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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One of Tech's several JUCO visitors in Lubbock this weekend is Council Bluffs (Iowa) Iowa Western C.C. offensive tackle Sebastian Tretola.
Tretola will head to West Texas this weekend and make a few more stops over the next month.
"I'm actually headed to Lubbock this weekend, then I go to Oklahoma next weekend and then South Florida is scheduled for December 13th," he said. "Those are the three I've got right now."
For those that may not remember, Tretola was recruited by Tech a bit out of high school. He's been building up a relationship with offensive line coach Lee Hays. The tackle is ready to make another trip out to the LBK.
"Things are good," he said. "Coach Hays is a good coach. I like the vibe he's been bringing when talking to me. I already visited Lubbock out of high school, so I already know about Lubbock, know the visit is going be a great game. They're obviously having a great season, too. I'm definitely ready to get out there and see what's going on with everything. I guess they're unveiling their Lone Survivor uniforms this weekend, so it should definitely be a good time."
Tretola was recruited by Leach's staff in 2009. When the coaching debacle happened, however, he ended up signing with Nevada. Grade issues forced him into the JUCO ranks and he's ready to see how things have changed at Tech over the last few years.
"Obviously, the last time I visited, Leach was there," the tackle said. "It's definitely a whole new ballgame, different environment, different coaches, so I'm looking forward to it like I did before. I've got better questions this time and everything. I'm going to make sure I get all my questions in and don't leave anything out."
Other than his visits to Tech, OU and USF, Tretola may make a trip out to Cincinnati. He has not set a visit date yet, however. Those four schools are even across the top right now. He's hoping to make a decision around the middle of December.
Tretola currently holds offers from Tech, South Florida, Oklahoma, Idaho and Cincinnati among others.
- McKay
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Round Rock (Texas) offensive tackle and Tech commit Robert Castaneda will be making his first trip out to Lubbock this fall]. He's excited to finally see the Red Raiders in action.
"When I found out I was going on Monday, I was pretty excited," he said. "I didn't think I was going to have a chance to see a game out there, and it's crazy out there I've heard. I'm finally going to get to see a game day environment out there. I can't wait."
When he does get out to West Texas on Saturday morning, Castaneda is expecting a great environment with it being the Lone Survivor game and final home game of the season.
"I'm definitely expecting to see those crazy Lubbock fans that everyone keeps talking about, ready to see all the coaches that I haven't gotten to see in person in a while, relax and watch my future teammates play," he said.
He's also ready to see the coaching staff again. He hasn't seen most of the coaching staff since hitting up the New Braunfels satellite camp in June.
"I'm especially looking forward to seeing Coach Morris, my recruiting coach, and I haven't seen him since he came out to see Justin Murphy and me play each other," Castaneda said. "I'm looking forward to hanging out with him and I'm also looking forward to seeing Coach Kingsbury again. I haven't gotten to see him in a long time."
Castaneda won't be alone. He's bringing teammate and wide receiver Keyon Dilosa with him on the trip.
"They've been looking at him a lot and apparently it's going pretty good with him so they're going to let him come up there and meet the coaches," Castaneda said.
The big tackle was actually the person to send the Tech staff some highlight tapes of Dilosa, and the coaches have liked what they've seen. There are obviously some numbers issues, seeing as Tech's completely full at receiver right now.
"I sent the coaches his highlight tape and they said he really impressed them," Castaneda said. "The only thing is that they've already got five wide receiver commits right now. They really like him. They just never knew about him and they hope that somehow it might be able to work out."
-McKay
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Another commit heading to Lubbock is Clarksdale (Texas) Coahoma C.C defensive tackle Keland McElrath. He's never made a trip out to Texas before, so he's looking forward to getting out to Tech this weekend.
"I'm pretty excited to finally get out there to see it," he said. "I really want to see if it's a place I feel l can bring my family to. I want to see if it's a good environment. I'm also pretty excited to get to hang out with the coaches. They sound pretty excited to get me out there."
When he gets to the game on Saturday, he'll be looking at the defensive line for most of the afternoon. He's built up a great relationship with John Scott Jr., and he wants to see his unit perform well on Saturday.
"I'm really going to be looking at how the defensive line plays and how Coach Scott coaches the defensive line," he said. "We've been getting pretty close. I feel like he's a pretty good coach, and I know he wants the best players, and I want to be coached by the best."
