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Jackson Excited About Official
As we first reported earlier this week, McKeesport (Pa.) defensive end
Branden Jackson will be
officially visiting Texas Tech this weekend.
"I will be coming down to this weekend for the game," he said. "I know I am
going to the game, and it is supposed to be crazy but that is really all I know.
We will go see the school and stuff like that as well."
The 6-foot-4, 220-pound prospect said he does not know much about Texas Tech or
even Lubbock but does credit some of his interest in watching Tech play at an
early age.
"I am just coming to visit because I like the school and I watched them as a kid
growing up. I like the way their uniforms are and their colors," he said. "It
was really one of the first games I watched when I was younger."
Another reason Jackson is interested in Texas Tech is assistant coach Robert
Prunty. The standout defensive end likes how honest Prunty is with him.
"He is really cool, he is one of the good guys that is going around in college
football with how he recruits. He doesn't try to read you some script or sell
the school to you. He is more about your personal life, and what school would be
good for you," Jackson said. "He is honest and just told me to come up and see
Tech and if you like it, you will know it, it is my choice and only my choice.
He doesn't try to pressure you or anything like that. I know this is his first
year but he is a nice guy and love how he keeps me in the loop with everything."
Jackson plans to arrive in Lubbock early Saturday and stay until Sunday
afternoon.
"I am really excited to see what Tech has to offer."
Jackson holds offers from Illinois, Iowa, Louisville, Michigan, Michigan State,
North Carolina, North Carolina State, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Rutgers, Syracuse,
Texas Tech, Virginia and West Virginia.
- Hair
?
Washington Working On 2012 Class
When Missouri City (Texas) Fort Bend Marshall athlete, and Tech commit,
DeAndre Washington arrives in Lubbock this weekend, he's going to have
a hard time waiting any longer for that seven o'clock kickoff to come around.
"I most definitely will be there and I've been looking forward to it for a long
time. It seems like forever until they kickoff on Saturday," he said. "I just
can't wait to be a part of that atmosphere. I've been hearing about it for so
long and I can't wait to experience it for myself. I know that with Texas in
town it's going to be amped up to another level and I'm ready to get crazy with
them. I'm just ready to get there and enjoy the whole situation. It will be
tough to not be able to play in that environment yet, but I'm excited to
experience it from the fan's view this weekend."
He'll also be making the trip with a guy who is on Tech's radar at the moment,
Missouri City (Texas) Hightower athlete Bralon Addison.
"I'm coming up there with one of my friends, Bralon Addison, and I've been on
him a lot lately about the Red Raiders. We're going to go up there together and
I'm going to show him around. I'm trying to get him on this Texas Tech movement
we've got going."
- Cowan
?
Brewer Taking His Official
Austin (Texas) Lake Travis quarterback and Texas Tech commit Michael
Brewer is? be
one of dozens of prospects who will be visiting the Red Raiders this weekend.
Unlike most of his fellow commits, though, Brewer will be taking his official
visit this weekend.
"Yeah, so far that I know of there are going to be a bunch of us going down
there. It is going to be a great atmosphere and I am really looking forward to
hanging out with the coaches some more and also seeing my future teammates," he
said. "It should be a fun weekend."
Red Raider offensive coordinator Neal Brown has told Brewer that he will have
many things to look forward when he arrives in Lubbock on Saturday.
"Just that it is a big game and it is going to be a great atmosphere. They are
really looking forward to getting me and the other guys down there to get us to
experience gameday."
The 6-foot-1, 175-pounder's senior season took an unexpected turn two weeks ago
when he suffered a sprained AC joint late in the forth quarter during a 34-24
victory over Hendrickson. The standout quarterback says his injury is healing
faster than he thought it would but is still excited to come down here to get
his mind off of the injury and just have a good time.
"I am just expecting to have a good time," he said. "I have pretty much seen all
that there is to see at Texas Tech with the campus and facilities and pretty
much know everyone," he said. "I love Tech. This is just kind of a fun deal just
to experience some Texas Tech Football at its finest playing Texas at home. It
doesn't really get much bigger than that. "
Brewer committed to Texas Tech in March with other offers from Arizona State,
Auburn, Baylor, Clemson, East Carolina, Kansas, Rice, Tennessee, Texas and
Tulsa.
