Viva The Matadors - All Posts

Red Raider Hoops | State Champion High Jumper to Play for Tubby Smith and Texas Tech?

2013-05-23T16:00:05Z

I never like doing this, but it is sorta news, I think. I also hate breaking any sort of news and I am sure some subscription based service has already informed you that this has happened, but here goes.

Copperas Cove PG/SG Cory Scott will be attending Texas Tech. Interestingly, Scott originally signed a Letter of Intent with SFA in November of last year, but his Twitter page, which I will not link, says that he is a Texas Tech commit. When Scott committed his high school coach had this to say about Scott:

"Cory is a kid who is going to work hard, but he doesn’t mind when you get on him and do some things like that," White said. "Trust me, I have done so many times in the past few years. But he is that type of kid. He loves the game of basketball, and wants to always get better.

"The only way he is going to get better is to keep pushing and keep pushing, so it is great for him to have coaches who are going to push him like that."

Scott was unrated by Rivals and ESPN but he did have profiles for both. You can watch some highlights of Scott on Hudl, but it really isn't so much highlights as it is chunks of games for Scott. He is #25.

According to MaxPreps, as a junior Scott averaged 17.8 PPG, 3.2 APG and 3.2 RPG.

I couldn't find any stats from his senior season on Scott, but earlier this month, Scott won the Class 5A State High Jump at a height of 7'0". This article further states that Scott still signed a LOI with SFA, but it does say that things are changing. Scott says that he isn't sure if he wants to play basketball or do the high jump, although he says in his Twitter that he's playing basketball for Texas Tech. If Scott matched his junior year in terms of production, I think Texas Tech has a decent player and a pretty incredible athlete.

Thursday Morning Links at VTM | Leach Has Hearing; Whitaker's Presser; Baseball Starts Today; TTU Possible Spot for Sims

2013-05-23T10:23:52Z

Odds and Ends

This is going to be a busy link post.

Former Texas Tech head coach Mike Leach had a summary judgment hearing yesterday and things were said. I don't have anything to add here as it is a summary judgment hearing and the article says that no matter who wins the loser is going to appeal. So a lot of this really doesn't matter right now.

Women's Basketball

New head coach Candace Whitaker's press conference was yesterday. You can read an entire transcript here. The official site has links to the video of the press conference and a story on yesterday's press conference. The LAJ recaps the day.

Track and Field

The Big 12 site has a student spotlight on long jumper Bryce Lamb. The NCAA West Preliminaries are about to start and the official site and the LAJ have you covered.

Baseball

First and foremost, very nice to see the baseball team spend some time yesterday at a Goodwill to help the victims of the Moore tornadoes. The official site and the LAJ recap their day helping those in need.

The Big 12 Championship pool play starts today, which means that Texas Tech will play three games, today through Sunday: Kansas St., Oklahoma and Baylor. I'll try my best to get up an open thread so discuss these games. The LAJ writes that the team is ready to get to baseball.

Men's Basketball

CBS Sports has a look at new Texas Tech head coach and they state that hiring coach Tubby Smith, but they don't seem to think that he will be able to recruit and win. We'll see. We'll see.

Football

I will continue to find links where national writers pan Oklahoma St. head coach Mike Gundy as he does not allow transferring QB Wes Lunt to transfer to 37 schools. Here is SI's Stewart Mandel and CBS Sports Jeremy Fowler.

Sometimes I get emailed about things and yesterday was one of those days. Someone from some marketing firm emailed me an article about former Red Raider Marlon Williams, who is also on this year's season of Real World. You can read that article here.

RP continues their Critical 20 with a look at #16, S Keenon Ward. RP also has their five freshmen to watch.

The big news yesterday, and I'll probably do a separate post on this is that Houston RB Charles Sims has decided he is going to transfer from Houston. Sims graduated earlier this month so he's free to go to a graduate school without sitting out a year. Of course, Texas Tech is thought to be an option because head coach Kliff Kingsbury, Eric Morris and Lee Hays all were coaches at Houston at some point during Sims' career as a Cougar. CBS Sports rates Sims as the #5 running back in the nation, so obviously if Sims were to transfer to Texas Tech this would be pretty significant. Sims is also considering declaring for the Supplemental NFL draft.

