Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe :: 04.16.10

What!  A DTN DD?  After a month of being on hiatus?  Well, there was just enough information out there to fill out a DTN DD and cover all three sports this morning.  I have an open thread that is scheduled to publish at noon on Saturday so for those of you who aren't going to the game but are able to watch the game in Lubbock.  The spring game will be televised on Fox34 and last year, the game was sometimes replayed on FSSW, but there's no guarantee that the FSSW replay will happen.

This will be my last post of the weekend, so feel free to add comments to update baseball scores and if someone wants to do a links FanPost tomorrow or Sunday morning, feel free.

Spring Game Details:  I can't think of any other details other that bring a rain jacket, it might get a little wet on Saturday.  I'll be bringing a camera and I'll try to take as many pictures as possible, although I am admittedly not a professional photographer by any means.  I'll see you guys and gals on Saturday morning.

Ready for Spring Game:  DT's Jose Rodriguez writes that the Red Raiders are ready for the spring game.  RB Baron Batch believes that the offense is going to be just fine:

"That’s a big thing because when you don’t have your starting quarterback out there, whether it be Potts or Sheffield — when they get back it’ll be completely different," he said. "Not saying that the other guys haven’t been doing an awesome job because they have, they’re getting tremendously better. We always talk about being the best offense in the country.

"I absolutely believe we’ll be able to do that this year."

QB Seth Doege is maturing as a quarterback:

"Years before I was still young — I am still young. But at the same time I have a lot more confidence in my ability to play," he said. "This spring game I’ll have a lot more reps and a lot more confidence in what I’m doing. We’re just going to have fun, go out there and do what we’ve been coached to do."

And LB Sam Fehoko says the defense isn't finished yet:

"Our defense is nowhere near finished," Tech linebacker Sam Fehoko said. "I say we’re only about 10 percent completed. We don’t even have all of our defensive guys. Junior college transfers, people coming in during the fall, stuff like that. Spring game, I’d say we’re close, but not as near we’ll be as a finished product."

Prunty's Impact:  DMN's Rick Gosselin writes about the impact that current Texas Tech defensive line coach and former head coach at Hargrave Military Academy, Robert Prunty.  If you were at all concerned or curious about what Hargrave Military Academy was or is, this is a good place to start.  Go read the whole thing.  Gosselin's initial point is that Hargrave sent seven of their former graduates to the NFL Combine.  Here's Prunty on what he did:

 "Any time I got a kid, they had some type of problem," Prunty said. "If you came to Hargrave, that means you didn't qualify [academically] to play at the NCAA  level. So first I had to build their self-esteem, then we had to coach them up to play, then we had to get them academically able to qualify.

"It's one of the toughest jobs I've ever had."

Snip.

"They have to get up every morning at 6:30 and march to breakfast," Prunty said. "They have military time at 2:30 in the afternoon, study hall from 7:30-9:30 and lights out at 10.

"You talk about a kid from the inner city who has never studied before – he's thrown into all of this. It breeds a mental toughness in those kids. I tried to instill in them a work ethic and a don't-feel-sorry-for-yourself attitude. Pull yourself up by the bootstraps and keep going. Stay strong."

Yes, please.

Prunty's former players also had good things to say about the type of coach that Prunty is, including OL prospect John Jerry:

"I learned how to attack academics and make that my first priority," said John Jerry, the younger brother of Peria. "I became a disciplined young man. That was one of the most fun years of my life. I needed that. It made me mature."

What to Watch:  RP.com's Travis Cram (to answer the question, yes he did land with RP) writes about three thing to watch this spring game:

Torres will be joined by 2009 returnees Detron Lewis, Tramain Swindall, Lyle Leong and Austin Zouzalik, but make no mistake, no position is for certain right now. Be sure to take in what outside receiver Eric Ward has improved on in the last year, showing outside receivers coach Tommy Mainord his strong hands and raw talent off the edge.

The other will be Cornelius Douglas, who showed promise in practices last year but needed to work on his quickness of the line and discipline of understanding the routes better. If he makes any plays like his zig-zag play in last week’s scrimmage, dodging multiple tacklers on his way to the end zone, fans won’t be disappointed.

Duncan Named to Lott Trophy Watch:  Per the official site, LB Brian Duncan was named to the Lott Trophy Watch List.  Congrats!

Texas Tech (18-18, 6-6) vs. Oklahoma (25-8, 5-5)
Location: Dan Law Field : Lubbock, TX
Radio: Affiliates

Date	Start Time	Texas Tech Starting Pitcher	Oklahoma Starting Pitcher	Result
4.16.10	6:30 p.m.	Brett Bruening 2-2, 665	Zach Neal 4-1, 4.70	-
4.17.10	5:00 p.m.	Bobby Doran 2-2, 5.21	Bobby Shore 5-1, 2.27	-
4.18.10	1:00 p.m.	TBA -	TBA -	-

Outfield:
LF - Michael Reed (Sr.); CF - Taylor Ashby (Sr.); RF - Scott LeJeune (So.)
Infield:
SS - Joey Kenworthy (Sr.)     2ND - Jamodrick McGruder (Fr.);
3RD - Nick Popescu (Jr.)                                  1ST - Barrett Barnes (Fr.)
C - Jeremy Mayo (Jr.)
DH - Kevin Whitehead (So.)

*Click on the score for boxscore. Texas Tech series preview (pdf).

Preview:  Again, on paper, this looks like a tough pitching matchup for the Red Raiders as the Sooners have the third lowest ERA in the Big 12 and the 4th best hitting team.  Texas Tech is last in the Big 12 in ERA and 8th in batting, but somehow, this team has managed a .500 record and taken series from some of the top teams in the conference.

LAJ's George Watson writes about CF Taylor Ashby moving up the Texas Tech record:

"I’m definitely proud of that," Ashby said of the marks. "I’m proud to be there but I don’t think about them during the game or anything because if you do that changes your approach."

With Tech having won six of its last nine games since Ashby moved into the nine-hole, changing the approach is the last thing that needs to happen.

"As long as I can keep doing what I’ve been doing, loading early, stuff like that, hopefully it can continue the rest of the year."

DT's Adam Coleman writes that the Red Raiders are looking for a series win against the Sooners and head coach Dan Spencer preaches to his team to play all nine innings:

"If it’s one thing we preach to them from day one — stay with it, grind it out, play nine innings, we’re slotted for nine," Spencer said. "Regardless of score, you gotta play nine."

P Chad Bettis looks forward to seeing what this team is made of:

"I think this is a big opportunity to show what we’re all about against another Big 12 team," Tech pitcher Chad Bettis said. "We’ve been rolling here with a couple wins from (Oklahoma) State and now we got out a W from DBU yesterday. So just coming in here to this weekend, it’s going to be a big opportunity for us. Just to see what we’re all about."

Lewandowski Recognized for Academics, Service and Leadership:  Per the official site, C Robert Lewandowski is being recognized for his high academics and his service to the community.  These sorts of things tend go unnoticed, but it's a tremendous honor for a guy that has no obligation to get into the community and make a difference.  Congrats Lew!  Job well done.