Red Raider Gridiron: Rivals Analyst Talks Kliff Kingsbury and Texas Tech Recruiting

Rivals Analyst Talks Texas Tech. The DMN spoke with Rivals analyst Jason Howell (twitter handle @RivalsJason) about Texas Tech's recruiting class and there are a bunch of quotes there and I don't want to lift it all, so make sure and check out the link. Howell talked about the Jarrett Stidham decommitment and lots of other things, but wanted to blockquote what he's noticed about Kliff Kingsbury and the Texas Tech coaching staff and the work being done in Louisiana:

"They’re not afraid to go after anybody. They’re not going to back down from a guy just because the competition looks deep or everybody discounts them. They went after (five-star quarterback) Jarrett Stidham, it didn’t work out — again that was a guy they targeted early, got in on and were able to sign him away from some big competition. They went up against LSU and several others for (five-star wide receiver) Tyron Johnson and missed out at the end, but I think that goes to show that they’re not afraid of competition. They’re not afraid to get out there and compete for who they believe are the best players. They do a great job of developing relationships.

"Everybody likes to talk about Kingsbury and his reputation as kind of a pretty boy, or what have you, but him and his staff, they do a great job of getting in on guys early, developing relationships with the kids and coaches, the parents and being honest and building the respect and trusting relationship with those guys. That’s the one thing that I hear a lot when I’m talking to recruits and their parents in regards to Texas Tech."

Also of note is Howell's feeling that Texas Tech is recruiting Louisiana, largely because of Kevin Curtis:

"I would like to add, they’ve done a great job in Louisiana. They haven’t exactly paid the dividends yet, but they’ve done a really good job really establishing themselves in the state. I hear a lot of kids talk about them in Louisiana. Talking about coach (Kevin) Curtis. They definitely have done a great job of finding guys, getting in on them early and really just staying on top of guys. They haven’t reeled in a big fish, but they’ve been in on guys … They’re on some really big-time recruits and they got in on them before they were big-time recruits. They’ve done a good job of identifying guys and staying on them."

Again, go check out the whole thing.

ESPN Links. There were three links from ESPN yesterday that I thought I'd link to this morning. LT Le'Raven Clark checks in at #16 in their top players of 2014 list, a recruiting roundtable where they discuss recruiting in the Big 12, and underclassmen to watch, which includes LB Mike Mitchell.

Recruiting Preview. Also from the DMN is a recruiting preview, which really just somewhat sets the table from a recruiting perspective.

Wall Signs Extension With Calgary. Congrats to former footballer Jamar Wall, who signed a new contract with the Calgary Stampeders. Wall had 6 interceptions in 2014 and 62 tackles on the year. Congrats on the new deal!