Oh, My: It was mentioned in the comments last night that Fox34 has reported (and I cannot find the video on their website) that QB Taylor Potts has not been cleared to play and you can expect redshirt FR Seth Doege to get the nod on Saturday. Before we get ourselves all worked up, there's a lot of time between now and Saturday and plenty can happen.
Here's what we do know right now, Steven Sheffield is out 2-3 weeks as he had surgery on his ankle (LAJ's Don Williams, DT's Alex Ybarra, and FWST's Dwain Price). According to Williams article, Potts warmed up last week against Nebraska with the full team. You'll also remember that Potts wore the blue jersey last week, but wearing the blue jersey is standard for all Texas Tech quarterbacks, so that's really not news.
I really didn't want this game to be more interesting and if there's any doubt about whether it is . . . it is.
I'd also add that if there's one thing that Leach has been able to do, consistently throughout his career, is to coach quarterbacks. For those of you concerned about Potts or now, Doege, I'm fairly comfortable with Leach preparing a quarterback, but I'd be lying if I told you that a 3rd string quarterback who probably hasn't seen the reps that he normally would, starting his first collegiate game in front of the biggest crowd in Texas Tech history is a bit worrisome.
Sharpe and Howard Playing Big: DT's Alex Ybarra writes that DE's Brandon Sharpe and Daniel Howard are making huge plays for the team this year. Howard talks about what Sharpe can do coming off the edge:
"B-Sharpe, he was my roommate when I first got here," Howard said. "He comes off the edge real fast. I always tell him, you gotta come off fast. You gotta hustle. You gotta go every play and something good is gonna happen."
And Leach has quite a bit of praise for Howard:
"I feel comfortable saying this, he might have the best motor of anybody on our team," Tech coach Mike Leach said. "He just plays and plays and plays and plays. We’re routinely seeing him tackling people on the other sidelines, he’s a defensive end of all things."
I think I've been saying this since this summer.
Mutiny Dodged: LAJ's Adam Zuvanich writes that this Texas Tech squad avoided a mess, despite numerous injuries and "situations" that would have normally sunk a season.
Texas A&M Aggie Links: TR's dedfischer previews the Aggies . . . B/CS Eagle's Robert Cessna writes that the Aggies' response this week will be a key to their future . . . SAEN's Brent Zwerneman writes that the Aggies are looking for answers after the Kansas St. blowout and Zwerneman also had this from Leach on playing the Aggies:
"They're a lot like Nebraska in that they just have an incredible tradition and incredible program," said Leach, who's 7-2 against the Aggies. "They're (a program) people have heard about, before Bear Bryant and will for years after.
"It's an honor for us and for our team to have the opportunity to play a team that has such a storied tradition, and all of the NFL players that they have."
Assorted Links: Rock M Nation's Bill C. updates the Beyond The Box Score Projections and the computers still predict a 7 to 8 win season . . . SB Nation's Spencer Hall presents the Alphabetical for Week 7 . . . LAJ's Adam Zuvanich muses about the Big 12 conference . . . Rivals.com (#19) and Scout.com (#19) ranks all 120 teams . . . Phil Steele takes a look at this past weekend . . . ESPN's Mark Schlabach's On The Mark for Week 7 . . .
Neglected Video: All after the jump, including a fairly entertaining bit on Leach during yesterday's press conference . . .
Big-Man Commits: LAJ's Courtney Linehan writes that Pat Knight received his 3rd commitment for the 2010 class from Gulf Coast Community College's Paul Cooper (6-8/250). Gulf Coast CC is the same school where current Red Raider, Brad Reese, attended before committing to Texas Tech. Cooper appears to be a guy who wants to play in the post, and I like that:
"I like to bang; that’s my thing," Cooper said. "I like to get in there and bang some bodies around, score."
Please don't take that quote out of context.
Red & Black Series: The baseball team will get some work in starting on Friday night at 5:00 p.m. before the football game as the baseball squad starts the annual Red & Black Series. See the link for more details and here's a PDF of the roster this year.
Neglected Video: