ODDS AND ENDS | Animated GIF's for January!!

CONFERENCE REALIGNMENT | Good friends at Big East Coast Bias note that West Virginia and the Big East have reached a conditional settlement:

According to Mike Casazza and Jared Hunt of the Charleston (WV) Daily Mail, the Big East and West Virginia have reached a conditional settlement that would end their competing lawsuits and send West Virginia to the Big 12 in 2012. The settlement is for a total of $20 million, with West Virginia paying $11 million and the Big 12 Conference paying the other $9 million.

The deal, however, is no longer dependent upon Boise State being able to leave the Mountain West Conference and play football in the Big East as West Virginia's replacement in 2012. According to Casazza and Hunt, the Big East will still try and possibly take Boise State in 2012, but either way will take the $20 million and use it however it sees fit. Apparently, prior to this agreement, the Big East was unwilling to settle without a replacement, but now is willing to settle and take the payout from West Virginia without necessarily having a 2012 replacement in hand.

In other conference realignment news, NewsOK's Berry Tramel answers a bunch of Big 12 expansion questions, including a lot of thoughts on BYU.

RED RAIDER SOFTBALL | The Red Raiders beat San Diego St. 5-4 yesterday. Congrats!

RED RAIDER BASKETBALL | I'm not going to get a chance to preview tomorrow's game against Oklahoma today, but I'll have something up tomorrow. The game is in Lubbock and tip-off is at 7:00 pm. LAJ's Nick Kosmider writes about all of the problem numbers for Texas Tech and David Just also has some Lady Raider stuff. The Lady Raiders take on Iowa St. on Sunday, also in Lubbock, and the game will be on ESPN2.

TEXAS TECH BASEBALL | Baseball America has come out with their Big 12 preview and is picking Texas Tech to finish 7th. CF Barrett Barnes is listed as having the best raw power in the Big 12 and Jamodrick McGruder is the best base runner. Like it does every year, this team is going to make the NCAA Tournament as long as the pitching comes through.

Yesterday I didn't realize that Mike Graham's DMN story about DH Scott LeJeune and his anxiety disorder that kept him out all of last year was free on RRS.com and there's a lot more there at RRS.com, so go check it out. Also, LAJ's George Watson (beware video auto play) has a bit on yesterday's ribbon cutting ceremony at the newly renovated Rip Griffin Park. Head coach Dan Spencer seems incredibly happy:

"You see it going up and you don’t know if they’re every going to get to a point of it being built," Tech head coach Dan Spencer said. "But it’s built and we’re a week away from getting to play in it and it’s very emotional. The things it’s done for this year’s club and for future clubs is huge, there’s no other way to describe it. It’s big, and we’re extremely grateful and excited."

TEXAS TECH FOOTBALL | I don't really know if it's news that the football schedule will come out today, but when AD Kirby Hocutt spoke at yesterday's ribbon cutting ceremony, again, per LAJ's George Watson, he said that the football schedule would come out today:

"It’s time for the schedule to come out," Hocutt said Thursday, "but at the same time, even up until 7:30 (Wednesday) night we were having conversations about various adjustments within the schedule. It is going to come out (today) and I’m pleased with the end result. I think it will be one of the best home schedules we’ve possibly had in program history, or at least in quite some time. Unfortunately, given the circumstances we’ve faced, it’s a lot later than anyone wanted. But it will come out (today) and I think we’ll be pleased with the end results."

Good enough.

In searching through Twitter this morning, I ran across some things about some current students, most likely as walk-ons, making the football team. The ones I ran across were Miakel Williams who is from El Paso, apparently initially went to Air Force, played RB/DB/ST and I guess now is at Texas Tech (YouTube), and Xavier Henry who is from Snyder and played receiver (YouTube).

LAJ's Don Williams writes that OC Neal Brown wants players like Bradley Marquez, Javares McRoy and Sadale Foster to be a hybrid player:

"We want to create kind of a hybrid position," Tech offensive coordinator Neal Brown said. "How Oregon used De’Anthony Thomas this year, we think Javares and Bradley, maybe SaDale, could kind of be an inside receiver, slash running back."

OC Brown also talked about RB Kenny Williams and RB Ronnie Daniels:

"I really think Kenny Williams will be one of our most improved players in the spring," Brown said. "I thought he showed some good signs in the Missouri and Baylor games. Ronnie has been great in our winter workouts so far. Coming off the suspension, he came back in great shape. He’s a guy that can really help us at that spot."

