The Red Raider Confidential is sponsored by Cardinal's Sports Center. If you need Texas Tech gear or Under Armour apparel, the best place to go in our opinion is Cardinal's -- they have a tremendous location in Lubbock (Slide and S. Loop 289), a store in Plano and a fantastic selection on their website.
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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Clarksdale (Miss.) Coahoma C.C. defensive tackle Keland McElrath has officially signed his Letter of Intent with the Red Raiders, so it's now only a matter of time until he sets foot on campus. It looks like that will be in less than two weeks.
He's hoping to move in sometime between Jan. 7 and Jan. 10.
"It feels pretty good," he said. "I'm beyond ready. I wish it would hurry up and get here so I can leave. I'm going to be moving in somewhere between the seventh and the 10th."
When he does finally make his way to The LBK, McElrath is looking forward to settling in.
"First off, I want to get a feel of everything around the city, get my apartment organized and things like that," McElrath said. "I'm going to be working towards my degree, working out every day and getting back in shape."
The big D-lineman will also get to participate in spring ball.
"I'm very excited," McElrath said. "I get a chance to come in and show my talent, my nose for finding the ball."
It's a long journey to big time college football for many JUCO players, and it's also a big lifestyle change for those prospects. McElrath said it's definitely crazy to move to a place like Lubbock after living in small town Tennessee and Mississippi for most of his life.
"It was pretty cool coming from a junior college and coming from the part of Tennessee that I'm from," he said. "It was a great experience, going from a small town to a big city. It's been a big eye opener."
That journey to D-I football is finally complete. He's ready for the spotlight and ready to show Tech fans just what he can do.
"Man, it's a dream that I've always dreamed of," McElrath said. "I'm not playing for myself. I'm playing for my family. I've got a brother that always wanted to play D-I ball, so I feel like it's a family oriented thing now that I'm getting to play Big 12 ball."
-McKay
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Oklahoma City's Millwood athlete Cameron Batson was one of only three Tech commits that had a chance to play in a state title game this fall and it looked like Millwood would pick up another championship for their trophy case just a few weeks ago.
Things didn't go as planned, however, as Millwood lost to Davis 36-32 in the 2A Oklahoma state title game last weekend. The Falcons were up 26-7 going into the half, but it quickly turned in the third quarter.
Davis scored 29 points in the second half.
"The state championship, we didn't come out on top," Batson said. "Our linebackers stopped filling the lanes. Davis ran the wishbone. It really just went downhill from there."
A lot of that has to do with Davis' ability to run its offense. It kept Millwood off the field for most of the second half. In fact, the Falcons only scored six points after halftime.
"We only got the ball on offense three times in the second half," Batson said. "We scored once. We punted the ball on the other two possessions."
While it had a disappointing ending, Batson was happy with the season as a whole. They finally made it past the semifinals and into the state championship game to finish the year 14-1.
"Overall it was a great season," he said. "It's unfortunate that we didn't win the game that we wanted to, but it's time to move forward. It hurt a lot working so hard and not accomplishing our goal. We got there, we did what we could, but now I'm just looking forward to Texas Tech."
A big personal award came Batson's way, too. He's been named the Oklahoma Gatorade Player Of the Year in football.
"It means a lot," he said. "I worked all summer all four years of my high school year to be named to such a prestigious award. My teammates -- I have really good teammates that allowed me to make plays and allowed me to be honored and considered for such a big honor in Oklahoma and around the nation."
-McKay
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As we reported Thursday, Highland (Kan.) Community College defensive tackle Marcus Smith believes he will have to stay in junior college for the spring semester rather than enrolling at Tech.
That does not mean Smith will lose his scholarship in favor of a body who can enroll in time for spring ball.
"The chances of me getting in by January is like 30 to 45 percent," Smith said. "I'm not ruling it out right now, but me and the coaching staff are basically leaning toward me coming in May."
The 6-foot-3, 305-pound tackle is still working as if he will qualify by Jan. 15 when spring courses begin in Lubbock. The North Carolina native was in Kansas on Thursday taking online courses in an effort to get to the Big 12 program sooner than later.
"They're all online," he said. "Online courses where you sign up online and pay online. I do them at home and I'm doing them at home online."
There will be one academic distraction, however. It's Monday's National University Holiday Bowl game.
"I'll watch it from pregame to the postgame," Smith said. "I can't wait for it to come on. I'm basically going to watch the overall play. I'm going to watch the defensive line. I'll be looking at what they do live and also be rooting for a couple of players I met down there on my visit."
-Graham
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College of San Mateo (Calif.) defensive tackle Rika Levi was not expected to enroll in time for January courses, but if he was signing in the near future it appears the 6-foot-2, 350-pounder would sign with Kliff Kingsbury's crew.
Washington is the other major school in play, a distant second.
"I like Texas Tech a lot," Levi said. "The other schools that have reached out to me are Kentucky, Alabama, Oregon, U-Dub (Washington)."
Levi was part of the San Mateo trio that recently visited.
Linebacker Sam Atoe chose California and offensive lineman Haniteli Lousi appears settled with Oregon.
"It was a business decision," Levi said. "Both those guys felt those would be the best fits for them. I'm still open for any team. I'm not committed to any school and I'm taking my time to make my decision."
Levi said he still has more visits available and he wants to take up to five before signing.
"I want to make sure I where I'm going is something I can't get from anywhere else," he said. "I went to U-Dub and I went to Tech. I'm not planning on taking a trip to Auburn or Arizona State (which are schools interested but have not offered), but I am planning on taking a trip to Missouri. I'm trying to get more visits, but, if not, I'm fine with Texas Tech."