Red Raider Tailgate Tour 2013: A Magical Night Captured in Sepia

2013-05-23T05:30:04Z

The Red Raider Tailgate Tour made a stop in San Antonio and my wife and I were excited about the opportunity to attend. I left work a little early, picked up the kids, made 'em a snack while she changed a diaper, quickly changed another diaper, changed my shirt because of said diaper, and we loaded up.

We dropped the kids off at Keith's house and he told me our song is coming along great. We're collaborating on a song about Cheetohs and the band Boston and the morning he walked all the way home in a graduation gown. He plays the guitar and bongos and foot tambourine and harmonica and ukulele and I write some of the lyrics. It's gonna be epic on YouTube.

We stopped for gas, of course, because no one around here knows how to get gas when we're NOT in a hurry, and then headed downtown. We arrived at the Briscoe Museum at about 6:25 parked on the 5th floor of the garage, and walked into the ballroom just in time to find our VIP seats in the open seating area in the very back next to the elevators at table 29. I snapped the title picture above to give all of you an idea of the incredible spread laid out for us. I had two glasses of tea, three glasses of water, a glass of wine, a beer, a coffee cup, six or seven forks, cheesecake and a strawberry onion salad all squeezed into less than one square foot. I felt like a king.

I wanted to provide in depth coverage of the event but I forgot my notebook and my HD camera with the mega zoom lens and my pencil so all I had was my phone and my steel trap memory. I had to wing it like MacGyver was working for the Lubbock Avalanche Journal.

First up was Ed Whitacre. I didn't get a picture but the guy is literally a giant. He thanked all the rich people and told us to buy a Chevy I think.

Next up was Chancellor Hance. He practically jumped up on the stage and went right into his story. He reminded me a lot of Mr. Peepers but his speech was actually pretty good. He talked about raising a billion dollars and Eric Ward and he said he wears skinny ties now since Kliff has been around. I snapped this HD pic during his speech.

The Chancellor only spoke for a few minutes and then it was Kirby Hocutt's turn. He talked about some of the recent successes in various sports and reiterated his commitment to making Texas Tech the #1 athletic institution in the nation. It was definitely a chill bump inducing speech. Kirby is the kind of guy that can lead us into uncharted territory. In the short time he's been here, he's replaced coaches in all four major sports, and he still has a big smile on his face. Kirby is legit.

I took this picture below but I was messing around with some Photoshop features and accidentally erased him. Luckily I was able to make the dude in front of me look sorta like the Hulk which was cool and I made it look all wavy with that wand thing but sorry Kirby for erasing you.

Bad ass. I promise Kirby was up there talking.

The next speaker was my new favorite coach at Texas Tech, women's soccer coach Tom Stone. He was hilarious, inspiring, and he even hit on the the girl sitting with Kliff, which brought the house down.

He said his phone rang a few weeks ago at 10:30pm and saw it was Hance and told his wife to start packing. Funny stuff.

I tried to give him a little bit of a frame and aura in the picture I took because he made everybody yell GUNS UP but I accidentally blocked him out mostly. I did get another great picture of the back of the Hulk though.

Next was new men's basketball coach Tubby Smith. He had some great stories about growing up with 16 siblings and his attempt to be a football star. He said he's still trying to learn all of the Tech traditions but wants to hang out with Coach Stone. I got a great picture of Tubby with a smoky outline. I wouldn't be surprised to see other websites steal this picture for their stories.

Finally, the star of the night was Coach Kingsbury. I accidentally took a picture of my foot when all the girls started squealing.

But I regained my composure and got this great HD close up. You're welcome ladies.

From this picture you can easily see how well groomed he keeps his stuff and how skinny his tie is.

Kliff talked straight football, and thanked his dad. I captured this picture of Kliff's dad but I was messing around with that wand again so it kinda looks like a ghost or something.

Mr. Kingsbury is the guy right under the balloon, in this epic Photoshop picture.

