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Raiders Staying Active In Tampa
Red Raiders are staying busy in Tampa, Fla., as they have recently offered a
sixth prospect from the area: defensive back
Frankie Williams out of Robinson H.S.
"My newest (offer) is from Texas Tech," he said, "and I'm interested in them a
lot. That brings me to, them, Purdue, Michigan State, Iowa State, N.C. State,
Auburn and Minnesota."
Though the offer is recent, Williams has been in contact with the Texas Tech
coaching staff for several months. He said that has given him some time to
develop a pretty solid relationship with his recruiting coach, Chad Scott.
"Coach Scott, he's cool," Williams said. "I call him about once a week;
sometimes it will be two, but pretty much once a week."
Williams said his conversations with Scott are mostly about life in general, but
one of the football-related talks they have had was about where Williams would
play for Tech.
"Coach Scott said DB," Williams said, "but the defensive coordinator said I
might play wide receiver. I'm debating what I would rather play. The Big 12 does
throw a lot, so I think I would be good either way."
With an ever-increasing offer list, Williams has not yet picked out any
favorites, and says that his commitment status is "wide open." He also said that
he has yet to take any visits or make any plans, but those are in the works.
"As of right now, no I haven't," Williams said. "I don't have visit plans with
any school, but I'm discussing that now."
Backing Off Gaines
It looks like Texas Tech is backing off Irving (Texas) Nimitz athlete
J.J. Gaines. The 5-foot-11, 175-pound prospect told RRS that it has been "a
couple of weeks" since he last spoke with a member of the Red Raider coaching
staff and it looks like he's focusing more on Duke and Iowa State at this point.
Jackson Keeping An Eye On Tech
Corsicana (Texas) Navarro J.C. defensive end
Toby Jackson was in Lubbock last month attending a Texas Tech camp and the
2011 prospect came away impressed with the new staff in place on the South
Plains.
"I went up for their camp and I had a pretty good time up there. I liked what I
saw and the guys I got to meet," Jackson said. "It's a good school and they've
definitely got a good program."
"It's one that I could take another visit to see. They've got a good coaching
staff in place now and I think I might take another visit up there, I just
really haven't decided on much yet. "
Jackson has yet to schedule anything for the fall and is waiting to see what his
options are before deciding on five programs to officially visit.
"I've been talking to some different schools about officials, but I'm not really
sure where I'm headed yet," he said. "I don't really have a list right now
because I'm still waiting to see what offers I might add before I set those."
The 2011 standout already holds offers from Alabama, Georgia, Missouri,
Tennessee and Texas Tech amongst others; he also recently added an offer from
Miami (Fla.). Of all those programs, though, the Red Raiders would seem to have
a leg up in the relationship department thanks to assistant coach Robert Prunty.
"I've known Coach Prunty for a while. He was my prep school coach at Hargrave so
I've got a good bit of history with him," Jackson said. "He's a really good guy.
I've gotten to talk to him quite a bit since he's been at Tech, but I already
knew what kind of guy he was. We've got a good relationship. Coach P is an easy
man to get along with."
Jackson has noticed the change in defensive attitude under defensive coordinator
James Willis. The possibility of early playing time is also something that has
his attention.
"I like where they're going with their defense," he said. "I also like that
they're looking for guys to come in and make an impact early. Being able to come
in and make things happen right away would be huge on that level."
David Taking It Easy
Tech's lone 2012 commitment, Rockdale (Texas) linebacker
Derek David has shifted his focus away from recruiting since giving a pledge
to the Red Raiders last month -- but that hasn't slowed the interest from other
programs.
"Texas has still been on me really hard," David said. "Alabama has been trying
to get me to go there and see their campus. They said that if I did, I would
change my mind (about his commitment). Ohio State still wants to check me out
too. Those three and Texas Tech have been who I've been talking to the most
recently."
David does not expect to pay much attention to the recruiting process until the
end of his junior season.
"I'm probably just going to try and leave all of that alone during football," he
said. "During the season I just want to be concentrating on football. When it
comes time for basketball I'll start checking out things again. I want to do my
best to try and improve on the breakout kind of year I had when I was a
sophomore, so I'm going to need to focus on football only. I want to do my best
and then see where I'm at after that."
The same goes for visits; those appear to be shelved for the time being as well.
"I don't really have any more visits scheduled right now, I don't think I'll
take anymore for a while," David said. "I might have one scheduled for Oklahoma
State on the 25th, but I don't know yet. Like I said, I'm just ready to get back
into football and kind of put all of the other stuff to the side for a while."
Quick Hits
* We checked in with Tampa (Fla.) Jefferson wide receiver
Andre Davis earlier this week and he told us that nothing has changed, he's
still considering the same top seven: Florida State, Kansas, Miami (Fla.),
Rutgers, South Florida, Texas Tech and West Virginia. He has not scheduled any
officials yet because he is waiting to plan it around his high school season.
* Houston (Texas) Klein Forest 2012 quarterback
Matt Davis has listed Auburn and Texas Tech as early co-favorites of the
programs that he has visited so far.
* Corsicana (Texas) Navarro J.C. defensive lineman
Cameron Henderson told RRS that he has recently spoken to Prunty and generally keeps in touch with
most of the Red Raider coaching staff. He has not scheduled any official visits
yet because he is "looking more toward this upcoming season first." Henderson
listed Baylor and Texas Tech as the schools recruiting him the hardest.
To view previous installments of the Red Raider Confidential, you can
visit the archives by
clicking here.
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This post was edited on 7/26 10:22 PM by A. Dickens
