Thursday, August 9, 2012

You can read LAJ's Don Williams notes section or you can listen to the press conference. I'd also ad




THE NEWS | There are a few of things to note. First, DT Anthony Smith hurt himself in a scooter accident, rolled his ankle, and will be out for a couple of weeks. alamo car rental maui If you look at his Twitter then you'll know that he's fine, but will be out for a bit. That's disappointing. Next, CB Brandon Bagley took a bus from the College of Sequoias to get to Lubbock and now I suppose he is officially official and on the roster. Defensive backs coach John Lovett had this to say about Bagley:
"He s a guy that just got here yesterday on a bus," Lovett said. "How many people do you know that are going to get on a Greyhound from California alamo car rental maui to out here? That s a different kind of kid. He s thrilled to death to be here. He s excited to be here. He s a really good competitor, a good kid and a good worker. I m thrilled that he s here."
I haven't had to do any sort of profile on Bagley, but do not expect him to play this year. Tuberville said he needs to get stronger and he has speed. I'm guessing they saw a raw athlete that they hope they could turn into something. alamo car rental maui Last, head coach Tommy Tuberville said that the team had a lot of energy, no one really stood out as all of the players want to impress on the first day of practice. Tuberville alamo car rental maui did say that he was very much pleased with the depth on the team and that there are players pushing players, although he said he needed alamo car rental maui one more recruiting class at defensive line and offensive line. I'd say that's probably true as there are older players, but it's a pretty thin group unless some redshirt freshmen or true freshmen need to play, which you sorta hope that they don't.
You can read LAJ's Don Williams notes section or you can listen to the press conference. I'd also add that LAJ's Nick Kosmider has a handful of notes in the Runnin' with the Raiders blog and mentions that the situation with TE Jace Amaro and RB Kenny Williams has been resolved, but that there are still some things with the legal system that need to be played alamo car rental maui out (this is how I read it), but Tuberville said that players that embarrass alamo car rental maui the team with these sorts of things have to pay the price. Kosmider also has quotes from DB coach John Lovett.
EDWARDS IMPRESSES | LAJ's Don Williams features WR Derreck Edwards (he goes into spelling his name in the story) and this is pretty good in that Edwards has improved greatly since his freshman season. Edwards also credits WR coach Tommy Mainord alamo car rental maui for pulling him aside one day, told him that he was down on him, with Ward going down, Edwards said that Mainord told him that he was tired of waiting on Edwards to do something and make a move. Love that. Here's Edwards alamo car rental maui who is not afraid:
"This is huge," Edwards said of August camp. "Coming off of the spring that I had, this is huge. I m looking to go into this camp excited with a full head of steam. I m coming to take spots. I m coming to push Eric Ward. I m coming to push Marcus Kennard . At the end of the day, we re all going to get better, but I m going to try to crack the starting lineup."
RETURN OF AN OLD FRIEND | Some of you may remember Tim Griffin, who first wrote on ESPN's Big 12 blog, and he would often communicate with me via email, sent me a couple of papers where he published things about Texas Tech (I still have them) and generally a good guy. Griffin is back with the SAEN and he has three stories on Texas Tech, including a bit about Bagley , Tuberville talking about his son Tucker as he tries to walk-on this team, and also profiles DC Art Kaufman .
Expect older guys to make a jump and go into fall camp and have gone through the process. alamo car rental maui Older guys did a great job of making alamo car rental maui that jump. Need to get into pads and will have a better feel, but the older players knew what to do and effort was good. Terrance Bullitt was the first time he's seen, but very pleased with his knowledge, was a bit rusty. Need to play good from up front to the back end. Told the DT's that it all starts with them. Need to understand what a players role is, every player needs to know what their role is. Biggest thing with these guys, when you talk, they are listening, they are taking in every word and are trying to execute, and for Kaufman, the easiest thing has been their willingness. Try to put them in a position of, "Are you going to get yourself in the picture." Are they going to be in the hunt to be in that game. The film guy does't put you on a highlight film, you put yourself on a highlight film. You do your job and you'll show up. Will Smith is comparable to some other guys he has, and Smith believes he needs to make every tackle. With high school guys, it will take through Saturday to get acclimated. Tells players to not get beat by the last play and doesn't want players to get beat two plays in a row. Need to play the next play.
MISCELLANEOUS | A couple of videos are after the jump, including a behind-the-scenes alamo car rental maui as the players check in (at the end, Tuberville addresses the team by saying no one makes excuses and it's Texas Tech's time) and RB DeAndre Washington is up with meeting the two deep . . . good article on freshman WR Reginald Davis . . . I really enjoy it when the SI.com guys discuss college football television alamo car rental maui . . . SB Nation's Bill Connelly looks at what was luck and what wasn't in regards to the high number of turnovers with Oklahoma St. and also has the incredible Oklahoma St. preview . . .
A couple of observations from practice. Without pads, the offense always looks good. Micheal Starts played scout team DT but was very disruptive against the run. Really looks the part. WR Dominique Wheeler alamo car rental maui looked small and lost, not ready. LB Will Smith is the real deal. 1st team snaps from center were flawless, Amaro made every catch, literally. Brown was all over the QBs for overthrows, kept saying that an overthrown ball gives us no chance. Moore looks to be back to old form, very physical. It s was good to see Stephens, Washington, and Torres running full speed. No limping. Regardless, both White, Williams, and Fostrer looked good, we are deep here. WR Bell is going to be a star as a deep threat if Doege pushes the ball downfield. Pete Robinson looked slow off the ball. My standout was DJ Johnson of all people. He was disruptive in the secondary, and was a vocal and respected leader on the field and on the sideline. Eric Stephens was directing alamo car rental maui guys around practice as well. I spoke with a coach who told me we are going to be good, that there is a huge presence of leadership that has been absent.
Bad Start for Brewer: There's no point in sugar-coating it; backup quarterback Michael Brewer was totally errant with his passes today. He threw 'em high, he threw 'em low, and he threw 'em in the dirt. We can write off Brewer's inconsistency to his inexperience, but you can be sure he's still not happy about it.
I actually saw him make some strong throws on the run. I think it s an issue of reps at this point. For the first time in four years our QB is the leader of this team, this is Doege s job, and I think that certainty is a good thing. Overall, the feel at camp was that things are settled in. There is leadership on both sides if the ball, the defense alamo car rental maui already are lined correctly, and the players are making alamo car rental maui the calls in the backfield, not the coaches. It s on Tubs that it took this long, but the chemistry just feels very comfortable.
I agree it sounds like jitters and trying too hard. It will come if he listens to the coaches and settles in. We need two strong QB just in case and to push the front runner. A rising tide raises all of the boats.
Dr. Archibald "Moonlight" alamo car rental maui Graham: You know we just don't recognize the most significant moments of our lives while they're happening. Back then I thought, well, there'll be other days. I didn't realize that that was the only day.
Curious how a player can come into camp not ready . Physically not ready or mentally? That never looks like a good sign to me. I want the players to be hungry enough to eat Bears and Wildcats, tear-em-up, don t-take me-out coach, throw-it-to-me on third down, let-me-at-em, we-can-do-this attitude.
I am excited alamo car rental maui to see what the offense will be capable of with all these seniors at key positions and depth to back it up. I think there is potential to have a top 5 offense. We will have to outscore some teams to win games this year and do what OSU and Baylor did last year with a below average defense.
Dr. Archibald "Moonlight" Graham: You know we just don't recognize the most significant moments of our lives while they're happening. Back then I thought, well, there'll be other days. I didn't alamo car rental maui realize that that was the only day.
I didn't know Greyhound buses were still in business. Wow this is a story you won't here often. Bagley, a transfer from the College of Sequoias (Calif.), rode a Greyhound bus for two days from his home in Compton, Calif., before arriving in Lubbock about 2 a.m. Monday — about 14 hours before his first practice started with his new team.
There is more athleticism, albeit alamo car rental maui young, on defense than we have had in awhile. We also have a few prototypical size pieces. In the end though, I agree with Tub s assessment alamo car rental maui that we are one class away from the type of size needed on the DL, and probably linebacker to stop the run. I m hoping for a serviceable top 40 defense.
Should be the expectation. That was the difference in 2 or three wins last year. If we get back to a respectable top 80, it will probably alamo car rental maui get us 8 wins and buy time. My hope though is that we break 50 and make a run at 9 wins or more. Again, we probably only have the size and experience for top 80, but it s preseason, I can hope!
Oklahoma State had the 105th-ish total defense in the nation last year. It s no secret that they were an interception and fumble recovering machine and also it hurt them that their offense scored so quickly and often. So what I really want to see is a defense that can get turnovers and better stop the run. The latter will likely take care of getting off after 3rd down a couple more times per

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