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
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Corker seems very close
There is a lot of good news to report about Fort Lauderdale (FL) Cardinal
Gibbons wide receiver Shawn Corker in this week's installment
of the RRC, so we'll just get right down to it.
The three-star prospect had previously indicated that he planned to visit Boston
College and Wake Forest before making a decision. When reached on Thursday
evening, Corker said that was no longer the case.
"I’m not going to go Boston College or Wake Forest anymore," explained Corker.
"They only want me to come to their camps and I just decided to not go up to
their camps. I wanted to go up for a visit.
"If they’re not going to give me their time on a separate visit, then I’m not
going to worry about it."
And thanks to some inexplicable decisions on the part of the Eagles and Demon
Deacons, the field challenging Texas Tech for Corker's signature has been
halved.
That’s right, it's just Texas Tech, Florida and Miami now.
"I’m going to take those visits (Florida and Miami) and then I’m going to make
my decision before the season starts, for sure," said Corker.
It’s kind of an odd deal, because Corker freely admits that he wants to commit
to the Red Raiders. So why is he waiting?
"I want to go there to compare a school to it," he said. "I’ve already seen
Texas Tech but I need to compare something else to it, and they’re right here."
Corker does not have dates set for when he’s going to actually go to Miami and
Florida and said that both would have some serious catching up to do before they
begin to challenge Texas Tech.
"It’s (Texas Tech) still number one on my list. Nothing really has changed about them. I
really like the school. I love everything about them. As of right now, I’m still
leaning towards Tech."
There is another factor working in the Red Raiders' favor that has just recently
entered the equation. His name is Scotty Young.
"I talked to Scotty Young, the quarterback commitment. He goes to Denton," said
Corker. "He was talking about how he can’t wait to play with me. I had read about him
and stuff. I watched his highlight tape
and he’s a good quarterback. He’s probably one of the best in the country.
"He said he likes how I go after the ball. He wants to break records in Lubbock
with me. That’d be great."
Young is just as impressed with Corker as the Florida wideout is with him..
"I've been texting him, trying to get him down here with me, hopefully I can
throw him some balls and stuff," said Young. "I've just been trying him a little
bit. He said he likes it and everything. He's really thinking about the program.
Hopefully not too long from now we can get him."
Corker said that his conversations with the Rivals250 quarterback have done nothing
but boost the Red Raiders' stock even more.
"It just shows that he’s already anxious and ready for me to make stuff happen
in Lubbock. It makes me want to go up there and play right now. If I could, I
would."
What is extremely interesting is that, while Corker is not committed to Texas Tech, he sure is
acting like it. Maybe the conversations with Young have sparked something in him,
as he’s been doing some recruiting himself recently.
"I’m trying to get Tony Grimes with me at Texas Tech,"
explained Corker. "Tony plays cornerback.
Tony has an offer and he’s leaning towards Miami but I’m trying to bring him out
there with me.
"We compete all the time. Even though he’s probably one of my biggest opponents
and a person I go against a lot, off the field we get along. We have fun
together. All he needs
to work on is his footwork. If he gets that down then he will be a good D1
corner."
Corker has also been working on four-star receiver Kadron Boone.
"He’s just a big and physical receiver," said Corker. "He’s not a speedster like myself, but
he’s big and physical. He gets off the jam easily. I saw him once at a 7-on-7
combine at USF. He’s another Florida guy, and after you watch his highlight tape,
I think we would be two of the best receivers in college football. He’s between Tech and Florida. He wants to take a few visits but he doesn’t know if
there’d be any spots left. I’m trying to get him."
Towards the end of our conversation,
Corker mentioned that he felt like he needed to make a decision soon. Clearly,
he
is well aware that the Red Raiders only have two receiver spots open in this
class.
Lees not impressed with Lubbock
Sugar Land (TX) Kemper offensive lineman Carter Lees
visited Texas Tech last weekend and had some very interesting things to say
about the Hub City afterward.
"It was impressive," said the 6-foot-5, 325-pound prospect. "I came in, I saw
Lubbock and I was like, 'Wow, this is some podunk little Texas town.' But I
really liked the campus.
