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If you're in the Lubbock area and looking to get into shape, but don't know where to start, check out the website for Cardinal's Fitness. You can sign up for individual classes -- no contract or membership required -- that are good for people at any fitness level.
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Lawton (Okla.) cornerback and Texas Tech commit Maurice Chandler will miss Lawton's first three games of the season due to a school issue.
"I've got to sit out the first three games due to school related stuff," he said. "It's pretty sad. Pretty depressing. I just want to be out there with my team. Help them and support them and all of that. I just have to cope with it, I guess, keep the support up, keep the motivation up and everything."
Chandler said he is allowed to be on the sideline during games, however.
"I'm going to tell the other corners to have a good time, stay with their keys," he said. "Just go with the flow and do their jobs."
Chandler said his recruitment has cooled because he has demonstrated a lot of interest in Tech.
"Nothing new," he said. "I just talk to Texas Tech a lot and enjoy my conversations with them."
- Graham
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Waco (Texas) Midway wide receiver Hunter Jarmon doesn't have an offer from the Red Raiders, but that could change in the coming weeks.
"They want to offer me but they need to see me play live first because that's one of Coach (Tommy) Tuberville's rules, he likes to see a player live," Jarmon said. "You can look good on film but he wants to get it firsthand and see them in person. They're coming to one of my games and I perform like I Have on film, there's no question I should have an offer."
The opportunity to perform in front of the coaches was, unfortunately, something Jarmon missed out on this summer at Tech's DFW based camp in Rockwall. He said he ending up hurting his back during camp by pulling a muscle and couldn't finish out the wide receiver drills at the camp.
Outside receivers coach Tommy Mainord is Jarmon's main recruiting coordinator. The 6-foot, 190 pound wide receiver says he speaks to Mainord regularly and has grown to enjoy the depth of their conversations.
"We talk about anything and everything. Usually, we just have a conversation as if we were friends, instead of a coach to player relationship, that's what I like a lot about him," Jarmon said. "He treats me as a person instead of the labeled recruit and talks about a lot of other stuff outside of football like what's going on with my life, how's my family, you know, checking up on me. That's what I really appreciate from coach Mainord. He doesn't treat me like a recruit. He treats me like a human being and a person who is concerned and interested in my life."
Aside from his budding relationship with Mainord, the senior wide receiver is excited about the possibilities for him within the Red Raiders offense, something he has been thinking about for a long time. Jarmon says he has been communicating with Tech for a while now.
"I've been getting stuff from Tech since my sophomore year in the mail. They were one of the first schools to show interest in me," he said. "And I love how they pass the ball every other play, basically 70 percent of the time. I love being one of the guys who could catch the ball 130 times a year. I just love how they spread the ball around."
All of Jarmon's official visits are already scheduled out, which include a trip to check out what Tech has to offer. He will also visit Kansas, Minnesota, Iowa State and Oregon State in the fall.
"I did schedule an official visit but Coach Tuberville doesn't want his primary recruits to take visits to Tech during the season because he doesn't really get to meet with them that well since he's focused on the games," Jarmon said about when he will visit Lubbock. "In December, myself and a lot of other recruits will be going to Lubbock to take an official with them then. It's a three day thing Friday, Saturday, Sunday and that's when I'll be taking my last official."
After getting a feel from each campus during his visits, Jarmon expects to make his decision shortly after his trip to Lubbock in December, which is his final visit.
He does not have any favorites but says everyone he will visit is in play and also mentioned interest in Washington State and Oklahoma State, who he thought could offer next.
Jarmon currently holds offers from Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Minnesota, Missouri, New Mexico, North Texas, Oregon State, SMU, Tulsa and Washington State.
- Rosen
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Leander (Texas) quarterback and Tech commit Caleb Woodward has only a handful of games left to play on the offensive side of the ball and he's savoring each one.
"I've matured a lot," Woodward said. "I was an athlete on game days, but I practiced each day as a quarterback. I was behind the district MVP quarterback (Andres Barrera) so I learned a whole lot. I would say I'm a veteran at the quarterback position even though it's my first year at it because I had all that time to practice over the summer and last season. I'm a lot more of a mature quarterback than just a wildcat guy."
Woodward expects a lot of blitzing from Pflugerville Connally this week, which should allow him to demonstrate both his speed and his arm.
"We have a lot of plays where I'm going to read off what they're doing and I'll have a few different options on what we can do each play," Woodward said. "We run a zone-read type offense. Should be pretty good. We've got a good game plan for these guys."
The three-star recruit plans on enjoying playing offense because he'll most likely go to the Red Raider defensive secondary upon arrival in Lubbock.
