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Sasser remaining even-keeled
Denton (TX) Ryan wide receiver Bud Sasser attended the Red &
Black Game last weekend, but he almost spent that Saturday on another
campus.
“I really wanted to go to the schools that had offered me and check out the
campus,” said Sasser. “They happened to have a spring game and they were close.
I flew up there. It was either Tech or Kansas and mom said to go to Tech since
it was closer.
“It was pretty good. I got to see the receivers and see how the quarterbacks
were. I hung out with two different receivers, Lyle (Leong) and Cornelius
(Douglas). That was pretty fun. I guess I just got to see a little bit of how
the game goes. I know it was the spring game and wasn’t as organized.”
It wasn’t as much of an educational experience with Leong and Douglas as much as
it was just a chance to get to know the current players on the roster.
“They really didn’t tell me much about the program. We were just cool and
hanging out while I was down there. They weren’t telling me how stuff worked. We
were just hanging out. They weren’t really putting anything on me or anything
like that.”
On Saturday night, Sasser spent time with Leong and then on Sunday he hung out
with Douglas all day until his flight left at 5 o'clock. During the game though,
Sasser said that he paid attention to different wideouts.
“I watched Edward Britton and Detron Lewis. I wanted to see how they play and
they’re pretty good. I also watched the freshman that’s going to be there, Eric
Ward.”
It was evident to Sasser that the competition will be there. He also looked at
the individual that will be in charge of getting them the ball, starting junior
Taylor Potts.
“Potts seems like he’s going to be pretty good. It looks like he’s ready to
play. I’m not sure how much he played last year but at the spring game he looked
like he fit in just right and everything was going good.”
At the end of the visit, it appeared that the Red Raiders did a good job of
hosting Sasser.
“I can see myself at Tech. I got along with the players and they run the spread
offense like we do. They throw the ball a lot. That’s good enough for me if they
throw the ball around a lot.”
The one thing that stuck out the most to Sasser was the time spent with the
players. The fact that he got along with the guys and related to them will go a
long way in this process.
The Jayhawks are the ones that he would like to visit next. As mentioned in the
story earlier this week, Nebraska, Missouri and Arizona are also catching his
attention.
“I kind of want to visit more than a few schools. I want to make my decision but
I don’t want to make it too fast and have to change it again.”
Raiders going after USC commit?
We had heard rumors from
within the Rivals.com network that Texas Tech could possibly be looking at Las
Vegas (NV) Bishop Gorman tight end Xavier Grimble. It just so
happened that the four-star prospect committed to USC just last week.
We rang up Grimble to check up on the rumors, and asked him about how he's
handling the recruiting process.
“The recruiting process is going pretty good. It’s coming to an end since I’ve
made my decision.”
A commitment to the Trojans is one that gets a lot of people’s attention.
“I think it’s a pretty strong commitment. Obviously, USC is a great school and
they have a great football team. They had 11 guys drafted this year. I really
liked those coaches and the depth chart situation. I think it’s going to be the
place that I want to be and I don’t want to miss out on that. I’m pretty strong
on my decision so I probably won’t take my visits.”
Though he has supposedly put his recruiting process to an end, that hasn’t
stopped other school from stopping by, at least to say ‘hello.’
“Monday I had Oklahoma and Arizona, I think Notre Dame is coming down a couple
of other schools. I’m sure they’ve probably heard that I’ve made my decision.
"I know that even though I’ve made my decision that other schools are going to
come after me especially since the last couple of guys that committed to USC
ended up decommitting. I’m sure that none of these guys will stop completely
contacting me.”
The 6-6, 245-pounder went on to say that the only school that had contacted him
from Texas was Texas A&M. That doesn’t mean that Grimble hasn’t followed the Red
Raiders in the past.
“I like their offense. I like the way they did things this season. I thought
that they were really productive in the passing game. I watched a couple of
their games.”
So would Grimble still talk to the Tech coaching staff if he had a chance?
“I don’t know. I think I’m pretty solid on my commitment.”
Spikes gets props from his coach
We had a chance this week to speak with Dallas (TX) Pinkston head football coach
James Argenti who had plenty of positive things to say about Texas Tech running
back commit Aaron Spikes. He said that the Red Raiders will be
signing quite a gem next February.
“They’re getting a great ball player,” said Argenti. “He’s great. The kid loves
the weight room. He’s a student of the game. He’s an athlete and does a great
job in the classroom too.”
Since committing to Tech last month, Spikes had changed for the better.
“He’s really buckled down. I checked his grades today and I don’t see anything
below an 85. He’s starting to mature and that’s what I like. He’s getting
serious in school. He really knows that the reality is starting to set in.”
Argenti expanded on his star player and gave us Spikes’ key attributes as to why
he was so valuable to the team.
