Texas Tech Friday Morning Notes - Do The Right Things Edition

I've revised the recruiting sidebar to reflect the number of stars and the grade for each of the recruiting services. Keep in mind that most of the high school players have not been "rated" as of yet, although both Rivals and Scout have listed new Texas Tech commit Scotty Young is a 4-star player by both Rivals and Scout.

Rylan Reed Carried Off the Field During Pro Day

This is like a punch in the gut for me, so I can't imagine what it's like for Rylan Reed, but during Texas Tech's Pro Day, which was held yesterday and Rylan Reed suffered a knee injury and was taken from the field from an ambulance. DT's Alex Ybarra has the story, as well as a quick story from the LAJ. Here's a part from Ybarra's story:

Just as Reed was finishing his run, he tripped and fell, jamming his left knee into the turf. He then rolled over, clutched his knee in pain, and stayed on the ground for almost an hour before he was taken to Covenant Medical Center.

Snip

At about 6 p.m. Thursday, Reed said he was about to be discharged from the emergency room and remained uncertain of whether he tore any tendons or muscles during the injury.

"I'm not for sure yet, we'll have to talk to the doctors, see what they say," said Reed, who also measured a 26.5-inch vertical jump and an 8-foot, 9-inch long jump.

Think a good thought or send some good mojo Rylan's way today.

Texas Tech Pro Day

DT's Adam Coleman has a full report from Texas Tech's Pro Day and there were a number of participants: Marcus Bunton, Stephen Hamby, Anthony Hines, Eric Morris, L.A. Reed, Rylan Reed, Louis Vasquez, Brandon Williams, Jake Ratliff, Graham Harrell, Shannon Woods and Darcel McBath. This is a really good run down of yesterday's events so make sure and check it out.

The DT also had some video of the event:

Potts to Lead the Way

Rivals.com's Olin Buchanan has a nice look at Texas Tech quarterback Taylor Potts. Lots of good things in the article and I advice you to read the whole thing, but here's Potts and Buchanan on being a Texas Tech's quarterback:

That's a trend Potts hopes not to buck when he follows Harrell as the Red Raiders' next starting quarterback. After all, leading the nation is what Texas Tech quarterbacks are supposed to do.

"It definitely is," said Potts, a 6-foot-5, 215-pound junior-to-be. "The worst quarterbacks that have come through here in the last eight or nine years all led the nation in passing. If you do the right things, work hard, pay attention and do what Coach [Mike Leach] says, you'll be able to put up those kind of numbers.

"I'm not saying you just sit back and let the system work for itself, but if you work hard you can definitely get results."

And here's Potts on picking up Mike Leach's system:

"To pick up the system, you have to be dedicated and learn something every day," Potts said. "You can't pick it up in one day or one week or one month. It comes to you over time. It's a process that takes a while to master, and by no means have I mastered it. But waiting this long has paid off."

Zac Winbush is Solid to Texas Tech

RedRaiderSports.com's Jordan Strebeck talked with new Texas Tech commit Zac Winbush and Zac's father, Sherwin, says that his son is a solid commit to Texas Tech (emphasis mine):

"When we went out there for their Junior Day, that's when he knew," said his father. "He had been to Junior Days at Texas A&M and Baylor, but this one was just different. Those were great campuses and great schools, but Tech was just in a different league altogether. When we were leaving, Zac turned to his mother and I and said, 'This is where I want to go to school. I don't even need to look anywhere else, I've seen what I needed to, and this is where I want to be,' and that's when we knew."

Red Raiders to Take on Cornhuskers

Infield:
C - Jeremy Mayo (So.); 1ST - Chris Richburg (Sr.); 2ND - Willie Rueda (Sr.); SS - Joey Kenworthy (Jr.); 3RD - Justin Berry (Fr.); DH - Scott LeJeune (Fr.) or Nich Hanslik (Fr.)
Outfield:
LF - Michael Reed (Jr.); CF - Mason Macnoll (Fr.); RF - Taylor Ashby (Jr.)

*Click on the score for boxscore.

I finally have an answer as to why Chad Bettis isn't starting, and LAJ's George Watson reports that Bettis is going to be available to pitch out of the pen or start. Per George Watson, this is Bettis new role:

Bettis will have a dual role for the foreseeable future. If he is not used in relief on Friday or Saturday of a series, he will start the Sunday series finale. He had mixed results in the role during the tail end of Tech’s California road trip last weekend, making two appearances out of the pen, throwing two-thirds of an inning of scoreless relief with a walk in a 2-1 loss to San Francisco, then scattering five hits over three innings the next day in a 7-1 win over Gonzaga, giving up a meaningless ninth-inning solo home run.

Head coach Dan Spencer said if Bettis pitches in relief on a Friday he would likely stay in the bullpen the rest of the weekend, but would be available for relief on a Sunday if he does not pitch on a Saturday.

"We just have to figure out a way to maximize our best guys and hopefully we can get Chad the ball with the lead," Spencer said. "I feel good about our starters giving us six good innings if we’ve got Cloud and Bettis in the pen."

I don't know if I'm on board with moving your best and most consistent starter (i.e. not injured) to the bullpen, but I get the feeling that Dan Spencer is worried about the lack of quality bullpen help and closing out games and right now this team is losing leads late and Spencer is obviously trying to remedy that.

DT's Mike Graham previews today's series with the Nebraska Cornhuskers:

A high-powered offense leads the Huskers.

The Huskers have outscored opponents 117-74 while only allowing opponents to score more than five runs in five games this year.

Offensively, Nebraska has a solid batting lineup. UNL boasts five players with significant playing time over the .300 batting mark.