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Personal Vendetta? Not Really. UTEP QB Jameill Showers said earlier in the spring and maybe event this week that he had a personal vendetta against Texas Tech head coach Kliff Kingsbury and when he was asked about Kingsbury earlier this week, Showers had nothing but good things to say about his former offensive coordinator at Texas A&M:
"Whenever I first got here (UTEP) he called me to see how I was doing and how I was adjusting, Showers said. "From the get-go, whenever I left (Texas) A&M he was all for me trying to help me out. He pretty much did everything he could as far as calling coaches and trying to put my name out there. He helped me a lot."
Sounds like Showers really just has a chip on his shoulder more than anything else, which is good, and wants to prove that Kingsbury made the wrong choice in choosing Johnny Manziel over Showers. I'm totally good with a player needing a little motivation.
Competition at Line. The LAJ article focuses on the fact that RG Baylen Brown got the start but it was the end quote that got me from offensive line coach Lee Hays, who sounds like he wants to create a situation where there is constant competition this fall and a player cannot afford to be comfortable:
"I think Baylen realizes he has to play hard every snap - same thing with Alfredo (Morales) and (Jared) Kaster and the tackles. If they don't play hard we can move Dom back out to tackle. I wouldn't even say Baylen would be the odd man out.
Be Ready for a Crowd. From the DT, we have UTEP head coach Sean Kugler talked a bit earlier this week about the advantage that the crowd would have at the Sun Bowl:
"I can tell you first hand as a player and a coach, there's nothing like stepping onto that Sun Bowl field with 52,000 screaming people. It's one of the more difficult places to play when this place is rocking," he said. "I'm excited for our players because I think they're going to have the opportunity to experience that for the first time against a Big 12 team in front of the nation."
I Like Five Things. The DMN has five things to consider about UTEP:
3. Don't be fooled too much. Even though UTEP went 2-10 last year, the Miners were severely hampered by injuries and already have shown signs of improvement. UTEP's defense was routinely gashed last year to the tune of 39.3 points per game, but the return of seven starters and the second year under defensive coordinator Scott Stoker should mean better numbers.
Said head coach Sean Kugler during his weekly press conference:
"From a defensive standpoint, I know (New Mexico) got a lot of yards, but from a head coach's perspective I didn't have the same feel as we did last year. I felt last year we got physically dominated. I didn't feel that was the case this year. Last year we only had five plays where we held them to two yards or less the entire game. We had 20 plays this year where we held them to two yards or less."
Knights of Columbus Kickoff Event to Continue. The LAJ has the latest on the Knights of Columbus Texas Tech Kickoff event situation, which one of the members of the Knights opined a few weeks ago that this 55 year tradition might not continue, and now it appears that it will continue after a recent meeting. Here's athletic director Kirby Hocutt and one of the Knights members:
"It was a professional and friendly meeting," Hocutt said. "These are terrific members of our community who are doing great things to support numerous charities in our community and individuals who have been long-time supporters of Texas Tech University and, specifically, Texas Tech athletics. I thought we had a very productive discussion and one in which there is a trust and an agreement that we're going to work together in continued support of one another."
The meeting involved five KOC steering committee members as well as Hocutt, deputy athletic director Joe Parker, senior associate athletic director Steve Uryasz and associate athletic director Amy Heard.
"It looks like we're moving forward," Seideman said. "We're going to have the event next year. There shouldn't be much change except I think, providing that time allows, there will be somebody out there representing the athletic department next year, and preferably a coach."
Really glad to see that something was worked out between both parties.
Podcasting with Miner Rush. Hey everyone, I was on the Miner Rush podcast on Monday night and as you might expect, I was real nervous about this one. They also did a film study look at Texas Tech that's work checking out.
Miscellaneous. The initial reports were that Texas had suspended Demond Harrison and Kennedy Estelle, but it turns out that they were suspended for the BYU game . . . FoxSports David Ubben has a pregame huddle (sort of a news and notes article) and his official predictions for week 2 where he predicts a decent win for Texas Tech (better than my bumbling prediction, which I'm awful at and I usually need time to consider) . . . one of the best Red Raiders, Cody Hodges, spoke in Amarillo yesterday and he continues to preach a message of kindness and positivity in life and we should be proud that we get to share the same alma mater . . .