As an aside, Photoshop makes me dream of making a Twilight movie. Kliff could be the suave, dark vampire that breaks all the hearts and then eats them. Mike Leach is the bumbling but loveable werewolf always howling at the moon and peeing on trees. Tommy Tuberville is the zombie that never makes a move. Ever. Except to punt. Together the two stars and their zombie sidekick get into all kinds of shenanigans and love triangles.

We could probably sell tens of tickets!

Anyway, Kliff wrapped his speech up pretty quickly and we hightailed it outta there. I wanted to get a picture with Kliff but he had on a blue suit and I had on blue slacks with a striped shirt and it just didn't seem to work so maybe next time Kliff we'll get a picture together so I can shove it in all my loser friend's faces so just give me a call ok?

Leaving the parking garage I handed my parking validation ticket to the guy in the booth and yelled "DON'T HATE THE PLAYA" in my best acapella voice but he didn't speak English so I waved and nodded and he opened the gate. We headed to Keith's to pick up the kids and work on the song.

All in all it was a great night and hopefully, because of my reportage and pictures, all of you feel like you were right there with me, sitting in my lap.

Editor's note: Allow me, for a second, to be completely honest for a minute. To prevent confusion, my honest comments will be in italics. For real.

I was very impressed with the entire presentation. I've thought about it for most of the day and what stands out most is the seriousness in Coach Kingsbury. He is of course the star of the show, but his speech was the least entertaining, and I mean that as a compliment. The guy is developing a very business-like approach to his job, even though the rock star element remains. He's a calming force while the circus swirls around him. He certainly has swagger, but he's also developing a palpable aura of gravitas which will serve him well in the years to come.

We've heard a lot about the "Bro" factor in recent weeks and I'm sure those guys are having fun but I got the feeling from all the coaches and speakers that there is some very serious work going on in Lubbock. I hope all the other schools continue to sleep well at night thinking there's a perpetual frat party happening in the Hub City.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I think the "Bro" thing is overblown. All of these guys want to win, and win now, and they are working their tails off to get there. They didn't move to Lubbock for the frat party. They moved to Lubbock to kick some ass.

My wife and I had a chance to chat with Kirby for a few minutes after the event. We talked about kids, and where we're from and where we're going and I think he knows I do some writing here. I was impressed.

I'm just a little ol' photographer/songwriter, but I'm also a big Kirby fan. The man is dedicated to taking all of our athletic programs to a higher level. If the coach doesn't produce, he'll find one that will. He's got my unwavering support.

After we wrapped up our conversation with Kirby he shook our hands and disappeared into the crowd. I think that he and Kliff and Tubby and Tom hopped into Kliff's chrome car. At least I'm pretty sure it was Kliff's car because who else would have a chrome car on the riverwalk, right? Anyway, I think they jumped into this bad ass car and headed off into the sunset and/or Mexico.

Because, when it comes to chrome cars and Mexico, you know what they say:

"You can take the boy outta the bro, But bros gotta hit Mexico in a chrome car."

-Alabama (The state not the lame band)

Recruiting on the South Plains | Texas Tech Football Recruiting Q&A with Wescott Eberts

2013-05-22T15:00:09Z

Seth C: The thing that I've been curious about, especially from someone that isn't as close as Texas Tech fans, is if you see any sort of overall plan for Kingsbury in his first class where he's not working to put together a class at the last minute?

Wescott Eberts: I think the one thing that is clear from the group of prospects Kingsbury has assembled already is that he's focusing specifically on the wide receiver position. It remains to be seen how much success he'll have landing Kd Cannon, a kid I believe will end up at Baylor, but the class already has four wide receiver commits, with another explosive prospect in Derrick Neal who could easily end up at the position when he gets to campus. Kingsbury clearly identified a need and while some of those guys aren't highly rated, the real takeaway is that there are so many talented players in the state of Texas that evaluating well and targeting and securing commitments from the kids that you like is almost as crucial as landing the guys who finish at the top of the rankings.

Seth C: One thing that Texas Tech fans are concerned about is the lack of in-the-trenches type of players, particularly offensive and defensive linemen. Is this a valid concern?