The biggest problem along Tech's D-line this year has been size. That's something that McElrath brings to the table. He's ready to get to Lubbock and contribute to the Red Raider defense, and he's looking to be a versatile piece.
"They seem pretty small," he said. "A person my size with the ability that I have, I'm just trying to come in and help them out. I'm going to play the end at the five technique and maybe drop to that outside linebacker spot from the end."
He's also looking forward to seeing how the fans get things going at The Jones on Saturday morning.
"I'm really looking forward to watching a big game," McElrath said, "see the atmosphere out there on the field and see how live it gets."
- McKay
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Alex Foster, Robert Turner and Randy Onwuasor were recruits not too long ago.
The trio will play their first real game as Red Raiders tonight in the season-opener against Houston Baptist at 7 p.m.
Head coach Tubby Smith broke down where the three players stand for us.
"In Rob's situation, one of the issues is we need to get him under control because he's looking to attack offensively," Smith said. "He's capable of scoring points, but he's a point guard and we need him to get everybody the ball. I think he's going to have to control his aggressiveness because he has a tendency to be overly aggressive and that can get you in foul trouble with hand-checking being closely guarded.
"Otherwise, he's got good balance. I like the way he plays."
Smith says Onwuasor is just very raw.
"His weakness is he is a freshman," Smith said. "He's still learning how to compete at this level and how hard he has to work. He's working hard, don't get me wrong. He came in with a good body. He's physically capable of stepping in and contributing Randy, I love his instincts as a perimeter player and point guard. He has an ability to take you off the dribble, he can break you down, penetrate, find the glass and get people open."
Smith said Foster had the longest way to go this summer and got there.
"Alex came in probably the most out of shape," Smith said. "Body fat it down. He's probably made the biggest improvement of any player I've seen in a long time. He's stepping up in practice. He's got to continue improving his free throw shooting. Although he air balled one by two feet the other night, he made three in a row after that.
"He's skilled. He's a good rebounder. Very tough post defender, that's his strength. His weakness is he hasn't been in the wars, as a freshman."
- Graham
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.
---
One of Tech's several JUCO visitors in Lubbock this weekend is Council Bluffs (Iowa) Iowa Western C.C. offensive tackle Sebastian Tretola.
Tretola will head to West Texas this weekend and make a few more stops over the next month.
"I'm actually headed to Lubbock this weekend, then I go to Oklahoma next weekend and then South Florida is scheduled for December 13th," he said. "Those are the three I've got right now."
For those that may not remember, Tretola was recruited by Tech a bit out of high school. He's been building up a relationship with offensive line coach Lee Hays. The tackle is ready to make another trip out to the LBK.
"Things are good," he said. "Coach Hays is a good coach. I like the vibe he's been bringing when talking to me. I already visited Lubbock out of high school, so I already know about Lubbock, know the visit is going be a great game. They're obviously having a great season, too. I'm definitely ready to get out there and see what's going on with everything. I guess they're unveiling their Lone Survivor uniforms this weekend, so it should definitely be a good time."
Tretola was recruited by Leach's staff in 2009. When the coaching debacle happened, however, he ended up signing with Nevada. Grade issues forced him into the JUCO ranks and he's ready to see how things have changed at Tech over the last few years.
"Obviously, the last time I visited, Leach was there," the tackle said. "It's definitely a whole new ballgame, different environment, different coaches, so I'm looking forward to it like I did before. I've got better questions this time and everything. I'm going to make sure I get all my questions in and don't leave anything out."
Other than his visits to Tech, OU and USF, Tretola may make a trip out to Cincinnati. He has not set a visit date yet, however. Those four schools are even across the top right now. He's hoping to make a decision around the middle of December.
Tretola currently holds offers from Tech, South Florida, Oklahoma, Idaho and Cincinnati among others.
- McKay
--
Round Rock (Texas) offensive tackle and Tech commit Robert Castaneda will be making his first trip out to Lubbock this fall]. He's excited to finally see the Red Raiders in action.
"When I found out I was going on Monday, I was pretty excited," he said. "I didn't think I was going to have a chance to see a game out there, and it's crazy out there I've heard. I'm finally going to get to see a game day environment out there. I can't wait."