"I love playing quarterback," Woodward said. "I think playing quarterback I'll have a better idea of what offenses are trying to do on the college level. It's very limited for me now so I have to cherish and take advantage of my last year playing quarterback. I definitely appreciate this time."
New Mexico was recruiting Woodward as a quarterback and Texas State offered Woodward as a two-way athlete but the opportunity to play for Tech was a big deal for the Leander product.
"I'm Facebook messaging (graduate assistant) Jeff Howard more often now," Woodward said. "I just got my letter in the mail that asked me which games I plan on coming up to. I'm going to come out to the UT games and the West Virginia games which are my bye week and a week where we have a televised Thursday game.
"I'm definitely staying in contact with all of them."
Woodward also wants to try to make it to the Texas State game next weekend in San Marcos, Texas.
"I'm going to try," he said. "I have some friends who are being recruited by Texas State so I might come up with one of them. But I'm not sure yet because I don't have a relationship with Texas State."
- Graham
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Things have slowed down for Manvel (Texas) 2014 tight end Koda Martin over the last month or so. He's been preparing for kickoff on Friday night and keeping in touch with a handful of Big 12 schools.
"I haven't picked up any offers in the last month or so. There's a few schools interested in me that are talking about coming out and watching a game, Texas, Texas A&M, but right now I just have the same offers. I've just been keeping up to date with Arkansas, Baylor, OU, Texas Tech, and I'm planning on going to a few games. I'm not sure which ones."
As many will recall, Tech was one of the first schools to offer Martin over the summer. He had a good camp at Pearland and the Red Raiders would love to add the big man to the 2014 class. It probably helps Tech's case that he has quite a bit of family in the Hub City as well.
"I've just been keeping in touch. They've been encouraging me to commit, but I've still got some time. A lot can change in two years," he said. "(My family) wants me to come where I fit in best. They'd love me to come out to Lubbock, get me a home cooked meal every night from my grandparents, aunt and uncle, and two cousins. That would be nice. I love Texas Tech, but I also love a bunch of other schools. I'm nowhere near where I want to go to school yet."
You can't blame the junior for taking a while to make a decision. He'll see how things play out over the next year and likely make a decision late next summer.
"I'm nowhere near being sure what my decision's going to be yet, but I'm looking to make a decision before next season so I can focus on my senior year."
- McKay
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We caught up with Mesquite (Texas) Dallas Christian athlete Justis Nelson earlier this week. Nelson, who committed after the Red Raiders July camp in Lubbock, even got to make another trip to the Hub for his sister's graduation. He got to see defensive backs coach John Lovett in action and loved the veteran coach's style.
"He was pretty intense during the scrimmage. Whenever you do something good, he'll let you know you did something good. Whenever you mess up, he'll make sure you fix it. If you don't fix, he'll flip you out and put somebody in that can get it done. He's a pretty good coach. He expects you to be perfect, which is what everybody asks for, and I like that. He keeps the intensity up and interacts with the players. I like that."
That's not the only coach that Nelson has a relationship with. Interestingly enough, Nelson and offensive line coach Chris Thomsen have known each other for two year. The DFW recruit attended an ACU camp as a sophomore when Thomsen was the head coach, and the duo became reacquainted when it was apparent that Tech was interested.
"When he was at ACU, I went to a camp out there and I did pretty well. Ever since then, once he heard I was going to the Tech camp, he started contacting me and talking to me a lot. He's a real good Christian man.," he said. "He's one of those coaches that you can talk to about anything. He makes sure that you feel free to talk to him at any time. He's a real good coach, and I like him a lot."
Many think that Nelson will end up on the defensive side of the ball in the secondary at Tech, but that may not be exactly set in stone. The Red Raiders would like to see how the versatile playmaker performs at both receiver and DB and go from there.
"We're still trying to figure it out because I committed as an athlete. They want to see me both defensively and offensively. At the camp, I went defense. Then I went a couple plays on the offense, and I did good offensively. So, it's just going to end up being wherever I'm needed."
- McKay
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A few quick tidbits:
* I spoke with Woodland Hills (Calif.) Pierce C.C. outside linebacker Marcus Jenkins-Moore briefly on Wednesday night. It looks like the Red Raiders are now out of the picture, as the JUCO backer isn't planning on taking a visit and seems to have locked in on schools like Kansas, Kansas State, Arizona, and Arizona State.
* At the end of our conversation on Wednesday, Keller (Texas) Timber Creek cornerback Cedric Dale told me that he'd narrowed things to a top five for right now. The schools on that list are UCLA, West Virginia, Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, and Texas Tech. It bodes really well for the Red Raiders that he'll be attending two games this fall: The Tech-West Virginia game in Lubbock, and the Tech-Baylor game at Cowboys Stadium.
