Odds and Ends
Lots of Coverage of Texas Tech vs. Texas: I did a Q & A with BON and the Tortilla Retort (Part I & Part II) and I hope to have a similar Q & A with BON later today. LAJ's Don Williams also did a Q & A with BON and the SB Nation Big 12 Roundtable for week three is over at Clone Chronicles.
Football 201: Chris Brown at Smart Football has a whole post on understanding coverages and attacking them with the passing game. This is highly recommended reading.
Texas Tech Football
Injury Update: As noted last night, DE Rajon Henley, DE Ryan Haliburton and SS Franklin Mitchem is not traveling with the team. This is awful news, and in LAJ's Don Williams football notebook he suggests that Jonathan Brydon (6-2/220), a junior defensive end, is an option, and that DT Pearlie Graves is also on the travel roster. The complete lack of depth at defensive end is worrisome and losing a starting safety in Mitchem could be disastrous. I have no idea how this all works out but here's a couple of thoughts.
Defensive End: My first thought is that at defensive end you could have LB Bront Bird fill in as much as possible. The other options to play at defensive end, although they are not defensive ends is for the aforementioned Graves to get some time there, but I think another option is DT David Neill. None of these are perfect options and the problem with all of this guessing is that there are only two defensive ends listed on the dress roster, Howard and Sharpe. Someone has got to play and step-up.
Strong Safety: At strong safety, Brett Dewhurst is listed as the backup to Mitchem, but I'm guessing that you'll see plenty of Will Ford and Julius Howard on Saturday night.
Freshman Focus with Williams: LAJ's Don Williams continues his focus on the freshmen who will redshirt this year and up next is CB Yahshua Williams. Cornerbacks coach Brian Mitchell had this to say about Williams:
"He’s the prototype cornerback that you want in this scheme, to me," Mitchell said. "He’s tall. He’s rangy. He’s willing. When you can get a guy 6-1, 6-2 that can run and jump and be aggressive and make plays on the ball, that’s a no-brainer."
There's No Turning Back: DT's Alex Ybarra writes that ready or not, it's just about time to play the game and has this from UT head coach Mack Brown:
"You go back and look, this is our first real test, but it’s also Texas Tech’s first real test," Texas coach Mack Brown said. "We’ve both played teams in the first two ballgames that we were better than. Both teams could win the game without showing their hand and their cards and showing everything they’ve got."
09.19.09 = Talk Like a Pirate Day: Coincidence? LAJ's Don Williams talks with the gentlemen behind talklikeapirate.com and head coach Mike Leach notes that this whole pirate thing may have gotten a bit out of hand, but no worries:
"Flags pop up. Eye patches pop up. So it goes. I think it’s been good. I don’t really give it much thought or second guess it or intellectualize it a great deal. I mean, I like pirates, and I read about them and the rest. When you consider this business and what (label) you can get stuck with, I’m very thankful that I get to be the pirate guy, instead of I have to be whatever the other stereotypes (might be).
"Oh, believe me, heck yeah, it can get worse than pirates."
Don’t believe it? Think Leach is just posing as a pirate lover?
Well, just in the last few days, another wall-sized mural went up in the Tech Football Training Facility that’s heavy on the pirate theme.
And no, Leach reiterated, he never gets tired of what he started.
"You answer some of the same questions again and again," he said, "but it seems to me a lot of people are having fun with it as they wear their gear. And I don’t think it hurts recruiting either, because it kind of gives you an identity."
Potts is Famous: DMN's Chuck Carlton and ESPN's Tim Griffin both write that QB Taylor Potts is the next quarterback at Texas Tech.
Texas Longhorn Links: Barking Carnival discusses why pass protection is everything and Pirate Sundry . . . the Statesman's Kirk Bohls writes that the UT secondary is short on memory and long on talent . . . SAEN's Mike Finger on RB Tre' Newton . . .
Big 12 Links: ESPN's Tim Griffin has his predictions for the week and 10 things to watch this week in the Big 12 . . . Rivals.com's Olin Buchanan looks at week 3 of the Big 12 . . .