Odds and Ends
Run, do not walk, to raidercake's FanPost on this past weekend's Mike Leach's Women's Football Clinic. Lots of pictures, especially for all of the ladies (obviously), and who doesn't love the first picture of Leach, taking a stroll down the catwalk, in a UA polo shirt and . . . wait for it . . . cargo shorts. What else would a head coach at a major university wear? A ton of other pictures of players (some shirtless -- like I said, it's for the ladies) and coaches, so go check it out and thanks to raidercake for taking the time to post these.
DTN still retains it's vote in the BlogPoll, and for those of you who don't know what the BlogPoll is, then click here. I'm going to be asking for input throughout the year as to how I should vote. Start thinking about where you think I should rank the Red Raiders, if you think I should rank them at all. I've also got to clarify my criteria for choosing teams, but it's something that I've been mulling for most of the summer.
Texas Tech Football
LAJ's Don Williams talked with newest Texas Tech commit Denton Simek, and although almost all of his family has Oklahoma St. ties, Simek has decided to attend Texas Tech:
"I really liked it, and I like coach (Mike) Leach a lot,’’ he said. "He’s a heck of a coach. Their coaching staff is probably one of the top, if not the top, in the nation. I just like everything about Texas Tech.’’
Snip
His family ties are to Oklahoma State. Simek said his father had a scholarship there, his mother graduated from OSU and he has an older brother currently attending school there. But he said that won’t be an obstacle when the time comes to sign with Tech.
"They’ll definitely let me come out there,’’ he said. "(My mother) she supports everything I do. My dad, he just wants me to be happy. They want me to be where I want to be.’’
There's also this bit about Mike Leach's contract negotiations affecting Simek committing earlier:
"I was just really tired of everybody calling me and talking to me about (recruiting),’’ Simek said. "This is where I wanted to be all along. I was worried about coach Leach leaving. If it wasn’t for that, I would have committed a long time ago.’’
Join me after the jump for more news, notes and links on your Red Raiders.
Rivals.com's Olin Buchanan writes about the biggest shoes to fill this college football season, and there are no bigger shoes than WR Michael Crabtree:
Texas Tech WR Michael Crabtree, by Detron Lewis: Lewis caught 76 passes for 913 yards last season, which would indicate he has some talent. But this season, Lewis ascends to the role as the Red Raiders' No. 1 target, a distinction held the past two seasons by Crabtree, one of the best players in school history. A two-time All-America, Crabtree caught 231 passes and scored 41 touchdowns in his brief career. More important, he led Texas Tech's rise from solid program to championship contender. Lewis may find getting open more difficult without Crabtree drawing double coverage and occupying opponents' best defensive backs.
Red Raider Blogs: RaiderAde has some thoughts on why the Texas Tech offense will be better with Taylor Potts at the helm (as well as some pictures of the stadium progress) . . . the Tortilla Retort has some interesting thoughts on the roster . . . don't forget Totally Texas Tech has a ton of pictures on the stadium progress as well as progress around the school . . .
Scouting the Enemy: SI's Stewart Mandel asks a pretty interesting question, would you rather have Terrelle Pryor or Robert Griffin (if I had to choose, I think I go with Griffin, but that's probably because I'm more familiar with him) . . . Rock M Nation's Bill C's beyond the box score previewing the Kansas St. defense . . .