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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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The Tech coaches finished their 2014 recruiting round-up travels this week and immediately got back to work on the 2015 class. One of the latest prospects to earn an offer from Tech is Mesquite (Texas) Poteet 2015 athlete DeAndre McNeal.
"Coach (Trey) Haverty told me they were offering me and my jaw hit the ground," McNeal said. "Any school that offers is a dream come true, but I have known Coach Haverty since my freshman year when he was still at TCU. He kept recruiting me when he got to Tech."
"I promise you,every time we talk he tells me that Texas Tech has the most beautiful girls," McNeal said. "We talk about everything, his wife and son, just life in general. He knows that other schools will offer and wants me to make the best decision for football, school and my life in general."
The 6-foot-3, 220-pound athlete plays running back, wide receiver and even some quarterback for Mesquite Poteet.
"Next year will be my first year to start on defense," McNeal said. "My coaches want me to play outside linebacker and safety next season. I like scoring touchdowns, but I also like taking my anger out with my tackling."
McNeal holds offers from Texas Tech, SMU, Colorado State and Arizona State. He is also hearing from coaches at Texas, Oregon, Stanford, USC, UCLA, Ole Miss, Oklahoma, Mississippi State, Florida, South Carolina, FSU, Alabama, Georgia and Auburn.
"Most schools are recruiting me as an athlete right now," he said. "I will probably end up playing offense in college, but most coaches want me to come in and help the team wherever necessary."
The 2015 athlete plans to attend the Texas Tech junior day on Feb. 22.
"Malik and I (teammate, Rivals100 OLB Malik Jefferson) are going out to Lubbock for the junior day on the 22nd," McNeal said. "Everything kind of happened today, Coach Haverty offered me and we setup the junior day visit. My grandpa is able to drive us and we decided today after track practice, Malik's dad might come with us too."
The Mesquite Poteet teammates have been friends since peewee football and have talked about playing together at the next level.
"Me and Malik are like salt and pepper, you can't have one without the other," McNeal said. "We have played together since seventh grade and want to play together in college."
McNeal will attend the Rivals Camp in Dallas on March 8.
-Clare
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The Texas Tech coaching staff is very familiar with the Dallas Skyline football program. The Red Raiders added a very talented safety from Skyline for the 2014 class in Derrick Dixon and have already offered another couple of Skyline players for the 2015 class.
2015 wide receiver Carlos Strickland Jr. received an offer from the Red Raiders last September and still keeps in contact with the Tech coaching staff.
"Texas Tech shows me the most interest and sends me a ton of letters," Strickland Jr. said. "I mostly keep in contact with Coach (Eric) Morris, but I have talked with most of the coaches and met Coach (Kliff) Kingsbury once before.
"They want me out at the outside wide receiver position. Coach Morris said he wants me to stretch the field so they can throw it up to me. We run the exact same scheme here at Skyline, I like going up to get the ball."
The 6-foot-4, 200-pound receiver is ranked as the No. 101 player in the nation on the latest Rivals250 rankings, the ninth best receiver in the nation and the 13th ranked player in the Texas Preseason Top 100.
Strickland currently holds offers from Tech, Illinois, LSU, Oklahoma State, SMU and TCU. He is also receiving interest from coaches at Cal, USC, Washington, Alabama, Stanford and Texas.
"I took an unofficial visit to Oklahoma State recently," he said. "One of my old teammates and friends, Rashaad Samples, plays there. I got to hang out with the guys and they showed me around the facilities.
"I want to setup visits to Texas Tech and LSU later this spring. I wanted to attend some of the junior days, but I'm pretty busy with track right now and can't leave on Saturdays."
What does Strickland think of the opportunity to play wide receiver at Texas Tech?
"Coach Morris told me about some of the guys they have there now and they put up some really big stats this season," Strickland Jr. said. "I want to find the best fit for me, but the type of offense will play a part in my decision because I want to develop myself for the future.
"One of their guys is headed to the NFL and is supposed to be taken in the first round. The coaches told me that I could come in and compete for playing time right away."
