Double-T Nation News:
I hope everyone had a good Holiday and if you're back at work, I'm hoping to waste a little bit of your time today. A couple of these articles are a day or so late, but other than that, I'm glad to be back in it to win it.
This isn't really related to anything other than it's interesting to see the various reactions across the internets, in a piece by the NY Times Jamarkus McFarland chose Oklahoma as his college of choice. The interesting thing is that the article seems to paint OU in a better light than Texas, and the article's author just happens to be from Oklahoma. I think that we can all figure out for ourselves that "recruiting" happens at every college campus, no school is exempt and anyone that thinks otherwise has got their head in the sand.
Texas Tech Football:
LAJ's Don Williams takes a look at the safety position for next year, which is incredibly important because Texas Tech's 4 most experienced safeties will be graduating in May. Secondary coach Carlos Mainord talks about Cody Davis, who is redshirting this year, and sophomore Franklin Mitchem who are expected to play a huge part next year:
"Franklin and Cody are both big guys - 6-2, over 200 pounds," McBath said. "They’re good hitters. They’re good in coverage. They make plays on the ball. Dewhurst (6-foot, 194 pounds) is a shorter guy, but he’s a great tackler, and he just has a knack for the position. He’s played it for three years now, so he kind of has a head start on those other guys."
Mainord on Mitchem:
"He’s got the height. He’s got the speed. He’s got the size," Mainord said. "Plus, he’s a smart guy. I think what he needs is just more reps and more reps and more reps, and he’ll have a chance to be a good player."
Mainord on Davis, who's played mainly on Thursday night scrimages:
"He’s excelled in it most every week," Mainord said. "He’s made plays, intercepted the ball. He has a good feel for the game back deep. He’s got some natural instincts."
Williams also brings up Steven Harris, an incredible recruit that was suspended for the team for the year along with RB Kobey Lewis, who eventually transferred, and although there were reports that he's back on the team, not so fast . . .
"We’ll see. It’ll be (reviewed) after the first of the year," Leach said. "I haven’t heard anything from him. I’m not holding my breath. We’re going to worry about the kids that are here. I haven’t talked to him. I haven’t met with him. I don’t know anything about his status."
FWST's Dwain Price features former Ft. Worth South Hills HS product and current Texas Tech defensive end Brandon Williams. Defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill talks about how he challenged Williams:
"One of the things we challenged Brandon with is he’s always had some flashes of being a really explosive player who had the ability to make plays behind the line of scrimmage as well as get quarterback sacks," McNeill said. "He just had to learn how to play every play, and he’s gotten better at that this year."I think Brandon still has a lot of room to grow and a lot of room to get better, but I like his progress. He’s a kid that you can challenge and challenge hard, and he’ll accept the challenge."
Good stuff.
NewsOK's Mel Bracht sits down with ESPN analyst Craig James, father of current Red Raider receiver, Adam James. A couple of exceprts:
Do you enjoy ranching?I love it. I enjoy the country, and I’m a really big hay and cattle producer. I may run 3,000 to 5,000 yearlings at any given time. I’m also probably one of the biggest hay producers in the state of Texas. I have my spurs on quite a bit and get out and enjoy the fresh air. I probably own 15,000 acres and I just sold a 27,000-acre place. This is a different side of me than what people see on TV.
Do you think Leach plans to stay at Texas Tech after looking at some other coaching jobs?I think the more Mike looks at other places, what might look good on the front cover isn’t quite as good when you get into it. Auburn is an example. There’s no reason Tommy Tuberville should not be the head football coach at Auburn. You peel back the layers and you’re walking into a hornet’s nest. If you can make $2.5 million to $3 million in Lubbock and be able to do your thing, be yourself, why would you leave? Mike is a pretty smart cat. He likes to walk around with a Starbucks coffee cup in his hand and not have some wisecracker driving down the road blasting him verbally. He’s in a pretty good spot there.
Cotton Bowl:
David Brandt of the Clarion Ledger notes that the Ole Miss Rebels have arrived in Dallas. LAJ's Adam Zuvanich profiles former Stephenville quarterback and current Ole Miss signal caller, Jevan Snead.
Texas Tech Basketball:
For those of you that missed it, Pat Knight was in costume after the Centenary game:
There's also some video from Fox34.
LAJ's Jeff Walker writes about the defense needing to continue in the 2nd half what they start in the 1st half. Walker does a good job of detailing how the Red Raiders start, but don't finish off opponents and freshman center Robert Lewandowski realizes that this team has to do a better job in the 2nd half:
"It was obvious, after holding them to 14 points in the first half, we were like, Let’s get it done. Let’s do it again in the second half,’" Lewandowski said. "That just didn’t happen. We really let up, and that’s going to be a little weight on our shoulders over this Christmas break. That’s something we’re all going to have to think about, come back and work on."We’ve got to get ready for Stanford, because if we do that against Stanford, we’re going to get our butts handed to us."