And OC Brown also had some telling things about RB Ben McRoy:

"We’d like to use his speed (at running back)," Brown said, "but he’s got to improve. He’s got to eliminate mental mistakes and get his run reads and be more disciplined overall."

Last, but not least, OC Brown said that RB Eric Stephens and RB DeAndre Washington could redshirt next year, if necessary. I'm okay with that.

ODDS AND ENDS | SB Nation had a bad morning yesterday morning and as you'll note, the FanPosts still aren't there (they're supposed to be restored shortly). You can still find FanPosts here, but they're just not on the front page right now.

LAJ's David Just has a good article on Marsha Sharp and her new role with the athletic department, who was named associate athletic director in charge of professional development and community engagement by Kirby Hocutt and I am very thankful that she is more involved in the athletic department. Here's Hocutt:

"I see her affection and I see her commitment to not only our university but to our regents and to our city," Hocutt said. "And I see someone who has built tremendous relationships and someone who has demonstrated that you can win at the highest level at Texas Tech. She has committed her entire career to Texas Tech University and to West Texas."

CONFERENCE REALIGNMENT | CBS Sports Brett McMurphy reports that West Virginia and the Big East are close to a settlement and a buyout of $20 million, but that's contingent upon WVU finding a 7th football team. No problem . . . in other conference realignment news, Mountain West Connection notes that the MWC and Conference USA will merge going forward. Next year, what will have the better football conference, the merged C-USA/MWC or the Big East?

RED RAIDER SOFTBALL | The LAJ (beware auto-play video) and the DT preview the softball team. Because I hate auto-play videos, here's a bit from the DT:

A big reason for the Big 12’s recent success is the stellar pitching it brings. The conference features three pitchers who were on the 2011 USA Softball Women’s National team, and another who was on the 2010 USA National Futures Team.

"You better have some good arms that can keep you close in the games and put some zeros up," coach Hays said. "Not only do these teams in the Big 12 have great pitching staffs, they have great lineups as well. I think the Big 12 is the big conference in the country this year and our pitching proves that."

Opposing batters going against the Red Raiders will face returning starters Kelsey Dennis and Brittany Talley. The two left-handed pitchers tallied a combined record of 27-12 and a 2.81 ERA.

RED RAIDER BASEBALL | DMN's Mike Graham has a bit on DH Scott LeJeune. LeJeune missed all of last year for "personal reasons" and now LeJeune is back and says that the reason he missed last year was because he has general anxiety disorder. Glad that he's back and hope he has his life back.

TTURed has some more detailed photos of the Rip Griffin Park renovation. Excellent as always . . . the official site notes that three Red Raiders were named All-Big 12 by Perfect Game, CF Barrett Barnes, 2B Jamodrick McGruder and UTIL David Paiz. Congrats to the three of them! . . . the official site has your 2012 media supplement.

TEXAS TECH BASKETBALL | LAJ's Nick Kosmider writes about the injury situation and I am waiting for someone to blame the strength and conditioning coach. Right now, Toddrick Gotcher and Kevin Wagner are out for the year and Javarez Willis could all be out on Saturday. Gotcher has been out for quite some time, but losing Wagner hurts right now. Here's head coach Billy Gillispie:

"The best way to beat pressure defense is by penetration, and we definitely weren’t able to get around their guards," Tech coach Billy Gillispie said. "Wagner was able to get around them the first time we played, and he’s out with an injury. Then (Willis) going down early, he’s a guy that can usually get into the gaps a little bit, so that definitely hurt us. But we still can’t turn the ball over like that like we did.

"We have to do a better job of screening for each other and passing the ball. We had some opportunities for high-low (passes) and we threw the ball out of bounds. When we did get opportunites, we didn’t finish plays close to the basket."

TEXAS TECH FOOTBALL | Another preferred walk-on! Per the Abilene Reporter's Marc David, Cisco College RB Jamal Nero will be a preferred walk-on at Texas Tech (Rivals | Scout | YouTube | Hudl). For last year, Nero had 680 rushing yards on 146 carries for a 4.65 average and 5 touchdowns to lead Cisco. JCFootball.com had an update on Cisco players in December and had this on Nero:

RB Jamal Nero - "Through five games when he was a freshman back in 2010, he was leading the nation in rushing, but then he injured his knee and he was out for the rest of the year. He still had a great year, but there were times when you could see he wasn't fully back to 100% health and that is probably why some teams haven't offered him yet. I know that the Texas Tech coaches have talked to him and there are a few other schools looking at him, but he can move on right now and we want to find him a place where he can help someone out right away."

