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
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This will continue to be successful only if everyone
does their part and keeps the discussions limited to this board.
Raiders in the conversation for Martin
Earlier in the week, we spoke with Madison (MS) Madison Central defensive tackle Carlon Martin who is one of Texas Tech's newest targets on the
defensive line. Though his relationship with the Red Raiders is fairly new, they
jumped into contention by offering the 6-foot-2, 268-pound standout.
"The recruiting coach e-mailed me and told me that they were offering me," said
Martin. "I hadn’t been talking to them for too long. We just started talking
about two weeks ago. Coach Clay McGuire is a nice guy. He told
me that Tech has a good engineering school and that’s what I was thinking about
majoring in."
Growing up in the Magnolia State, it's fairly safe to assume that Martin didn't
follow Texas Tech in his youth.
"Not really," he confirmed. "I saw them play Ole Miss last season. I also saw
Michael Crabtree on TV a lot."
Though the four-star prospect will be making his first visit to Texas in two
weeks to visit Baylor, he won’t have time to stop by Lubbock.
"I do plan on taking an official visit to come see them though," said Martin.
Martin still seems to be somewhat open, but he says that Ole Miss and
Mississippi State are sticking out the most. Part of that is because they're the
home-state schools, but he's also pretty close to the two program's coaching
staffs.
At this point, getting Martin in town on an official visit is key. This should
be doable, as he indicated that he does not plan on making a decision until
after the season. (AW)
Another Magnolia State target
We mentioned earlier this week that Carlton Martin's teammate at
Madison Central, Bryon Bennett is on Texas Tech's radar as well
but has yet to pick up an offer.
"I started hearing from them the beginning of last week," said Bennett. "I was
watching them and my teammate Carlton told me about them. He said that they were
trying to reach me. I called them and left them a message to let them know who I
was. I told them I was going to call back and I did."
The 6-foot-2, 250-pounder got running backs coach Clay McGuire
on the phone on the second attempt.
"He said that they were interested," said Bennett. "He wanted to see my
transcript and highlight tape. I wanted to see if they were interested. I want
to try to get something to happen. I would like to go see Tech."
Martin and Bennett have been very consistent in taking a lot of the same trips
together. A voyage to Mississippi State this weekend will be the fourth school
that they’ve seen with each other this summer. They also both plan to see Baylor
the following weekend.
"If Texas Tech offered, I would definitely go visit," confirmed Bennett
It seems likely that if they visit the Red Raiders, both Bennett and Martin will
go together on the same weekend. They aren't a package deal by any stretch of
the imagination, but the idea of playing together is something that appeals to
them both.
"I’m enjoying seeing what he thinks about these colleges and where he sits and
where he might want to go," said Bennett. "I’m enjoying it to see if we could be
a package deal. We’ve joked around a little bit and played with the idea of
going to the same college. We’ll sit back and see, I guess."
Martin seemed a little less optimistic.
"I wouldn’t say it’s important," he said. "We do like to compete against each
other though and compare about whose better."
Though they might disagree when it comes the importance of playing together,
they are definitely on the same page when it comes to timetable. While Bennett
said he favors Alabama slightly, he seems relatively open. Even though he has
half a dozen offers, he still named many more schools that he’s been contacting
and hoping for additional offers - Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, Wisconsin,
Virginia Tech, Kentucky, Nebraska, and Ohio State.
"I’d love to go out of state but in-state is fine," said Bennett.
Something that cannot be understated is how important the opportunity to play
early is to Bennett.
"The reason I like Tech is because they’re not as big as some of the other
schools and I hope to get more playing time and maybe even start," he said.
"They were really big time last year and got a lot of TV time and were noticed.
I love the playing time, who wouldn’t want the playing time? That’s definitely a
plus."
Why’s Alabama sticking out to Bennett? Because they’re reportedly graduating
their entire front four.
"Gotta love that!" Bennett exclaimed.
