I have no time for the sleeping. Thanks a lot Prunty.
After a de-commitment earlier in the week, Florida LB Erick Hallmon, Texas Tech now has three commitments in the span of a week, in large part due to the football camps that Texas Tech set up in Rockwall last weekend. Last night, Texas Tech picked up the commitment of CB/WR La'Darius Newbold from Lancaster. Let's get to it.
The Measurables:
LA'DARIUS NEWBOLD
Position: CB
DTN Profile
Video: Clip 1
Rivals N/A
Scout
ESPN N/A
24/7 Sports
Ht: 6'1" | Wt: 180 lbs | Forty: 4.50
High School: Lancaster (Lancaster, TX)
The Player Speaks: LAJ's Don Williams writes that Newbold received his offer after the Rockwall camp:
"I kind of knew an offer was coming (from Tech)," Newbold said. "I had been talking to coach (Robert) Prunty from Tech. That’s how I got close to the coaching staff and the Tech family."
Newbold played wide receiver on varsity the last two years. As a junior in 2010, he caught 21 passes for 313 yards and five touchdowns, helping his team go 7-4 and reach the bi-district playoffs. Tech and several other schools are recruiting him to play cornerback, which was his main position from seventh through ninth grade.
"It’s not really a conversion," he said. "It’s more going back to what I used to play."
And those receiving numbers are accurate (or close), as the DMN says (you may have to click on the football tab and then stats) that he only had 15 receptions for 285 yards and 3 touchdowns, while he also had 7 carries for 68 yards.
More after the jump.
Newbold has an impressive offer list, if you're into that sort of thing. Here's a few: Arkansas, Baylor, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Oklahoma St. and Texas A&M. There are others, but this may be the biggest reason as to why Newbold is an impressive commitment.
The Video: Film kinda lies as these are only highlights of Newbold on offense.
Scouting Report: It's tough for me to give a scouting report on a position where Newbold hasn't played since he was a freshman. Plus, the film is tough to watch as Lancaster's quarterback isn't the best ever. If we try to take a look at Newbold athletically, I like his vision when he carries the ball. He also does an excellent job of getting separation from his defender on the few opportunities he gets the ball and he also displays pretty good leaping ability to go up over the defender. Maybe we'll get some additional video of Newbold on defense this year, but at the very least, I think it's easy to tell that Newbold is at the very least a pretty good athlete, despite not really having the opportunity to display that speed based on the offense that Lancaster runs and their quarterback.
La'Darius, welcome to Texas Tech and Git Your Guns Up!
The 2012 Class: Me, tapping my finger, waiting.