LAJ's Don Williams has your updated spring depth chart for the receivers. I'll make you go to the LAJ for the full depth chart, but here is offensive coordinator Neal Brown on IR Javarez McRoy:

"Javares has great straight-line speed," Brown said, "but his best attribute is his ability to make people miss in open space. He’s a dynamic guy, probably unlike any inside receiver we’ve had since I’ve been here. He’ll stick his foot in the ground, make the first defender miss and he’s really versatile in that he can play receiver and also go in the backfield."

And OC Brown on IR Tyson Williams:

"He was very productive at WT, and he gives us a confidence at that position, a little bit of bravado," Brown said. "He’s a talented kid and he’s hungry to show he can compete and produce at the highest level. ... He’s a tough, physical guy."

And WR Javon Bell:

"We want Javon to push for that starting spot," Brown said. "We thought he was the best junior college receiver last year, a kid we recruited for about a year and a half. He averaged 26 yards per catch in a fast JC league. I fully expect him to compete for immediate playing time. He’ll push Darrin Moore."

RED RAIDER BASKETBALL | Another game and another 19 point loss, although this game was relatively close, within 10 points, with a shade over 2 minutes left to play, but lost to Kansas State, 65 - 46 (box score). Overall, Texas Tech was just awful offensively for the most part, the brightest spot being G Luke Adams who finished with 15 points. It was the same thing that we've seen before, which is just 6 assists for the entire team and 22 turnovers. Again, it's just abysmal right now. Part of the problem is that prior to the game, we found out that PG Kevin Wagner didn't travel with the team and this morning we learn, per LAJ's Nick Kosmider, Wagner is likely out for the year. Then, within the first 5 minutes of the game, PG Javarez Willis injured his ankle never returned, which meant that the only real options in the backcourt were Adams and Ty Nurse.

Still, this team did not give up, despite playing basketball for almost the entirety of the game. F Jordan Tolbert had 11 points and 8 rebounds while F Jaye Crockett had 9 points and 8 rebounds. Again, this team didn't quit despite being just awful at times. LAJ's Nick Kosmider has a game recap with some quotes from head coach Billy Gillispie:

"We played as physical as we could possibly play against a very physical team," Gillispie said. "We just had too many turnovers. No matter what the situation is we just kept turning the ball over, but I’m real proud of our guys as far as their effort goes.

"That’s about as tough as we’ve played all year long."

One more thing from yesterday. Adams went to go visit a young boy who also wears cochlear implants like Adams does. Adams catches more crap on Twitter than just about any player I've ever seen and most people on Twitter are mean and don't give one flip about Adams' story, but from all accounts, he's a good kid and he's taking advantage of an opportunity at Texas Tech. I cannot imagine this particular team without Adams.

I wanted to supplement yesterday's news of Texas Tech's newest 2013 commitment, F Blake Danielak. I mentioned yesterday that D1Nation broke the story and I'm pretty sure that coach Max Ivany is reading DTN as he has a follow up to his initial story. Here's Ivany from yesterday (the initial story was posted on Sunday evening):

I’ve seen the Red Raider message board comments. One moderator wasn’t sure he could print the offer because there was such "thin evidence" that it was accurate…duh. Another comment was that the kid is only a 3A player. Throw that one out the window too folks.

A couple of things. TallMike posted a FanShot that linked to Level and Graham's twitter exchange and not this story and TallMike comment was that this appeared to be thin evidence, i.e. Level's and Graham's tweets seemed flimsy and truthfully, they should have linked to Ivany's story from Sunday night and not just referenced Danielak's facebook page. Whatever. Ivany assumes that the "thin evidence" is in reference to his story and I don't think that's what TallMike was implying. Ivany also says that the thought that Danielak is just a 3A player is irrelevant, in reference to some comments made in yesterday's DTN DD. I can say that I know of Ivany and he does know basketball players and is well-respected as a talent evaluator of high school players. You can take that for what it's worth, but I think that's an accurate statement.

