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.
Hyder is 100-percent
Though some
kids “commit” to a school only to continue the recruiting process as if they
weren’t committed at all, that won’t be the case with recent commit
Kerry Hyder.
“I’m done man,” he said. “No more visits for me. I’m 100-percent committed to
Tech, so there’s no point about going on any other visits for me.”
When asked what motivated him to take that position, Hyder gave us a response
that will remind some folks of a time that many thought was long gone.
“It’s pretty simple, really,” he mused. “A man’s only as good as his word. When
I give someone my word, that’s rock solid. That’s just how it’s got to be.”
Don't give up on Carona
There are arguably very few people who
have a better idea of why Texas Tech freshman kicker
Donnie Carona has seemed to
struggled early in his collegiate career than his kicking coach, Rocky
Willingham.
Willingham travels the country, giving private kicking lessons and putting on
clinics. He was instructing kickers at Lubbock High this past week when Carona
stopped by and spent a few minutes on the field with him.
“We worked on him being smooth and his contact,” said Willingham. “We really
worked on his contact and correcting some mistakes. The transfer from the tee to
the ground is different with a snap and a hold. A lot of his contact was
creating some real mistakes and lack of confidence. We worked on that privately
on our own.”
Willingham still feels that Carona is going to be able to overcome his initial
inconsistency.
“Donnie Carona is a good athlete. He’s a talented kicker and he’s a talented
kid. I think some of it is going in as a freshman and trying to kick field goals
for a big school like that. He comes from a private school.
“I’m not making excuses but I do think that’s just a little bit of it. I think
he only kicked three or four field goals for the private school last year. So he
really didn’t get the work during the game.
“But he’s real talented and this situation is much different. He’s got some
adjustments to make and being young as a true freshman, he went out and made
some mistakes and now he’s overcorrecting those mistakes.
“It’s just the nature of the game. For true freshmen, it’s a tough business.
It’s a different game than Friday Night Lights. He’s playing in front of 50,000
kids. Everything is different. He started making mistakes and overcorrecting and
all of a sudden he’s overcorrecting everything. That overcorrecting even kills
pro kickers.
“I think he’s going to fine. Some of it was just adjusting to the college game.
In the long run, he’s going to be fine. He’s got a lot of talent and that’s why
they recruited him there.”
Tidbit on James Scott
With very little film available of Coldspring (TX) linebacker,
and Texas Tech commitment,
James Scott, many have wondered what exactly the Red
Raiders have in the 6-3, 220-pound prospect.
To help give you an idea, last Saturday night, Scott and his Coldspring
teammates lost to Diboll 40-36. That in and of itself is not news, but what is
noteworthy is that Scott was credited with 25 solo tackles on the night.
He doesn't have a lot of help around him right now, but you don't record that
many tackles against a program like Diboll without having some serious ability.
Scott also had over 100 yards receiving that night, and caught touchdown passes
of two and 22-yards in the contest.
Williams done with visits?
According to
Yahshua Williams, no.
"I'm still going to take my five visits," Williams said earlier this week. "I
want to see what else is out there. I plan on going to Nebraska this weekend -
I'll probably fly out this Saturday. I have an old friend out there named Josh
Williams, he's going to show me a few things.
"I am committed and wanted a sure spot at Texas Tech. I just want to take all of
my visits. You never know what you're missing out on until you see it
elsewhere."
And while the Denton (TX) Ryan defensive back will likely visit Kansas and
Missouri as well, Williams says that it's no big deal to the Tech coaching
staff.
"They were just happy that I decided," he said. "They weren't concerned about me
visiting anywhere else when I told them that my word is my bond.
"My word is everything. When I commit, I commit. I don't believe in half-ass. If
I say this is where I want to be, that's 100-percent all me, all the way."
We were a bit surprised at Williams' commitment, as we really didn't expect him
to pull the trigger that fast, on his first visit. As it turns out, it wasn't
something he expected either.
"I didn't expect to come out a Red Raider at all," explained Williams. "I didn't
know what to expect. I was hoping that I didn't jump the gun, but when I
committed I didn't feel like I was doing anything too fast at all. Everything
was right on time, and step by step. Everything went in a positive direction
every second I was there. It was great."
Pictures of Hyder and Williams
Update on Stew Robinson
Texas
Tech assistant basketball coach
Stew Robinson recently underwent quadruple-bypass surgery
and is thankfully doing very well and is expected to fully recover. He is
expected to rejoin the team sometime in the middle of October, so until then
Steve Dowling will replace Robinson on the practice court (he'll work with the
bigs) and the recruiting trail.
We certainly wish Coach Robinson all the best and hope for a very quick and easy
recovery.
Pelham putting off committing
As we reported earlier this week, Chipola JUCO hoops
prospect
Torye Pelham was pleasantly surprised on his trip to
Lubbock last weekend. A lot of that had to with head coach
Pat Knight.
“He’s a good man. He’s putting the program in the right direction and I like
what he’s trying to do. He’s nothing like his daddy.”
