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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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Despite a minor ankle injury, Texas Tech commit and Houston Bellaire receiver Devin Lauderdale has been a big part of his high school team's success this season.
It's no wonder other teams have not backed off of the Rivals250 prospect.
"It's going pretty good so far," Lauderdale said. "I haven't been fully healthy through the last four games, but I'm averaging over 100 all-purpose yards every game. So that's been good so far. I think I'm doing pretty good."
Lauderdale considers himself a firm commit to the Red Raiders, but West Virginia still has his interest despite some midseason setbacks -- including a big loss in Lubbock two weeks ago.
"West Virginia is a good team," he said. ""That being said, I like Tech the best right now."
Lauderdale's biggest focus right now is simply his high school season.
Bellaire can clinch a playoff berth Saturday despite a 3-4 overall record against Houston's Westbury.
"This game right here can clinch our playoff spot," Lauderdale said. "So I'm pretty sure I'll do my best Saturday at six o'clock. I imagine we'll go far in the playoffs this year after the (41-21 win against Houston's Chavez High School) last week.
"My relationship with (running backs) Coach Chad Scott is good right now and he knows all about how I'm doing."
- Graham
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Tech head men's basketball coach Chris Walker introduced his team to about 500 fans during Thursday's open practice and dropped a few tidbits on each player on the team.
Here they are with exception to forward Jordan Tolbert who is back home to mourn the death of his father with his family:
PG Jamal Williams ? "This is Brooklyn. We call him Brooklyn because he's from Brooklyn, New York. Great kid. Ultra athletic. He and I might have a boxing match because he talks a little bit too much, but he's going to get there. I tell him all the time he's like a super hero. We just have to get you to use your powers for good, not for bad. So he's going to be alright."
PG Daylen Robinson ? "Daylen is a great kid. I love him to death. We're going to get him on the floor and he's going to be an awesome player. Very quick. You guys are really going to get a kick out of this guy."
SG Trency Jackson ? "He's from Jackson, Miss., from the south side, this is Trency Jackson (Looks at Jackson) You guys know I'm going to go after you. This is my once chance and I'm going to say something funny."
PF Kader Tapsoba ? "He didn't play last year because he was injured. But he's doing a great job of really, really picking up the game. Very energetic. He's improved immeasurably through the summer and the year and I'm very proud of him. He soaks everything up like a sponge and doing a great job."
PF Dejan Kravic ? "He's a Canadian via Serbia. Where's coach (Jeremy) Cox at? This is Coach Cox's project. We're toughening him up and making him real, real strong. He's an unbelievably talented player. Kind of like a Vlade Divac type player. He can step out and do a lot of things. He's going to do a couple of great things in Red Raiderland."
PG Ty Nurse ? "You saw him last year and he's a very good shooter. Also from Canada. I love Ty. He's a great kid on and off the court. He represents the program in a great way."
SG Dusty Hannahs ?"He's a good shooter. He was Arkansas' Player of the Year. He's really working hard to pick up everything. He's done a good job from the summer till now and really working hard in the classroom and really working hard on the court trying to pick up things. He's going to get there and be a really good shooter. You guys are all going to be raising your hands when he shoots the ball because every time he shoot I think it's going in, at least."
SG Luke Adams ? "This guy needs no introduction. He's a fan favorite. There's nobody else you can get more out of. He's five-foot-one. How tall are you? There's no one you can get more out of their size and height. You can't measure them by their size, but you can definitely measure their heart. No one has more heart than Luke Adams."
SF Toddrick Gotcher ? "He fought coming back from injury. Hurt his foot last year and didn't play any of the Big 12. He's done a great job in rehabbing. Just so you know, people get hurt and it's really, really tough. It takes a lot of work to get out of rehab. He's come back and done an amazing job."
SF Jaye Crockett ? "One of the leaders of the team. He's improving every single day to be the kind of guy we can depend on. We're trying to get his energy level up. He also fought injury last year. He's in decent health right now. He's doing a much better job in leading this program and I'm proud of him for that."
PG Josh Gray ? "The next guy, I always tease from being from Houston, Texas, (my hometown), but he's really from Lake Charles, La. Very, very talented. Doing a great job of learning the game and really trying to get his composure. He's learning a lot and trying to be a sponge. He's going to be a really exciting and electric player in Lubbock for years to come."
PF Clark Lammert ? "One of the guys I consider one of the leaders of the team. Only one problem. We lost a recruiting battle last year. His brother is playing at Texas so I don't know why we let him back on the team, but we're just going to see what happens. He's a really, really good player. Plays very hard. Gives every ounce of his ability every single day."
PF Aaron Ross ? "The last player, he's Dusty Hannah's little brother, or is it big brother? He's also a former Arkansas Player of the Year the year before Dusty Hannahs. Unfortunately, he has a knee injury. Tore his ACL. He's working very diligently to come back and working very hard academically."
