Thursday's Five Questions

The C. James threatened lawsuit is just more of the same. Tech administration looked at this as an opportunity to dump a troublesome employee. No consideration – beyond Geez that’s a shame ya’ll.. was given to the effect on the fan base.

The TTU administration better pray Tubs does one better than Leach in 2010. Just sayin..

1. Everything Centex stated above sums it up.
2. I don’t know enough about BB to comment.
3. Prunty – I think Tuberville probably thinks under Willis this guy will good and using his recruiting connections and reputation speaks for itself.
4. Best offense player – Scotty Young QB, best defensive player – Scott Smith if he shows up but if not Jackson Richards. Sleepers – Carmical at LB, Griffin at RB, Rumph at DT
5. last years class Offense – Ward, Defense – Graves

1. No one
2. Great effort by Tech hopefully we will be at full strength next time we play them.
3. I like the hire and him having a pipeline to a great recruiting source is just what this school needs as long as he keeps it with in the rules. I don’t want Tech to get NCAA penalties.
4. 1. Scotty Young
    2. Jackson Richards
    3. DT Coleman (great size and still has a sub 4.8) DE Lawrence Rumph. RB Griffin
    4. Ward (can’t wait to see him play), Graves.

1. TTU has a memo, James has already denied the threat, so now it is alleged. The media has released information coming off the open records act…and both lawyer teams are reacting or thinking of what is smart in the circumstances. I can make no conclusion without going on a speculation spree. I’ll pass on that.

2. Darko and Roberts out resulted in playing a small quick team that did pretty well until they ran out of gas….there was not enough bench to keep up with UT’s bench. It showed me some insights that the coaching staff could come up with a pretty good game plan even if they did not have the horses to complete it on the court.

3. I did think about the AAU thingy. The next dot would be the stream of recruits that follow Prunty (man, that is a difficult to remember name !) to TTU. The thing that is very different is that and I am making the assumption that Coach Prunty is, indeed, a qualified coach and teacher who is working his career coming off of a proper college degree.

4. The best defensive player in the current class is Smith. On offense it is Young.

5.a. If Ward, Gray, and Clark, do not contribute this season, they are over rated out of HS. A 4 star out off of a RS season should be ready to make some noise…Stephens already has and he is a player, I expect him to play better this year, more consistently perhaps even more impressively (he was close to getting a couple of td’s last season on returns, with some great ones called back on penalty.) Then there is Aaron Fisher, great height, probably heavier, and who has made some eyebrows rise from his work last season….he may be the one who surprises us.

5.b. Wade needs to be exciting/solid this year coming out of the chute. Graves needs to be showing as a valuable second guy at whatever position. Mahoney needs to make a solid run at OLB, as a starter. Karam is caught between a rock and a hard spot with great depth ahead of him. Ford is kind of like Stephens in that he has shown his stuff and will get better. Any guy who has potential to be a DE has an opportunity.

1. I have no basis for trusting either James or Hance. It’s not a stretch to imagine James making such threats, just as it’s no stretch to think Hance would fabricate such a claim. I really do not think it has relevance to the legal case: due process was not employed regardless of what the triggering event may have been.
2. As much as I would like that win, I believe tu would have found a way to pull it out. They are too deep and had much to prove coming off losses. And, I believe PK makes enough to justify the purchase of a suit and tie.
3. I believe it’s a brilliant hire. This man’s Rolodex (young guys: that is like a paper-based address book) likely contains the names of every powerhouse HS coach in the eastern and southern US. It gives at least a 5 year boost to recruiting and hopefully a Year 0 boost with some transferred commitments. AAU coaches are positioning themselves as brokers between the HS recruits and the programs; HMA is primarily working with athletes who couldn’t qualify for D1-D3 regardless of their intent.
4. Defense: Scott Smith (if non-MIA); Offense: Beau Carpenter; D Sleeper: Joe Carmical; O Sleeper: Shawn Corker; Lucky Radley shakes this up if he signs.
5. Defense: Kerry Hyder; Offense: Will Ford

If Karam isn’t leading #2 QB race in spring, I predict he transfers. I hope that I’m wrong but . . .

1. A pox on both their houses
2. thru 5. No comment/no opinion

Saw three things that lost this game

1) Lack of defensive rebounding
2) Inability to get Robertson shots in the second half
3) Brad Reese

1. I saw both James’ and Hance’s lips move – so they are both lying.
2. Good game plan last night, just not enough horses. Could have used Roberts.
3. I don’t care who we get for defensive coaches if we make a stop on 3rd and 7.
4. Boone – offense / Smith – defense (if we find him)
5. Jeffers – offense with Karam a close second / Erxleben – special teams – and I am betting on Mahoney on D.

oh, and did I mention that Craig James can bite me?

