively easily. Walk-on Matt Williams (2/3; 67%) was better, but really didn't have many opportunities. I have no idea how Russell is going to solve this problem, although something to keep in mind is that Texas Tech did signa preferred walk-on in Blinn CC kicker Brad Hicks. I haven't been able to find much on statistics on Hicks, but he did make 11 field goals last year and 52 extra points. As far as Carona is concerned, I think this is all mental and technique. If he could just have a little success, I think he's fine and I hope that Russell is what can get him back on track.

Mike Leach to Host Women's Football Clinic, the Internets to Win

Seth C — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 11:13:42 -0000

It really can't get any better than this, but per the official site, Mike Leach will be hosting a Women's Football Clinic on Wednesday August 5th:

Head Football Coach Mike Leach and former Lady Raiders Coach Marsha Sharp have teamed up to present an enhanced evening of fun, football and style as the 2009 Mike Leach/ASCO Women's Football Clinic will now also feature a style show and dinner with some of the proceeds benefiting the Marsha Sharp Leadership Circle. The popular clinic will be held Wednesday, August 5, with a vendor sale beginning at 4 p.m. at the Frazier Alumni Pavilion.

Let's break this down.

Football clinic. Sounds like fun.

Style show with Mike Leach? The internets win.

I'll say this, if Leach is involved in some sort of runway extravaganza and there are photos, I think the internets might explode.

I know what you're thinking, that Leach doesn't know anything about fashion, and I'd say that you're absolutely wrong. Does this suit display a lack of fashion sense?

Texas Tech's Leach Shows Philly Love at Maxwell Football Club (via footballuniversity)

That's what I thought. And the jokes are a bonus for those of you on the fence about attending.

But this gets even better as Cagle Steaks will be sponsoring the event, which makes this even more perfect as the Captain previously recommended Cagle Steaks for those of you looking for love:

Mike Leach's Tips on Dating (via shelby359)

On a serious note, the Captain lets on that the first annual Red Raider Style Show might involve the unveiling of new Texas Tech uniforms:

"Marsha and I had talked for a few years about combining a style show with the Women's Football Clinic as everyone always got a kick out of the unveiling of our uniforms as part of the clinic. We decided a meal and a style show would be a natural addition to a great evening clinic," Coach Leach said.

For all of you ladies 18 and over, this appears to be the can't-miss event of the year. I would love (and I mean love) if any of DTN's female readers could send me photos of this event. You would make my day.

Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe // 06.30.09

Seth C — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 10:22:14 -0000

Odds and Ends

Tuition Increase

I'm sure most of you have heard by now that the Texas Tech Board of Regents decided to raise the cost of tuition, although even with the increase, Texas Tech is still an affordable university as the 7th cheapest university in the state. You never like to see your school raise tuition, however, if Texas Tech is going to be a player for those Tier One funds, then more money is going to have to be spent on research as well as increasing faculty pay.

I've got a 5 Things scheduled to be posted at 10:00 this morning and I'm taking a look at the special teams. Some pretty interesting statistics and after it's all said and done, I can't help but think that new special teams coach Eric Russell is going to make an immediate impact on this team.

Texas Tech Football

Scout.com's Top 100

Scout.com released their Top 100 and as of right now, the Red Raiders have 5 current commitments. QB Scotty Young checks in at #21, DE Jackson Richards at #54, DE JaQwalin Arps at #62, DE Kedrick Dial at #63 and LB Zachary Winbush at #78. Most of these players commit fairly early, although there are still quite a few that are undecided. I haven't had the time to look at how the other Big 12 schools are doing, but would imagine that the same ones are still doing well.

Picking the Big 12

CBSSports.com's Dennis Dodd predicts the Big 12 and thinks Texas Tech finishes 4th in the Big 12 South:

4. Texas Tech -- The Red Raiders slip back to the 8-4 level this season. You know the drill: Potts will throw for eight million yards. There will be a 1,000-yard receiver or two. Mike Leach will be his usual quote-machine self. However, last season was a once-in-10-year event. There is payback waiting at Texas, at Oklahoma State and at Nebraska.