- Hair
?
Gray Taking It Easy
Aledo (Texas) running back Jonathan Gray will not be visiting Texas Tech this
weekend -- word is that he will be attending TCU-Baylor instead. We reached him
earlier this week and the top 2012 prospect said he is just taking things easy
from a recruiting standpoint.
"I'm just looking for right now and just getting the feel for it," he said.
"Probably by next summer I will have my top five, but I'm just playing it by ear
right now."
Gray does seem to be getting tired of the recruiting process.
"The downs (of the process) are just getting a lot of calls and just having a
lot of people constantly around," he said. "But the good thing is that we are
getting looked at. Since I'm getting looked at, the team's getting looked at.
It's good and bad."
- Fleming
?
Tolbert Has A 'Pretty High' Interest In Tech
Fort Worth (Texas) All Saints Episcopal small forward Jordan Tolbert
will be one of several basketball targets in attendance on Saturday when the Red
Raiders take on the Longhorns. Like a few others, Tolbert is coming in with
little prior knowledge of West Texas.
"I don't really know that much about them or that part of the state. This will
be my first time going there," Tolbert said. "I'm hoping to see how I feel about
the school and the town. I'll try to find out how I might get along with the
guys that are already there. I want to take a look at the campus and just get a
feel for what it might be like to be there for real."
Regardless of his unfamiliarity with the region, the 6-foot-7, 210-pounder has
spent the past few months learning more about the Red Raider basketball program.
So far, he's liked what the Tech coaches have had to say.
"I've been hearing from them since around July. I've gotten to talk with Coach
(Pat) Knight, Coach (Stew) Robinson, and Coach (Bubba) Jennings," he said.
"They're good guys. You can tell that they're excited about what they've got
going on up there. If I had to describe my interest in Tech today, I'd say it's
pretty high."
After officially visiting Texas Tech this weekend, Tolbert will be visiting
Arizona State next week. In addition to those two programs, he's been hearing
from Colorado, Penn State, SMU, Western Kentucky and Wichita State. His
previously given top five of Arizona State, Colorado, Rutgers, Texas Tech and
Western Kentucky remains unchanged.
- Cowan
?
Davis Discusses Tech's Advantage
Houston (Texas) Klein Forest quarterback Matt Davis has been on
several unofficial visits over the last year -- Texas Tech, Alabama and Auburn
just to name a few -- but the Red Raiders seem to have a bit of an advantage
based on some of the relationships the 2012 signal caller developed during his
time on the South Plains.
"It wasn't necessarily anything I saw on my visit, but it was more because of
what the other commits did. They made a big impact," Davis said. "I'm really
developing a good relationship with those guys. I probably talk to (Michael)
Brewer two or three times a week. I talk to the Morales brothers almost everyday
on Facebook. I talk to Jace (Amaro) and Bradley (Marquez) all the time, Ronnie
Daniels too. I talk to those guys a lot and they've definitely made me think
about Tech that much harder. "
- Cowan
?
Dees Discusses Upcoming Visit
Count Spanish Fort (Ala.) linebacker Blake Dees as one of the Texas Tech commits
who will be visiting this weekend.
"I am excited about the trip," he said. "I've just talked to Coach (James)
Willis and told him when I was coming in and told him me and my dad are flying
up there and are going to watch the game."
This obviously won't be Dees' first time on the South Plains, but he's really
looking forward to seeing the Red Raiders' gameday atmosphere.
"It is a big game, Texas, so you know it's going to be crazy and loud," Dees
said. "The atmosphere is going to be loud and the crowd is going to be large
because of the rivalry."
- Hair
?
Tidbit On Addison
DeAndre Washington isn't the only prospect working on Bralon Addison. Matt Davis
shared this interesting tidbit during a conversation with us earlier this week:
"Bralon Addison, he's one of my best friends and he wanted to come to the game
this weekend so that's where we're going. A lot of schools that are recruiting
me are recruiting him too. We actually want to go to college together, so most
likely wherever I go, he'll go, and vice-versa."
Certainly a situation to keep an eye on.
- Cowan
?
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This post was edited on 9/17 1:19 AM by A. Dickens
This post was edited on 9/20 9:20 AM by A. Dickens
