Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe :: 10.06.09

  Donor's Choose:  Please note in the left sidebar I've added a Donor's Choose program and essentially this is a social media competition and SB Nation has joined the fray, as has DTN.  Not wanting to leave anyone out, I've chosen all public schools in Texas and the thought is that you can give locally wherever you are.  If you can give, it's certainly appreciated (there's no prize), and if you can't, then no worries.

  Adventures of the Big 12 - Texas Tech:  Bring On The Cats' Panjandrum with the origin of little old Texas Tech.  And if you don't know what this is then click away, Adventures of the Big 12.

  2010 Commit, Aaron Spikes:  I usually put this stuff at the end of the notes, but thought that it deserved more attention.  If you were ever concerned about the caliber of player that Texas Tech is recruiting then maybe this should put you at ease.  Excellent story about Pinkston RB Aaron Spikes and his commitment to his friend.

  Sheffield Gaining Praise:  LAJ's Don Williams writes that head captain Mike Leach has some praise for QB Steven Sheffield and his play on Saturday:

"I thought he did a great job with tempo,’’ Leach said during his weekly news conference. "Of our quarterbacks we have right now, he creates the best tempo for the group, and I think it’s something everybody feeds off of. He was a huge part of that, as far as everybody moving quickly together. He generates that better than anybody does."

Snip

"You don’t want a guy to just leave the pocket for no reason,’’ Leach said. "I thought he was really sharp when he left the pocket. There was one time I thought he should have left that he didn’t. There weren’t any times that he left that I wished he hadn’t.’’

And LB Bront Bird said that Sheffield added energy to the team and crowd:

"When he came in, you could just tell not only in the stadium but on our sideline, there was a whole ’nother energy that came into it,’’ linebacker Bront Bird said. "That’s a guy that goes out there with a lot of confidence. As a defense, we wanted to play well for him. We could see that his heart was in it and he wanted to play well for us.

  Texas Tech Notebook:  LAJ's Don Williams has some notes, including Leach wanting to retire at the same time, 60, that former head coach Spike Dykes retired . . . RG Brandon Carter is officially reinstated and RT Marlon Winn missed his line-mate:

"I missed him more than anybody else, because I’m used to playing next to him,’’ Winn said Monday. "I’ve played next to him for two years straight. It was a little different working out chemistry with (right guard Chris) Olson next to me, but we’re glad to have him back this week.’’

. . . Captain Leach said that RB Harrison Jeffers has some Forest Gump to him ("I just kept running, and running and running." - about 1:00 into the trailer):

"He’s got some Forrest Gump quality to him in what he does there; there’s no question,’’ Leach said. "He runs a couple of extra yards. We coach second effort, and we aren’t going to do anything to discourage him. He will score and make sure to cover as much of the end zone and a little bit extra.’’

. . . Leach also talks about P Ryan Erxleben's ability to pin the ball deep:

"I actually went through that transition with Reyes,’’ Leach said, "going from, ‘He can’t (pin opponents deep) to ‘He probably can do it,’ and now Erxleben makes it pretty clear that he can.’’

  Rally Behind Sheffield:  DT's Adam Coleman writes that the team is ready to rally behind QB Steven Sheffield, and RT Marlon Winn had this to say about QB Taylor Potts after getting hit (emphasis mine) and that both Potts and Sheffield can lead this team:

"He looked like Taylor Potts," Winn said. "His mustache looked okay. That’s all I was worried about. I just helped him up and we made our way to the sideline."

Winn said there’s not much difference as far as leadership qualities between Potts and Sheffield, but he also said there was no denying the difference Sheffield made when he entered the game.

"Third quarter, we came out with a lot of tempo," he said. "As soon as he got in, he brought a little spark to the team. Him and Potts are both great quarterbacks. They’re both capable of doing the same things and leading our team in the right direction. We’re happy to have either one of them behind us."

  Teleconference Fun:  This is IE only, but you can listen to Captain Mike Leach get a little bit defensive with AOL's Terrance Harris, who wants to know if Leach, who had previously said that QB Taylor Potts was not injured and could be ready to play this week, was seriously going to play Potts and that the media knew that he had suffered a concussion and with that knowledge then would Leach play a player with a concussion.  Leach made some off-hand comment in that if Harris knew so much, he really didn't need Leach to give the answer.  It was a full minute of entertainment.

  Alumni Updates:  So Michael Crabtree might be traveling to San Francisco to sign his contract, make sure and follow the SB Nation sports stream story which will be updated with any new information . . . Saskatchewan Roughrider, Graham Harrell, talks about the different quirks of the Canadian Football League:

"No question, it’s the motion," Harrell says. "I like it. You can get guys a running start, as many guys moving as you want, switch formations in mid-cadence, stuff like that. It’s a lot different (then American football), but I like it. It’s a neat addition to the game."

  Red Raider Links:  TR's dedfischer and RRR each have some thoughts about the New Mexico game and moving forward . . . RaiderAde's ayleein with some post game thoughts on New Mexico . . . RRS.com's Paul Lowery with Fab Five at Five . . .

  Kansas St. Wildcat Links:  CJOnlin'es Austin Meek writes about the Wildcats being on top of the Big 12 North . . . TheMercury's Cole Manbeck writes that QB Grant Gregory is the right fit for K-State . . .

  Big 12 Links:  This is a must-read as Rock M Nation has their updated Beyond the Box Score predictions and it's not looking good for Texas Tech (again, this is based off a statistical formula) . . . Bring On The Cats' TB with some good thoughts and clearing up misconceptions on the future of the Big 12 television . . . the Omaha World-Herald ranks the Big 12 . . . KC Star's Blair Kerkoff with the good, bad and ugly of the Big 12 non-conference play . . . AOL Fanhouse's Terrance Harris with a Big 12 notebook . . . LAJ's Adam Zuvanich with a look at the Big 12 . . .

  Neglected Video:  Again, after the jump, NewsChannel 11 has some clips from yesterday's press conference with Leach where he talks about his injury policy and gives a shout-out to K-State's Bill Snyder the master of the injury policy and Fox34 has some clips from Saturday's press conference.