- McKay
If you're in the Lubbock area and looking to get into shape, but don't know where to start, check out the website for Cardinal's Fitness. You can sign up for individual classes -- no contract or membership required -- that are good for people at any fitness level.
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Lawton (Okla.) cornerback and Texas Tech commit Maurice Chandler will miss Lawton's first three games of the season due to a school issue.
"I've got to sit out the first three games due to school related stuff," he said. "It's pretty sad. Pretty depressing. I just want to be out there with my team. Help them and support them and all of that. I just have to cope with it, I guess, keep the support up, keep the motivation up and everything."
Chandler said he is allowed to be on the sideline during games, however.
"I'm going to tell the other corners to have a good time, stay with their keys," he said. "Just go with the flow and do their jobs."
Chandler said his recruitment has cooled because he has demonstrated a lot of interest in Tech.
"Nothing new," he said. "I just talk to Texas Tech a lot and enjoy my conversations with them."
- Graham
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Waco (Texas) Midway wide receiver Hunter Jarmon doesn't have an offer from the Red Raiders, but that could change in the coming weeks.
"They want to offer me but they need to see me play live first because that's one of Coach (Tommy) Tuberville's rules, he likes to see a player live," Jarmon said. "You can look good on film but he wants to get it firsthand and see them in person. They're coming to one of my games and I perform like I Have on film, there's no question I should have an offer."
The opportunity to perform in front of the coaches was, unfortunately, something Jarmon missed out on this summer at Tech's DFW based camp in Rockwall. He said he ending up hurting his back during camp by pulling a muscle and couldn't finish out the wide receiver drills at the camp.
Outside receivers coach Tommy Mainord is Jarmon's main recruiting coordinator. The 6-foot, 190 pound wide receiver says he speaks to Mainord regularly and has grown to enjoy the depth of their conversations.
"We talk about anything and everything. Usually, we just have a conversation as if we were friends, instead of a coach to player relationship, that's what I like a lot about him," Jarmon said. "He treats me as a person instead of the labeled recruit and talks about a lot of other stuff outside of football like what's going on with my life, how's my family, you know, checking up on me. That's what I really appreciate from coach Mainord. He doesn't treat me like a recruit. He treats me like a human being and a person who is concerned and interested in my life."
Aside from his budding relationship with Mainord, the senior wide receiver is excited about the possibilities for him within the Red Raiders offense, something he has been thinking about for a long time. Jarmon says he has been communicating with Tech for a while now.
"I've been getting stuff from Tech since my sophomore year in the mail. They were one of the first schools to show interest in me," he said. "And I love how they pass the ball every other play, basically 70 percent of the time. I love being one of the guys who could catch the ball 130 times a year. I just love how they spread the ball around."
All of Jarmon's official visits are already scheduled out, which include a trip to check out what Tech has to offer. He will also visit Kansas, Minnesota, Iowa State and Oregon State in the fall.
"I did schedule an official visit but Coach Tuberville doesn't want his primary recruits to take visits to Tech during the season because he doesn't really get to meet with them that well since he's focused on the games," Jarmon said about when he will visit Lubbock. "In December, myself and a lot of other recruits will be going to Lubbock to take an official with them then. It's a three day thing Friday, Saturday, Sunday and that's when I'll be taking my last official."
After getting a feel from each campus during his visits, Jarmon expects to make his decision shortly after his trip to Lubbock in December, which is his final visit.
He does not have any favorites but says everyone he will visit is in play and also mentioned interest in Washington State and Oklahoma State, who he thought could offer next.
Jarmon currently holds offers from Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Minnesota, Missouri, New Mexico, North Texas, Oregon State, SMU, Tulsa and Washington State.
- Rosen
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Leander (Texas) quarterback and Tech commit Caleb Woodward has only a handful of games left to play on the offensive side of the ball and he's savoring each one.
"I've matured a lot," Woodward said. "I was an athlete on game days, but I practiced each day as a quarterback. I was behind the district MVP quarterback (Andres Barrera) so I learned a whole lot. I would say I'm a veteran at the quarterback position even though it's my first year at it because I had all that time to practice over the summer and last season. I'm a lot more of a mature quarterback than just a wildcat guy."
Woodward expects a lot of blitzing from Pflugerville Connally this week, which should allow him to demonstrate both his speed and his arm.
"We have a lot of plays where I'm going to read off what they're doing and I'll have a few different options on what we can do each play," Woodward said. "We run a zone-read type offense. Should be pretty good. We've got a good game plan for these guys."
The three-star recruit plans on enjoying playing offense because he'll most likely go to the Red Raider defensive secondary upon arrival in Lubbock.
