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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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Bradenton (Fla.) Manatee defensive tackle Derrick Calloway has the potential to excel at the college level that is being coveted by programs nationwide. The four-star prospect holds numerous offers from programs like USC, Arkansas, Ohio State, Florida, Texas A&M among others.
Give credit to running backs coach Chad Scott. Thanks to his efforts with Calloway, Tech currently sits atop all schools nationwide as his No. 1 choice despite the fact that Calloway has never visiting the South Plains.
Throughout my interview with Calloway, it seemed like Coach Scott's name always crept into the conversation regardless of the topic. Calloway flat out acknowledged the relationship he has been building with Scott is the main reason he became interested in Tech.
"I was told from another player that used to play with me that there was a coach that was recruiting him real hard. When he got to that school, the coach barely talked to him. He had never been to that state before and didn't know how the coach would treat him," Calloway explained. "I don't want a coach that's going to recruit me real hard and when I get there act like they don't know me. He (Coach Scott) isn't one of those coaches."
It's fair to say the defensive tackle feels Coach Scott is legit with his promises and interest in his success at the next level. More importantly, Tech appeals to Calloway as a family environment he wouldn't mind being a part of.
"I like a family environment. Like, pretty much a home away from home. That's what I like about coach Scott," he said. "It's a pretty good coaching staff up there and they run a pretty good program. I'm looking forward to meeting with the rest of the staff and checking out the campus."
Calloway says he plans to take an official visit in the fall to check out the campus. If it goes well Tech will obviously be in a solid position to lock up the highly sought after recruit.
Callaway has narrowed down his list to a top three and the Red Raiders currently lead USC and Arkansas for his services.
- Rosen
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New Texas Tech pitching coach Ray Hayward has been the director of scouting for the Miami Marlins for eight seasons and away from coaching players one-on-one so it seems natural to wonder how quickly Hayward can get back to the coaching mode.
To answer that, you have to look at Hayward's drive. He wanted to come back to the college game even though he passed up other job offers prior to head coach Tim Tadlock's invitation to join the Red Raider staff.
"I think the Marlins are happy for him," Tadlock said. "It well known -- It wasn't a given that he'd leave (his home state of Oklahoma), but to add him to our staff and to have him mentor our pitchers is going to be outstanding."
One potential concern is, what does Hayward know about high school recruits that will become college players right now versus guys he was looking at to draft?
"I think his experience from scouting will help us," Tadlock said.
"A lot of times when you step back away from something you're obviously going to be better than you'd think the second time around. He was awfully good his first time around, developed a lot of pitchers. I think the guys will love him."
Tadlock said recruits have been very receptive to being coached by a MLB scout and a pitching coach with his track record of success.
"What do you think?" Tadlock said when asked the question by a reporter about Hayward's draw.
"I think we're going to have a lot of good players," the head coach went on to say. "I think we've got really great coaches that can develop players. What is does for us, guys are going to get better, develop and be taught. They're going to grow in all phases so it should be a good situation for everybody."
- Graham
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Clovis (N.M.) point guard John Dawson watched the the current Red Raider basketball squad play some five-on-five during his visit to campus Monday.
"That was the biggest selling point," he said. "I got to see what they can do and I was impressed with them."
- Graham
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Woodland Hills (Calif.) Pierce C.C. outside linebacker Marcus Jenkins-Moore appears to be one of the Red Raiders top targets at linebacker right now. The OLB will be visiting Kansas mid-September, and that's the only visit that he's planned so far this fall.
"Things are great right now. I just set up a visit to Kansas for September 14th and 15th. I'm gonna go down there, check them out, and see what it feels like," he said. "They've been telling me that I'm their guy and that they want to coach me and come in and try to win a championship."
That likely won't be the only official visit he takes, however. The Cali defender said that he's only planned the KU visit because it happens to fall during his team's bye week. As long as he can find some time this fall, he'll likely pencil in a few more schools, including Tech.
"Slowly but surely, it'll depend on how the season goes. My bye week is early, so that's why I'm taking my visit (to Kansas) in September. Hopefully I'll get some more in during the season as well."
Things seem to have focused in on the recruiting trail for Jenkins-Moore, as he feels that there are only a handful of school's that are really recruiting him right now.
"I'd say Kansas, Kansas State, Arizona and Texas Tech. I was hearing from Rutgers, but I told them that I wasn't going to be playing on the east coast."
It's an interesting situation for the linebacker and Red Raiders. He was obviously teammates with current Tech safety Austin Stewart, and he's heard nothing but good things about Lubbock and the campus from his former JUCO teammate.
