Friday can only mean one thing for the discriminating Red Raider fan.
It's time for another edition of the Red Raider Confidential! The ground rules
are simple and easy to follow: everything reported in this report is not to be disclosed elsewhere. This feature is posted in the premium forum to ensure that this information stays exclusively within the
Red Raider Nation.
This will continue to be successful only if everyone
does their part and keeps the discussions limited to this board.
Blake's father likes Texas Tech's foundation
Jeff Blake is no stranger to the business that is big time football. Though he
wasn’t a highly touted recruit, he did have a lengthy NFL career as a
quarterback, so now that his son, Emory Blake, is one of the
state’s top recruits, one would think that the son would seek the advice of the
father.
Early on in the process, Emory always said that his dad was letting him make his
own choice, and was largely staying out of the process. As a matter of fact, as
recently as a few weeks ago, he said his dad was still more or less only
offering moral support.
However, when we spoke with him this week, Blake gave us an inside look at what
his dad thinks of Texas Tech.
“He really likes the way they have a good foundation set,” said Blake the
younger. “He likes that they do something and they’re good at it. In their case
it happens to be throwing the ball, and they’re really good at it, which is nice
in my case.”
“The other schools are kind of rebuilding,” he explained. “And they want me to
come in and help with that. But Tech, they’re already a solid program and they
throw the ball a lot. Honestly, he likes what they do.”
If Emory is still undecided as the process comes down to the wire, we wouldn’t
be surprised at all if his father is someone he turns to for advice, so his view
of Texas Tech could be crucial to landing the game-breaker.
Trio of defenders in town this weekend
The Red Raiders will
bring in a trio of defenders this weekend for official visits.
Outside linebacker Brandon Mahoney of Keller (TX) Fossil Ridge
will be in town this weekend and he will be accompanied by teammate and current
Texas Tech commit Aaron Fisher. This situation has been well documented and in
our opinion it looks pretty good for the Red Raiders to add Mahoney to their
2009 class and if they are able to it would be the fifth player in the class
with an offer from Oklahoma (uncharted territory alert).
Along with Mahoney will be a couple of defensive ends.
Carrolton (TX) Newman Smith's Aundrey Barr will be in town this
weekend and, as of late last week, Barr does hold an offer from the Red Raiders.
Barr has only played football for one season because he's mainly concentrated on
basketball and is currently the leading rebounder for his schools basketball
team. Barr is somewhat raw from a football standpoint obviously but he's an
exceptional athlete and at 6-foot-3 and 225-pounds is worth a shot at this stage
in the game. Barr holds offers from Air Force and New Mexico right now but we
think Texas Tech is his future home.
The other prospect is someone we casually mentioned on the message boards about
a week ago in Chris Knighton of Longview. Knighton plays both
ways but would be taken as a defensive end here. Again, Knighton is somewhat raw
but like Barr would be given the benefit of a redshirt season because of Texas
Tech's depth in place for the 2009 season should the Red Raiders decide to
offer. We're told that it isn't a given that an offer will be given but don't be
surprised if it is because if they really like him then they'll offer. Also,
there was some talk about Knighton being committed to North Texas after visiting
there last weekend but that isn't true according to Knighton. However, if Texas
Tech doesn't offer him we think he will indeed sign with North Texas.
Why Auburn landed Eguae
It’s funny how things work out sometimes. Tech fans had to think it was a good
thing last year when Tracy Rocker left Arkansas for Ole Miss after the season.
After all, Rocker had been recruiting Lavunce Askew and Brian Christopher for
the Razorbacks, and since Tech was neck and neck with Arkansas for both players’
signatures, it made sense that the move would benefit Tech.
A similar response was surely provoked when ace recruiters Curtis Luper and
Trooper Taylor left Big 12 South rival Oklahoma State, whom Tech regularly
battles for recruits, for Auburn just a few short weeks ago.
As it turns out, Rocker’s defection didn’t help Tech at all - the pair of
defensive linemen signed with Arkansas. And apparently Luper and Taylor aren’t
done tormenting Tech on the recruiting trail. As a matter of fact, all three
coaches have teamed up to defeat Tech for one of the recruits they needed most.