Wescott Eberts: Yes, the lack of line play is absolutely a cause for concern. Texas Tech would benefit greatly from landing offensive line prospects like Ty Barrett and Connor Mayes, two of their top targets, but I'm not sure how likely that is, so they may have to settle for some guys who aren't quite as high on their board. While the skill position players get excited about the Airraid offense, it doesn't create as much buzz for the offensive lineman and landing difference-makers along the defensive line is always difficult for programs that can't pick and choose from the best in the state there. Throw in the fact that 2014 is a pretty week year along the offensive line, especially at tackle, and at defensive tackle and things become even more difficult. As much good as Kingsbury can do for the offense and those skill guys, a lot of his tenure is going to be defined by the ability of his coaching staff to uncover some gems and maybe even work the Red Raiders into position on some of the top guys, an area in which Tommy Tuberville experienced quite limited success.

Seth C: Another concern is the lack of star-power. I've often thought that a lot of players won't be evaluated until after the summer camps where the players will attend a Rivals, Scout, ESPN or 24/7 Sports camp and then at that point, we'll see more players receiver their ratings. Is that a fairly accurate description of the evaulation process for most of the high school seniors-to-be?

Wescott Eberts: Well, Rivals is the only one of the services that holds their own camps, which have already taken place with the exception of the five-star camp, but it is true that the services will continue to evaluate players in person throughout the summer and will change some grades based on the in-person evaluations at spring practices. By this point in the process, the rankings are pretty well built out, especially at 247Sports, but there will obviously be a good deal of movement as the process does move along.

Ed. Note: I linked to this SB Nation article yesterday in the notes, which was published in February and was initially mistaken thinking that it was published recently. I still find it hard to believe that certain players still haven't even been evaluated, which makes me think that the services are behind on a lot of players. Maybe it is just Texas Tech players. I don't know, just seems odd to have unrated players, not just highly rated, but completely unrated.

Seth C: Do you see anyone in particular on the radar for Texas Tech or will the summer evaluation process help determine who is next for Texas Tech?

Wescott Eberts: Not aware of any notable prospects who seem close to pulling the trigger in favor of the Red Raiders, though seeing another Steele prospect like strongside defensive end Josh Malin join the fold wouldn't be a surprise and would help alleviate some of those concerns in the trenches. At those need positions, it would certainly make sense for some new names to emerge from the summer camps.

Seth C: Of the 11 commits thus far, who do you think is the best get for Texas Tech and of the relatively unrated players, who's stock do you expect to soar after the summer evaluation process?

I really like the pick up of Patrick Mahomes. He made the move to quarterback after his sophomore year and took to the position incredibly quickly. A natural athlete who will bring some running ability to the table, he'll need some reps to refine his mechanics and overall consistency, but I think that he is quite underrecruited when Tech picked up a commitment from him and I expect him to rise in the rankings if he can put up similar numbers to his junior season. In terms of other underrated players, I think Byron Daniels is good enough to be a top-100 player in state.

Seth C: Looking back to the 2013 class, who stands out to you as the player that you think could receive significant playing time in 2013?

Wescott Eberts: Really a big fan of Devin Lauderdale, who could certainly come in and make a difference on special teams as one of the top return men in the 2013 Texas class. And with the loss of Delvin Simmons, it's possible one of the JUCO guys makes a difference on the defensive line -- those guys show up with only two years of eligibility, so they are typically expected to make a difference right away.

Much thanks to Eberts for taking the time to answer some questions regarding recruiting and to get a different perspective on some of the players that have already committed to Texas Tech.

Wednesday Morning Links on VTM | Whitaker Presser; Adams and Kilgo Set; Baseball Ready

2013-05-22T10:19:06Z

Odds and Ends

Totally Texas Tech has some new campus photos.

Women's Basketball

The press conference announcing Candace Whitaker as the head coach is set for today at 11:00 am. Let's consider yesterday's post as the open thread for the presser.

Tennis

Samantha Adams and Kenna Kilgo are set to play in the NCAA Doubles Championships against a higher ranked Vanderbilt doubles team in Illinois, I think, later this week or this weekend. The LAJ has an article on Adams and Kilgo.

