Odds and Ends
It's Almost Here: That's right, we're down to game-week, which means that those of you who have been around for a while will know to expect from me, but for those of you who don't, then here's a brief rundown:
Monday: --
Tuesday: A statistical comparison of Texas Tech and their oppponent.
Wednesday: Five reasons Texas Tech will win.
Thursday: Five reasons Texas Tech will lose.
Friday: Prediction time.
Saturday: Open game day thread.
Sunday: Report cards or some other game wrap-up.
I think you'll also be pleasantly surprised with additional content from the DTN co-authors, but we're still working out details and schedules for those. In any event, the season is almost here. I've been working my rear off all weekend to work on some tables, content and things to help the website.
Ticket Selling FanPost: I mentioned this last week and I forgot to do it, but let's try and keep all ticket selling relegated to this weekly FanPost. If I ever forget to post this in a given week, feel free to do it yourself. As mentioned last week, no ticket brokers and this is not a place to make money. If you want to make money, go to Craigslist or some other site. This is here to help out your fellow Red Raiders.
Texas Tech Football
Olson Works to be Left Tackle: LAJ's Don Williams features LT hopeful Chris Olson, who is battling with Terry McDaniel for this final offensive line spot. Here's Olson on how he his role with the team:
"I guess it’s because I know all the positions pretty well,’’ Olson said last week. "I know the offense, the blocking schemes, for the most part pretty perfectly. I think that helps a lot. He knows that I’ll know what I’m doing, whether or not I’ve been practicing there. I guess I just have the technique for it, have the body type. I’m not really sure.’’
And offensive line coach Matt Moore seems to be in awe of what Olson can do:
"It’s unbelievable what that kid can do,’’ Moore said. "To be able to play left tackle all camp, then the backup center gets hurt, and you’re going to be the second-team center, but they go against the first-team defense all the time. But he makes all the calls and had like one bad snap. The kid’s so versatile.’’
Snip
"You just don’t have guys like that that can play every position on the line and play them as well as he plays them,’’ Moore said one day last spring. "He’s smart. He’s relaxed. He doesn’t panic. He understands the game. He’s really good at changing his stance — that’s the hardest thing in going from the right side to the left side. I think when it’s all said and done, he’s going to end up starting somewhere.’’
Captains Named: Per the official website, the following players have been named as a captain for this 2009 squad: QB Taylor Potts, LG Brandon Carter, DE Rajon Henley and CB Jamar Wall. Congrats to these four players.
Texas Tech Football Notebook: LAJ's Don Williams has news that that special teams coach Eric Russell has not decided between sophomore P/K Donnie Carona and freshman P Ryan Erxleben for the punting job:
"I don’t know who it is yet,’’ Russell said after the team’s Sunday night workout at Jones AT&T Stadium. "They both still have some issues that are concerning to me. At the same time, they both hit the ball decently. It’s more operation time and fundamentals and mechanics, and they’re both kind of running out of time.’’
. . . but that the kicking job is set with walk-on phenom, K Matthew Williams . . . IR Austin Zouzalik is getting a closer look at returning both punts and kickoffs (I think this is a fantastic idea) . . . the depth chart for kickoff returner is Zouzalik with IR Detron Lewis and the second unit is RB Eric Stephens and CB Jamar Wall, while the punt returner is still up in the air . . .
The Fighting Sioux: I've had a tough time keeping up with North Dakota because their local paper requires that you sign into the newspaper in order to read their stories. That's quite alright. In any event, the UND Fighting Sioux official site has some good content (video, news, and notes) that I'll try to continue to link this week.
High Price of Tickets: LAJ's Don Williams has a piece on the high price of ticket renewals and required contributions to the Red Raider Club and before we all get too worked up over the required contribution to the Red Raider Club, this is standard operating procedure at quite a few schools. Nevertheless, a good read.
Potts Highlighted: The Orlando Sentinel highlights QB Taylor Potts, along with the below-mentioned Houston QB Case Keenum, as one of five quarterbacks to watch, not named McCoy, Bradford and Tebow:
Buzz: Potts takes over for Graham Harrell in the ridiculously pass-happy Texas Tech offensive scheme. If he is anywhere near Harrell, he will put up big numbers. Last season, Harrell led the nation in passing and passing yards (5,111), and the Red Raiders ranked No. 4 in total offense. Coach Mike Leach says the 6-5, 218-pound Potts has a better arm than Harrell. We'll see how the junior develops this season.
Big 12 Links: NewsOK on five games that will shape the 2009 season . . .
Scouting the Enemy: NY Times blog The Quad talks with former Houston Cougars QB David Klingler on current QB Case Keenum and his bright future . . .