In any event, Ivany has this to say about Danielak:

2013 F 6’7 Blake Danielak shows great maturity for a 16 year old. He can shoot it, he passes well out of the post and rebounds well. He’s bouncy and runs the floor extremely well. Look for BCG to pack some pounds on him and make him a stretch four man for the Red Raiders when the time comes. Expect him to be 6’9?-6’10? when he arrives on campus in the summer of 2013.

Not to pressure him too much but I feel I’m qualified to say the following. I’ve had the pleasure of coaching some pretty good players at the same point in their careers. John Henson (North Carolina), Cameron Moore (Alabama-Birmingham), Andre Roberson (Colorado), Daniel Alexander (Texas A&M), Cory Jefferson (Baylor), J.J. Avila (Navy) and Connor Lammert (Texas signee) to name a few. I believe Danielak belongs in that company. He’s not as long as Henson, not as tough defensively as Jefferson, or as tenacious as Roberson. BUT, the tools are there. He’s a better shooter from all areas on the floor at this point as a 16 year old than any of them. Of course he’s got close to two years of hard work ahead of him to meet those lofty standards of where the aforementioned kids elevated their games.

LADY RAIDER BASKETBALL | The Lady Raiders take on Oklahoma St. tonight, in Stillwater and the game starts at 7:00 pm. LAJ's David Just and DT's Chois Woodman both preview the game. Just notes that this is an important game as the Lady Raiders are tied with both Oklahoma St. and Iowa St. in the standings:

This is a critical week for the Lady Raiders, who are in a three-way tie for sixth place in the Big 12 Conference with a 4-6 record. Tech’s next two opponents — Oklahoma State and Iowa State — are the two teams it’s tied with.

"It’s obviously a great opportunity to separate yourself," said Tech coach Kristy Curry, who expects the top seven teams in the conference to get at-large NCAA invites.

And from Woodman:

"If you don’t play in February, you’re not going to have March," she said. "And there is no one across the country that’s in the tournament right now because it’s the first week of February. That’s where resumes are made and I think our kids understand that. We’ve certainly tried to educate them February is important."

LADY RAIDER SOFTBALL | DT's Matt Villanueva profiles SS Raven Richardson and talks about her getting a second chance at Texas Tech. This is a good story and hopefully Richardson can keep things on the straight and narrow. Here's her head coach, Shanon Hays:

"She’s a more mature hitter and now looks for her pitch," Hays said. "As a person, she is settled and is more comfortable. She always shows up ready to work and is consistent."

TEXAS TECH FOOTBALL | LAJ's Don Williams has the latest on some offensive line changes. I've done a more detailed write-up on these moves as well as some comparisons to Abilene Christian's offense and Texas Tech's offense as I wanted to know how the offenses compare.

Rivals.com recognized the best recruiters from each school and Robert Prunty continues to receive praise:

Robert Prunty, Texas Tech
Buzz:The Red Raider defensive end coach was last year's Rivals.com Big 12 Recruiter of the Year and he showed no signs of letting up in the class of 2012. Prunty was the lead recruiter for U.S. Army All-American Michael Starts and beat out the likes of Michigan, Notre Dame, Texas and Texas A&M for his services. He also held onto cornerback La'Darius Newbold late when other schools made a hard run at him. Texas Tech went heavy on the junior college ranks this year and Prunty was the lead recruiter for most of them as well.

I'd agree, but I'd also say that Tommy Mainord is 1B to Prunty being 1A. I noticed that in a lot of the conversations that I've heard from recruits, Mainord's name was mentioned quite often. I also wanted to add that TechTalk spoke with Prunty yesterday and the two things that I thought were interesting was that the team and the staff sense some urgency in 2012 and he also said that DE Branden Jackson is 6-5.5/252 and DE Kindred Evans is 6-5/240 and praised S&C coach Joe Walker. That means that both Jackson and Evans have added about 20 to 30 pounds from their freshmen years.

Spring practices start next Friday (I think).

ODDS AND ENDS | Totally Texas Tech's TTURed has already posted a FanShot with panoramic view of Rip Griffin Park and it's pretty cool to see it nearly complete. TTURed also posted a handful of new photos on his site with additional photos. This will be the last time that I do this, but there are photos of the Hance Chapel and like I said a couple of weeks ago, TTURed is documenting the construction history at Texas Tech. All of it.

Per LAJ's Don Williams, the future of playing Texas A&M is an all-or-nothing proposition, i.e. TAMU and TTU play between all sports:

"We discussed it with all our head coaches," Hocutt said, "and that’s something we as an athletic department and we as a group of coaches feel strongly about at this time."