"They've got one of my teammates from last year with Austin, so they think that they can get some continuity and if they get me they can help the team get back to where they used to be," he said. "Austin says he likes the fans, and I've heard the campus is (cool), and about how they treat their players. Coach (Tommy) Tuberville is rebuilding and trying to get Texas Tech back to where they used to be."
Jenkins-Moore now has a long standing relationship with the Tech staff. He, like many, many, other recruits, thinks the Red Raiders have one of the best and well liked groups of coaches in the nation. Coaches (Robert) Prunty and (Art) Kaufman are the two guys that stick out most for the Woodland Hills prospect.
"The first guy I met on Tech's staff was Coach Prunty. He's a good guy and seems like a real legit coach on and off the field. I haven't been coached by him, but just talking to him he seems like a good guy. I also met Coach Kaufman. He's a really good guy too."
Tech has been a familiar school for the linebacker for a while. He followed Tech around the time of the height of the Mike Leach era, and he's been a fan of Tech ever since.
"I used to follow Tech when they beat Texas when (Michael) Crabtree scored. I really like Tech. I like Tech. They're rebuilding, and they've got Austin from last year, so I definitely wouldn't mind playing with him again."
As I said earlier, it seems that things are starting to come into focus for Jenkins-Moore. He said there's definitely a group at the top, and he'd like to make a decision sometime in October.
"Well, everything is pretty open for me right now, but I've got Kansas, Kansas State, Arizona, Texas Tech, and Washington State up there," he said. "Hopefully (I'll make a decision) sometime in October so I can focus on the season."
Jenkins-Moore holds offers from Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Arkansas, Arizona, Kansas State, Kansas, and Ole Miss among others.
- McKay
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A new guy for Tech fans to look out for on the defensive line radar is Norwalk (Calif.) Cerritos C.C. defensive tackle Kyle Peko. According to Panther-lair,com, Rivals.com's Pitt team-site, he's currently scheduled to take a visit out to Lubbock in July, and Tech is the only visit that he has scheduled at this point. I think Tech fans should take it as good news that the Red Raiders will get a summer visit, and likely the only one, from Peko. We haven't yet been able to get a hold of the DT, but we'll see if we can get something set up with him over the weekend.
- McKay
This post was edited on 6/28 11:52 PM 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.
---
Bradenton (Fla.) Manatee defensive tackle Derrick Calloway has the potential to excel at the college level that is being coveted by programs nationwide. The four-star prospect holds numerous offers from programs like USC, Arkansas, Ohio State, Florida, Texas A&M among others.
Give credit to running backs coach Chad Scott. Thanks to his efforts with Calloway, Tech currently sits atop all schools nationwide as his No. 1 choice despite the fact that Calloway has never visiting the South Plains.
Throughout my interview with Calloway, it seemed like Coach Scott's name always crept into the conversation regardless of the topic. Calloway flat out acknowledged the relationship he has been building with Scott is the main reason he became interested in Tech.
"I was told from another player that used to play with me that there was a coach that was recruiting him real hard. When he got to that school, the coach barely talked to him. He had never been to that state before and didn't know how the coach would treat him," Calloway explained. "I don't want a coach that's going to recruit me real hard and when I get there act like they don't know me. He (Coach Scott) isn't one of those coaches."
It's fair to say the defensive tackle feels Coach Scott is legit with his promises and interest in his success at the next level. More importantly, Tech appeals to Calloway as a family environment he wouldn't mind being a part of.
"I like a family environment. Like, pretty much a home away from home. That's what I like about coach Scott," he said. "It's a pretty good coaching staff up there and they run a pretty good program. I'm looking forward to meeting with the rest of the staff and checking out the campus."
Calloway says he plans to take an official visit in the fall to check out the campus. If it goes well Tech will obviously be in a solid position to lock up the highly sought after recruit.
Callaway has narrowed down his list to a top three and the Red Raiders currently lead USC and Arkansas for his services.
- Rosen
---
New Texas Tech pitching coach Ray Hayward has been the director of scouting for the Miami Marlins for eight seasons and away from coaching players one-on-one so it seems natural to wonder how quickly Hayward can get back to the coaching mode.
To answer that, you have to look at Hayward's drive. He wanted to come back to the college game even though he passed up other job offers prior to head coach Tim Tadlock's invitation to join the Red Raider staff.
"I think the Marlins are happy for him," Tadlock said. "It well known -- It wasn't a given that he'd leave (his home state of Oklahoma), but to add him to our staff and to have him mentor our pitchers is going to be outstanding."