Baseball

The Big 12 Championship format has changed and will now be a pool tournament rather than a double-elimination tournament. The play is set to start on Thursday, rather than today, as all of Oklahoma is helping Moore recover from the terrible tragedy. The LAJ has an article on the mood of the team in light of the tragedy.

Congrats to 3B Jake Barrios for being named the All-Big 12 Second Team!

Men's Basketball

Texas Tech will play in the Legends Classic in Brooklyn in November of next year's basketball season. Pittsburgh, Stanford and Houston are also in the Classic and that's very interesting. I think you could sell that to some recruits.

1340 The Fan had Joe Esposito on the radio yesterday and he is a really excitable guy and if you ever needed someone to sell something and be positive, it is Esposito. He's a machine, always Tweeting positivity and his interview is the same. Very positive. He's also tweeted about how the men's basketball weight room is being renovated. Cannolis in Lubbock.

24/7 Sports has an article on former Red Raider Martin Zeno who helped his team in Finland win their 2nd championship. Good stuff, go check it out.

Football

No real Texas Tech links. I have somewhat stumbled on Big12Recruit, which is a blog dedicated to football recruiting and I have enjoyed reading it. It helps me keep up of who is committing within the Big 12. Yesterday they had the best available offensive linemen and their current rankings. In other recruiting news, 24/7 Sports has a Big 12 roundup which includes Baylor going on a run over the last few days.

Speaking of Baylor, I always enjoy CBS Sports Bruce Feldman's annual list of athletic freaks. No Texas Tech players on the list, although TE Jace Amaro might qualify as an athletic freak if he could stay healthy as I think that was probably the biggest issue why he might have been left off the list.

Pretty interesting post from Crystal Ball Run on ESPN analyst Ed Cunningham who is trying to fund a documentary on a foot left in a BBQ pit. This is not a made-up story.

Depth Charting and 2013 Outlook | Running Backs

2013-05-21T15:00:06Z

SPRING FOCUS

Overall, Quinton White had the best spring of the running backs, but I think the coaching staff wanted to see what they had in White, were pretty sure what they had in DeAndre Washington, were very sure in Kenny Williams and knew that they needed to get Jakeem Grant on the field at some spot, just not at running back.

Just like the quarterbacks, I wanted to take a look at the overall spring numbers.

Quinton White: 36 carries, 189 yards, 5.5 YPC
Kenny Williams: 28 carries, 116 yards, 4.14 YPC
DeAndre Washington: 4 carries, 41 yards, 10.25 YPC
Rodney Hall: 8 carries, 46 yards, 5.75 yards

There are some small sample sizes here, but I think it is telling that Washington is essentially all but ready to go, but only played in one scrimmage, I think the Midland scrimmage. And he obviously impressed in that game. I think that the coaching staff wanted to see where he was at from a physical standpoint and what they thought he could do. Again, it’s probably not fair to judge a spring on four carries, but it’s all we have. It was a glimpse of what the coaching staff hopes to see more of in the spring.

With White, he was the workhorse this spring. He consistently received carries each scrimmage and he did produce. This is a complete guess on my part, but I think they see White as Kenny Williams, Part II. A big back that can handle the punishment of a Big 12 season and can be coupled with a smaller more traditional Air Raid running back. I think this coaching staff likes having two types of backs available on this team. I’d also add that White caught 9 passes for 72 yards for 8 YPC. That’s a good back for this offense. And with White, coming off of a broken foot, I’m guessing that coaching staff wanted to see where he was at and from what I could tell, he looked great.

Williams looked great as well. Williams also had 8 catches for 52 yards and 5.5 YPC. Love that spin move that he puts on so many defenders. With Williams, there really wasn’t a reason to run him completely. They had plenty of tape on him and knew what he could do.

The wildcard was Hall. I knew that the coaching staff got him to walk-on, probably as a preferred walk-on, out of Tyler Junior College. Hall was mainly a blocking back that simply put other defenders on their rears and caught a ton of passes out of the backfield. Depending on the situation, I do think that Hall gives this set of running backs some versatility as to what they can do, especially if they need a blocking back that knows what they’re doing.

