Red Raider Gridiron :: Talking Football?

With all of the conference realignment talk, I decided to dedicate a post to just football.  Please enjoy something other than conference realignment.  We'll try to do Five Questions later in the week.

Early Conference Showdowns:  Rivals.com's Mike Huguenin runs down the early conference game showdowns for 2010 and Texas vs. Texas Tech makes the list:

5. Texas at Texas Tech, Sept. 18
The buzz: Texas Tech is one of the bigger mysteries in the nation. Mike Leach is out and Tommy Tuberville is in, and though Tuberville has said the Red Raiders will continue to run their wide-open, pass-happy offense, Tuberville always has been a power-rush kind of guy. How will Tech's offense be tweaked? This will be the first test of any kind this season for Texas, which opens with Rice and Wyoming. All eyes will be on the Texas rushing attack; will it be able to take the pressure off new QB Garrett Gilbert? Tech beat the Longhorns the last time the teams met in Lubbock, and another Red Raiders win would mean a wide-open affair in the Big 12 South.

Steele's Toughest Schedules:  Phil Steele posted 2010's toughest schedule and despite a relatively weak non-conference lineup with Texas Tech sitting at #38.

Big 12's Best:  ESPN's David Ubben is ranking the best of the Big 12 and at #22 is LB Brian Duncan:

Making the case for Duncan: Duncan didn't have a great year in 2009, but he's still led the Red Raiders in stops for the past two seasons. His move to outside linebacker last month could make his senior season a big one. He'll have a chance to utilize his speed and in new coordinator James Willis' 3-4 scheme, the 6-foot-3, 240-pounder will be blitzing often off the edge. Look for his sack and tackle for loss numbers to go up, and without Brandon Sharpe driving quarterbacks mad, Duncan won't be held without a sack this season, as he was last year.

Dave Campbells' Texas Super Teams:  Dave Campbell's magazine announced their Super Team and Super Team 2 and a handful of current Texas Tech commits made the list.  I'm guessing that DC's Super Teams are his first team, regardless of classification, best teams.  On the Super Team is WR Derek Edwards, TE Jace Amaro and DL James Castleman.  On the Super Team 2 is OL Tony Morales and at the utility position, QB Michael Brewer.

Lose Commitment, Gain Two More:  I didn't touch this topic last week as I was struggling to keep my head above water in trying to follow all of the conference realignment topics, but Lakeland, FL, WR Javares McRoy de-committed from Texas Tech, but head coach Tommy Tuberville did secure two more commitments from OL Alfredo Morales and OL De'Raven Clark.  Alfredo Morales is the twin brother of current commit, Tony Morales.  I'm currently working on profiles for both gentleman, and should be published later this week.  Also, I had the time to update the recruiting sidebar and table this weekend (after the jump).  Let me know if I've got numbers wrong.  I was in a hurry when working on this, so errors are probable.

Position	Commitment	Ht/Wt	High School/State	Rivals	Rivals Rating	Scout	ESPN	ESPN Grade
QB	Michael Brewer	6-0/175	Lake Travis (Austin, TX)	4	5.8	3	3	78
RB	Kenny Williams	5-10/210	Hendrickson (Pflugerville, TX)	4	5.8	4	4	80
RB	Bradley Marquez	5-11/180	Odessa (Odessa, TX)	3	5.7	4	4	79
WR	Derek Edwards	6-1/163	Brenham (Brenham, TX)	3	5.7	3	3	79
TE	Jace Amaro	6-5/237	MacArthur (San Antonio, TX)	4	5.8	3	3	78
OL	Tony Morales	6-4/300	Sam Houston (Arlington TX)	4	5.8	3	N/A	45
OL	Alfredo Morales	6-3/287	Sam Houston (Arlington TX)	3	5.7	3	N/A	45
OL	Le'Raven Clark	6-6/245	Rockdale (Rockdale TX)	3	5.7	3	N/A	45
DL	James Castleman	6-4/255	Amarillo (Amarillo, TX)	N/A	N/A	3	N/A	45
LB	Devon Hocutt	6-0/260	Ellison (Killeen, TX)	3	5.6	3	2	74
LB	Terrell Hartsfield	6-4/215	Hargrave MA (Chatham, VA)	N/A	N/A	3	N/A	45
LB	Blake Dees	6-0/234	Spanish Fort (Spanish Fort, AL)	3	5.5	2	2	73
Averages				2.83	4.75	3.08	1.75	63.83