I'm okay with that.

This article by Alligator's Army's Andy Hutchins is a bit dated (summer of 2011), but thought it was interesting to the extent that some schools hire their own in-house writers and also want to control information. I know that we tend to think that this sort of thing only happens at Texas Tech, but it doesn't, it happens everywhere, even to extent of asking that a person delete a re-tweet.

RED RAIDER BASKETBALL | There was this neat RaiderPower episode where the players talk about being in public and what it means to autograph for little kids and the importance of being a good role model.

This news was actually broken by D1 Nation, so give them a click, but Texas Tech has their first commit of the 2013 class in Liberty Hill F Blake Danielak:

At only 16, Danielak is 6’7". He’s athletic, can step out and hit the three, put it on the floor some and has nice timing as a shot blocker. He’s constantly working on his game away from the bright lights and is dedicated to his sport specific strength and agility training under the guidance of T.J. Garza of Speed Killz.

LAJ's Nick Kosmider talked with Danielak, who is averaging 16 PPG, 7 RPG and 5 BPG, talked about playing for head coach Billy Gillispie:

"The good thing is that it’s a Big 12 school," Danielak said. "Coach Gillispie is known for turning programs around. He did it at UTEP and at Texas A&M, and I really wanted to be a part of that."

I won't have any sort of profile on Danielak until there are some profiles that I can find. I also have not been able to find any video, so I really don't know what type of player he actually is.

I've got a preview coming up later today, but there's a game tonight against K-State, tip-off at 7:00 pm on the Big 12 Network. LAJ's Nick Kosmider has a preview and writes that the defense must be better. Here's Coach Gillispie:

"We have to be much better defensively," Tech coach Billy Gillispie said. "In the past we have had teams that have been very physical and very defensive oriented and we scored off our defense. We didn’t really let anybody get any offensive rebounds, and we’re totally opposite of that right now. But that’s what we’re working toward."

TEXAS TECH BASEBALL | DT's Brett Winegarner has the story on the three-way race for the shortstop position as the team will need to replace the Kelby Tomlinson, who only played last year at Texas Tech, but was darned good:

The trio of freshman shortstops consists of Tim Proudfoot, Matt Eureste and Bryant Burleson. Although opening day is Feb. 17, head coach Dan Spencer said the battle for the position is still ongoing and all three remain in the running to win the starting job.

"I think it’s pretty even because they all have strengths and they’re different from each other," Spencer said. "So I would hate to say there’s a frontrunner because if the guy doesn’t get the job then he thinks he did something not to get it."

TEXAS TECH FOOTBALL | Per Scout, defensive ends coach Robert Prunty was named the Midlands Recruiter of the Year as well as the Big 12 Recruiter of the Year in the Big 12. Congrats!

DMN's Mike Graham writes that QB Michael Brewer has gained 25 pounds and maybe added a bit of height:

"He looks a lot better," Texas Tech offensive coordinator Neal Brown told RedRaiderSports.com. "(Strength and conditioning coach) Joe Walker has done a good job and his staff has done a good job. He's put on 25 pounds since he's been here and I think he's grown a little bit also.

"He's ready. He's ready to push Doege and ready to prove that he's the next guy."

There were a couple of nice stories on two of the newest signees, DT Michael Starts and WR Reginald Davis. We'll start with Starts, and I think this is the school newspaper, so please throw your journalistic expectations out the window:

"My parents are behind me 100% whatever decision I make, and I felt comfortable with Tech, so I took an official visit and really liked how the whole town is behind the team," Starts said. "I’ll be playing strong-side defensive end and am looking forward to heading to Tech June 7 and settling into the freshmen dorm just down from Jones Stadium."

And from Piney Woods Sports, Davis apparently would have received an academic scholarship, but knows how important academics is:

"Even if I wouldn't have gotten an athletic scholarship I would have gotten an academic scholarship," said Davis, who is currently ranked No.4 in his class. "But this is getting to do something I like to do.

"The most important thing in all of this is getting a degree. If you get a degree you can do whatever you want to do, and getting it paid for by playing football is a great opportunity for me."

Love it.

ESPN's David Ubben I think attended the recruiting review and had some leftover thoughts in talking to head coach Tommy Tuberville.

And last, but not least per the DMN, QB Scotty Young is mulling a transfer to UNT.

