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Who is standing out on Thursday nights?
Thursday nights are a big deal for Texas Tech as it gives the coaching staff a
chance to evaluate younger players in an event called Thursday Night Football
(essentially a scrimmage). We asked several position coaches over the last
couple of weeks who has been standing out among the younger players, and this is
what they had to say.
Matt Moore: "[Terry McDaniel] has been doing a tremendous job. He has
been playing really well and has been getting every snap. As a true freshman,
Terry is a guy that has really stepped up and is turning it on at the left
tackle spot."
Chris Hudler: "One guy who has progressed this year I think is [Chris]
Perry. He was doing the Thursday night thing and he has improved. I think all
the guys across the board."
Brian Mitchell: "[Taylor Charbonnet]'s doing a good job. He’s a kid
that has held up physically. He has done a great job on special teams. He is a
smart kid with a lot of speed. He has had a good week of practice."
Lincoln Riley: "[Austin Zouzalik]'s done a good job. The most
impressive thing about him especially for a guy that has never played receiver
before is he’s been so consistent. Some of the other guys have had up and down
days like you would expect from freshman. It seems like every week he’s there
making plays. He may not be the star of it every week, he has been some but he
doesn’t have any bad days. For a freshman that is particularly impressive."
Brian Mitchell: "Jared Flannel is doing a very good job for me. He’s
doing a great job on special teams. He’s a redshirt freshman so we will see how
things go this spring."
One more early signee for the Red Raiders?
There were rumors
that three-star power forward Torye Pelham would be signing during the early
signing period. Most believed that if that were to happen then it would
definitely be in the Red Raiders favor, since he’s only visited Lubbock
officially.
This week, we asked Pelham if he had any attentions putting pen to paper any
time before the 17th.
“No sir,” said Pelham. “I’m definitely going to wait. Recruiting is going well.
I haven’t really thought about it a lot though. I really don’t know where I’m
going to go.”
So, who exactly is Pelham looking at then?
“I still like Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Arizona, and Memphis. I need to go on some
more visits to have some more schools to compare them to.”
He doesn’t seem to be in a huge hurry as Pelham does not have any visits set up
though he did say that there were two schools that he was closer to visiting
than others.
“I’m still going to take my visit to Oklahoma. I was supposed to take it earlier
but I have to reschedule it because we had a tournament that weekend. I talked
to Memphis about scheduling a visit, too.”
Even though Pelham wants to continue to look around, he wants Red Raider fans to
know that isn’t necessarily a bad thing for the Tech faithful.
“It’s just something that I feel like I need to do. Right now, they’re at the
top of the list. I just think I need something to compare it to.”
Pelham seems to like Tech a lot, just not enough to commit and be convinced, at
this point.
“I like the coaches, players, and the conference their in. The environment is
great as well and the fan support. In Lubbock, it’s nothing but Texas Tech. I
feel like I can go there and play.”
He could not say exactly what he was looking for in other schools or what
another program would have to surpass to be better than Tech. Pelham believes
he’ll just know when he figures it out.
“When I went there, I really liked that. If I don’t feel like that on any other
visits then I know where I’m going to go.”
Graves likes Michigan
You could make a pretty stout case that
one of the reasons for Tech’s dominance of Kansas, Texas, and Oklahoma State was
the dominant play of their front four. With several linemen graduating after the
2009 season, restocking the cupboard is atop the coaches’ to-do list for their
2009 class. One lineman that Tech would take in a heartbeat is Oklahoma native
Pearlie Graves.
Graves visited Tech unofficially last spring and officially for the Nebraska
game, and has indicated he has a high level of interest in the No. 2 Red
Raiders, but it appears as though there is another team at the front of his list
for now.
“Right now, I’m thinking I’m gonna go to Michigan,” he said. “Or maybe that’s a
bad choice of words. I’m liking Michigan right now. I’m still trying to decide,
but I’m leaning pretty hard towards Michigan right now.”
Ironically, in a year when Tech is contending for a Big 12 title, Graves says
he’s actually looking for a team in need.
“I really look for the best situation for me, which means that that team needs
me,” he said. “I know all of the schools I like are going to be good, but I want
to be a part of building something new, you know, bringing a program into the
national spotlight. That’s why I like Michigan.”
Graves also mentioned Tech and OU’s respective depth charts as part of the
reason he’s high on Michigan, saying that both schools are “just really, really
deep” at defensive tackle. He’s hoping to find immediate playing time, and
apparently that has been promised to him should he choose Michigan.
However, the news isn’t all bad for Tech. Graves says he still really likes the
Red Raiders, and has a very strong relationship with Seth Littrell. In fact,
Graves says Tech is a close second to the Wolverines right now.
“For now, I’d have to say it’s Michigan 1st, I’d give them like an 8. Then Tech,
they’re about a 7.5, then OU, they’re probably a 7. Then there’s Oklahoma State,
I don’t know, I’ll give them a 6. That’s pretty much how it is for now. I’ll
probably decide after the season when the coaches start coming to visit me.”
We’ve known all along that landing Graves was going to be a tough task, but we
always assumed if any program would dampen Tech’s chances it would be Oklahoma,
not Michigan. Just another crazy twist in the crazy world we call recruiting.
Premium Q&A: DB commit Terrance Bullitt
Okay Terrance, I know you probably feel like you’re getting asked this a lot
lately, so I apologize if this is sort of beating a dead horse, but how
committed are you to Tech?
