King Arthur's Round Table: I've already set my DVR, the History Channel on July 19th . . . King Arthur's Round Table will be revealed.
Patton Productions and "Tuberville Talks": First, a little background. I can't recall when I stumbled onto Patton Productions, but I did, and I've been in contact with Mitchell Patton for quite some time. In any event, Mitchell and Sherman Patton have this production company, Patton Productions, and they're the ones responsible for all of the Red Raider Road Show videos that you see on DTN, where they go to the games, talk to people before the games and give you a taste as to the feeling before the game. These guys are also responsible for the Texas Tech Anthem from around 2006. Quite simply, these guys are talented and they're creative and I have a tremendous amount of respect for what they do because being talented and creative is not in my vocabulary. In fact they've made their own film, The Country Drive. Make sure and check it out.
In their continuing effort to cover all things Texas Tech, they took some video from the Tyler Alumni Association Meeting with head coach Tommy Tuberville and I'm going to be publishing their videos from that event for the next few days. For those of you who haven't had the opportunity to see Tuberville speak, then they've done the work for you. They've given DTN credit at the end, but to the truthful, I didn't do a thing. They did all of the work and we thank them for their efforts.
Tuberville Talks - Starting Quarterback (via PatProShow)
More Practice Field Stuff: LAJ's Don Williams takes his tour of the new practice field. I did find this bit interesting:
The Red Raiders have two practice fields that sit side by side. The one on the east side is getting the new turf; the one on the west remains grass.
Tuberville said the offense will do much, but not all, of its work on the grass field. The defense and special teams will get more time on the Hellas Matrix Turf field, and team periods also will be conducted on the new turf.
"That’s what we had at Auburn,’’ Tuberville said, referring to his previous coaching stop. "We had one turf field at Auburn. Save your grass fields.’’
The last few years, most of the team’s workouts were on the grass practice fields, but they moved into the stadium on days when it rained. They shouldn’t have to do as much of that anymore with the Hellas Matrix Turf on the practice field.
Ranking Big 12 RB's: ESPN's David Ubben ranks the Big 12 running backs and Baron Batch checks in at #6:
Batch's impressive 14 rushing touchdowns in 2009 were the league's most, and he also caught 57 passes for 395 yards. For Batch, it should be business as usual, but with a few more carries under new coach Tommy Tuberville. Batch should also help shepherd two young backs who could earn some time this season, Harrison Jeffers and Eric Stephens.
Questions for the Fall: RP.com's John Baucum asks and answers some questions heading into the fall. Baucum says that we shouldn't question if Texas Tech will be able to play Willis' style of defense:
2. How will Tech’s players adjust to Defensive Coordinator James Willis’ aggressive style?
ESPN Big 12 blogger David Ubben openly questioned Tech’s ability to play Willis’ style of defense. To put it bluntly, he’s underestimating the Red Raiders here. Tech fans will likely see a more opportunistic defense than what’s been fielded in the recent past. Senior LB Bront Bird had this to say about Willis in an interview with the Austin American Statesman’s Kirk Bohls following the spring game: ""He's an aggressive guy. It's amazing how knowledgeable he is. We're definitely going to make a name for ourselves this year. I'm excited." Certainly, Willis has a more daunting task than does offensive coordinator Neal Brown, but to doubt a coach of Willis’ ability and background is foolish.
I don't recall the article that Baucum is questioning regarding Ubben, but I certainly have questions as to whether or not Texas Tech has the personnel to play a 3-4 defense, Willis has mentioned a number of times during the spring that he would like a faster team and that he thinks that some freshmen will play because he wants even more speed. I trust what Willis and Tuberville are going to do defensively, but it's not crazy to think that there's more work to do defensively than offensively. I don't think anyone is underestimating the Texas Tech defense if they still have questions about how this thing will work.
Big 12 Assistant Coaches: CT's Dave Matter takes a look at the top Big 12 coordinators and neither Neal Brown or James Willis made the list (although Willis made the honorable mention list). I think this list is about right and Matter is one of the more fair beat-writers in the Big 12. I think these rankings will change this year as Brown and Willis make a name for themselves, but to leave them off the list this year is absolutely fair. Matter also has a blog-post with a closer look at the coordinators.
Preseason Big 12 Rankings: Big 12 Hoops' Matt Patton is throwing out very early preseason rankings and he thinks that Texas Tech will finish 5th in the Big 12 next year:
Texas Tech is my sleeper pick. They had a rough season, finishing 9th in the conference, only winning four games in the process. That said, I think Mike Singletary should be one of the best players in the Big XII next season. Behind his and John Roberson's leadership, the Red Raiders should be significantly better next season. They'll need their other players to really step up, but I think they'll definitely find themselves dancing come March. All that said, I still question Pat Knight's ability to coach, and I think they would need to really overachieve to get this high by the end of the season. They just as well could end up between Iowa State and Oklahoma if they're not careful.