Odds and Ends
Up Late: Got up late this morning so the daily diatribe is going to be a bit short. Three stories today.
Texas Tech Football
The Daily Toreador Returns: The Daily Toreador is back with a vengeance, including pieces from Alex Ybarra on the offensive line, Ybarra on WR Detron Lewis who wants to make his own name, Adam Coleman on Sonny Cumbie's return as a graduate assistant, and Coleman on what some of the Texas Tech players thought of Leach's Texas Monthly article. All are worth your time, but I thought the funniest thing I've read in quite a while was in Ybarra's article about the offensive line, and RG Mickey Okafor on his new nickname:
It seems not much has changed with the big men in the trenches.
The humor is still there. Oh, and the nicknames, too.
Right guard Mickey Okafor doesn't agree with his alias, Beetlejuice, because "the dude was ugly."
He has a suggestion for a new moniker though.
"I'm gonna fight that one because I don't approve of it," he said. "I like the Nutty Professor. What happened to that one? We had that at first. I can't get Nutty Professor? I'm smart and fat and black. I have a 3.4 (GPA), why can't I get the Nutty Professor?"
Texas Tech Football Notebook: LAJ's Don Williams notes that DB Jarrell Routt and DB Angelo Traylor have left the team . . . the coaching staff is leaning on using RB Eric Stephens:
"Probably leaning right now towards playing him,’’ McGuire said. "He can help us. If he can help win, we might as well use him.’’
There have been plenty of signs that Stephens is unlikely to redshirt. Aside from making impressive runs throughout camp, he’s shown promise in pass protection and continued to work on punt returns and kickoff returns after special teams coach Eric Russell narrowed practice reps to the top few candidates.
Rock M Nation's BTBS Projections: I always enjoy reading the Rock M Nation Beyond the Box Score Projections and the numbers say that Texas Tech will go 8-4 this year. Remember, these projections are mathematically based, not based on personal opinion.
More on Tre'Vante Porter Committing to Texas Tech: Yesterday, Midwest City, OK, DB Tre'Vante Porter committed to Texas Tech and NewsOK's Ryan Aber had this on Porter's decision to commit to Texas Tech:
The 6-foot, 185-pound Porter said he all but made up his mind earlier this month when he visited Lubbock.
"The trip really changed my whole view on college and where I was going," Porter said.
When he returned from the trip — his grandmother Maxine, mother Felicia and little sister Trenae went with him — he talked to his family about going to school so far away.
"I asked them if it would be a hassle for them going to Lubbock to watch me play," Porter said. "They said they didn’t mind because they were just as amazed as me down there."
Big 12 and College Football Links: The BlogPoll is released and Texas Tech does not make the top 25 . . . Corn Nation with a rightful shot at CBS Sports Dennis Dodd, who somehow managed to correlate the murder conviction of Thunder Collins and Quintin Castille leaving the program (idiot) . . . Barking Carnival with a State of the Union with Baylor . . .