Red Raider Gridiron | First Practice in the Books

1. Media Coverage | On a day like today, as a blogger, you're never really sure where to start. So you just sorta dive in and so I'll apologize for lack of much, if any, organization. If video and interviews are your thing, then from what I've been able to tell this morning you should direct your attention to Double-T 104.3 where they have all of the player and coach interviews posted. You could spend an hour or two watching these videos as they have interviews with Kliff Kingsbury, QB Michael Brewer, RB DeAndre Washington, IR Jakeem Grant, DE Branden Jackson, TE Jace Amaro, LB Terrance Bullitt, WR Coach Sonny Cumbie, S Tre' Porter, Co-DC Matt Wallerstedt, S Coach Trey Haverty, and DE Dartwan Bush. KLBK also has a handful of videos from yesterday, not just one video on the practice.

2. Pay No Attention to Weights | Yesterday, the spring roster was released and had new weights. According to the LAJ notebook you shouldn't pay attention to them at all. For example, DE Branden Jackson is at 248, but listed at 240. C Jared Kaster is listed at 275, but he weighs 285 or 290. QB Michael Brewer is listed at 185, but he weighs 195. CB Bruce Jones is listed at 171, but he's up to 183. So, I guess the point is to not really pay attention to any weights because they may not be accurate.

3. OL Transfers to Sit Out This Year | Also in the notebook is the idea that the two transfers on the offensive line, Joey White from Sam Houston St and Blake Snider from UTEP, won't be eligible until next year, so don't even think about adding them to the depth chart.

4. Karoke Night | The LAJ has details on the night that the players reported, Friday night, there was a DJ and a karoke machine. QB Davis Webb apparently brought the heat with Backstreet Boys.

5. Campbell Waiting | The LAJ has the details on recent Texas Tech commit Demetrius Campbell is waiting on the NCAA to give him a ruling, maybe on Monday or Tuesday, as to whether or not he will qualify:

"The NCAA is supposed to give me a ruling either Monday or Tuesday," Campbell said. "The biggest thing is, it takes the associate’s degree about six weeks to show up on your transcript and it’s already been about three weeks. They are trying to process me a little bit faster, but they got thousands of students.

"We’re going to see what the clearinghouse says. They deemed me as a qualifier, then went back and changed it because I had a few transcripts from a Christian school I attended, so they wanted to double check that everything is valid."

6. Marquez Back | The OAOA sat down with WR Bradley Marquez who talks about his summer playing baseball with the Mets, but that he's happy to be back in Lubbock and home:

"I’m super happy, especially born and raised in West Texas," Marquez said Saturday, when Texas Tech held media day and its first preseason practice. "It’s nice to see those other parts, but this is home to me. So I’m definitely glad to be back."

7. Williams Under the Microscope | The LAJ takes a look at LB Kris Williams, who was moved from the Raider spot to the middle linebacker spot this spring. The article notes (again another incorrect weight) that Williams is closer to 220 rather than 210, which is what he is listed at. Here's DC Matt Wallerstedt on Williams:

"We felt like he could play out at that (Raider) spot, depending on what we’re seeing offensively," defensive coordinator Matt Wallerstedt said. "He’s not as fluid as (outside linebacker) Terrance Bullitt. His body presence, size-wise, gives you more of what (inside linebacker) Will Smith is, if we’re getting the run game at us."

8. Quarterback Controversy | The notebook referenced above also talks about the quarterback controversy and I've said it enough that from a statistical perspective this spring, it wasn't much of a controversy. Brewer clearly outplayed Webb, but I understand wanting to push both players and competition is a good thing. Kingsbury talked in his interview with 104.3 that it is about which quarterback can put the ball in the endzone the most, which was also Brewer this spring. Brewer talked about what he is going to do:

"I just feel like I need to do what I’ve been doing — play smart, turnover-free ball," Brewer said. "Like I said, play with consistency, be confident. If I do that, I’m pretty confident everything will work out."

9. Practice Video | Here's your official site look at the first practice: