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Cardinal's Red Raider Confidential (October 19th)

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A. Dickens

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Jan 20, 2004
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We will be at Prosper (Texas) quarterback and Tech commit Davis Webb's game this evening at The Colony, Texas.


To get some insight to the game I contacted Webb about 24 hours prior to kickoff.


Prosper is coming off its first loss of the season and Webb is ready to get the taste of defeat out of his mouth. At this particular moment though he was finishing up a team dinner featuring barbeque and feeling pretty good.


"The loss was very tough," Webb said. "we didn't play as well as we could. I definitely didn't play as well as I could. We were a little off on offense and our defense up a very great, pass happy offense. We're ready to bounce back and we're very motivated this week.


"But The Colony is a very good team. They've got the best front four we've faced all year, I think. They're very impressive on defense, but we think we can take advantage of their aggressiveness. So we're going to go out there and try to win the ballgame."


The Colony enters the game 4-2 while the Prosper Eagles are 5-1.


Webb is going to have to show mobility and presence inside the pocket today.


"Their defensive line is the strongest part of their team," Webb said. "They get pressure on the quarterback, they get sacks and area sacks. They get after them. The O-line, it's going to be a challenge for them, but we have a very good offensive line. I'm very confident in our offensive line.


"I'm going to have to focus on getting my drop backs 100 percent. We've got to be crisp on our timing. But I think our receivers are really ready for this task."


After the game Webb will get a few hours of sleep and head to TCU as a Tech fan.


"My grandpa bought tickets about a month ago for the game," he said. "So I'll be there cheering on the Red Raiders."


- Graham


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Rowlett (Texas) running back Jalen Rhodes is done for the season.


Rhodes has a serious, season-ending knee injury that could potentially be a torn ACL.


"I hurt myself last game and I'm pretty much done for the season," the running back said. "Besides all that though I had fun in my senior year."


Rhodes is turning his focus to the rehabilitation process and being ready for Tech's summer workouts.


"The coaching staff tells me to keep my head up and not to slip during the rehab," Rhodes said. "The usual things people tell you when you get hurt."


Rhodes said he's not in condition to get to Tech's TCU game in Forth Worth.


"But I'll definitely be watching and cheering from the house," he said.


- Graham
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Pierce (Calif.) Community College tight end Beau Sandland is not only the best JUCO tight end in the nation, but he might be the best 2013 JUCO prospect, period.


Sandland plans to announce his top five list on Nov. 1 and will schedule a few remaining visits accordingly. Three weeks ago, the highly sought after prospect was forced to eliminate the SEC because of academic reasons, which trimmed about seven schools from the running.


Fortunately for Tech, Sandland qualifies with Big 12 schools, so the dialogue with the coaching staff has been ongoing. The tight end recruit usually talked exclusively with offensive coordinator Neal Brown, but says lately he has been in heavy conversation with inside receivers coach Sonny Cumbie, who went out to see him in person a couple of weeks ago.


"We've just talked a lot about how they're trying to incorporate the tight end into their offense now because for a long time they didn't," he said. "I forgot his name, (Jace Amaro), that big slot receiver, they kind of envision me and him both being on the field, both in slots, playing opposite of each other. They obviously, from the games I've seen, have done a great job utilizing him in the passing game."


The wide open passing offense will be one of the main considerations in Sandland's decision, who continued with Amaro as the example.


"I didn't get a chance to watch that game but I saw the highlights and everything and saw him score that touchdown," he said. "It's really nice when you have an offense like that and you can get those matchups inside with a guy like him. It can be pretty easy, I mean what is he, 6-foot-5, 6-foot-6?"


"Obviously, if you want to go somewhere and have a chance to catch balls like him, there are really only a few offenses in the country like Texas Tech's offense. If you want to go somewhere to catch the most balls, that's obviously one of the places to go do that. Definitely don't want to go somewhere where I'm used as a run blocker all game and catch two or three balls a game. I want to go somewhere that I'm catching seven, eight, nine, ten balls per game."


The NFL game is changing and some of the league's best tight ends have a tremendous ability to create mismatches in the passing situations. Like some of the guys the looks up to who have made it in the league ? Rob Gronkowski, Jimmy Graham, Tony Gonzalez, Antonio Gates, Dallas Clark ? Sandland wants to be used in a similar fashion.


"My main goal is to play in the NFL, so I want to look as appealing and show them I can line up in every different position as I can," said Sandland. "I definitely don't want to be in a run first, ground and pound offense. I want to go somewhere where it's a balanced offense, but probably slightly heavier in the pass. An ideal offense for me would be somewhere like 60-40, pass to run. The type of offense will definitely be a huge factor in that decision."


The Red Raiders weren't initially believed to be much of a factor in Sandland's recruitment. Recently, things seemed to have shifted in Tech's favor and the addition of Coach Cumbie into the mix could pay dividends in the long run.


"Having Coach Cumbie, who coaches inside receivers, who would coach me, being a former quarterback playing there, then going on to the arena league and having success, is obviously a huge plus," he said. "You can't for somebody who knows the town, the college, or the type of offense better than somebody who played quarterback there and played at a high level."


The JUCO tight end said he planned to attend the Thursday night matchup where Arizona State took on the No. 2 ranked Oregon Ducks. After that, Sandland will have two more official visits left to take, which could be a trip to Lubbock if Tech ends up in his top five.


-Rosen


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McKinney (Texas) 2014 wide receiver T.V. Williams was one of many recruits in town to take in Tech's home game against the Sooners a few weeks ago. Williams does not currently hold a Tech offer, but believes he could be on the verge of one sometime in the near future.


The junior wide receiver has been in touch with inside receivers coach Sonny Cumbie ever since he shined during a Tech summer camp.


In a recent article, Williams claimed to have 4.33 forty speed and threw out the suggestion he thinks he could eventually clock in the 4.2 range. With such lofty aspirations to improve an already elite time, I had to get an update on how reaching that goal was coming along.


"It's coming along good. The main thing is trying to be more flexible because the more flexible you are the faster you can run," he said. "Right now, I'm probably just the fastest, most un-flexible person that there is. I stretch every night making sure that all my muscles stay good, trying not pull anything. I also work on my breathing. I have really bad breathing techniques so I got to work on my breathing. That will help my stamina and everything. I think it's going really good and I think I should be able to hit it at the end of the season."


Williams, who says his current measurables are 5-foot-9, 155 pounds, is the type of prospect who could end up a late bloomer, literally. After a visit to the doctor's office the other day and he received news he is going to have quite the frame to fill out in the near future.


"I went to the doctor about a week ago and he took some X-rays. I was just asking him how much taller he thinks I'll be and he said about three to four inches," Williams explained. "I'm 5-foot-9 and at 155 pounds right now, so I'm still trying to gain a whole bunch of weight. It's kind of hard to do during the season because at McKinney, we just run so much because we don't have the depth that Allen or somebody would have so we have to run a whole bunch (and compete with our fitness)."


If Williams is able to maintain his speed as he grows into his body, the Red Raiders could be looking at a very exciting prospect to and already high ceiling 2014 wide receiver group that features current commit Jakari Dillard.


Even better, Williams would love to be a Red Raider.


"(If Tech offered) it would be a dream offer but I'd still be open to see what else is out there as well," he said.


For more on T.V. Williams, make sure to be on the lookout for a full write up on the site sometime this weekend.


- Rosen


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Tech has obviously started hitting the 2014 recruiting trail pretty early, and one of their biggest targets seems to be San Antonio (Texas) James Madison wide receiver Byron Daniels. Daniels attended Tech's camp at Cy Ridge way back in June, and he received his first offer from the Red Raiders.


He's been talking to even more schools since his junior season started.


"It's been going good, and I've been hearing from Arizona State, TCU, Oklahoma, Texas Tech, Texas, Oklahoma State, Indiana, Notre Dame, Baylor, and A&M," he said.


Tech is probably the school that he talks to the most right now, however. He's developed a relationship with Neal Brown, and Brown has already stopped by to check in on the receiver several times.


"It started when I went down to Houston at the camp," Daniels said. "They like how hard I play and all that."


When I first interviewed Daniels after the Cy Ridge camp, you could tell that he really liked the Tech coaching staff. He still feels the same way, and he could see himself being coached by that group throughout college.


"Pretty much, I like the coaching staff," he said. "They're pretty cool. They're coaches that I could see myself around, and I just feel like I'm at home with them."


He's even going to visit Lubbock this fall. He's not sure when it will be yet, but he'll head to Lubbock along with Baylor and TCU.


"I was supposed to go to Baylor last weekend, but we had a game that day," Daniels said. "I'm supposed to take one to Baylor, TCU, and Texas Tech for sure. I'm not sure exactly yet. I'll probably go to TCU during our open week. We have off next weekend."


Daniels currently holds an offer from Tech.


- McKay


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I talked to Tech commit and Leander's quarterback and Tech commit Caleb Woodward about his visit last weekend earlier in the week, and he obviously had a blast. A few interesting tidbits that I thought I'd save for the RRC have to do with the Tech game plan for Geno Smith.


Woodward got to hang out and watch a little film with the team before the game, and he got the lowdown on the entire defensive scheme for the weekend.


"I went back there to the coaches' offices and I got to talk to Coach Lovett and a couple other coaches," he said. "He was actually talking to some other recruits right then, so I got to go with Coach Jeff Howard and got to sit back in one of the rooms while they were watching film on West Virginia. Coach Howard kind of told me the game plan, how they were going to press-bail on Geno because he likes to make audibles and checks at the line of scrimmage, and they really tried to confuse him all game."


Lovett finally got a chance to sit down with Woodward after talking to some other recruits, and the two got caught up a little bit. Lovett also told the versatile athlete about the plan moving forward in the secondary.


"Coach Lovett came in and he got to talk to my grandparents and get to know them a little bit better," Woodward said. "He talked to me about how my football was going and how excited they were to get me out there. He talked about how they're playing with all these defensive backs that are six foot, 190 plus pounds, and how we'll be able to have success against teams like West Virginia from here on out, cause if you have five or six defensive backs that can cover receivers like Tavon Austin, you'll (have success.)"


- McKay


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We talked to Keller (Texas) Timber Creek cornerback Cedric Dale earlier this week, and he was all smiles about how Tech's been playing so far this fall. He loved the upset over West Virginia and felt like Tech would beat the Mountaineers.


"I really, really liked that," Dale said. "I kind of had predicted the upset because I was like that Tech can put up some points. All they had to do was stop the pass with Geno Smith. I knew Seth Doege could get the job done. He's a really good quarterback."


What does Dale attribute to Tech's success this fall? Leadership.


"They're doing really well," he said. "They just have that one loss to OU. That's something they really got over because they came out the next week against a hard opponent in West Virginia. They're a mature team. They don't really dwell on the past. I really like that. It shows leadership."


Dale has also been keeping in contact with inside receivers coach Sonny Cumbie. The duo has been talking about what his future might be at Tech. He's obviously a talented D.B., but there have been some talks that he could fit in as a running back as well.


"Me and him are talking about me playing offense," Dale said. "At first I was going to be a straight up defensive player for them at D.B. At the beginning of my season, I've been playing a lot of running back and I really didn't expect to that much, but I played more than I really expected because I've done so well. I actually have 500 yards on the season after two full games. I was working pretty hard for that yardage, we actually lost both of those games. It was a dog fight, it's not like we were just running over these teams."


Dale could see himself playing well in Tech's offense, too. He may not be very tall, but if a guy like Cornelius Douglas can play for the Red Raiders, Dale feels he could too.


"I can see myself fitting in," he said. "They put up a lot of yards during the game in that spread offense and I can see myself fitting in as a running back or in the slot. I'm at 5-foot-9.5 and a lot of people go off of size, but I say size has nothing to do with it. Last year, Cornelius Douglas is like 5-foot-8, he played inside receiver for them so I think I could make it work. Nothing is impossible if you put your mind to it you can do it."


As we reported earlier in the week, Dale will be in Lubbock for Tech's game against Texas on Nov. 3. He's been hearing about Tech and their fan base a little bit, and he's eager to hit up the Hub City.


"I heard Texas Tech is known for their fans," Dale said. "When I went up there for my visit over the summer, Coach Cumbie was explaining to me and walking me through what they do. How they walk down the street and go into the locker room. That's what I really like, what they do in pregame, I like that a lot. The fans, I expect them to be kind of crazy."


- Rosen and McKay
 
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