1. Craig James? I think enough has been learned about this "who me?!?!?" douchebag to withhold comment to what I’ve just written

2. I watched the game and felt it was a lot like the Seminole/Blue Devils game last night. Whatever happens the favored team is gonna find a way to pull it out. Good teams do that. The Red Raiders played a hell of a game.

3. I won’t repeat what most here have already said about Coach Prunty. Suffice to say I agree with everyone else’s assesment of the guy. BUT. Has anyone else noticed the vibe going around out DEFENSE this off season? I feel Coach Tuberville "The South Plains Drifter" is putting into place a REAL plan of action into our defense. There is a logic behind Tubbs’ moves. He’s putting a guy to run HIS defense in Coach Willis and the hires of Tommy Mainord and the other guys are all part of a master plan. Now the hire of Robert Prunty will serve a purpose too. Our new defense will need Tuberville type players NOW. Sure, we have guys like Bront Bird and Myles Wade who will flourish in a 3-4 scheme. There will surely be others who will benefit as well. But the quickest way to get those Tubbs-type guys will be to find a pipeline. Coach Prunty will very likely be our connection to PREP/Post Prep guys who are eager to get their grades right and get on the field. A program known for placing guys in D3 would LOVE to upgrade that to D1 (FBS, yes I know) and the #1 public university in terms of graduation rate is a natural fit.

Think about it…It beats the hell out of “fire the DC and hope the inside hire (Ruffin M) does a good job”. That is a HUGE step up to a guy who could very possibly be putting in place a defensive system that is just as committed to schemes and recruiting “their” type players as much as the offense is. Mind blowing. I REALLY LOVE THIS DEVELOPMENT.

4a. 2010 Class Offense Contributor – Boone/Corker. I don’t care how good our current stable of receivers is now. Boone/Corker’s talents will NOT keep them on the bench and SOMEONE will be overtaken. Just ask Tramain Swindall.
4b. 2010 Class Defense Contributor – Dunno. I will just throw a dart at Scott Smith. I like his measureables. 6’7" – 275lbs. Seems like an excellent DE in a 3-4 scheme where he is not the guy in pass rush duty.

5a. 2009 Class Offense Contributor – Eric Stephens seems like the unanimous answer but I still like Harrison Jeffers. When this guy explodes it will be spectacular.
5b. 2009 Class Defense Contributor – Will Ford. I think the ceiling on this guy is no where near being reached. He will continue to improve

I believe James is lying. The sense of entitlement and arrogance that permeates the James father and son team makes this assessment a slam dunk. Now the Administration may be "wormy" and cowardly, but logic tells me that the speed in which this occurred showed that Tech feared a lawsuit due to the bad publicity it would bring the University worse than admonishment by the Tech fans and the Captain. Look at how the outside media portrays Leach. Majority of the media, especially ESPN, would continuously comment on what a brilliant coach he is, but quirky, and he should have exercised better judgment and signed the letter of apology. Leach’s side of the story was released in dribs and drabs, particularly his explanation why he didn’t sign the letter, and so it never got any traction. This, folks is the politically correct world we live in.

Well now – let the fun begin! Who is telling the truth? It was bound to happen. Looks like the infighting is just beginning. It was just a matter of time before they started pointing fingers at each other. I guess they cozied up to close to each other… And the heat is getting hotter!

2. Proud of the player’s performance…a big turn around from the Kansas game.
3. Tubbs picked Prunty to instill character, grit, and determination into the defense. What is Hargrave noted for? Taking academic slackers and problem players and molding them into top notch players. The players success at the next two levels under Prunty speaks for itself.
4. This year’s class:
     Offense: Young (best player); Corker (sleeper)
     Defense: Richards (best player); Carmichael (sleeper – like the intangibles)
5. Last year’s class:
     Ward (Offense)
     Graves (Defense)

1. I have to believe Craig James is lying. I guess I haven’t seen the memo, but James and Texas Tech were on the same side of this whole debacle. Texas Tech was required by law to let this information out – they didn’t volunteer it at any point during the last month. Texas Tech has no reason to make James look bad now. Craig James, on the other hand, is trying to still play the “I am not a douche” card even though everyone can plainly see that he’s a giant douche.

2. I was excited when I glanced over and saw that we were holding our own. I hope that it improves the team’s confidence that they were alive and even winning against a really good team until very late in the game. Totally different story than the Kansas game. I don’t think Darko would have made a positive impact.