ODDS AND ENDS | Not a lot of content today, although I will finish up with recruiting profiles on ATH Casey Gladney and FB Michal Pearson today and tomorrow with some concluding recruiting thoughts on Wednesday.

LADY RAIDER BASKETBALL | The LAJ's David Just and the DT's Chois Woodman both have articles (beware, the LAJ is auto-play video) and here's head coach Kristy Curry after the win:

"We’re in the Big 12," she said, "and we’ve got to understand that consistency and all the little things — from our free throw shooting tonight to how hard we played on the defensive end, I thought our focus was good. We’ve got to be consistent with our focus. It’s not what’s across the other team’s chest, it’s what’s across ours and how we need to play the game."

TEXAS TECH BASEBALL | LAJ's George Watson profiles OF Barrett Barnes and here's head coach Dan Spencer on Barnes:

"I’m expecting a big year out of Barrett, but I think Barrett just needs to be Barrett Barnes and do his job and not try to do someone else’s job," Spencer said. "He’ll have good players around him. He’s a great player and I expect Barrett to be a great player, and he will have a good year. Whether or not he had a great year, he could, and he’s certainly capable of that, but he doesn’t have to be great. We just need a very good year from him."

TEXAS TECH FOOTBALL | LAJ's Don Williams has an article on James Gray and the difference when he was recruited to Texas Tech and his son's commitment to UT:

"It’s apples to oranges, the way everything is now with Internet and social media," Gray said. "It’s almost to the point where it’s like the NFL draft with kids deciding on ESPN where they go to school."

True, there are more outlets pumping more information on more prospects than ever, but the recruiting process for the two Grays differed in another respect. Whereas James Gray had scholarship offers from two programs — Texas Tech and the University of Texas-Arlington — there might not have been two schools in America that wouldn’t have taken Johnathan. The son rushed for just short of 11,000 yards while setting a national high school record with 205 touchdowns, all while leading Aledo to three state championships in a row.

I thought this was humorous, the Abilene Reporter-News had this on new offensive line coach Chris Thomsen:

Texas Tech could name former Abilene Christian University head coach Chris Thomsen as its offensive line coach today, according to a Red Raiders' website.

Double-T Nation reported Wednesday that sources close to the Tech program confirmed that Thomsen will replace Jim Turner as the Red Raiders offensive line coach.

We are finally in print folks, that's big-time. To be fair, FootballScoop was the site that had the news and I just posted it as a FanShot. I'll still take the free publicity.

ODDS AND ENDS | Sorry for being so delinquent lately. Had to take the kid to get a social security card on Thursday then yesterday morning, the kid was coughing up a lung (he's fine, but we thought he might have RSV) and I was Mr. Mom almost all day yesterday, including me taking him to the doctor yesterday. We'll get back on track next week.

BIG 12 STUFF | Big East Coast Bias noted that Louisville is still aggressively pursuing an invitation to the Big 12 and would guess that this is totally true (being serious here) . . . CBS Sports Dennis Dodds runs down the list of Big 12 commissioner candidates, although WVU's Oliver Luck has said that he's not interested, but my money is on Notre Dame's AD Jack Swarbuck . . . also from CBS Sports, Brett McMurphy writes that from everything he hears, do not look west for a team like BYU, but look east

TEXAS TECH SOFTBALL | The LAJ (beware video auto-play) has a preview of the softball team.

LADY RAIDER BASKETBALL | No news here other than wanted to mention that the ladies play tomorrow against Missouri at 1:00 pm and the game is in Lubbock.

RED RAIDER BASKETBALL | Don't forget, there's a game tonight that most people will not be able to watch because it's on the Longhorn Network. Starts at 6:00 pm.

We've all been somewhat wondering why Robert Lewandowski is still starting and playing so much and LAJ's Nick Kosmider tells this story from the offseason:

During offseason workouts last summer, when coaches couldn’t conduct practices, it was up to Lewandowski, Texas Tech’s lone senior, to introduce the team’s freshmen to the joys of conditioning at the major-college level.

In other words, the veteran made the new guys work.

"I hated it," Tolbert, one of those freshmen, said with a smile following a 27-point performance in a win over Cal State Bakersfield six weeks ago. "Rob was on me real hard, and I didn’t understand why. Now I understand why."

This is why Lew is playing so much despite being off his game. He's being rewarded and I think I'm okay with that.