"I love playing quarterback," Woodward said. "I think playing quarterback I'll have a better idea of what offenses are trying to do on the college level. It's very limited for me now so I have to cherish and take advantage of my last year playing quarterback. I definitely appreciate this time."
New Mexico was recruiting Woodward as a quarterback and Texas State offered Woodward as a two-way athlete but the opportunity to play for Tech was a big deal for the Leander product.
"I'm Facebook messaging (graduate assistant) Jeff Howard more often now," Woodward said. "I just got my letter in the mail that asked me which games I plan on coming up to. I'm going to come out to the UT games and the West Virginia games which are my bye week and a week where we have a televised Thursday game.
"I'm definitely staying in contact with all of them."
Woodward also wants to try to make it to the Texas State game next weekend in San Marcos, Texas.
"I'm going to try," he said. "I have some friends who are being recruited by Texas State so I might come up with one of them. But I'm not sure yet because I don't have a relationship with Texas State."
- Graham
---
Things have slowed down for Manvel (Texas) 2014 tight end Koda Martin over the last month or so. He's been preparing for kickoff on Friday night and keeping in touch with a handful of Big 12 schools.
"I haven't picked up any offers in the last month or so. There's a few schools interested in me that are talking about coming out and watching a game, Texas, Texas A&M, but right now I just have the same offers. I've just been keeping up to date with Arkansas, Baylor, OU, Texas Tech, and I'm planning on going to a few games. I'm not sure which ones."
As many will recall, Tech was one of the first schools to offer Martin over the summer. He had a good camp at Pearland and the Red Raiders would love to add the big man to the 2014 class. It probably helps Tech's case that he has quite a bit of family in the Hub City as well.
"I've just been keeping in touch. They've been encouraging me to commit, but I've still got some time. A lot can change in two years," he said. "(My family) wants me to come where I fit in best. They'd love me to come out to Lubbock, get me a home cooked meal every night from my grandparents, aunt and uncle, and two cousins. That would be nice. I love Texas Tech, but I also love a bunch of other schools. I'm nowhere near where I want to go to school yet."
You can't blame the junior for taking a while to make a decision. He'll see how things play out over the next year and likely make a decision late next summer.
"I'm nowhere near being sure what my decision's going to be yet, but I'm looking to make a decision before next season so I can focus on my senior year."
- McKay
---
We caught up with Mesquite (Texas) Dallas Christian athlete Justis Nelson earlier this week. Nelson, who committed after the Red Raiders July camp in Lubbock, even got to make another trip to the Hub for his sister's graduation. He got to see defensive backs coach John Lovett in action and loved the veteran coach's style.
"He was pretty intense during the scrimmage. Whenever you do something good, he'll let you know you did something good. Whenever you mess up, he'll make sure you fix it. If you don't fix, he'll flip you out and put somebody in that can get it done. He's a pretty good coach. He expects you to be perfect, which is what everybody asks for, and I like that. He keeps the intensity up and interacts with the players. I like that."
That's not the only coach that Nelson has a relationship with. Interestingly enough, Nelson and offensive line coach Chris Thomsen have known each other for two year. The DFW recruit attended an ACU camp as a sophomore when Thomsen was the head coach, and the duo became reacquainted when it was apparent that Tech was interested.
"When he was at ACU, I went to a camp out there and I did pretty well. Ever since then, once he heard I was going to the Tech camp, he started contacting me and talking to me a lot. He's a real good Christian man.," he said. "He's one of those coaches that you can talk to about anything. He makes sure that you feel free to talk to him at any time. He's a real good coach, and I like him a lot."
Many think that Nelson will end up on the defensive side of the ball in the secondary at Tech, but that may not be exactly set in stone. The Red Raiders would like to see how the versatile playmaker performs at both receiver and DB and go from there.
"We're still trying to figure it out because I committed as an athlete. They want to see me both defensively and offensively. At the camp, I went defense. Then I went a couple plays on the offense, and I did good offensively. So, it's just going to end up being wherever I'm needed."
- McKay
---
A few quick tidbits:
* I spoke with Woodland Hills (Calif.) Pierce C.C. outside linebacker Marcus Jenkins-Moore briefly on Wednesday night. It looks like the Red Raiders are now out of the picture, as the JUCO backer isn't planning on taking a visit and seems to have locked in on schools like Kansas, Kansas State, Arizona, and Arizona State.
* At the end of our conversation on Wednesday, Keller (Texas) Timber Creek cornerback Cedric Dale told me that he'd narrowed things to a top five for right now. The schools on that list are UCLA, West Virginia, Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, and Texas Tech. It bodes really well for the Red Raiders that he'll be attending two games this fall: The Tech-West Virginia game in Lubbock, and the Tech-Baylor game at Cowboys Stadium.
- McKay