"I went down 19th [street] and we went both ways down Quaker when we went to
eat. I found out that it's really not that small. It's a good-sized town. I
found out that it's not that bad. When you're coming in from the hotel, and all
you see is open pastures, you don't get a very good feel for it."
This was alluded to a bit earlier this week, but it wouldn't shock us if the Red
Raiders eased up on their recruitment of Lees. Our sense of the situation is
that Texas Tech was not terribly impressed with his attitude and may end up
moving on to other targets.
Roberts enjoyed hanging out with cousin
2011 wideout Mark Roberts had a solid showing at the Red
Raiders' mini-camp last week. Even though the Orange (TX) West Orange-Stark
prospect is only a sophomore, he already has a nice 6-foot-3, 172-pound frame.
It was Roberts' second time to camp at Texas Tech, and there's something about
the South Plains that have piqued his interest.
"It’s the tradition," he said. "I like the campus and the surroundings. It’s a
nice campus and a pretty good school."
Without a doubt, Roberts should known plenty about them by now. After all, his
cousin is current Red Raider wide receiver Jacoby Franks. In fact, Roberts came into
Lubbock on Friday night and stayed with Franks.
"I had a pretty good time with them. I liked going to their dorm rooms. It was
pretty funny hanging out with him. I shot a couple of hoops before the camp."
The two relatives also got a chance to talk with each other. Franks gave Roberts
a nice pep talk.
"He told me about the campus and was telling me how to run my routes and stuff
like that to get me better," relayed Roberts. "He told me to do my best at the camp and try hard.
He told me not to fade away from my routes ands stick with it. He told me to
drive through when I did my 40. He gave me a couple of good tips that worked."
Roberts was happy with his performance and also felt closer to the school and
the football program.
"I think I could see myself in a Texas Tech uniform. I just like the school and I’ve
liked them since my freshman year. I’ve been really thinking about them because
I wanted to go to that school when I was young in football."
Where does Texas Tech stand with Wright?
Belle Chasse (LA) standout James Wright has long been one of
the Red Raiders' top receiver targets, but was assumed by many to be an LSU
lean. The talented prospect received a LSU offer in recent weeks, but did not
act on it.
So where does Texas Tech stand with the talented pass catcher?
"Oh, I don’t really have a top group, but if I did, Tech would be up there," he
explained. "If I had to name a top group, they’d be in it - they’d be pretty
much at the top. Them, LSU, maybe like Alabama or Tennessee or someone else too.
If USC were to offer they’d be high up there as well."
We pressed Wright a little further on what he meant by the Red Raiders being
"pretty much at the top."
"Well, if I had to decide today, that’d probably be them (Tech)," he said. "But
I don’t know, you know? It’s a tough thought, but I think I’d probably choose
Tech if it were today.
"It’s hard to say because that’s still a ways off, but
yeah, I think as of today they’re probably out in front just a little bit.
They’re all so close, all the schools I like, that it’s hard to say, but I am
liking Tech quite a bit."
Wright indicated that he is in no hurry to decide, but it will be interesting
to see if that changes once the Red Raiders pick up their first wideout commit.
Sanders talks summer plans
Fort Worth (TX) Dunbar athlete Dominique Sanders is a
dangerous force on the football field, and his combination of size, athleticism,
leadership, and versatility has made him one of the more highly sought-after
players in the state.
"Recruiting has been good lately," he said. "I got an offer from New Mexico
recently. I think that makes over 20 offers so far, I think. So that’s a
humbling thing. It’s been good though."
Though he holds 20 written offers, he’s hearing from a much larger pool of
schools. Along with fellow Dunbar stars Rashod Favors and
Darius White, he’s a part of the vaunted Dunbar Trio, one of the best
combinations of talent from one school in recent memory, so there hasn’t been
any shortage of schools stopping by to watch them workout. Still, with over a
month and half of summer left, Sanders isn’t sure what their plans are.