TEXAS TECH FOOTBALL | We talked about this on Thursday, but as expected former Abilene Christian University head coach, Chris Thomsen, was named as Texas Tech's offensive line coach (nothing from the official site). LAJ's Don Williams spoke with offensive coordinator Neal Brown who confirmed the hiring and said that Thomsen was the one guy that they wanted:

"When I found out Jim was going to take the opportunity with the (Miami) Dolphins, that was the only guy we talked to was Chris," Tech offensive coordinator Neal Brown said. "You look at what they’ve done at ACU and it’s very impressive."

Aside from leading ACU to the NCAA Division II playoffs six years in a row, Thomsen was doing with his offense what Brown wants to do with Tech’s.

"I think the most appealing part to me was he was head coach and offensive line coach," Brown said. "They’ve been passing for 300 yards, a little over, and rushing for between 200 and 250. In a perfect world, that’s where we’d like to be."

Turner, with whom Brown worked at Delaware, took the Tech job when the Texas A&M staff was left in limbo by the firing of head coach Mike Sherman. But when Sherman landed the offensive coordinator position with the Miami Dolphins, he rehired Turner to be his line coach.

I didn't know that Turner had worked with Brown in a previous stop, so now that initial hire makes more sense. Still, I really like Thomsen and what he brings to the table, although I was also excited about Turner.

Double T 104.3's Chris Level and Aaron Dickens talked with QB Clayton Nicholas, CB LaDarius Newbold, DT Anthony Smith, DT J.J. Loller (Bynum) and FB Michael Pearson. Very much enjoyed listening to all of these interviews, but did like the interview with Pearson, who also apparently had preferred walk-on offers from USC and Oklahoma, has a kid, realized later in life that he wanted an education rather than work at Wal-Mart (no offense to Wal-Mart I'm sure) and seems incredibly grateful that he has an opportunity to get that education. Also make sure and check out Williams and Hyatt Show's Ryan Hyatt talk with DE coach Robert Prunty. I always enjoy listening to Prunty.

ODDS AND ENDS | I am so running out of time today, so this is really just going to be a link dump without any sort of commentary by me (please add your own in the comments).

The DT has an update on Raider Park . . . I didn't have time to listen to this, but AD Kirby Hocutt was on 1340 The Fan . . . SBN's BYU site, Vanquish the Foe, writes that talks of BYU to the Big 12 are progressing.

LADY RAIDER BASKETBALL | LAJ's David Just writes that this team is unstoppable if the team is balanced.

RED RAIDER BASKETBALL | LAJ's Nick Kosmider writes that the Red Raiders hope to end their current losing streak. PF Jordan Tobert is calling it:

"There’s no question we are going to win (today)," said freshman Jordan Tolbert, who notched a double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds in the first meeting. "The focus in practice is getting better so we can finish on something that we should have finished earlier in the season in that first game."

TEXAS TECH BASEBALL | The official site notes that Barrett Barnes was named as a preseason All-American. LAJ's George Watson has a look at the third practice. The DT has a nice story and pictorial on Rip Griffin Park.

TEXAS TECH FOOTBALL | JUCO RB Damien Williams will be deciding between Texas Tech and Oklahoma . . . Rivals' Mike Huguenin writes about 10 players that will make a difference as they are already on campus, including LB Will Smith:

The player: LB Will Smith
The particulars: 6-3/220, Jr.; three-star recruit; Riverside (Calif.) College
The buzz: Smith is one of seven JC transfers already enrolled; the Red Raiders also have two early enrollees from high school. Texas Tech needs some defensive playmakers, and the hope is that the speedy Smith can fill that need. He had 13 tackles for loss, three interceptions and five pass breakups this past season. Smith originally signed with Division II Northwood (Mich.) out of Riverside (Calif.) Notre Dame before transferring to Riverside College.

Dr. Saturday's Matt Hinton has his annual article about how recruiting rankings do matter.

ODDS AND ENDS | I've worked quite a bit this weekend on preparing for National Signing Day, which is Wednesday. In fact, I also had to make a decision as to whether or not I would want to write some post game thoughts on the men's basketball game with Missouri or get ready for NSD and decided that I'd be completely out of time this week if I didn't get a post ready for Wednesday. In any event, I should have a post ready to go on Wednesday morning. I do have some recruiting news later in this DTN DD.