- Graham
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I got in touch with Trinity Valley JUCO offensive lineman Josiah St. John for an update on the basics of his recruiting process. With the TVCC season coming to a disappointing end, the four-star prospect is now free to take official visits and focus on his decision.
St. John will be taking an official visit to Norman, Okla., this weekend to watch the Sooners take on Notre Dame, where he plans to get a little more familiar with their program.
"I know a little about Oklahoma, but I'm going there to see if I can find out a little bit more," he said. "They're one of my top schools right now but I haven't made a visit yet."
He says he may take a visit to Fresno State next weekend as well, but isn't sure if that will pan out. Either way he is likely to be done with official visits after the next couple of weekends.
St. John says he plans to announce his decision in early December. The 6-foot-6, 305-pound lineman says he would like to take another visit to Lubbock to check out a game, but is unsure if that is something he will be able to arrange.
"I want to (take another visit). I want to go to a game. Hopefully I can get up there. I already took my official to Tech, so I'd have to go back up there on an unofficial," St. John explained about the obstacles preventing him from taking another visit. "It's still up in the air. I'm all the way in Athens, Texas, so it's a seven-hour drive. The Tech-Baylor game in Dallas, I might try to go to that one."
Despite not being able to catch the Red Raiders in person, St. John has been keeping track of their season and is impressed with the results thus far.
"I watch the re-runs and I was very, very impressed," he said. "They said before they probably were going to have a big year this year and they seem to be delivering so far. It's definitely pretty good, the fact that they're winning a lot of games now, but it doesn't really change anything (for me)."
For St. John, it has always been about his relationship with the coaching staff, specifically offensive line coach Chris Thomsen.
"I talk to Coach Thomsen often. We talk about time frame and when I'm going to make a decision. He's just talking to me about why I should be a Red Raider," St. John said. "He says I could play right away, that I have enough talent to take care of that. I know they're losing their left tackle after this year, he's gone, and two other linemen who are going to be gone, so there's an opportunity there to go in and play right away."
Baylor is another school where St. John took an official visit and came away pleased with his trip to Waco. He cites his relationship with offensive line coach Randy Clements as the most attractive thing about the Bears.
Current TVCC teammate and Red Raider commit, Dakorey Johnson, has been one of Texas Tech's foremost allies in recruiting St. John to Lubbock.
"We talk often about Tech," he said. "He reminds me all of the time how much fun we had on our visit and we could have that much fun all the time if I go to Tech."
However, his rapport with Johnson is not the only reason St. John would feel comfortable at Tech.
"The coaching staff, I like how they treat their players," St. John said. I like how I'll have the opportunity to play right away. I have a good relationship with some of the players and some of the recruits I came down with."
St. John has a plethora of offers, but seems to be focused on Tech, Baylor, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State for the time being.
- Rosen
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Waco (Texas) Midway 2013 wide receiver Hunter Jarmon is receiving heavy interest from the Red Raiders, although they've yet to offer. Jarmon was originally scheduled to take his only visit, an official, to Tech in early December, however his schedule has opened up and he will take the opportunity to make an unofficial trip to Lubbock on Nov. 11 when Tech takes on the Kansas Jayhawks.
"As I'm up there I'm going to talk to the coaches to see where I basically stand with offering stuff because they've been busy preparing all season for the Big 12 and that's why they haven't been down to Waco to see me in person," Jarmon said. "I'm really the only guy they're recruiting down here at the receiver position. I'm going to talk to them and see what's up to get a better picture of where things stand."
In the meantime, Jarmon continues to stay in touch with Neal Brown and Tommy Mainord, who serves as his main recruiting coordinator.
"Coach Mainord, I talked to him two days ago," Jarmon said. "We were just talking about my last game, my stats and how I did and stuff. Coach Brown, I talked to him a couple of weeks ago. But Coach Mainord and I talk about every two weeks on the phone."
"I told them I was coming down and he said he would talk to me after the game a little bit," Jarmon said. "He said if I get there early enough he would try to talk to me in the recruiting tent."
The Red Raiders are the only school the senior wide receiver is visiting that he does not hold an offer from. Jarmon admits he is very high on Texas Tech and an offer from them would be a game changer for his recruiting process.
"As far as them offering me, it would be really exciting and they would be very high on my list. It would stand tremendously high. I'm real interested in Tech as a university. It will change things a little bit, it will peak my interest a little more," Jarmon said about receiving an offer. "If you don't have that offer, even though stuff can be set in stone, you still have that doubt in mind like do they want me and stuff like that. But, Coach Mainord has made it clear that they do want me, they just need more time and I'm okay with that because I'm not deciding until December or January so I don't have more time. "
Jarmon has visited Minnesota and Kansas already this season and plans other official visits to Oregon State and Washington State. He also holds offers from Iowa State, Missouri, New Mexico, North Texas, SMU and Tulsa.
