Double-T Nation - An unofficial Texas Tech Red Raiders blog

More great Blogs

2010 Texas Tech Football Commits

Jaqwaylin Arps
Position: DE
Rivals Profile
Scout Profile
ESPN Profile 40 Grade
Ht: 6'3"
Wt: 230 lbs
Forty: -
High School: Denison (Denison, TX)

Beau Carpenter
Position: OT
Rivals Profile
Scout Profile
ESPN Profile 40 Grade
Ht: 6'7"
Wt: 245 lbs
Forty: 4.79
High School: Sulphur Springs (Sulphur Springs, TX)

Kedrick Dial
Position: DE
Rivals Profile
Scout Profile
ESPN Profile 75 Grade
Ht: 6'5"
Wt: 215 lbs
Forty: 4.70 secs
High School: Sulphur Springs (Sulphur Springs, TX)

Russell Polk
Position: S
Rivals Profile
Scout Profile
ESPN Profile 40 Grade
Ht: 5'11"
Wt: 200 lbs
Forty: 4.50 secs
High School: Carter (Dallas, TX)

Jackson Richards
Position: DE
Rivals Profile
Scout Profile
ESPN Profile National Top 150
Ht: 6'4"
Wt: 235 lbs
Forty: 4.80 secs
High School: Carroll (Southlake, TX)

Brandon Smith
Position: CB
Rivals Profile
Scout Profile
ESPN Profile 76 Grade
Ht: 6'1"
Wt: 170 lbs
Forty: 4.43
High School: Central Lafourche (Raceland, LA)

Aaron Spikes
Position: RB
Rivals Profile
Scout Profile
ESPN Profile 40 Grade
Ht: 5'10"
Wt: 185 lbs
Forty: 4.45 secs
High School: Pinkston (Dallas, TX)

Zachary Winbush
Position: LB
Rivals Profile
Scout Profile
ESPN Profile 77 Grade
Ht: 6'1"
Wt: 195 lbs
Forty: 4.60
High School: Samuel Clemens (Schertz, TX)

Scotty Young
Position: QB
Rivals Profile
Scout Profile
ESPN Profile 75 Grade
Ht: 6'3"
Wt: 190 lbs
Forty: 4.80
High School: Ryan (Denton, TX)

Rivals:
- 0
- 1
- 2
- 0
- 0
- 6

Scout:
- 0
- 1
- 2
- 0
- 6
- 0

2009 Texas Tech Basketball Commits

Jaye Crockett
Position: SF
Rivals Profile
Scout Profile
ESPN Profile 88 Grade
Ht: 6'6"
Wt: 190 lbs
High School: Clovis (Clovis, NM)

Mike Davis
Position: PG
Rivals Profile
Scout Profile
ESPN Profile 86 Grade
Ht: 6'3"
Wt: 190 lbs
High School: Wheatley High (Houston, TX)

Theron Jenkins
Position: SF
Rivals Profile
Scout Profile
ESPN Profile 92 Grade
Ht: 6'6"
Wt: 211 lbs
JUCO: Itawamba C.C. (Fulton, MS)

Brad Reese
Position: SF
Rivals Profile
Scout Profile
ESPN Profile 94 Grade
Ht: 6'6"
Wt: 200 lbs
JUCO: Gulf Coast C.C. (Panama City, FL)

David Tairu
Position: SG
Rivals Profile
Scout Profile
ESPN Profile 91 Grade
Ht: 6'3"
Wt: 177 lbs
JUCO: South Plains C.C. (Levelland, TX)

Rivals:
- 0
- 0
- 5
- 0
- 0
- 0

Scout:
- 0
- 0
- 3
- 1
- 2
- 0

Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe // 07.02.09

by Seth C on Jul 2, 2009 6:09 AM CDT in Daily Diatribe Comment 2 comments

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:

2 comments | 0 recs |

Upgrade/Downgrade // Defensive End

by Seth C on Jul 1, 2009 6:04 AM CDT in Football Comment 12 comments

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?

12 comments | 0 recs

Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe // 07.01.09

by Seth C on Jul 1, 2009 5:52 AM CDT in Daily Diatribe Comment 5 comments

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.

5 comments | 0 recs |

Five Things // Improving the Special Teams

by Seth C on Jun 30, 2009 10:00 AM CDT in Football Comment 5 comments

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?

Continue reading this post »

5 comments | 0 recs |

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

by Seth C on Jun 30, 2009 6:35 AM CDT in Football Comment 0 comments

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.

0 comments | 0 recs |

Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe // 06.30.09

by Seth C on Jun 30, 2009 6:12 AM CDT in Daily Diatribe Comment 4 comments

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.

4 comments | 0 recs |

Kindle has concussion after car hits apartment.

Isn't it funny how the hometown paper's headline makes it sound like Kindle was just standing there while the car drove itself into the apartment building in question? LOL!

3 days ago Tortilla Pirate comment 8 comments 0 recs

Texas Tech Opponent Prospectus // North Dakota Fighting Sioux

by Seth C on Jun 29, 2009 10:00 AM CDT in Football Comment 3 comments

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.