The four-star prospect’s transcript is in the mail and he hopes to get a return
letter from Texas Tech shortly afterward.
"I hope I get that one. I’d really like that one." (AW)
Texas Tech still in good standing with 2011 DL
Even though Nevada isn’t exactly a recruiting hotspot for Mike Leach’s
program, the Red Raiders still find themselves sitting in an intriguing position
with 2011 standout Jalen Grimble of Las Vegas (NV) Bishop
Gorman, who may well turn out to be one of the top players in the entire country
next season.
Grimble, who at age 15 already stands at an imposing 6-foot-3, 255-pounds, is
the younger cousin of current USC commit Xavier Grimble, and
holds an impressive offer sheet despite the fact that he cannot sign a Letter of
Intent for another year and a half.
"It’s been a really big summer for Jalen," said his father, Jerry. "We’ve picked
up seven offers since this spring, and it’s been a lot of fun. Utah came in
first and offered right on the spot, then LSU came out and offered, and then
Texas Tech offered after watching him and watching his film, and then he earned
some more offers this summer. He got offered after his camp performances at USC
and UCLA, and that meant a lot. Then there’s Tennessee too and UNLV."
Schools like USC don’t generally hand out offers to just anybody, but it’s
especially impressive that Grimble earned his after personally impressing them
at their camp.
"When you go out and earn something, it just feels that much better," said his
father, who is also his coach. "And he went out there to USC and UCLA as a 15
year old playing against 17 and 18 year olds and dominated them enough to earn
those offers, which made them pretty exciting."
So where does Tech stand with the stud lineman?
"Texas Tech is definitely one of the places we want to visit this fall, that’s
for sure," said Coach Grimble. "I’m a football coach and more importantly a
football fan, so I’ve followed them for a really long time and know what kind of
program they run there. That’s a great program, so we were lucky and blessed to
get an offer from them. Jalen likes them an awful lot. He talks to Coach
[Dennis] Simmons a lot and really likes him."
The elder Grimble actually had a sister who attended Prairie View A&M, and said
their family has been to Texas, but never Lubbock, so he’s excited about seeing
Tech’s campus.
"They have a great program there and great academics," he continued. "Which is
big for Jalen, so I’m excited to get down there. I think that will end up being
one of his top schools."
Grimble isn’t sure when he’ll choose a school, but it could be as soon as the
spring of 2010. So, at this point, to be actively in the game with schools like
USC and Tennessee isn’t a bad thing at all. (JS)
Things have evened out for Bell
Earlier this summer, Boulder (CO) Fairview athlete Kenny Bell
looked to be a clear lean to either Minnesota or Colorado, something he
says is no longer the case.
"I think it’s evened out pretty good," said Bell. "Minnesota was kind of out in
front, and I still like them a lot, but I think it’s pretty much an even shot
for all the schools who have offered me at this point. It’s more of a bunched up
pack than anything."
There was also speculation after Colorado jumped into the fray that the hometown
Buffs would have an edge of sorts, something that increasingly looks to be
untrue.
"I like their staff and have a great relationship with them, so they’ll always
be in it," said the athlete. "I was born and bred to be a Buff, that was where
my mom went, but I don’t know if it’s for me. I would love to play in front of
my hometown crowd, but then again, I would really love to get out of here and
make a name for myself as well, so I honestly couldn’t say which appeals more at
this point."
Tech still stands strong with the rangy athlete, largely in part to the Big 12
South.
"I would love to play corner in the Big 12 South," he laughed. "That’s a pass
happy league, so for a corner, that’s kind of the ultimate challenge. For a
corner, that would have to be the toughest division in all of college football,
and I’m after a challenge, so that excites me about Tech. I really like Tech,
and playing corner in the Big 12 would be phenomenal."