Around the Big 12

Since we're getting closer and closer to the start of football season, I thought it would be a good idea to start linking to articles dealing with some of our Big 12 brethren and Texas Tech opponents:

Oklahoma State's preseason reach vs. its historical grasp - Dr. Saturday - NCAA Football - Rivals.com

One of the reasons the hype consistently faded is that the Cowboys didn't win any of those games: After vaulting into the national consciousness with its upset at Missouri -- which had lost almost all its luster by the end of the season as the Tigers struggled to finish 1-3 against winning teams the rest of the way, the one win coming in overtime against Northwestern -- Oklahoma State had four big games, against Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Oregon, and lost them all, the last three by double digits.

Oread Boom Kings " Strengths & Weakness: Okie State

One of the biggest mysteries of last year to me is still the pressure they were able to get on Chase Daniel in Columbia. Honestly, they only had 15 sacks on the entire season and yet, Missouri’s o-line couldn’t keep them out of the backfield all night. And we all know what happened when Chase had to move that fat ass. But looking ahead, the Pokes didn’t have a legitimate pass rush all season and unless they’ve improved dramatically, a big change isn’t on the horizon.

Texas Tech Opponent Prospectus // North Dakota Fighting Sioux

Seth C — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 23:47:20 -0000

General Information

Opponent	University of North Dakota
Nickname	Fighting Sioux
Location	Grand Forks, ND
Enrollment	12,748
Conference	Great West
Head Coach	Chris Mussman
2008 Record	6-4
Starters Returning/Lost	7/14
Blogs	-
Links	2009 Prospectus (pdf)

Statistics


Statistic	North Dakota	Texas Tech
Pass Offense	245.60	413.15 (1)
Rush Offense	145.80	117.84 (94)
Total Offense	391.40	531.00 (4)
Scoring Offense	32.10	43.77 (3)
Pass Efficiency	-	158.76 (9)
Sacks Allowed	2.70	1.00 (4)
Pass Defense	267.50	242.23 (94)
Rush Defense	113.20	140.38 (61)
Total Defense	380.70	382.62 (79)
Scoring Defense	26.30	27.85 (74)
Pass Efficiency Defense	-	130.56 (72)
Sacks	1.60	2.62 (18)
Tackles For Loss	-	4.85 (95)
Turnover Margin	0.82	0.62 (22)

Top Returners

Category	Player
Rushing	Josh Murray (188 / 1,146 yds / 12 TD)
Passing	Jake Landry (3-4 / 77 yds / 1 TD / 0 Int)
Receiving	Ismael Bamba (21 rec. / 310 yds /3 TD)
Tackles	Dominique Hawkins (50)
Sacks	Ryan Kasowski (3.0)
Interceptions	Dominique Hawkins (3)

A Few Things

I'm not sure that I need a disclaimer, but I'll go ahead and give it anyway. I've never seen a single play of NDU football, so all of these observations are based on the statistics above.

NDU vs. NDS: When I first started this, I found the statistics for what I thought was North Dakota, but was actually were the statistics for North Dakota State, obviously an entirely different university. Not noticing the difference I had typed it up quite a bit until I realized what I had done. I can only imagine the ire that I would have received from faithful Fighting Sioux and Bison had I continued with my mistake.
New Quarterback: ND loses their starting quarterback and much like Texas Tech, the Fighting Sioux will be relying on a new signal caller. It's tough to tell from the limited action what type of success Landry will have, but he's got a great last name. Of course, Landry's biggest hurdle is being good enough to win on the road.
Murray Returns at Running Back: The backbone of the NDU offense is led by RB Josh Murray with 114 yards a game and I could imagine that the NDU offense will rely heavily on Murray for the first game, in Lubbock.
Replacing Defense: NDU loses 3 of their top 4 tacklers from 2008 and considering the defense gave up over 260 yards a game last year might mean that NDU is going to have a tough time with Texas Tech.
Hawkins the Ballhawk: The Fighting Sioux's best defensive player appears to be Dominique Hawkins (6-0/180) and had a great redshirt freshman year in 2008 and would expect that to continue in 2009.
Catching On: NDU also loses their top two receivers in Brady Trenbeath (69/859/8) and Alex Nichols (39/444/6), leaving Bamba as the top returning pass catcher. Josh Murray is also a pretty decent receiving threat, grabbing 21 catches for 187 yards.