“Explosion, to start off. He’s strong, he has the grades and he has room to
grow. Some running backs will tap out. There’s one prospect that a lot of people
are after and I think he’s tapped out. Aaron’s not tapped out. He has room to
grow and I see him as a 220-pound back. He has gears. He can stick his foot in
the ground and go straight ahead or can juke and bounce outside. When you watch
his highlight film, he does a lot of stuff himself.”
The head coach went onto explain that he’s liked how the Red Raider coaching
staff had handled the process and that his back will be great at what they will
ask him to do.
“Aaron is real excited. He likes coach (Mike) Leach and coach (Lincoln) Riley. I
think it’s a great fit. The kid can catch the ball. We’re going to throw the
ball to him more out of the backfield next year. He has great hands, too. He’s
going to do what Tech wants him to do ? catch, run and block.”
He sounds like a complete back, which is right up Tech’s alley.
Cobb scoping out the competition
As the team heads into the summer offseason, Texas Tech's defensive
backfield is an area that, at best, only has players penciled in on the depth
chart. One who is looking to capitalize on any possible holes in the depth chart
is 2009 signee Daniel Cobb.
The Killeen (TX) Ellison safety went to Texas Tech last weekend to take a look
at his future competition.
“I wanted to see the position I was going to be playing and see what I was going
to have to do,” said Cobb. “I wanted a chance to evaluate the people that I’m
going to have to battle for that spot.”
Another reason Cobb made the trip was to hang out with several other members of
his class. Wide receiver Derrick Mays is from the same hometown so those two had
an existing relationship. Cobb also enjoyed hanging out with Terrance Bullitt,
Kyle Clark and D.J. Johnson.
“I wanted to get down there and be with my teammates. I’ll probably hang out
with them a lot next year.”
After frequenting Lubbock several times over the last year, there was nothing
that took Cobb by surprise. To him, it’s now home sweet home.
“I liked it. There were a lot of people that showed up for the spring game. I
could tell that they were ready for the season to start and support the team.”
His eyes were peeled on the defense throughout the whole game.
“They were flying off the line to the ball and getting around. They were getting
in position.”
So what was the final verdict when evaluating his competition for next year?
“They were all playing well. I was impressed by them. It’s going to be a hard
fight.”
Update on "Bean"
All eyes are on Dallas (TX) Pinkston forward Javarez “Bean” Willis.
The pressure is on the 5-foot-11, 166-pound junior, as he finds himself in
somewhat of an academic bind. If he does not get a score of an 18 on the ACT
that he most recently took, then he will not be signing with the Red Raiders.
After taking the test earlier in the month, he had hoped to get the test score
this week. We can tell you that as of 11:00 p.m. on Thursday night, Willis had
still not gotten the verdict.
We’ll keep you all updated.
Scouting 2011 hoops target Kevin Wagner
We spent some time watching potential 2011 Texas Tech hoops target Kevin
Wagner during the area and regional tournaments, and also had the
opportunity recently to speak with several coaches in his district. We've
compiled our observations and what we've been told into this scouting report on
the Lubbock (TX) Estacado product.
Strengths: Wagner is an excellent ball-handler and is great at
dictating the tempo of the game... He possesses great leadership skills and
plays more like a senior than a sophomore... Acts as a second coach on the
floor... Is a very heady player and is excellent at diagnosing the opponent's
intent... Has incredible leaping ability which helps offset his lack of
height... One of the best in the state with regards to breaking the press...
Excellent on ball defender who has great instincts.
Weaknesses: Only 5-foot-7, but his father is roughly 6-foot-3 so he may
not be done growing... Needs to get stronger... Must improve his perimeter game
by extending his shooting range... Is a good, but not great, at the free throw
line.
Wade managing a hectic schedule
Texas Tech 2009 defensive tackle signee Myles Wade is doing
everything he can to make sure that he will be in Lubbock this June and will be
ready to contribute when he gets here. In order to accomplish these two goals,
Wade has to manage a very hectic schedule.
Monday - Thursday: "I get up at 5:00 a.m. and go work out from 5:30 to 7:00.
Then I go home and get ready for school and head to class at 9:00. On Mondays
and Wednesdays, I don't get done with class until 9:00 p.m., so those days are
rough. But Tuesdays and Thursday I get done at 5:30 p.m. But the nice thing
about this term is that I have Friday completely off, so I can sleep in until
7:00 a.m. and workout at 7:30 on Friday, then knock out my homework and try to
relax a little."
While the schedule is very demanding, Myles knows that his hard work will soon
pay off.
"We've been through a lot, my family and me," he said. "So if it means me
getting up early and busting my tail til midnight with school so that I can be a
Red Raider, then that's that. I could have done it the easy way the first time
but I didn't, and now I'm having to earn it. It definitely feels good that it's
going to pay off soon. I'm excited for that."
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This post was edited on 5/1 1:16 AM by A. Dickens