With no finite timeline for making a commitment, Tech appears to be in somewhat
of a holding pattern with the defensive back target, but the outlook appears
brighter than it was a few weeks back. (JS)
Dubuc talks Harrell's shot in the CFL
While talking with former Texas Tech football player and current position coach
for Fort Lauderdale (FL) Cardinal Gibbons wide receiver Shawn Corker,
he brought up most recent Red Raider quarterback Graham Harrell
and his entrance to the Canadian Football League.
"The GM in Saskatchewan (Eric Tillman) drafted me in Toronto," said Dubuc. "He
also brought in Daryl ‘Mookie’ Mitchell, he broke all kinds of records in the
CFL. The GM has had a lot of luck with Tech players. I guess he had Graham on
his negotiation list for a while.
"They also got Dalton Bell from West Texas A&M. I was at West
Texas for two years and coached him for a year. He’s in their camp. They’ve done
a good job with the West Texas kids.
"He was in Toronto when I signed. He’s a grinder. He knows and watches a million
games. He has good scouting people and does a good job. He’s won a couple of
Grey Cups. We won it in Toronto my first year when we had (Doug) Flutie
as our quarterback. He knows how the Tech players fit up there with
what they’ve done with Leach and the spread offense." (AW)
Speaking of Shawn Corker...
We had some communication earlier today with Fort Lauderdale (FL) Cardinal
Gibbons wideout Shawn Corker, and he confirmed that he will be
sitting down with his head coach and mother this evening "around 6" p.m. EDT.
As we reported last week, Corker's mother had wanted to sit-down with her son
and his head coach before any commitment is made.
"[M]y mom wants to sit down with my coach and call up a few college coaches and
thank them for everything," said Corker last week. "We just want to do
everything the right way."
Corker's position coach, Matt Dubuc, indicated this week that all signs point to
the Red Raiders for Corker.
"Everything has been positive," said Dubuc on Sunday. "He and his mom both think
Tech is the place for him. She couldn’t be happier with Lincoln Riley
and Matt Moore and the way they’ve handled themselves
and conducted themselves. There’s nothing but positive things that have come out
of their camp in Lubbock."
We will continue to follow the situation through the evening and will pass along
any news as soon as we receive it. (AD)
Checking in with Arps about Kansas visit
We reported two weeks ago in the Red Raider Confidential that Texas Tech
defensive end commit Jaqwaylin Arps had made plans to visit
Kansas next week. According to the Denison (TX) prospect, that trip will take
place as scheduled.
"We're going on Tuesday," Arps said on Thursday. "I'm just trying to see if I'm
going to have a good time or not, really."
Kansas is really trying to sell Arps on the opportunity to play with one of his
high school teammates.
"They're saying it'll be a really good thing because my homeboy Jimmay
[Mundine], he's going to Kansas," explained Arps. "He got a
scholarship offer from them too, and he already visited up there and was telling
me that it'd be good to have me and him playing d-end, or have him at outside
linebacker and me at d-end. That'd be a good little duo, or something like
that."
While that helps Arps' interest, playing with Mundine isn't going to tip the
scales towards the Jayhawks by itself.
"It's something that appeals to me," he said. "I kind of like it. It helps my
interest a little bit, but what's really going to help is whenever I get there
and see how it is, see how I'm welcomed and everything."
The 6-foot-3, 230-pound prospect said that he is in regular contact with inside
receivers coach Lincoln Riley, and relayed his reaction to Arps' visit news.
"They were just asking me where they stand and everything," said Arps. "I'm
still in it with Tech, because I haven't been to Kansas, I don't really know how
it is. I told them if I see something good or hear something good, it's going to
be a battle between them and Tech. That's what I told Coach Riley and he was
like, 'Alright, just be honest with me.'"
Arps plans to make the seven-hour drive for Lawrence on Monday night and will
return to North Texas on Wednesday. We will touch base with him late next week
to see how his visit went. (AD)
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This post was edited on 7/24 12:33 PM by A. Dickens