One potential concern is, what does Hayward know about high school recruits that will become college players right now versus guys he was looking at to draft?
"I think his experience from scouting will help us," Tadlock said.
"A lot of times when you step back away from something you're obviously going to be better than you'd think the second time around. He was awfully good his first time around, developed a lot of pitchers. I think the guys will love him."
Tadlock said recruits have been very receptive to being coached by a MLB scout and a pitching coach with his track record of success.
"What do you think?" Tadlock said when asked the question by a reporter about Hayward's draw.
"I think we're going to have a lot of good players," the head coach went on to say. "I think we've got really great coaches that can develop players. What is does for us, guys are going to get better, develop and be taught. They're going to grow in all phases so it should be a good situation for everybody."
- Graham
---
Clovis (N.M.) point guard John Dawson watched the the current Red Raider basketball squad play some five-on-five during his visit to campus Monday.
"That was the biggest selling point," he said. "I got to see what they can do and I was impressed with them."
- Graham
---
Woodland Hills (Calif.) Pierce C.C. outside linebacker Marcus Jenkins-Moore appears to be one of the Red Raiders top targets at linebacker right now. The OLB will be visiting Kansas mid-September, and that's the only visit that he's planned so far this fall.
"Things are great right now. I just set up a visit to Kansas for September 14th and 15th. I'm gonna go down there, check them out, and see what it feels like," he said. "They've been telling me that I'm their guy and that they want to coach me and come in and try to win a championship."
That likely won't be the only official visit he takes, however. The Cali defender said that he's only planned the KU visit because it happens to fall during his team's bye week. As long as he can find some time this fall, he'll likely pencil in a few more schools, including Tech.
"Slowly but surely, it'll depend on how the season goes. My bye week is early, so that's why I'm taking my visit (to Kansas) in September. Hopefully I'll get some more in during the season as well."
Things seem to have focused in on the recruiting trail for Jenkins-Moore, as he feels that there are only a handful of school's that are really recruiting him right now.
"I'd say Kansas, Kansas State, Arizona and Texas Tech. I was hearing from Rutgers, but I told them that I wasn't going to be playing on the east coast."
It's an interesting situation for the linebacker and Red Raiders. He was obviously teammates with current Tech safety Austin Stewart, and he's heard nothing but good things about Lubbock and the campus from his former JUCO teammate.
"They've got one of my teammates from last year with Austin, so they think that they can get some continuity and if they get me they can help the team get back to where they used to be," he said. "Austin says he likes the fans, and I've heard the campus is (cool), and about how they treat their players. Coach (Tommy) Tuberville is rebuilding and trying to get Texas Tech back to where they used to be."
Jenkins-Moore now has a long standing relationship with the Tech staff. He, like many, many, other recruits, thinks the Red Raiders have one of the best and well liked groups of coaches in the nation. Coaches (Robert) Prunty and (Art) Kaufman are the two guys that stick out most for the Woodland Hills prospect.
"The first guy I met on Tech's staff was Coach Prunty. He's a good guy and seems like a real legit coach on and off the field. I haven't been coached by him, but just talking to him he seems like a good guy. I also met Coach Kaufman. He's a really good guy too."
Tech has been a familiar school for the linebacker for a while. He followed Tech around the time of the height of the Mike Leach era, and he's been a fan of Tech ever since.
"I used to follow Tech when they beat Texas when (Michael) Crabtree scored. I really like Tech. I like Tech. They're rebuilding, and they've got Austin from last year, so I definitely wouldn't mind playing with him again."
As I said earlier, it seems that things are starting to come into focus for Jenkins-Moore. He said there's definitely a group at the top, and he'd like to make a decision sometime in October.
"Well, everything is pretty open for me right now, but I've got Kansas, Kansas State, Arizona, Texas Tech, and Washington State up there," he said. "Hopefully (I'll make a decision) sometime in October so I can focus on the season."
Jenkins-Moore holds offers from Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Arkansas, Arizona, Kansas State, Kansas, and Ole Miss among others.
- McKay
---
A new guy for Tech fans to look out for on the defensive line radar is Norwalk (Calif.) Cerritos C.C. defensive tackle Kyle Peko. According to Panther-lair,com, Rivals.com's Pitt team-site, he's currently scheduled to take a visit out to Lubbock in July, and Tech is the only visit that he has scheduled at this point. I think Tech fans should take it as good news that the Red Raiders will get a summer visit, and likely the only one, from Peko. We haven't yet been able to get a hold of the DT, but we'll see if we can get something set up with him over the weekend.
- McKay
This post was edited on 6/28 11:52 PM by A. Dickens
