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Green Excited About Tech Visit
Tech will be hosting more than SMU on Labor Day weekend as Clairton (Pa.)
defensive lineman
Desimon Green will be in town on an official visit. The 6-foot-4, 215-pound
standout said the visit has been in the works for a long time, and he has had
his eyes on the Red Raiders from very early on in his recruitment.
"When? Probably like a month ago," Green said. "All along, Tech was in the lead.
They came on strong and I was really liking them, so I was thinking maybe I
should check the school out, and see what's going on."
Green has formed a great relationship with his Texas Tech assistant coach Robert
Prunty.
"I like them. I wouldn't mind going out there and checking it all out," Green
said. "Me and my recruiter are really, really tight. I trust him and everything,
so I just want to go down there and check things out for myself before I make my
decision.
"We never really talk about football. We talk about life and what's going on,
and stuff like that. But we are really tight."
Pennsylvania is not a hop, skip or jump from Texas, and Green knows that. He
said he really wants to see the differences that West Texas has to offer.
"It's Texas, so it's pretty far, but I want to check things out," Green said. "I
want to see the environment and how people act, just all that stuff."
Greens acknowledged that he did not know what would come of the trip to the
South Plains, but he said he feels that Texas Tech is one school that he must
take a look at.
"I will say that Texas Tech is the reason that I haven't made my decision, yet,"
Green said. "I just feel like I've got to check it out."
Pitt is the only other major contender at this point, and Green would likely
have already committed to the Panthers if it weren't for Coach Prunty and the
Red Raiders.
Stay tuned.
Williams Still Being Pursued
The summer break has not brought with it any reprieve from the attention of
programs across the country for Pflugerville (Texas) Hendrickson running back,
and Texas Tech commit,
Kenny Williams. The continued attention seems to be of little significance
to the Rivals250 prospect, as his sights are set on his upcoming senior season
and his future as a Red Raider.
"I've still had some on me pretty hard," he said. "Minnesota, Illinois and UCLA
have been talking to me lately. I've still been getting attention from some
places, but I'm committed to Texas Tech.
"I've pretty much filled my time working out, getting ready for next season. I'm
focusing on the fall while trying to do everything I can to prepare myself for
the next level in the short time I have to do it. I want to become a complete
football player and so that's what my summer has been about."
As part of his efforts to become a complete player, Williams has turned to Texas
Tech running backs Coach Chad Scott for advice; he cites the ability to turn to
someone like Scott as an added bonus to committing early.
"I spoke with Coach Scott about four days ago. We talk about staying focused and
working hard during the break. He makes sure I'm keeping my head on straight,"
Williams said. "We talk about some of the basic plays and things I'll see in our
offense. He just tries to give me as much of an advantage as I can have before I
get there. It's about a lot more than just football, though.
"We've got a good relationship and I know he's looking out for me. It's been
nice, since I committed in March, to know I've got that guy to go to about
anything."
In what has become a common refrain for the majority of Texas Tech's 2011 class,
Williams has also maintained close contact with his fellow commits in the hopes
of forming a bond well in advance of their arrival in West Texas.
"We feel like we have a really unique bond going and it's something that will be
really good for us in the future. We plan on keeping that going and hopefully
getting some other quality guys on board with us," he said. "It's been something
that kind of started out small, but with every new commit we've grown into a
larger group that has already become close this early on. We feel like we're
building a family-based team that's going to be really strong when the time
comes."
The 5-foot-10, 206-pounder has yet to schedule any official visits for the fall.
He plans on taking multiple visits to Lubbock next season, and counts any visits
to another locale as being closer to "sight-seeing."
"I'm pretty sure I'll be there (Lubbock) more than once next fall. There are a
few games I want to get to just to watch, but I want to be around the program as
much as possible for a lot of reasons other than football," Williams said. "I
think I'll probably be take my official visit the weekend of September 18th, for
the UT game. That's going to be a big weekend, I'm looking forward to it."
Williams committed to Texas Tech in late March over offers from Illinois, Iowa,
Iowa State, Kansas State, Louisville, Minnesota, SMU, Tulsa. Vanderbilt and West
Virginia.
Davis Keeping In Touch With Raider Commits
Houston (Texas) Klein Forest 2012 quarterback
Matt Davis attended one of Texas Tech's camps in June, he did more than
spend time with the program's coaching staff and learn more about the team. He
also became fast friends with several of the Red Raiders' 2011 commits.
"I'm still talking to a lot of the commits," he said. "I talk to the Morales
brothers almost every day. I text them and Jace [Amaro] and [Michael] Brewer. We
keep up with each other. I lost Bradley [Marquez]'s number when I got a new
phone, but I will get that. And I talk to Blake [Dees] every once in a while,
too.
"I am definitely building a good relationship with them. When I was at camp, I
wanted to hang out with them and bond with them because they could be my future
teammates."