Poll

On a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the most worried and 1 being the least worried, how worried are you about the North Dakota Fighting Sioux?

Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe // 06.29.09

Seth C — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 10:07:07 -0000

Odds and Ends

Getting Stuff Done

I was able to write a bunch yesterday, so there shouldn't be a long break between content. I thought it would be a good idea to start taking a look at the 2009 opponents and that will be posted later this morning (I think a 10:00 a.m. posting time, so check back).

I also wanted to mention some of DTN's rules/guidelines about posting things from other websites. There was a question of whether you could link to a pay-site's article. I have no problem with anyone linking to any article (they don't typicallly link to me, but that's alright, I don't think they can officially link to anyone other than in their network), but you cannot copy and paste any sort of pay-material. Lots of other websites will write something like: "Texas Tech nabs 100th recruit ($)." That's fine and doesn't give away any information that's in the pay-material. You should not copy and paste material from the pay-site as I'm sure it's a violation of your agreement with said pay-site. I'm also a big fan of linking back to where you find information and blockquoting copied text. Follow those guidelines and you'll be fine. If there's ever a FanPost that needs serious work, then I'll try to clean it up a bit, but I try not to do that.

Texas Tech Football

We Love Lists

CT's Dave Matter ranks the top linemen of the Big 12, both offensive and defensive, and LG Brandon Carter checks in at #7:

7. Brandon Carter, offensive guard/tackle, Texas Tech: Known for his WWE-style face paint on game day, this 350-pound mauler moved from guard to tackle after the season. But after Carter went down with a spring knee injury, redshirt freshman Terry McDaniel blossomed at left tackle, giving Mike Leach the option to move Carter back to guard.

DT Colby Whitlock gets an honorable mention.

Texas Tech Basketball

Brad Reese Adjusts to Life in Lubbock

Nice article by the Walton Sun's Randy Dickerson on JUCO transfer Brad Reese, who is already in Lubbock adjusting to life in Texas. Reese sounds like he's ready for the challenge of being a leader on this team:

"We (JUCO transfers) are brought in to turn the program right away," he said. "There is pressure for me and couple of the other guys to help this program back on track."

Reese plans to get the most out of each new experience at Texas Tech.

"I'm starting to like living in Texas and meeting new people out here and Bobby Knight," he said. "Bobby Knight is a great coach and he knows a lot of people that can help me.

"The football games here are great too. I attended one on my visit. I think they are going to be pretty good again this year."

Does anyone else find it odd that he's calling Bobby Knight a great head coach? If there was ever any question if Bob Knight is still close to this program, they should be answered.

Interview with Pat Knight

RRS.com's Aaron Dickens has an interview with Texas Tech head coach Pat Knight. Go read the whole thing, but there's two parts that are the most important to me, the first being Pat Knight acknowledging that he's trying to recruit a different type of player:

Pat Knight: It's a lot better than it was last summer. From a coaches' standpoint, [we] saw some things that worked and some things that have to change. We've got recruits coming in that are mine. I thought the kids did a good job over the year competing, playing hard and we got used to one another. But now, they know what to expect, I know what I need to have to be successful going into this season. It's a lot different than it was last summer where we kind of know what to expect now, what we need to work on and what we can kind of throw out and what we need to bring in new.

And Pat Knight's continued crusade to focus on the defense this summer:

PK: First of all, our defense. That was my fault. I put such a focus on the offense. I was worried because my name is associated with the motion offense. I'd wake up at night having dreams where we scored 35 points and I did not want to be the guy that screwed up the motion offense. What happened was I screwed up our man-to-man defense. Our offense was fine, we could score with anybody. That wasn't a problem. We've got to start from scratch, we've done that, started with our spring workouts. We've got to get a defensive mindset. Then, from a talent standpoint, a lot of the new guys that I brought in have got to play a lot of minutes. And the guys that might have played a lot of minutes last year hopefully will be coming off of the bench. That just means that we're deeper than we have been in the past. I really think that the key to this level, in one of these top conferences, you've got to be eight to nine people deep and we just haven't been that in the last couple of years.