When it came down to it, Nosa Eguae very well might have signed
with Tech had it not been for the convergence of those three men on Auburn’s
staff. Those coaches, combined with defensive coordinator Ted Roof, proved to be
a lethal combination, and sealed Eguae’s fate.
“It was kind of a perfect storm with my recruiting coaches,” he said. “I didn’t
know anything at all about Auburn and hadn’t ever thought twice about them. But
then when they hired those coaches, and it just clicked.”
“I knew them all from before,” he said. “Coach Roof recruited me at Minnesota,
Coach Rocker recruited me at Ole Miss, and I knew Coach Luper and Coach Taylor
from Oklahoma State, so it was like when they finally got all the same room at
Auburn, they just kind of teamed up to recruit me.”
And in the end, even though Tech made his decision a hard one, Auburn’s coaches
made it a decision he was comfortable with.
“I really liked Tech, and I loved Coach Ruff,” he explained. “But it was just a
great situation at Auburn. I liked all of those coaches a lot and wanted to play
for them all at their respective schools, so with all of them in one place, it
made it tough to say no to. Tech definitely made me think hard about my decision
though. It was a fun trip and I could have really seen myself there, it was just
too perfect of a situation at Auburn for me to say no to.”
Losing a kid like Eguae to a group of recruiters like the ones Auburn assigned
to him is really nothing to be ashamed of. We just thought you’d like to know
that Tech really did make a good impression, and even though we know no one
wants to hear about moral victories, in all likelihood, Tech would have landed
Eguae had it not been for the perfect storm that was Auburn’s recruiting staff.
Snapshot from Gray's in-home visit with Leach
Rivals.com Recruiting Analyst breaks down Texas Tech's class
We spoke with Rivals.com National Recruiting Editor Jeremy Crabtree recently
about the Red Raiders' class as it currently stands, and he had this to say:
JC: "I know Texas Tech won’t finish in the top four of the Big 12, but
I in no way consider this a disappointing class for the Red Raiders. The Big 12
is such a competitive conference when it comes to recruiting, and there are some
powerful programs out there this season doing really well. We all know that
Oklahoma and Texas will always do well on the recruiting front, but the Big 12
North programs like Nebraska, Kansas and Missouri have also produced their best
classes in a while, which has allowed the quality group that Tech has reeled in
to get overlooked some.
"I think as a Tech fan you have to be excited about the explosive playmakers
coming on board. Obviously getting Eric Ward is a big deal, as
I thought he was one of the most explosive playmakers in the nation, period. And
Daniel Cobb in my opinion is one of the more under-ranked
players in the Lone Star State this season. Throw in Will Ford,
who was another nice steal from Oklahoma, and it’s a big-time playmaking group
that should help right away."
Breakdown of Mahoney situation
While Keller (TX) Fossil Ridge linebacker Brandon Mahoney might state
that there’s still a chance that he could sign with Oklahoma in the end, or that
Oklahoma State is in the picture, but when it comes down to it he will end up at
one of two places.
“Texas A&M and Tech is neck and neck.”
The three-star prospect might have been committed to Oklahoma for months but
whatever happened between the two schools is definitely still sharp in Mahoney’s
mind. He did not say anything about the university, but did make it clear that
he won’t be going in that direction when it’s all said and done.
“There is a chance but it’s slim.”
Also, OSU won’t be a factor either. Mahoney doesn’t have time to take a visit
there so he won’t really be considering them.
So, after taking a visit to A&M last weekend and thoroughly enjoying his time,
what’s the latest with Tech?
“Coach Mainord is telling me that I have a good chance to play. He likes
everything that I bring to the table. He said that he would love to see me at
Tech and that I have a great opportunity to be a player for them.”
Mahoney has never been to Lubbock but has two close friends and former Fossil
Ridge teammates associated with the school. The obvious one is current wide
receiver commitment Aaron Fisher, whom Mahoney is friends with. But let’s not
forget a current defensive lineman either.
“My friend Chris Perry goes there. It’s been a while since I talked to him. He
and I are pretty cool though because my sophomore year I started and it was his
senior year. I was at middle and he was on the d-line so we had a pretty good
connection.”
It will be interesting to see how the recruiting classes close out for both Tech
and A&M. Mahoney might be winding up at either one by default. Right now, the
Aggies are full. But if they lose a commitment, then they’ll take him.