Pelham kept referring to Knight as “Coach Pat”, as he’s made it clear that Coach
Pat is much different than the man that was in the head coach’s seat before him.
“His dad is intense. Coach Pat is a cool dude. He’s young so I can kind of
relate to him and he played the game so he’s been through so he knows what he
can expect from players since he was a player.
“I talked to him one on one a little bit. He told me that he wanted me to come
in and play. He thinks it’s a good style of ball for me because I like to run
the floor. He thinks it’s a good place for me and I think it’s a good place for
me as well.”
It also helped that while Pelham was on his visit, he really felt the fan
support.
“That was crazy. A lot of people came up to me and I wanted to know how they
knew me. I guess they did their research. We were at a party and I guess one of
the ladies knew my name. It was crazy. Their fans show a lot of love and support
up there.”
The 6-6, 215-pound power forward also got to hang out with some of his potential
future teammates.
“I hung out with the guys a lot. They were cool. A lot of them were telling me
how it was when they played with coach Knight and now how it is with Coach Pat.
They were cool. I’m just ready to see how they’re going to do this year.
His host for the weekend for
Michael Singletary.
“I was really with Michael the whole time. I also hung out with
John (Roberson). I hung out with the whole basketball team though.
They were showing me around and stuff. We went out for Michael’s birthday and
celebrated that. We had fun.”
It was also fun for Pelham as his friend and fellow Florida JC player
Brad Reese was on the same visit.
“That was nice, too. I guess he expected the same thing I expected about Lubbock
because he kept telling me ‘I can’t believe this place is like this’. He was
going crazy. I told him that I couldn’t believe it either. Brad’s a good dude.
We talked about both committing and playing for the same school. We talked about
it, no doubt.”
So could these talks soon become reality?
“I’m just trying to take my time right now. It came across my mind while I was
there. I don’t want to make a move without my auntie knowing though. I’m trying
to keep her updated and stuff. I talk to her before I do anything. I let her
know what I’m doing.
“She lives in Nashville. I have talked to her a couple of times since I’ve been
back. She asked me how I liked it and stuff. She just told me to go to the best
place that is best for me.
“She doesn’t know too much about it so I have my head coach back home who looked
after me a lot. I had him explain to her. I had him talk to the coaches and
stuff so he could explain to her. She just wants me to get a good education.”
Pelham is also getting advice from his high school coach back in Nashville.
Between those two role models, Pelham is taking their advice and taking this
process slow.
“I already told them that I was going to make a decision till late so they
already know that. They said that’s no problem. That’s a big factor to me if
they’re willing to wait.”
While the Red Raiders would wait on a prospect that is as high caliber as
Pelham, they are definitely hoping that he makes his decision sooner, rather
than later. That would enable them to shape up their class and know what they
have to work with.
Pelham has a visit scheduled for Oklahoma next month and when asked if he could
commit to Tech before then and cancel his visit to Norman, he responded, “I
don’t think so but anything is possible.”
Pelham says that he is taking his time because he could always go on other
visits. Although right now, the only other schools paying attention are UAB,
Coastal Carolina, and Southeast Missouri.
Expect Pelham to be done with his process after the OU visit. The only question
is ? when will he make his decision? Only time will tell.
Even though Tech will be trying to hurry his decision along, Pelham sure does
feel comfortable with waiting for as long as he can."
A whole ton of baseball scoop
Baseball also has been using
football games as an opportunity to bring in recruits to show them the campus.
With a small class available this year, Dan Spencer and staff are focusing on a
few immediate impact type players.
Pitcher Gerado Esquivel out of DeLaSalle in Chicago made the visit during SMU
weekend. Esquivel is a rangy pitcher who throws in the high 80s. He has narrowed
his choices down to a few Big 10 schools, notably Illinois, along with Kansas
State and Tech from the Big 12. Kansas State has some Chicago area kids on their
roster, thus prompting interest there. But Esquivel likes the weather in Texas
and also likes the rings on Spencer’s fingers. “Their coach has won a couple of
national championships and I like that,” Esquivel said.
Tech is also high on two Texas kids. Barrett Barnes from Ft. Bend and Jamodrick
McGruder from First Baptist in Dallas. Both are projected as infielders and both
are receiving plenty of attention from the other Big 12 schools. Barnes will
visit during the Nebraska weekend and McGruder is scheduled to be here on the UT
weekend. McGruder is a multi sport athlete and is also considering UCLA and
Florida International besides the Big 12 schools. He may be the biggest impact
player in the group.
The Red Raiders have begun fall workouts which will conclude the last weekend in
October with Fall Ball. The practices have been open to the public and Spencer
moved all of the Friday scrimmages to evening (6:15) to allow fans to come out
and catch a little baseball.
The players were treated to what was called “character building” in the early
stages of practice. It involved early morning workouts and has set the tone for
this group that things are going to operate a little differently under Spencer.