Davis has already checked out several in-state schools, and will be spending a
week in July looking at some of his out-of-state options.
"In mid-July I will be going to visit Alabama, and while I am there I will spend
one day at Auburn. On my way back to Texas, I am going to pass through Baton
Rouge and visit LSU. So I am going to visit those three in a week's span. I have
family in Austin, so I am going to visit Texas before two-a-days and we are also
going to try to get up to Oklahoma and Oklahoma State."
Prunty Makes Big Impression On Jackson
Desimon Green isn't the only Keystone State defender planning an official visit
to Texas Tech. McKeesport (Pa.) defensive lineman
Branden Jackson has picked up an offer from the Red Raiders and is looking
forward to checking them out in person.
"Coach P (Robert Prunty) was up here recruiting Desimon Green, and while he was
over there, I heard people talking that Tech was coming up here to recruit
Desimon," Jackson said, "So I went and I talked to my coach and I told him that
I didn't have a problem going far. He was asking why I said that and I told him,
'I'm just saying.' He told me that Desimon was getting recruited by Texas Tech
and he said he would see if Tech would come by and check me out. I said I would
like that.
"Coach P came and we spoke and he got my tapes, and he liked it and they ended
up offering me, and just throughout this recruiting process whenever we talk, we
have real good talks. It's not ever much about football. He wants to get to know
me personally, and I do the same with him. We talk about life and how things are
going in general. We touch on football, but it's never solely about football. We
have a lot of one-to-one talks.
"He
is one of the coaches that, whether I was going to go to Texas Tech or not, he
is just one of the coaches I would never want to lose as a friend."
Jackson said he and Green are trying to take their official visits to the South
Plains at the same time, but he is not quite sure when they will be able to make
that happen.
"We have been talking, and we want to try to make the visit down there around
the same time," Jackson said. "I know that our season-opener is Labor Day
weekend and he doesn't have a game that weekend. I feel like he was planning on
making his then, so we would have to reschedule that. If he made his visit then,
then I can't make it with him, but we are trying to come there together so we
can go through that process together."
Texas Tech is holding Jackson's interest for several reasons, but he noted that
the biggest selling point is his relationship with Prunty.
"I know that Tech, from what I see, they are really athletic on defense," he
said. "They are quick, athletic and aggressive, which is the type of style that
I like. I never see their linebackers stuck in the box, they are all able to run
and cover tight ends; they are very versatile and that's the type of player that
I think I am.
"They, honestly, sit on the same level as every other school when it comes to
performance, how good their academics are, and stuff like that, they really
don't sit far away from anyone else. But when it comes to the coaching
standpoint and the bond that you want to build with your position coach, that
kind of puts Texas Tech a little bit above everyone else. "
Jackson said he has always been interested in the Red Raiders, but that interest
has grown since the program began recruiting him.
"I was interested in the school because of the success that Texas Tech has had
through the years. That's what made me want to have my coach send my tape to
them and get them to know who I am," Jackson said, "but Coach P is what makes me
want to be there. He makes me feel as though I am part of the family already,
and I haven't committed anywhere."
Terrell Has Raiders In Top Four
Dominique Terrell, confirmed to Rivals.com last week that his son planned to
officially visit "Texas Tech, UCLA, Miami (Fla.), LSU and probably Tennessee."
We spoke with Terrell on Wednesday and it seems that his son's list has shifted
slightly.
"Texas Tech, LSU, Miami and Tennessee are the four right now," he said. "UCLA is
the fifth."
Red Raider assistant coach Robert Prunty is leading the charge for the Rivals250
prospect, and has him very intrigued with the team's offense.
"He likes the offense," Terrell said. "If he plays on that side of the ball, he
wants to go to Tech and play in the slot. He likes that they get the ball to
everybody. He likes that they spread the ball and likes their offense."
Clearly a long way to go for the four-star prospect, but it looks as if Texas
Tech will get an official visit out of Terrell.
Three Quick Steven Sheffield Quotes
On his first years at Texas Tech:
SS: "I was just, from the get-go, basically me and [Taylor]
Potts battled out when we first got here for third string. That's when Graham
[Harrell] and Chris Todd were here. Me and Potts, we just switched out on scout
team and then every year after that I was just scout team all the way until the
(2009) spring we got to battle it. But mainly the first two years were just
straight scout team and, you know, trying to make the defense better I guess you
can say."
What the last few months have been like:
SS: "It's been different. I'm healthy now, we both are. It's
been good to get back together and throw some with the guys. Just getting the
timing back under us and stuff like that. It's good stuff though, we've
just been flipping on and off. It's going good. Everybody on the team responds
well to both of us and two-a-days is going to be interesting."
On his relationship with Potts:
SS: "Yeah, we're real cordial with each other. We're cool.
We're not best friends or anything like that, but we don't have a problem with
each other at all."
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 7/9 1:44 AM by A. Dickens