NEEDS REPAIR

Trying to be real picky here and I’d say that this group has to probably be better than previous running backs at picking up the blitz rather than heading into the flat. Real proficient. I’m very much concerned about the offensive line, so the running back collective ability to pick up blocks will be significant in my estimation.

I really think that all of the running backs are really fine runners and I’m thinking that White will probably see very little time this year. And that’s because he’s got some really talented runners in front of him. He’ll have to be a little bit patient, but that’s not the worst thing ever. He’ll have his chance.

I’d also add the thought that the team will have to focus on holding onto the ball. I can’t see Kingsbury as a guy that will let a running back put the ball on the turf without making a move rather quickly. I think that White fumbled in the spring game.

ELIGIBILITY REMAINING

The purpose of this chart is to demonstrate the depth and eligibility remaining for returnign players. Any year marked black is a year that the player has available. A true freshman has five years of eligibility to include a possible redshirt year.

Running Back Eligibility Remaining
No.	Player	Year	Ht/Wt.	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017
34	Kenny Williams	JR	5-9/219
21	DeAndre Washington	SO	5-8/182
37	Quinton White	FR	5-7/197
-	Tyler Middleton	JR	6-0/180
29	Josh Talbot	SR	6-0/199
37	Omar Ontiveros	SR	6-1/237
40	Rodney Hall	SO	5-9/233

KEY TO 2013

I’m going to love seeing how these fairly diverse running backs are utilized. And as you note in the sidebar of this article, I was and still am very much interested in the thought that Texas A&M had a terrific rushing offense. They did, but as you can tell, a large part of TAMU's success was on the feel of Johnny Manziel. I was honestly quite a bit surprised that the Texas Tech running backs essentially out-rushed the TAMU running backs. I was really not expecting that result and if anything, very much demonstrates how much Kingsbury trusted Manziel to run the ball.

Maybe the biggest difference between the two teams and something that I hope changes is that Texas Tech was not proficient in punching the ball into the endzone. This is something that has to improve. And of course this absolutely plays into the need for the offensive line to improve, but the running backs have to do their part as well.

Candace Whitaker Named Texas Tech Women's Basketball Coach

2013-05-21T13:00:06Z

Texas Tech made the announcement yesterday morning with a press release and a press conference is to follow, which is ~~today~~ Wednesday at 11:00 am at the United Spirit Arena. Here is athletic director Kirby Hocutt on the hire:

"I am excited to welcome Candi back to Texas Tech," Director of Athletics Kirby Hocutt stated. "It is indeed special to have a former student-athlete return to lead a program that they were a significant part of. Her leadership characteristics as a starting point guard and coach, her ties to West Texas, her experience as a Division I head coach, as well as the fact that she is a Red Raider makes her the perfect fit to lead Lady Raider Basketball into the future."

And former Lady Raider head coach Marsha Sharp:

"I think Candi Whitaker is a great fit for Texas Tech and Texas Tech is a great fit for her," former Lady Raider Head Coach and Hall of Famer Marsha Sharp said. "Her basketball IQ and work ethic are incredible. She came out of one of the best high school programs in the country and was a great point guard at the collegiate level. She made moves early in her career that prepared her for this opportunity."

Whitaker is a former Lady Raider, playing for Sharp from 2000 through 2002. Whitaker bounced around a bit as an assistant coach before becoming the head coach at UMKC where she helped turn that program around.

This article from the LAJ recaps the press release and here is her resume. I thought this was the best article that talked with her coaching colleagues about Whitaker and here is her most recent boss, Oklahoma St. head coach Jim Littell:

"First of all, she relates very well to young people. She’s a tireless worker. She’s an excellent recruiter that helped us to the number 15 national-ranking recruiting class, and she’s an exceptional coach on the floor. I think Texas Tech got the full package as far as it’s concerned, and she’s going to be very successful there."

As mentioned more than a handful of times, this now means that the four major sports and their head coaches have been replaced almost within a calendar year, football, baseball, men's basketball and women's basketball. Hocutt has certainly put his stamp on the athletic program.