Speaking of working out, renovations are underway to transform the visiting
clubhouse into a workout area for the Red Raiders. Some of the weight equipment
is already in place, along with a new floor. At last check they were still
waiting the arrival of some cardio equipment along with dumbbells. The area has
a nice look and feel and when combined with the clubhouse, gives the Tech staff
another weapon in recruiting.
There are a lot of new faces on the roster with 18 new faces. At last count
there were 39 players on the team which will eventually be cut down to 35. Some
of the early kids to make an impression include outfielder Michael Reed, a
transfer from Grayson County’s national championship team from last year and
Garrett Totten, a true freshman out of Washington who is going to push for a
starting spot at either short or third. Also, true freshman Louis Head has shown
some pretty good stuff on the mound.
The returners have taken note of the new faces and many have come back in great
shape. You can see a marked physical difference in many of the players,
including Jeremy Mayo who has added about 18 pounds and has been hitting the
ball well. Mayo has always had the tools behind the plate but is now improved
with a bat in his hands. Mayo will battle Monk Kreder and true freshman Kevin
Whitehead for playing time. You may also see Mayo play at DH.
Chris Richburg has adjusted to his move to first base. He sat out a couple of
practices after being hit by a pitch on the wrist but was back Thursday and hit
a homerun.
Perhaps the most interesting development is pitcher Miles Morgan. Many wrote
Miles off last year when he struggled to return from an injury. But he threw
well this summer and has looked good this fall. He has shown lots of movement
with his pitches and at times looked like the Morgan of old. Morgan has to deal
with his confidence and developing consistency but at least is giving Spencer
some options on the mound.
Sims will visit Tech
Though Houston (TX) Wesbury running
back
Charles Sims had initially said he wouldn’t be taking official visits to
other schools, the Houston commit now says he’ll be making at least one other
visit.
“I’m going to visit Texas Tech officially,” he confirmed. “I’m going out there
on November 1st for the UT game. I’m real excited about that.”
Sims also added that
Seth Littrell has been sure to mention to him that he
thinks he’ll have a good time.
“Coach Littrell keeps telling me that I’m gonna have a real nice time when I
come down there,” he laughed.
The three-star prospect says he isn’t even sure if he’ll make an official to
Houston, and admitted that he isn’t sure he would be able to say no to Tech if
the Red Raiders really impress him on his visit.
“I just don’t know about that,” he said. “I can’t really say whether I’ll switch
or not. I guess we’ll see when the time comes.”
Premium Q&A: Tory Pelham
(NOTE: This interview was conducted
after Texas Tech's in-home visit with Pelham)
Did the Texas Tech coaches come see you this week?
TP: They were here this morning. They just came to visit the
recruits. It wasn’t a big deal. They just came to see my place, see how I was
doing, and how I liked the visit.
Who all came?
TP: It was Coach Pat and Coach Beard.
How did it go?
TP: We sat around and talked for a little while and that was
it.
What was the conversation like?
TP: I told them that I liked it. He told me that it wasn’t how
everybody said it was. He asked me what I’m thinking about and asked if they
were still an option for me. I told him ‘yeah’.
Did talks about your OU visit come up at all?
TP: Yeah, he asked me. He asked me when I was going to
Oklahoma. No. Yeah, that’s what I want.
Does it mean anything to you that they made the trip to Florida to come see
you?
TP: Yeah, that’s cool. That shows that they’re real interested
in me. The more that they come see me then the more I go there way.
Would you say that Tech is at the top of your list right now?
TP: Yeah, probably right now.
Have you seen the OU coaches lately?
TP: They were here today, too. They were here this evening. It
was cool. They were telling me that I’m still one of their top choices. It was
mostly the same conversation. They were just making sure I’m still going to
visit and I am.
Did they bring out two coaches as well?
TP: Now, their assistant coach only.
Why are you waiting several weeks to go to OU?
TP: That’s the time they want me to come down. That’s the best
time to see the team and where I fit in and all that.
Blake scheduling visit to watch the Longhorns?
When we spoke
with four-star wide receiver
Emory Blake
earlier this week, we meant to ask him about the fact that
his official visit to Tech happens to fall when Texas will be in town. There
have been several people who have questioned Blake’s intentions with the timing
of his visit, so we thought we’d ask.
However, he brought it up before we had a chance to ask him about it.
“I know that the visit falls on the Texas game, and honestly, I didn’t even know
that when they told me they wanted to come on that date,” he explained.
“Honestly, that’s just the date that worked best for me from a scheduling
standpoint. I’m glad that’s the game though, because I know that’s kind of a
rivalry, which will be cool.”
Blake, who will wait until he’s taken all five visits to make his decision, says
he knows what he’ll be looking for when he makes the trip out to Lubbock.
“I want to meet the players, the coaches, and see the fan atmosphere, just that
sort of thing,” he said. “I want to check out the fan base and everything. It’s
mainly just going to be about what kind of people are going to be there.”
To view previous installments of the Red Raider Confidential, you can visit the
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This post was edited on 9/26 9:08 AM by A. Dickens
