Red Raider Gridiron | Secondary Questions Answered

Myers Retired:  I've written a separate piece on Texas Tech athletic director Gerald Myers retiring that's set to post at 10 this morning. 

Blog Poll Released:  The initial Blog Poll was released yesterday and for those of you who are not familiar, the best thing about the Blog Poll is that it's dissected, thanks to Brian Cook at MGoBlog, as there are biases, which are a part of any voting process and we get to see those biases front and center.  Good stuff. 

BYU to the WAC:  If you haven't been following the SB Nation blog Mountain West Connection, you should because Jeremy Mauss has been absolutely killing the whole BYU-conference realignment-fiasco.

Previewing the Secondary:  The official site previews the secondary and there's video where DB coach Travaris Robinson talks about his defensive backfield:

Travaris Robinson (DB coach):  The guys have come a long way.  Have a  difficult offense which has really challenged the young players.  Have some young guys that are doing well:  D.J. Johnson, Jarvis Phillips, Franklin Mitchem, and Cody Davis.  Davis and Mitchem stepped up the most during the camp.  Terrance Bullitt has stepped up.  Johnson has stood out.  Young guys at cornerback, but they are very resilient and the secondary sees 70 to 75 passes each practice.  Will Ford, Johnson and Tre' Porter all give the defense a chance.

I can usually type these out by listening to the coach just one, but I had to listen to Robinson twice as he's a fast-talker.  Robinson didn't hesitate when asked about who stepped up the most this fall practice as he said that Davis and Mitchem stepped up their game. 

Notes, Notes and More Notes:  LAJ's Don Williams has a good notebook this morning where he's got an update or two on two new arrivals, WR Darrin Moore and DB Don Hursey.  Head coach Tommy Tuberville seems to think that Hursey will redshirt, and is slated to be a consideration at safety next year, but Tuberville thinks that Moore could try to work his way into the rotation:

"We’re excited about him being here," Tuberville said. "He gives us that different type of receiver. We don’t have a big, physical guy. All our (receivers) are pretty physical, but he gives us a different presence."

. . . LB Tahrick Peak (remember, he was the Virginia Tech commit that didn't qualify and Tuberville and Prunty scooped him up quickly, along with his brother, DB Nubian Peak) may see some time this fall:

"I’d say right now it’s 75-25 he’ll play," Tuberville said. "But he’s got to be able to show me what he can do on special teams and stuff. I haven’t really seen a lot of him, but he does have a lot of speed, and I think as we get through the season he can be more and more of a factor for us if he can stay healthy, because he has a lot of ability."

. . . Tuberville also outlined the defensive backfield to Williams and I like that we now have some clarification as to some positions:

The corners are Jarvis Phillips, Will Ford, D.J. Johnson, Urell Johnson, Neboh and LaRon Moore, when Moore returns from injury.

The safeties comprise Franklin Mitchem, Cody Davis, Brett Dewhurst and Terrance Bullitt.

. . . the only name that seems to be missing is Tre' Porter and I have to believe that he's also in the mix.  This rotation makes sense and falls generally in line with what we thought would be a part of the defensive backfield.  The only one I didn't include was Eugene Neboh, who I didn't think would get the nod over some other players, but apparently, he's going to see some time . . . on the injury front, IR Austin Zouzalik and OT Beau Carpenter should be returning from their appendectomy, but freshman DB Desmond Martin tore his ACL and will be out for the year . . .

Surviving Kartrina:  DT's Caroline Courtney has a good story on CB Urell Johnson and his family surviving Katrina.  Go read the whole thing.  

Miscellaneous:  CT's Dave Matter looks at the whole Big 12 and thinks that Texas Tech finishes 3rd in the Big 12 South with an 8-4 record . . . per NewsOK, DT Colby Whitlock has a little brother, John Whitlock, and he really is little, 5-9/205, in comparison to Colby . . . the Sporting News predicts the Big 12 . . . former head coach Mike Leach was on with The Sports Animal (in Oklahoma) . . .