The 2015 prospect is running the 400m, 4x4 and 4x2 relays in track this spring. He suffered an injury last year and could not compete with the track team, but was recently clocked in the 4.48-4.5 range in the 40-yard dash.
As mentioned, Strickland's teammate Derrick Dixon recently signed with Texas Tech for the 2014 class and the two have discussed Texas Tech.
"Derrick is a very good defensive back," Strickland Jr. said. "He hits hard, if you are sleeping he will come in and knock you out. We all knew even in practice that he would bring a big hit or strip the ball away if you weren't careful. Derrick has told me a lot about the program at Tech and I would like to play with him again."
Strickland doesn't have any other visits setup at the moment, but he will attend the Rivals Camp on March 8 in Dallas.
-Clare
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I spoke with Cedar Hill (Texas) running back Aca'Cedric (pronounced Ah-kah-Sedrick) Ware for the first time this week. He said that things are going well so far this spring. He's busy with offseason workouts, and he's also been picking up a few offers.
"Things are going great," Ware said. "I'm training, trying to get better, take care of my grades, and looking for new offers. Ever since I got my first offer, everything has been rolling in and these last few weeks I've gotten offers from Iowa, Auburn and I just started talking to Maryland the other day."
The Red Raiders offered him a few weeks ago. He's very interested in Tech's engineering program.
"I've been talking to them a little bit," he said. "They're a good school. I know they have a good engineering program, and that's what I'm trying to major in."
Ware's spoken with a few different Tech coaches already and has enjoyed building that relationship with the Red Raider staff so far.
"The coaches that I've met, they all have great personalities," Ware said. "They were real up front with me. I like those guys. I think the coaches are really respectful and I like how they've approached me. I really like their coaching staff."
He's spoken with head coach Kliff Kingsbury.
"I think Coach is a really cool guy and I like the offense that they run," Ware said. "ButI know they're not really a big running school, so yeah."
As far as visits this spring go, he's not entirely sure where he's going, but he's got a few ideas about where he would like to visit.
"I'm planning on going out to Clemson, Auburn and Iowa so far," he said. "I'm not sure where else right now."
Ware currently holds offers from Texas Tech, Clemson, Iowa, Northwestern, Houston and Florida.
-McKay
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I spoke with Aledo (Texas) athlete Ryan Newsome earlier in the week and I have a few more things from our conversation to add to the RRC this week.
Newsome is actually cousins with former Tech Lady Raiders hoops player Monique Smalls, and the two have talked about Tech quite a bit. He's also spoken with his coaches at Aledo about head coach Kilff Kingsbury.
"She (Monique) was just saying that the coaches --- and she's talked to Kingsbury and the other coaches and stuff like that --- she was saying that the coaches are really, really close with each other and with the players," he said. "They're players coaches. I have a couple of coaches from Aledo that know Coach Kliff and the coaches at Aledo want my best interests. They told me that he's a great coach and a young coach. He's still learning, but at the same time, he's coached some of the best. Case Keenum, Johnny Manziel and things like that, so he knows what he's doing."
Newsome also had a few interesting things to say about what he's heard from college coaches recruiting him about Kingsbury.
"Actually, a lot of coaches that have offered me and stuff like that, they'll be like, 'Man, you don't want a young coach,' and stuff like that," Newsome said. "I don't say anything, but I really do. I just keep quiet and don't say anything and don't let it bother me. If anything, he just relates to me more, so me and Jarrett (Stidham) have been watching things about how he goes about his business and things like that. With this generation, it's honestly hard. The older guys, for them to relate to us, it's a rarity. He's a special kind of coach, man. He really is."
Newsome obviously likes Tech and has quite a few connections with the Red Raiders. Mark up his girlfriend as another one on the pile.
"My girlfriend, she's going to go to Tech, and she's been out there several times," Newsome said. "She said that the campus is very pretty."
-McKay
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We caught up with South Grand Prairie (Texas) 2015 athlete Tony Nicholson earlier this week.
