Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe // 08.10.09

Odds and Ends

  Schedule This Week:  I've got a preview of the Nebraska Cornhuskers going up this morning and five players that you may have forgotten, but probably shouldn't that's scheduled to be posted tomorrow morning.  I'm going to be out of town (fly fishing somewhere in New Mexico and Colorado) starting Wednesday night and I won't be back until late Sunday night.  I've never fly fished before, so I'm really looking forward to trip.

  Funny Stuff:  The continuation of BOTC's Panjandrum's Adventures of the Big 12:  Redemption (and a Man Named Texas A&M) and yes, I think you'll enjoy this.

Texas Tech Football

  Pearlie Is a Great Name: LAJ's Don Williams features freshman DT Pearlie Graves who feels confident about what he can do for Texas Tech:

"I feel confident,’’ said Graves, who was an all-state player last fall for an Oklahoma Class 5A team at Tulsa East Central. "I know people are going to expect a lot from me. I’m going to give it all I’ve got and give all I can and push myself. I know if I push myself, I’m going to reach my goals.’’

Defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill likes Graves' work ethic, who gained 20 pounds during the offseason:

"I like his attitude,’’ McNeill said Sunday. "I like his work ethic. He’s done real well in his classroom work. I like his athleticism. He’s really a strong player. You can tell that right now, even not in pads. I liked his explosion off the ball in high school. I saw it (on the first day of practice). I like what he’s bringing to the table so far.’’

  Red Raider Football Notebook:  LAJ's Williams also has a bunch of notes from Sunday's practice:  some notes on the receiver battle, including Rashad Hawk falling behind a bit . . . freshman Kerry Hyder will be playing defensive end rather than linebacker and could eventually be the Joker replacement:

"He could grow into one of those left (defensive) ends with that power and strength,’’ McNeill said. "He was an all-state basketball player and all-state in football, so that tells you he’s got some athleticism. That’s what I liked about Kerry.’’

And Captain Mike Leach will be featured in Texas Monthly in September . . .

  Replacing Players, It Happens:  The Chron's Jordan Godwin with a fairly generic article on Texas Tech having to replace players on offense and defense.  If you've been with DTN since the Big 12 Media Days, then you're fine just sticking here.

  Need BCS Bowl:  Paul Westerdawg of Georgia Sports Blog with his yearly list of coaches without a BCS Bowl and the Captain is tied with Virginia's Al Groh, Missouri's Gary Pinkel and Rutger's Greg Schiano.

  Beard?  Not so Much:  The Doc, Doug and Holly asked on Friday about if everyone had seen the beard on our Red Raiders' newest QB, Taylor Potts, and currently, it's more of a fu-man-chu, but it should be back to beard form by this evening (huge hat-tip RRS.com's Aaron Dickens):

  Neglected Audio, Video and Photos:  It's only neglected if it takes me a couple of days to link to it, and DTN and others appear to be on top of things.  First, thanks to DTN's own djollie111 for posting photos from practice 1, practice two and even going so far as to post some video.  Huzzah!  Also, I had Aaron Dickens at RedRaiderSports.com email me and the guys at RRS.com will also be posting video much more often this season.  Thus, we've got practice highlights from Sunday:

And an informal Captain Leach press conference after practice:

  Scouting the Enemy:  DMN's Mike Heika writes that the rivalry between the Big 12 North and the Big 12 South is a tad lopsided . . . Tilting at Windmills takes a look at the Oklahoma St. defense . . .SAEN's Mike Finger takes a look at the Longhorn defensive line . . . The Chron's Sam Kahn, Jr. writes that the Rice offense is looking to re-load, not rebuild . . .

  Alumni:  DallasCowboys.com profiles DE/LB Brandon Williams . . . It appears that it may not be long before QB Graham Harrell gets a shot at quarterbacking the Saskatchewan Roughriders . . .