"I don’t really know at this point," he said. "We don’t have any concrete plans
set up at this point, but I do know one of the schools we’re definitely going to
visit is Texas Tech. We were actually just talking about it the other day how
bad we want to get down there. That reminds me, I am supposed to call and
finalize some details with their coaches so we can get down there. I just now
remembered that."
Sanders, who speaks to Texas Tech’s staff roughly every week or so, says he’s
excited about the visit, and maintains the Red Raiders are in good shape with
him.
"I can’t speak for anyone else, but for me, Tech’s real good," he said. "I don’t
have anything really narrowed down yet, but they’ll be in my top group for sure.
Out of everyone I’ve been looking at, they’re pretty much guaranteed to be in my
top two when it’s all said and done. I just like them a lot and have a feeling
they’ll be one of my top two."
And who will the Red Raiders be jostling with for position within that final
pair?
"I don’t really know," he said. "Maybe Minnesota, Oklahoma, Utah, and that’s it.
Or, no, wait, I guess TCU could be in there fighting too, I don’t know. Probably
those four though fighting for that other spot."
Sanders is being recruited as an athlete by the Red Raiders, but hopes to spend
his college career as a wideout.
Vernon close to two offers?
While Portland (TX) Gregory-Portland offensive lineman Chance Vernon
is still waiting for his first offer, he could be close to two. Both
TCU and Texas Tech have been showing the big man interest for quite some time.
"When two-a-days they started, they began sending me mail and I sent my
highlight film," said Vernon. "Coach [Charlie]Sadler came up to
the school and I had talked to him about coming up to the camp. My coach liked
them a lot because they’re signing five offensive linemen next year so that’s
good for me."
That sparked Vernon to be at the Red Raiders' Junior Day in February.
"Coach Sadler told me that I was a good looking kid and felt that I would fit in
at their program," he said. "He wanted to see what I could do at their camp. I
was interested in them based off the season that they had just had."
At Texas Tech's mini-camp last week, Vernon got a chance to work within the
Texas Tech offense.
"It’s different but it works," Vernon said. "I like it because I like to pass
protect. Where I’m from we don’t really do it like that but I like it."
Offensive line coach Matt Moore grabbed Vernon and his mom
whenever they first got onto campus and let Vernon know where he was with
them.
"He was telling me to be lights out and have a good first two games and then
they’d come after me and talk about making an offer."
Vernon indicated that TCU has told him pretty much the same thing. In fact,
whoever offers first just might snag the 6-foot-7, 320-pound prospect.
"I would probably accept an offer immediately from either of those two schools."
Bell sure to add more offers soon
Boulder (CO) Fairview athlete Kenny Bell put on a show at Texas
Tech's mini-camp last weekend, testing extremely well and shutting down
virtually every opponent during 1-on-1's. The Red Raiders quickly offered the
6-foot-2, 165-pound prospect, which immediately raised a few eyebrows. If Bell
is good enough for cornerbacks coach Brian Mitchell and
defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill (and he is), why hasn't
Colorado already jumped on board?
"I really couldn't tell you," said Bell. "Just being in their backyard, it's
kind of surprising. I got my offer from Minnesota, and I got my offer from Idaho
and I still hadn't heard anything from them. All of a sudden, I got an offer
from CSU and then felt like they liked me all of a sudden."
Bell visited Minnesota earlier this week, and will be participating in a Cal
camp this weekend. And while the Bears will almost certainly offer him after
they see what he can do, Red Raider fans should be hoping that Bell's mother
doesn't like the Bay Area, as it appears she will be a major player in his
decision.
"We're a real tight-knit group in my family and, really, wherever my mom wants
me to go is going to play a huge role in my decision," explained Bell.
His close relationship with his family also means that distance will be a factor
as well.
"It really depends," he said. "If I've got tow schools that I'm really looking
into and one is, let's say, Minnesota, and the other one is Texas Tech, I
couldn't tell you who I would choose right now. But if we went distance? I'd
probably say Texas Tech just because my mom would be closer."
We hope to speak or exchange texts with Bell later this weekend and get his
thoughts on his trip to Berkeley.
To view previous installments of the Red Raider Confidential, you can visit the
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This post was edited on 6/21 6:03 PM by A. Dickens
