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Thursday Morning Notes

By Seth C

Texas Tech Football:

Lots of news this morning, most of which I may not be able to really dive into until tomorrow.

LAJ's Don Williams starts with an article on offensive lineman, Chris Olson. Coach Bicknell and staff is having trouble determining which is the best position for Olson as he has the ability to play almost every position on the line. Bicknell has this on Olson:

"To be honest, just throwing him in there, he looks more natural at guard," Tech offensive line coach Jack Bicknell said Wednesday, after the team's ninth of 15 spring practices. "But I think he will develop into a tackle. Tackle's a little bit more difficult, I think, and it takes a little bit more work. You're trying to block the speed rusher on the outside and things of that nature. We've got to keep working him at tackle, because you never want to be caught without tackles."

The most interesting thing is that Olson mentions that techniques are changing as a result of the coaching change and I wonder if we'll see any discernable difference in the way the offensive line plays the game:

"It really hasn't been too much of a change," Olson said. "Just learning the different techniques that coach Bicknell is teaching us as opposed to what we have been taught has been kind of difficult, but he's really helping us through it."

Don and Jeff Walker Huddle Up With Ruffin McNeil. I thought this was so appropriate with the passing of Coach Eddie Robinson and Coach McNeil had this on his first meeting with Coach Robinson:

My first venture at a coaching clinic in New Orleans he sat down and talked to me for 20 or 30 minutes. He had all these people waiting on him and he didn't have to do that.

There's also a focus on the position battle of cornerback. Chris Parker has the most experience while Jamar Wall and Marcus Bunton are honing in for a position.

"Right now, I want to see guys with great effort, guys that aren't hesitant because they know their assignments. I'd like to see guys that can just make a play. ... Antonio Huffman was one of the best corners that I've been around, but it wasn't just because he was athletic. It was a mentality. ... I would take parts of Antonio and incorporate it with the athleticism that I have and I'll be happy with that." - Cornerbacks coach Brian Mitchell.

The bit of news that jumped out at me? That Michael Crabtree is 6'-3" and 222 pounds? Seriously, he's that big? That's freaking awesome and only feeding my "Crabtree Infatuation".

Don's Red Raider Football Notebook has a couple important notes, but most importantly, is that Buddy Brumit has decided to quit the team after never getting over some back problems. Brandon Williams spent some time at defensive tackle, but no position change is imminent. More than likely, there's not a lot of options at DT and there's nothing wrong with checking out your options. Finally, there are some points on the up-coming scrimmage.

Texas Tech Baseball:

LAJ's George Watson has an article on the Red Raiders who believe that they are close to contending. This is a big series and much can be made up with some solid outings this weekend. George also previews the series between the Red Raiders and the Aggies.

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