One other note. Since I've really only addressed this in comments, I have seen linked the article on Craig James three different times on DTN. Please, for my sake, keep in mind that a FanShot or FanPost about what James allegedly calling coaches during the game is absolutely relevant to Texas Tech, but an article that mainly focuses on James' spectacular political career is not. I don't think I've ever had a problem with posting things that are relevant to Texas Tech athletics. I hope that's clear as mud.

LADY RAIDER BASKETBALL | RndRckTTU is an absolute blessing and what a a game on Saturday, where Texas Tech picked themselves up, without F Keirra Mallard who was out with an injury, and beat the Texas Longhorns. The Lady Raiders take on the Aggies at the USA on Wednesday.

LAJ's David Just has a notebook (beware of video auto-play) and head coach Kristy Curry was very thankful of all of the fans that showed up on Saturday (over 10,000):

"A lot of people want to ride in the limo, but what you want is someone when the limo breaks down to ride in the bus with you," Curry said. "We had 10,000 riding the bus with us. I can’t thank enough the High Riders and students and that crowd today for sticking by us.

DT's Mike Gutierrez talked with F Jordan Barncastle about what Saturday's win meant:

"I think it’s really cool to go into these next couple games with this momentum and kind of get in the swings of things," Barncastle said. "It was nice to do something we haven’t done in a while. Hopefully, we can beat them (in Austin) next time."

TEXAS TECH BASEBALL | LAJ's George Watson has practice reports from Day 1 and Day 2. DT's Matt Villanueva and LAJ's Zach Long (beware of video auto-play) both have thoughts on the newly renovated Rip Griffin Park. The official site also has some video links from interviews on Friday. I also should link to LAJ's George Watson who writes that this year's team should see improvement because of better talent and more depth:

Leading the group of returning pitchers are von Schamann and sophomore Trey Masek. von Schamann was arguably Tech’s best pitcher the last month of the season, finishing with a 5-0 record and 3.92 ERA with 19 strikeouts and just nine walks in 411/3 innings. Masek was steady in the Saturday starting role, going 5-4 with a 4.70 ERA and 33 strikeouts in 67 innings as a true freshman.

Plus, Spencer has third-team all-American closer John Neely back. Neely went 9-1 with seven saves and a 2.97 ERA, striking out 56 in 602/3 innings.

The depth is the key, at least in my opinion, and Watson does a fantastic job covering this team, so make sure and give him a click.

RED RAIDER BASKETBALL | I haven't even mentioned the final score, but as I am sure most of you have guessed, Texas Tech lost to #2 Missouri, 50-63 on Saturday. It was actually a really nice effort and the score was closer than the final score indicated. G Kevin Wagner, G Luke Adams and G Ty Nurse saw most of the time in the second half in the backcourt and all had over 30 minutes, while F Jaye Crockett and F Clark Lammert saw most of the time in the frontcourt. F Jordan Tolbert had some foul-trouble, but he also was a turnover machine (8 in just 16 minutes), while F Robert Lewandowski played only 7 minutes and G Javarez Willis played only 10 minutes.

LAJ's Nick Kosmider has a notebook summing up a few things from the game. Texas Tech takes on Oklahoma St. on Tuesday in Lubbock.

TEXAS TECH FOOTBALL | The official site is going to have a webcast for NSD and like I said above, you can hang out here and comment and post as players send in their Letters of Intent.

LAJ's Don Williams notes that a California JUCO cornerback, Olaoluwa Falemi (5-11/170) has committed to Texas Tech this weekend. I've got profiles going up on Falemi and walk-on Connor Grooms going up later this morning:

"They have chemistry," Falemi said. "They’ve been together a long time, the new coaches that came on the defensive side, so I really like that. The school is nice, the program is nice, so I’m ready to play at Texas Tech."

Again, I'll have more on Falemi later this morning.

I wrote a little bit for the mothership yesterday and now it's out-dated, sigh. Last week, I mentioned that DT Jordan Tavai was down to Texas Tech and Kansas and ultimately chose Kansas yesterday because he liked the coaches better. Just in case you were all wondering, former secondary coach for the Dallas Cowboys, Dave Campo, is the KU defensive coordinator. Personally, if Tavai is willing to think that Campo will get him to the NFL, then he's entitled to his opinion. And if Tavai wants to play for a head coach that does this, then have at it. Again, you can say a lot of things about Tuberville, we all know he's not perfect, but he doesn't hold players hostage and then lecture them if they don't want to play for his team.