"I talked with Coach (Eric) Morris and he loved my film, said he wanted me to come down for a visit because they are going to be recruiting me," Nicholson said. "I'm going to visit for their junior day on the 22nd with my teammate Jaelan (2015 wide receiver Jaelan Austin).
"I have always liked Texas Tech. Crabtree is my favorite, ever since he made that catch."
Nicholson was offered by Kansas State last night and also holds an offer from Colorado State. He is receiving interest from Tech, Baylor, BYU, Houston, Mississippi State, UNT, UTSA, Tulsa, Ole Miss, Iowa and Indiana.
"I play quarterback in high school, but most programs are recruiting me as a receiver and punt/kickoff return specialist. Baylor wants me to play defensive back, other schools want me to play slot receiver.
"I went to the Baylor junior day a couple of weeks ago and I also went to the UNT junior day last weekend. I like Mississippi State too, just the way they recruit me. The coaches sent my Mom a Valentine's Day card, I thought that was funny."
Nicholson also plans to attend the Rivals Camp in Dallas on March 8.
-Clare
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We caught up with New Orleans Warren Easton Sr. 2015 outside linebacker Arthur McGinnis earlier this week.
The 2015 outside linebacker received an offer from Texas Tech this past Wednesday.
"Coach (Kevin) Curtis told me the coaches all watched my highlight tape and decided to offer," McGinnis said. "We have been in contact for the last year. He came to our spring game last year and they have been talking with me for a while."
McGinnis is ranked as the No. 225 prospect in the latest Rivals250 rankings and is ranked as the 13th outside linebacker in the nation.
"Coach Curtis usually stops by when the coaches are allowed to visit and shows love," McGinnis said. "I'm going to try to get up there for one of their junior days, maybe attend one of the camps. I'm still looking at the schedule right now."
The 6-foot-3, 230-pound linebacker holds offers from Tech, Mississippi State, Tennessee, Texas A&M, UCLA and Ole Miss. He is also receiving interest from LSU, Minnesota, Notre Dame, Michigan, Nebraska, USC and others.
"My conversations with Coach Curtis are different, his focus is on turning football players into men," McGinnis said. "He wasn't just talking about Texas Tech the whole time and some coaches just talk about their school."
McGinnis plans to attend the Rivals Camp in New Orleans on the Feb. 22 and the Texas A&M junior day Feb. 23.
Tech is also recruiting McGinnis' teammate, wide receiver Tyron Johnson, the 40th ranked prospect in the latest Rivals250 rankings and the fifth wide receiver in the nation.
-Clare
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We caught up with Hendrickson (Texas) 2015 cornerback P.J. Mbanasor earlier this week.
The TCU commit received an offer from Texas Tech this past Wednesday. He also holds offers from Notre Dame, OU and Washington State.
"Coach (Eric) Morris offered me today," Mbanasor said earlier this week. "We had talked a while back and he had expressed interest after watching my highlight tape. I'm supposed to speak with Coach (Kliff) Kingsbury later this week to discuss the offer."
Mbanasor is also receiving interest from coaches at Arkansas, Baylor, Clemson, Florida, Georgia, UH, LSU, Ohio State, Michigan, Nebraska and Texas.
"I'm committed to TCU, still willing to listen and hear what other coaches have to say," he said. "At the end of the process, I'm just looking for the best opportunity with the best coaches, best facilities and best education."
The 6-foot-2, 185-pound cornerback expects to continue hearing from the Tech coaches.
"I may try to get up there for a visit, but we didn't discuss a particular date," he said. "I know that Coach Morris plans to come down for our spring game. Tech has a young coaching staff, which can be positive and negative. They can relate to the player, which is a positive, but it can also be a negative due to inexperience. The majority of the Tech coaches did play at Tech and know hands-on what is in store for the players."
Mbanasor plans to attend the Rivals Camp in Houston on March 9.