-Graham
This post was edited on 12/27 7:59 AM by A. Dickens
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.
---
Clarksdale (Miss.) Coahoma C.C. defensive tackle Keland McElrath has officially signed his Letter of Intent with the Red Raiders, so it's now only a matter of time until he sets foot on campus. It looks like that will be in less than two weeks.
He's hoping to move in sometime between Jan. 7 and Jan. 10.
"It feels pretty good," he said. "I'm beyond ready. I wish it would hurry up and get here so I can leave. I'm going to be moving in somewhere between the seventh and the 10th."
When he does finally make his way to The LBK, McElrath is looking forward to settling in.
"First off, I want to get a feel of everything around the city, get my apartment organized and things like that," McElrath said. "I'm going to be working towards my degree, working out every day and getting back in shape."
The big D-lineman will also get to participate in spring ball.
"I'm very excited," McElrath said. "I get a chance to come in and show my talent, my nose for finding the ball."
It's a long journey to big time college football for many JUCO players, and it's also a big lifestyle change for those prospects. McElrath said it's definitely crazy to move to a place like Lubbock after living in small town Tennessee and Mississippi for most of his life.
"It was pretty cool coming from a junior college and coming from the part of Tennessee that I'm from," he said. "It was a great experience, going from a small town to a big city. It's been a big eye opener."
That journey to D-I football is finally complete. He's ready for the spotlight and ready to show Tech fans just what he can do.
"Man, it's a dream that I've always dreamed of," McElrath said. "I'm not playing for myself. I'm playing for my family. I've got a brother that always wanted to play D-I ball, so I feel like it's a family oriented thing now that I'm getting to play Big 12 ball."
-McKay
--
Oklahoma City's Millwood athlete Cameron Batson was one of only three Tech commits that had a chance to play in a state title game this fall and it looked like Millwood would pick up another championship for their trophy case just a few weeks ago.
Things didn't go as planned, however, as Millwood lost to Davis 36-32 in the 2A Oklahoma state title game last weekend. The Falcons were up 26-7 going into the half, but it quickly turned in the third quarter.
Davis scored 29 points in the second half.
"The state championship, we didn't come out on top," Batson said. "Our linebackers stopped filling the lanes. Davis ran the wishbone. It really just went downhill from there."
A lot of that has to do with Davis' ability to run its offense. It kept Millwood off the field for most of the second half. In fact, the Falcons only scored six points after halftime.
"We only got the ball on offense three times in the second half," Batson said. "We scored once. We punted the ball on the other two possessions."
While it had a disappointing ending, Batson was happy with the season as a whole. They finally made it past the semifinals and into the state championship game to finish the year 14-1.
"Overall it was a great season," he said. "It's unfortunate that we didn't win the game that we wanted to, but it's time to move forward. It hurt a lot working so hard and not accomplishing our goal. We got there, we did what we could, but now I'm just looking forward to Texas Tech."
A big personal award came Batson's way, too. He's been named the Oklahoma Gatorade Player Of the Year in football.
"It means a lot," he said. "I worked all summer all four years of my high school year to be named to such a prestigious award. My teammates -- I have really good teammates that allowed me to make plays and allowed me to be honored and considered for such a big honor in Oklahoma and around the nation."
-McKay
--
As we reported Thursday, Highland (Kan.) Community College defensive tackle Marcus Smith believes he will have to stay in junior college for the spring semester rather than enrolling at Tech.
That does not mean Smith will lose his scholarship in favor of a body who can enroll in time for spring ball.
"The chances of me getting in by January is like 30 to 45 percent," Smith said. "I'm not ruling it out right now, but me and the coaching staff are basically leaning toward me coming in May."
The 6-foot-3, 305-pound tackle is still working as if he will qualify by Jan. 15 when spring courses begin in Lubbock. The North Carolina native was in Kansas on Thursday taking online courses in an effort to get to the Big 12 program sooner than later.
"They're all online," he said. "Online courses where you sign up online and pay online. I do them at home and I'm doing them at home online."
There will be one academic distraction, however. It's Monday's National University Holiday Bowl game.
"I'll watch it from pregame to the postgame," Smith said. "I can't wait for it to come on. I'm basically going to watch the overall play. I'm going to watch the defensive line. I'll be looking at what they do live and also be rooting for a couple of players I met down there on my visit."
-Graham
--
College of San Mateo (Calif.) defensive tackle Rika Levi was not expected to enroll in time for January courses, but if he was signing in the near future it appears the 6-foot-2, 350-pounder would sign with Kliff Kingsbury's crew.
Washington is the other major school in play, a distant second.
"I like Texas Tech a lot," Levi said. "The other schools that have reached out to me are Kentucky, Alabama, Oregon, U-Dub (Washington)."
Levi was part of the San Mateo trio that recently visited.
Linebacker Sam Atoe chose California and offensive lineman Haniteli Lousi appears settled with Oregon.
"It was a business decision," Levi said. "Both those guys felt those would be the best fits for them. I'm still open for any team. I'm not committed to any school and I'm taking my time to make my decision."
Levi said he still has more visits available and he wants to take up to five before signing.
"I want to make sure I where I'm going is something I can't get from anywhere else," he said. "I went to U-Dub and I went to Tech. I'm not planning on taking a trip to Auburn or Arizona State (which are schools interested but have not offered), but I am planning on taking a trip to Missouri. I'm trying to get more visits, but, if not, I'm fine with Texas Tech."
-Graham
This post was edited on 12/27 7:59 AM by A. Dickens