TB: "(Laughter) Man, you have no idea how right you are. I feel
sorry for that horse, ‘cause he is taking a beating. I feel the same way I have
since I committed. I tell everyone that interviews me that I’m 100-percent
committed, but they still talk about how I’m not committed like they don’t know
what 100-percent means. I think the next time I talk to one of them I’m gonna
tell'em I’m like .01-percent committed just to see'em freak out. That’s why I
tried to be smart after the Oklahoma State visit, because people were misquoting
me and stuff, so I just said, “No comment,” to everyone just so I could make
sure they weren’t saying anything inaccurate about me."
Fair enough. But if I’m playing the devil’s advocate here, I might ask why
you visited another school if you are indeed 100% committed. What would your
answer be?
TB: “(Laughter) Okay, that’s a good point. I’ll say I’m 99.9-percent
sure. That’s probably a better description. I didn’t take that visit because I’m
not committed to Tech, I took that because I just want to see what all’s out
there. I know it’s going to work out in Tech’s favor because they’re the best
school for me. But you know, I’ve heard a lot about Arizona and Notre Dame and
schools like that, so I think it’s kind of natural for me to just want to go
check it out and compare it to Tech. Like I said, I think Tech’s going to come
out ahead every time. I don’t think Tech has anything to worry about. That’s the
honest truth.”
I know you came down unofficially last weekend, but some of your teammates
have made the trip to Lubbock this year as well, correct?
TB: “Yeah, a bunch of them actually. Derrick Osborne, Alex Updyke, John
Harris, and Michael Daniels have all gone down there. John wanted to come with
us this weekend, but the car filled up and there wasn’t a seat for him. He likes
Tech a lot, and so does Michael. They’re both really good.”
Tell me a little more about those two juniors?
TB: “Michael was the sophomore of the year last year, and he’s going to
be All-District this year. He’s good. John’s good too, he’s liking Tech and
Texas I think. One day it’s Tech, one day it’s UT. Who even knows with that guy.
With a guy like John, I wouldn’t be surprised if he just decided based off of
who beat who next year. But yeah, they’re both pretty good players.”
Hyder enjoyed his visit
Kerry Hyder had already visited
Tech once this year, for his official visit during the UMass weekend, but
decided he would like to take in another game in person, a feat he accomplished
last week, when he was in Lubbock for the Oklahoma State game.
“It was exciting, I’ll tell you that,” said the three-star defender. “Everyone
was saying it was going to be all close, but then they just blew'em out. They
played so fast on defense, they all got to the ball quick, which I loved. I got
to talk to Coach Ruff, and he was real happy to see me. We always have a good
time- he was telling me to make sure I watched my position so I’d know what to
do this time next year.”
The defensive end, who says he’s “grown a little” to 6-foot-4, 257-pounds, said
he also had the chance to meet some of Tech’s recruits.
“I met the players on my official visit, so I got to see them again, but I also
got to meet the visitors,” he said. “They were all these offensive linemen. I
got to meet the big guy from Oklahoma, I think he’s committed to Kansas State.
He seemed real cool and hopefully we’ll get a commitment soon. I think he liked
it a lot.”
When told that Michael Bowie had actually committed to Tech, Hyder laughed.
“Well, good,” he said. “That’s what he needed to do. That man is big and he
looked like an athlete, so I’m pumped, because now I’ll get to go against him
and make myself better every day.”
Hyder has racked up 101 tackles, 4 sacks, 2 blocked field goals, and chipped in
4 catches for 56 yards just for good measure this season. His team is 7-3 and
will take on Lake Travis and five-star QB Garrett Gilbert this weekend in the
state playoffs.
Premium Q&A: Hoops signee Jaye Crockett
You’ve made quite a few trips to Lubbock this fall, right?
JC: "Oh yeah, I’ve got to see a bunch of their football games."
Talk about that a little bit - those weren’t exactly small games.
JC: "Oh, they were great. The biggest thing is just being able to hang out with
the guys and get more comfortable with my future teammates, and also just
getting to know my school a little better, you know?"
What have you thought about Tech’s student section and just the crowd in
general while you’ve been there?
JC: "To have that kind of fan support just makes me want to get down there even
sooner. I could kinda get used to that. I’m hoping they turn out to a couple of
our games like that."
Will you be around at all for some of Tech’s basketball games?
JC: "Well, we don’t start until early Decemeber, so I’ll try to make a few
games."
With your Letter of Intent faxed in, and the whole thing behind you, how do
you feel about the whole thing?
JC: "I have so many people to thank, that’s what I think. I know Coach (J.D.)
Isler played a big role. He told me what to do and pushed me, you know, he’s
always let me in the gym whenever I asked. He’s helped me a ton. Then there are
all the seniors I played with last year when we went all the way to state. They
taught me a lot about growing up and they really helped push me. So really,
without all of them, I wouldn’t even be here."
What does Coach Jennings want you to work on this year?
JC: "Well, all I’ve played in high school really is center, but I’m small on the
next level, so I’m going to have to move outside. So I need to be working on my
handles and my shooting basically. Coach Jennings and Coach Isler have me on a
little shooting program that I’ve been working pretty hard on. I’ve just got to
make sure I improve every day as much as I can so that I’ll be ready when I get
there."
Gray and Richards (The Sequel)
In last week's RRC, we
showed a picture
of Texas Tech commitments Joel Gray and Jackson Richards (2010) facing off
against each other on the football field. They met up again last weekend in
Lubbock, but this time they were rooting for the same time.
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This post was edited on 11/14 7:39 AM by A. Dickens