-Clare
This post was edited on 2/14 9:27 AM by M. Clare
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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The Tech coaches finished their 2014 recruiting round-up travels this week and immediately got back to work on the 2015 class. One of the latest prospects to earn an offer from Tech is Mesquite (Texas) Poteet 2015 athlete DeAndre McNeal.
"Coach (Trey) Haverty told me they were offering me and my jaw hit the ground," McNeal said. "Any school that offers is a dream come true, but I have known Coach Haverty since my freshman year when he was still at TCU. He kept recruiting me when he got to Tech."
"I promise you,every time we talk he tells me that Texas Tech has the most beautiful girls," McNeal said. "We talk about everything, his wife and son, just life in general. He knows that other schools will offer and wants me to make the best decision for football, school and my life in general."
The 6-foot-3, 220-pound athlete plays running back, wide receiver and even some quarterback for Mesquite Poteet.
"Next year will be my first year to start on defense," McNeal said. "My coaches want me to play outside linebacker and safety next season. I like scoring touchdowns, but I also like taking my anger out with my tackling."
McNeal holds offers from Texas Tech, SMU, Colorado State and Arizona State. He is also hearing from coaches at Texas, Oregon, Stanford, USC, UCLA, Ole Miss, Oklahoma, Mississippi State, Florida, South Carolina, FSU, Alabama, Georgia and Auburn.
"Most schools are recruiting me as an athlete right now," he said. "I will probably end up playing offense in college, but most coaches want me to come in and help the team wherever necessary."
The 2015 athlete plans to attend the Texas Tech junior day on Feb. 22.
"Malik and I (teammate, Rivals100 OLB Malik Jefferson) are going out to Lubbock for the junior day on the 22nd," McNeal said. "Everything kind of happened today, Coach Haverty offered me and we setup the junior day visit. My grandpa is able to drive us and we decided today after track practice, Malik's dad might come with us too."
The Mesquite Poteet teammates have been friends since peewee football and have talked about playing together at the next level.
"Me and Malik are like salt and pepper, you can't have one without the other," McNeal said. "We have played together since seventh grade and want to play together in college."
McNeal will attend the Rivals Camp in Dallas on March 8.
-Clare
---
The Texas Tech coaching staff is very familiar with the Dallas Skyline football program. The Red Raiders added a very talented safety from Skyline for the 2014 class in Derrick Dixon and have already offered another couple of Skyline players for the 2015 class.
2015 wide receiver Carlos Strickland Jr. received an offer from the Red Raiders last September and still keeps in contact with the Tech coaching staff.
"Texas Tech shows me the most interest and sends me a ton of letters," Strickland Jr. said. "I mostly keep in contact with Coach (Eric) Morris, but I have talked with most of the coaches and met Coach (Kliff) Kingsbury once before.
"They want me out at the outside wide receiver position. Coach Morris said he wants me to stretch the field so they can throw it up to me. We run the exact same scheme here at Skyline, I like going up to get the ball."
The 6-foot-4, 200-pound receiver is ranked as the No. 101 player in the nation on the latest Rivals250 rankings, the ninth best receiver in the nation and the 13th ranked player in the Texas Preseason Top 100.
Strickland currently holds offers from Tech, Illinois, LSU, Oklahoma State, SMU and TCU. He is also receiving interest from coaches at Cal, USC, Washington, Alabama, Stanford and Texas.
"I took an unofficial visit to Oklahoma State recently," he said. "One of my old teammates and friends, Rashaad Samples, plays there. I got to hang out with the guys and they showed me around the facilities.
"I want to setup visits to Texas Tech and LSU later this spring. I wanted to attend some of the junior days, but I'm pretty busy with track right now and can't leave on Saturdays."
What does Strickland think of the opportunity to play wide receiver at Texas Tech?
"Coach Morris told me about some of the guys they have there now and they put up some really big stats this season," Strickland Jr. said. "I want to find the best fit for me, but the type of offense will play a part in my decision because I want to develop myself for the future.
"One of their guys is headed to the NFL and is supposed to be taken in the first round. The coaches told me that I could come in and compete for playing time right away."