If the commitment that A&M loses happens to be Jonathan Stewart
then it will be the Red Raiders that will likely be passing on Mahoney.
Meanwhile, keep in the back of your mind that Mahoney is still not academically
qualified.
“I just have to take the test again. The test is the only thing that’s holding
back. I have the GPA, I’m just not good at tests.”
So little time, but so much that could happen with Mahoney before February 4th.
Waddle is like Shaq, sort of
The thing to remember about Texas Tech offensive line commitment
La’Adrian Waddle is that he’s very athletic. That might not be the
first word that comes to mind when thinking of a the 6-foot-6, 315-pounder but
it’s definitely accurate.
“I’m busy with basketball season right now,” said Waddle.
On the night we talked to him, he had just gotten back home from a game where he
scored 18 points.
“I’m like Shaq, except I can actually shoot.”
While Waddle admits that it’s hard to put the amount of time in the weight room
that he’d like to with basketball in full effect, he’s looking forward to
pumping some more iron once the hoops season is completed.
Barr is Texas Tech's to lose?
With the Red Raiders running out of options on the defensive line, it appears
that they have found their next option. His name is Aundrey Barr
out of Carrolton (TX) Newman Smith.
“I’m going on a visit to Texas Tech on Friday,” said the 6-foot-4, 230-pound
defensive end. “I went to New Mexico last weekend and I also took an official to
Texas State on the 16th. I was talking to Nebraska and they said they’re waiting
on somebody else before they make a decision with me.
With a total of four offers (New Mexico, Air Force, Tech, Texas State), Barr is
interested in what the Red Raiders have to say this weekend.
“They came into the picture a couple of weeks ago. They came up to the school
and asked me if I wouldn’t mind taking a visit and I said ‘yeah.’”
Coach Lincoln Riley is his recruiting coach and Riley has sold the idea to Barr
that they are losing a lot of defensive lineman and could need him immediately.
He’s been to Lubbock one other time and that to visit a female cousin, several
years back, who attended the school at the time.
“I just remember that it was a college town, that’s all I remember. I really
don’t know much about them. I just know that they’re in the Big12 but I have
never kept up with them.
Barr states that he has academically qualified. It appears that he could be
Tech’s to lose as the Newman Smith senior will only have three days to decide
his future once he returns home from West Texas.
Joeckel twins planning unofficial to Texas Tech
The Joeckel twins have begun making their way along to several junior days. With
Texas A&M and Oklahoma behind them, they’ll head to SMU this weekend.
For those who have been living under a rock, 2010 offensive lineman Luke
Joeckel is a top ranked junior and his brother, Matt Jocekel
is at the quarterback position.
We talked to Luke this week for a bit and maybe reviewed a few things but
none-the-less, took a few moments to catch up with him especially since the Red
Raiders were his first offer way back in the fall.
“It was great. It was exciting with it just being my first offer. I’ve watched
them play football since I was tiny. My mom and dad are both huge fans. We’ve
gone to games my whole life. For them to be my first offer was a really exciting
time.”
With his parents being Tech graduates and growing up around Red Raider football,
we asked Luke about the rumors of Tech being his early favorite.
“I was never really in love with any specific school. Texas Tech was probably
the school that I watched the most and got jerseys for. I always wore it up to
their game. I guess they were but I was never in love with them. They’ve always
been my favorite team because both of my parents went there.”
Still, Luke said that he and his brother are thoroughly evaluating all their
options although they should definitely be expected at Tech’s upcoming junior
day.
“I’d like to go see all their facilities, their academic stuff and find out
about their nutritional background. This is a good time to compare everything. I
want to see how Tech is comparing to all the other schools. It’s going to be a
good trip.”
While the Joeckel’s would prefer to go to school together, they’re not
advertising themselves as a package deal. There hasn’t been a program that has
offered both prospects yet.
A look at Barr...
Here's a look at Aundrey Barr, who will be in town this weekend on an official
visit as detailed earlier in the report.
To view previous installments of the Red Raider Confidential, you can visit the
archives by
clicking here.
Thank you for subscribing to RedRaiderSports.com!
This post was edited on 1/30 7:41 AM by A. Dickens
This post was edited on 1/30 6:15 PM by A. Dickens