When he does get out to West Texas on Saturday morning, Castaneda is expecting a great environment with it being the Lone Survivor game and final home game of the season.
"I'm definitely expecting to see those crazy Lubbock fans that everyone keeps talking about, ready to see all the coaches that I haven't gotten to see in person in a while, relax and watch my future teammates play," he said.
He's also ready to see the coaching staff again. He hasn't seen most of the coaching staff since hitting up the New Braunfels satellite camp in June.
"I'm especially looking forward to seeing Coach Morris, my recruiting coach, and I haven't seen him since he came out to see Justin Murphy and me play each other," Castaneda said. "I'm looking forward to hanging out with him and I'm also looking forward to seeing Coach Kingsbury again. I haven't gotten to see him in a long time."
Castaneda won't be alone. He's bringing teammate and wide receiver Keyon Dilosa with him on the trip.
"They've been looking at him a lot and apparently it's going pretty good with him so they're going to let him come up there and meet the coaches," Castaneda said.
The big tackle was actually the person to send the Tech staff some highlight tapes of Dilosa, and the coaches have liked what they've seen. There are obviously some numbers issues, seeing as Tech's completely full at receiver right now.
"I sent the coaches his highlight tape and they said he really impressed them," Castaneda said. "The only thing is that they've already got five wide receiver commits right now. They really like him. They just never knew about him and they hope that somehow it might be able to work out."
-McKay
--
Another commit heading to Lubbock is Clarksdale (Texas) Coahoma C.C defensive tackle Keland McElrath. He's never made a trip out to Texas before, so he's looking forward to getting out to Tech this weekend.
"I'm pretty excited to finally get out there to see it," he said. "I really want to see if it's a place I feel l can bring my family to. I want to see if it's a good environment. I'm also pretty excited to get to hang out with the coaches. They sound pretty excited to get me out there."
When he gets to the game on Saturday, he'll be looking at the defensive line for most of the afternoon. He's built up a great relationship with John Scott Jr., and he wants to see his unit perform well on Saturday.
"I'm really going to be looking at how the defensive line plays and how Coach Scott coaches the defensive line," he said. "We've been getting pretty close. I feel like he's a pretty good coach, and I know he wants the best players, and I want to be coached by the best."
The biggest problem along Tech's D-line this year has been size. That's something that McElrath brings to the table. He's ready to get to Lubbock and contribute to the Red Raider defense, and he's looking to be a versatile piece.
"They seem pretty small," he said. "A person my size with the ability that I have, I'm just trying to come in and help them out. I'm going to play the end at the five technique and maybe drop to that outside linebacker spot from the end."
He's also looking forward to seeing how the fans get things going at The Jones on Saturday morning.
"I'm really looking forward to watching a big game," McElrath said, "see the atmosphere out there on the field and see how live it gets."
- McKay
--
Alex Foster, Robert Turner and Randy Onwuasor were recruits not too long ago.
The trio will play their first real game as Red Raiders tonight in the season-opener against Houston Baptist at 7 p.m.
Head coach Tubby Smith broke down where the three players stand for us.
"In Rob's situation, one of the issues is we need to get him under control because he's looking to attack offensively," Smith said. "He's capable of scoring points, but he's a point guard and we need him to get everybody the ball. I think he's going to have to control his aggressiveness because he has a tendency to be overly aggressive and that can get you in foul trouble with hand-checking being closely guarded.
"Otherwise, he's got good balance. I like the way he plays."
Smith says Onwuasor is just very raw.
"His weakness is he is a freshman," Smith said. "He's still learning how to compete at this level and how hard he has to work. He's working hard, don't get me wrong. He came in with a good body. He's physically capable of stepping in and contributing Randy, I love his instincts as a perimeter player and point guard. He has an ability to take you off the dribble, he can break you down, penetrate, find the glass and get people open."
Smith said Foster had the longest way to go this summer and got there.
"Alex came in probably the most out of shape," Smith said. "Body fat it down. He's probably made the biggest improvement of any player I've seen in a long time. He's stepping up in practice. He's got to continue improving his free throw shooting. Although he air balled one by two feet the other night, he made three in a row after that.
"He's skilled. He's a good rebounder. Very tough post defender, that's his strength. His weakness is he hasn't been in the wars, as a freshman."
- Graham