I like the fact that PK is continuing to focus on the need to improve the defense this year. I think that's great news moving forward. PK also mentions the "motion offense" and I'm trying to finish up a primer on the motion offense that I'm trying to get done later this week.

Texas Tech Baseball

Bettis Pitching for Team USA

Just trying to keep track of sophomore pitcher Chad Bettis and his exploits with Team USA. Bettis is slated to be Team USA's closer and thus far, Bettis had made two appearances, 2.0 innings, striking out three, giving up one hit, and no runs. Team USA is 4-0.

Texas Tech Track

Roberts Ready to Run at IAAF World Championships

A huge congratulations and Guns Up! to 400m sophomore Gil Roberts, who came in second in this past weekends US Outdoor championship. Per LAJ's Don Williams, Roberts will be headed to Berlin to participate in the IAAF World Championships:

"I felt real strong," he said shortly after the race from Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. "I lost, but I believe I still ran a great race. I just need to work on my technique at the end of the race so that I don’t break down (in form). Hopefully, I can stand up and stay tall at the end of my race from now on."

And Roberts sounds like he ran like he had nothing to lose:

"I definitely think I was more excited than anything," he said. "Running in a situation like that is more fun for me than pressure. In a situation like that, I mean, I’m in against world champions. I’m expected to lose. I just wanted to perform to the best of my ability, so that’s what I did, and I ended up making the team."

Congrats again to Roberts, this is a huge honor.

SB Nation User Blog: Seth C

DTN's Community Projections // Cody Davis

DTN's Community Projections:

Cody Davis

#6 / Safety / Texas Tech Red Raiders

The Facts:

What I Think:

Predict the season statistics for Cody Davis.

Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe // 07.03.09

Odds and Ends

Happy 4th!

Texas Tech Football

#12 Most Anticipated Game

Scouting the Enemy

Texas Tech Basketball

Pat Knight and Gary Williams Should Have Lunch

Off-Topic Pat Knight Interview

Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe // 07.02.09

Odds and Ends

It's Pretty Quiet

Texas Tech Football

Git Your Guns Up Desmond!

Toby Cecil to be Sideline Reporter for Texas Tech Radio Broadcast

Reliving the Kansas Game

Brian Duncan #13

Upgrade/Downgrade // Defensive End

Last Year:

McKinner Dixon

#43 / Defensive- End / Texas Tech Red Raiders

This Year:

Daniel Howard

#53 / Defensive- End / Texas Tech Red Raiders

Is Daniel Howard an upgrade or a downgrade from McKinner Dixon?

Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe // 07.01.09

Odds and Ends

Ask and Ye Shall Receive

Texas Tech Football

Prediction for Big 12 Media Days

Preseason Ranking

Gamer Stuff

Five Things // Improving the Special Teams

Improving the Special Teams

1: Punt Returns

2: Kickoff Returns

3: Punting

4: Kickoff

5: Place Kicking

Mike Leach to Host Women's Football Clinic, the Internets to Win

Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe // 06.30.09

Odds and Ends

Tuition Increase

Texas Tech Football

Scout.com's Top 100

Picking the Big 12

Around the Big 12

Texas Tech Opponent Prospectus // North Dakota Fighting Sioux

General Information

Statistics

Top Returners

A Few Things

On a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the most worried and 1 being the least worried, how worried are you about the North Dakota Fighting Sioux?

Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe // 06.29.09

Odds and Ends

Getting Stuff Done

Texas Tech Football

We Love Lists

Texas Tech Basketball

Brad Reese Adjusts to Life in Lubbock

Interview with Pat Knight

Texas Tech Baseball

Bettis Pitching for Team USA

Texas Tech Track

Roberts Ready to Run at IAAF World Championships