The 2015 prospect is running the 400m, 4x4 and 4x2 relays in track this spring. He suffered an injury last year and could not compete with the track team, but was recently clocked in the 4.48-4.5 range in the 40-yard dash.
As mentioned, Strickland's teammate Derrick Dixon recently signed with Texas Tech for the 2014 class and the two have discussed Texas Tech.
"Derrick is a very good defensive back," Strickland Jr. said. "He hits hard, if you are sleeping he will come in and knock you out. We all knew even in practice that he would bring a big hit or strip the ball away if you weren't careful. Derrick has told me a lot about the program at Tech and I would like to play with him again."
Strickland doesn't have any other visits setup at the moment, but he will attend the Rivals Camp on March 8 in Dallas.
-Clare
---
I spoke with Cedar Hill (Texas) running back Aca'Cedric (pronounced Ah-kah-Sedrick) Ware for the first time this week. He said that things are going well so far this spring. He's busy with offseason workouts, and he's also been picking up a few offers.
"Things are going great," Ware said. "I'm training, trying to get better, take care of my grades, and looking for new offers. Ever since I got my first offer, everything has been rolling in and these last few weeks I've gotten offers from Iowa, Auburn and I just started talking to Maryland the other day."
The Red Raiders offered him a few weeks ago. He's very interested in Tech's engineering program.
"I've been talking to them a little bit," he said. "They're a good school. I know they have a good engineering program, and that's what I'm trying to major in."
Ware's spoken with a few different Tech coaches already and has enjoyed building that relationship with the Red Raider staff so far.
"The coaches that I've met, they all have great personalities," Ware said. "They were real up front with me. I like those guys. I think the coaches are really respectful and I like how they've approached me. I really like their coaching staff."
He's spoken with head coach Kliff Kingsbury.
"I think Coach is a really cool guy and I like the offense that they run," Ware said. "ButI know they're not really a big running school, so yeah."
As far as visits this spring go, he's not entirely sure where he's going, but he's got a few ideas about where he would like to visit.
"I'm planning on going out to Clemson, Auburn and Iowa so far," he said. "I'm not sure where else right now."
Ware currently holds offers from Texas Tech, Clemson, Iowa, Northwestern, Houston and Florida.
-McKay
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I spoke with Aledo (Texas) athlete Ryan Newsome earlier in the week and I have a few more things from our conversation to add to the RRC this week.
Newsome is actually cousins with former Tech Lady Raiders hoops player Monique Smalls, and the two have talked about Tech quite a bit. He's also spoken with his coaches at Aledo about head coach Kilff Kingsbury.
"She (Monique) was just saying that the coaches --- and she's talked to Kingsbury and the other coaches and stuff like that --- she was saying that the coaches are really, really close with each other and with the players," he said. "They're players coaches. I have a couple of coaches from Aledo that know Coach Kliff and the coaches at Aledo want my best interests. They told me that he's a great coach and a young coach. He's still learning, but at the same time, he's coached some of the best. Case Keenum, Johnny Manziel and things like that, so he knows what he's doing."
Newsome also had a few interesting things to say about what he's heard from college coaches recruiting him about Kingsbury.
"Actually, a lot of coaches that have offered me and stuff like that, they'll be like, 'Man, you don't want a young coach,' and stuff like that," Newsome said. "I don't say anything, but I really do. I just keep quiet and don't say anything and don't let it bother me. If anything, he just relates to me more, so me and Jarrett (Stidham) have been watching things about how he goes about his business and things like that. With this generation, it's honestly hard. The older guys, for them to relate to us, it's a rarity. He's a special kind of coach, man. He really is."
Newsome obviously likes Tech and has quite a few connections with the Red Raiders. Mark up his girlfriend as another one on the pile.
"My girlfriend, she's going to go to Tech, and she's been out there several times," Newsome said. "She said that the campus is very pretty."
-McKay
---
We caught up with South Grand Prairie (Texas) 2015 athlete Tony Nicholson earlier this week.