Consider this your open thread for the 11:00 am press conference.

Tuesday Morning Links on VTM | How to Help Moore; Whitaker Named WBB HC; Football Recruiting Rankings

2013-05-21T10:19:05Z

Moore, Oklahoma Tornadoes

I never know how to handle tragedies. I just don't. I didn't know how to handle the Waco explosion. I didn't know how to handle the Boston bombings. I don't know how to handle children and families dying in tornadoes. I just don't. I added Crimson and Cream Machine's post from yesterday where they are helping to raise money for the victims of the Moore, Oklahoma Tornadoes to VTM's front page. Give if you can.

Odds and Ends

#longreads NYMagazine with a terrific look at Richard Branson's space travel out in the middle of nowhere in New Mexico.

Women's Basketball

Texas Tech made it official yesterday in naming Candace Whitaker as the next head coach for the Lady Raider basketball program. I have a post coming up later this morning with more quotes and detail that you can use for the open thread for the 11:00 am press conference. The LAJ has articles on the hiring, Whitaker's resume and quotes from her contemporaries.

Baseball

The LAJ has a look at the numbers for the Big 12 Baseball Championships. Games start on Wednesday. Speaking of baseball, Pistols Firing has the details on the West Virginia team, who was on their was to Oklahoma City and stopped by Wal-Mart to pick up supplies for Moore.

Football

So I've done a Q&A with one of the SB Nation recruiting gurus for SBN, BON's Wescott Eberts and I hope to have that ready to publish tomorrow. In the meantime, the other SB Nation guru is Bud Elliott, who writes that we all need to take the early college football rankings with a grain of salt. That goes for those of you who are boasting about the high team ranking for Texas Tech and those of you concerned about players not having enough stars. Be patient until some time after the summer.

Per the SAEN, good to see that Dan Beebe landed on his feet with a $5 million buyout.

ESPN's David Ubben absolutely hates you and now he's just rubbing it in. He listed the players that just missed his list for the top Big 12 players, which includes some Texas Tech folks. Also, Ubben thinks that TE Jace Amaro is Texas Tech's most indispensable player.

Remember yesterday in the comments how I mentioned that the good thing is that Texas Tech head coach Kliff Kingsbury is not making news for putting too many restrictions on the transfer of DT Delvon Simmons, but Oklahoma St. head coach Mike Gundy is still making waves. This time, Pistols Firing, an Oklahoma St. blog, rips into Gundy as does Barking Carnival. Truthfully, I'm collecting links for the Texas Tech coaching staff. Feel free to send these to various players that might be on the fence about Oklahoma St. vs. Texas Tech.

RP has their critical 20 with #17 Bradley Marquez.

The LAJ catches up Adrian Hamilton, who played with the Baltimore Ravens this past year and played for Texas Tech for a short time, but graduated from Prairie View.

Viva The Matadors - All Posts

Red Raider Hoops | State Champion High Jumper to Play for Tubby Smith and Texas Tech?

Thursday Morning Links at VTM | Leach Has Hearing; Whitaker's Presser; Baseball Starts Today; TTU Possible Spot for Sims

Odds and Ends

Women's Basketball

Track and Field

Baseball

Men's Basketball

Football

Red Raider Tailgate Tour 2013: A Magical Night Captured in Sepia

VTM Chats With Tech AD Kirby Hocutt

Recruiting on the South Plains | Texas Tech Football Recruiting Q&A with Wescott Eberts

Wednesday Morning Links on VTM | Whitaker Presser; Adams and Kilgo Set; Baseball Ready

Odds and Ends

Women's Basketball

Tennis

Baseball

Men's Basketball

Football

Depth Charting and 2013 Outlook | Running Backs

TAMU vs. TTU Rushing Stats

Candace Whitaker Named Texas Tech Women's Basketball Coach

Tuesday Morning Links on VTM | How to Help Moore; Whitaker Named WBB HC; Football Recruiting Rankings

Moore, Oklahoma Tornadoes

Odds and Ends

Women's Basketball

Baseball

Football