TATE HIRED | The official site had the press release on the hiring of defensive line coach Fred Tate, although there is a footnote at the end of the release that says that Tate's hiring is pending a state mandated background check. So it's not officially official. Here's Tuberville on Tate:
"We are happy to welcome Fred Tate to our football family," said head coach Tommy Tuberville. "Fred is an excellent coach and Art Kaufman really spoke high of him from their time together at Southern Miss. He will bring a lot of experience to our defensive unit and we are thrilled to have him."
PRACTICE #3 | LAJ's Don Williams has the story on the third practice. Before getting to the practice, I did want to mention that there will be a scrimmage open to the public on Saturday morning at 10:45 am. Here are your notes: WR Marcus Kennard is out with a hamstring injury, and that's not good news for a guy looking to try and start. WR Eric Ward is also out with a shoulder injury and may not practice the rest of the spring. Perhaps the thought with Ward is that they know what they have with him and do not want to risk further injury . . . Tuberville also said that the team looks more athletic at linebacker:
"You look at that (linebacker) group without Chris Payne and Will Smith here," he said, "and we don’t have a lot of depth. So it’s really a blessing to have those two guys out here."
. . . IR Jakeem Grant has been mentioned in all three of Williams' notebooks, just something to watch . . .there's a lot more notes there so go check it out . . .
WESLEY SPEAKS AGAIN | I mentioned DT Dennell Wesley yesterday, but LAJ's Don Williams has a profile on Wesley this morning:
"It was kind of hard," Wesley said. "We managed and did what we had to do. It’s a new season coming up. We’ve got a new (defensive) coordinator. Hopefully, everything goes well from there."
Like several of his teammates, Wesley was pressed into service right away in his first year in the program. He’d redshirted in the first of his two years at Butler (Kan.) Community College, played for the Red Raiders as a sophomore last season and was credited with 21 tackles, two tackles for loss, a sack and a fumble recovery.
I guess I didn't realize that Wesley will be a junior this year, so that's good and I'm hopeful too.
A BIT ON BARROW | Just like with the commitments of WR Devin Lauderdale and CB Tavares Garner, I'm going to wait on preparing a profile on CB Will Barrow (5-10/160), but this is a big deal (Rivals | Scout | ESPN | 247 Sports | YouTube | Hudl) just as Lauderdale was a big deal. I don't know if Barrow is actually Barrow or Barrows as his name is spelled differently on a couple of places, although I think it's Barrow. Anyway, Barrow spoke with LAJ's Don Williams:
More after the jump.
"I chose Tech because of the coaching staff and the team," Barrow said. "The coaching staff is real encouraging. Coach (Robert) Prunty is a real, real good guy, a very encouraging man. Coach Tuberville is a great man as well.
"I felt good as soon as I stepped on the campus. I came home and talked to my parents about it, and they agreed as well, so that’s why I made my decision."
And Barrow is #21 on Lone Star Recruiting's Top 100:
Despite not being a very large defensive back, Barrows plays with a mean streak and tries to inflict pain each time he hits someone, which is something you rarely see from a corner at the high school level. In addition to that, Barrows has sensational top end speed to go along with strong cover skills. Right now, he can stay stride-for-stride with any receiver on the field, and he can also make an impact in shutting down the running game defensively. He does need to work on fine tuning his technique, but in terms of the complete package as a cornerback prospect, Barrows might be the guy closest to having it in the Lone Star State. It doesn’t take long for him to stand out on the football field. (McComas)
Well, that sounds awesome.
JUST DON'T WANT TO GO THERE | I'm going to go ahead and post the link to at the very least let you know that this is news and it's out there, but I really don't want any discussion about it. Suzanne Tuberville is under investigation as the man that she was in a car accident four months ago died yesterday. If you feel compelled to leave a comment about this, the go leave a comment on the DT or LAJ as they both have stories and comments sections that are incredibly enlightening as someone has died. I don't know if I should be, but I'm concerned about this getting out of control and I'm going to be out of the office today. I wish I didn't feel that way, but I do.