"I talked with Coach (Eric) Morris and he loved my film, said he wanted me to come down for a visit because they are going to be recruiting me," Nicholson said. "I'm going to visit for their junior day on the 22nd with my teammate Jaelan (2015 wide receiver Jaelan Austin).
"I have always liked Texas Tech. Crabtree is my favorite, ever since he made that catch."
Nicholson was offered by Kansas State last night and also holds an offer from Colorado State. He is receiving interest from Tech, Baylor, BYU, Houston, Mississippi State, UNT, UTSA, Tulsa, Ole Miss, Iowa and Indiana.
"I play quarterback in high school, but most programs are recruiting me as a receiver and punt/kickoff return specialist. Baylor wants me to play defensive back, other schools want me to play slot receiver.
"I went to the Baylor junior day a couple of weeks ago and I also went to the UNT junior day last weekend. I like Mississippi State too, just the way they recruit me. The coaches sent my Mom a Valentine's Day card, I thought that was funny."
Nicholson also plans to attend the Rivals Camp in Dallas on March 8.
-Clare
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We caught up with New Orleans Warren Easton Sr. 2015 outside linebacker Arthur McGinnis earlier this week.
The 2015 outside linebacker received an offer from Texas Tech this past Wednesday.
"Coach (Kevin) Curtis told me the coaches all watched my highlight tape and decided to offer," McGinnis said. "We have been in contact for the last year. He came to our spring game last year and they have been talking with me for a while."
McGinnis is ranked as the No. 225 prospect in the latest Rivals250 rankings and is ranked as the 13th outside linebacker in the nation.
"Coach Curtis usually stops by when the coaches are allowed to visit and shows love," McGinnis said. "I'm going to try to get up there for one of their junior days, maybe attend one of the camps. I'm still looking at the schedule right now."
The 6-foot-3, 230-pound linebacker holds offers from Tech, Mississippi State, Tennessee, Texas A&M, UCLA and Ole Miss. He is also receiving interest from LSU, Minnesota, Notre Dame, Michigan, Nebraska, USC and others.
"My conversations with Coach Curtis are different, his focus is on turning football players into men," McGinnis said. "He wasn't just talking about Texas Tech the whole time and some coaches just talk about their school."
McGinnis plans to attend the Rivals Camp in New Orleans on the Feb. 22 and the Texas A&M junior day Feb. 23.
Tech is also recruiting McGinnis' teammate, wide receiver Tyron Johnson, the 40th ranked prospect in the latest Rivals250 rankings and the fifth wide receiver in the nation.
-Clare
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We caught up with Hendrickson (Texas) 2015 cornerback P.J. Mbanasor earlier this week.
The TCU commit received an offer from Texas Tech this past Wednesday. He also holds offers from Notre Dame, OU and Washington State.
"Coach (Eric) Morris offered me today," Mbanasor said earlier this week. "We had talked a while back and he had expressed interest after watching my highlight tape. I'm supposed to speak with Coach (Kliff) Kingsbury later this week to discuss the offer."
Mbanasor is also receiving interest from coaches at Arkansas, Baylor, Clemson, Florida, Georgia, UH, LSU, Ohio State, Michigan, Nebraska and Texas.
"I'm committed to TCU, still willing to listen and hear what other coaches have to say," he said. "At the end of the process, I'm just looking for the best opportunity with the best coaches, best facilities and best education."
The 6-foot-2, 185-pound cornerback expects to continue hearing from the Tech coaches.
"I may try to get up there for a visit, but we didn't discuss a particular date," he said. "I know that Coach Morris plans to come down for our spring game. Tech has a young coaching staff, which can be positive and negative. They can relate to the player, which is a positive, but it can also be a negative due to inexperience. The majority of the Tech coaches did play at Tech and know hands-on what is in store for the players."
Mbanasor plans to attend the Rivals Camp in Houston on March 9.
-Clare
This post was edited on 2/14 9:27 AM by M. Clare