- Rosen
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Leander (Texas) athlete and quarterback Caleb Woodward is preparing his team for the home stretch and hopefully a long playoff run. Leander is hoping to have the cards fall in their favor over the next few weeks and grab a district championship to go with their playoff berth.
"We're still fighting for a district championship," Woodward said. "If we beat Dripping Springs and then Marble Falls and Cedar Park loses, then we could end up being co-champions and have that number one seed of division one our playoffs. Hopefully we'll be the number one seed."
For a guy like Woodward, and all seniors readying themselves for the playoffs, it's a special feeling to be a leader. The Tech commit is ready to fight for playoff survival, his teammates, and a special legacy at Leander that might make its way into the history books.
The football brotherhood is important to Woodward, and he'll be sad when that special bond ends.
"It's really exciting," he said. "We have a group of guys with a special opportunity to do something that nobody in Leander has never done. It's really exciting to be one of the captains and leaders of the team and to be able to pick up the underclassmen and let them know that us senior are playing for them and trying to leave a legacy for them to carry on. They repay us by working their tails off in practice. It's a really cool brotherhood going into the playoffs. It's kind of sad that cause it's not going to be the same once football's over, so we're just going to fight as hard as we can to keep it going as long as we can."
But Leander football obviously isn't the end of the road for the versatile athlete.
Woodward watched many of his future teammates play a wild game against TCU, and he was excited to see the Red Raiders exercise some demons last Saturday.
"The Tech game was awesome," Woodward said. "It was really frustrating to me how we couldn't run the ball in the first half, but Kenny Williams really came through in the fourth quarter when he broke off that long TD run. It's awesome to see them respond, because in years past they've upset a big team and then come out and lose. They proved a lot of people wrong when they were saying they'd do the same thing again. They've got a special opportunity to shock people against Kansas State this weekend, and I believe they can do it."
Woodward has really taken the attitude of this Tech team to heart. He loves the 'never surrender' mentality of this Red Raider squad, and he's looking forward to becoming a member of the program next year.
"It says a lot," he said. "They accepted a big challenge when they were down, and they weren't afraid to give it all they had when there was a chance that they would lose. It was really exciting to see that, because I'm really excited to be a part of a program like that, and Tech's got a lot of rich tradition of winning and upsetting teams that they shouldn't. It's really cool to see these hard workers, and I'm excited to play with them."
- McKay
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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Despite a minor ankle injury, Texas Tech commit and Houston Bellaire receiver Devin Lauderdale has been a big part of his high school team's success this season.
It's no wonder other teams have not backed off of the Rivals250 prospect.
"It's going pretty good so far," Lauderdale said. "I haven't been fully healthy through the last four games, but I'm averaging over 100 all-purpose yards every game. So that's been good so far. I think I'm doing pretty good."
Lauderdale considers himself a firm commit to the Red Raiders, but West Virginia still has his interest despite some midseason setbacks -- including a big loss in Lubbock two weeks ago.
"West Virginia is a good team," he said. ""That being said, I like Tech the best right now."
Lauderdale's biggest focus right now is simply his high school season.
Bellaire can clinch a playoff berth Saturday despite a 3-4 overall record against Houston's Westbury.
"This game right here can clinch our playoff spot," Lauderdale said. "So I'm pretty sure I'll do my best Saturday at six o'clock. I imagine we'll go far in the playoffs this year after the (41-21 win against Houston's Chavez High School) last week.
"My relationship with (running backs) Coach Chad Scott is good right now and he knows all about how I'm doing."
- Graham
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Tech head men's basketball coach Chris Walker introduced his team to about 500 fans during Thursday's open practice and dropped a few tidbits on each player on the team.
Here they are with exception to forward Jordan Tolbert who is back home to mourn the death of his father with his family:
PG Jamal Williams ? "This is Brooklyn. We call him Brooklyn because he's from Brooklyn, New York. Great kid. Ultra athletic. He and I might have a boxing match because he talks a little bit too much, but he's going to get there. I tell him all the time he's like a super hero. We just have to get you to use your powers for good, not for bad. So he's going to be alright."
PG Daylen Robinson ? "Daylen is a great kid. I love him to death. We're going to get him on the floor and he's going to be an awesome player. Very quick. You guys are really going to get a kick out of this guy."
SG Trency Jackson ? "He's from Jackson, Miss., from the south side, this is Trency Jackson (Looks at Jackson) You guys know I'm going to go after you. This is my once chance and I'm going to say something funny."
PF Kader Tapsoba ? "He didn't play last year because he was injured. But he's doing a great job of really, really picking up the game. Very energetic. He's improved immeasurably through the summer and the year and I'm very proud of him. He soaks everything up like a sponge and doing a great job."
PF Dejan Kravic ? "He's a Canadian via Serbia. Where's coach (Jeremy) Cox at? This is Coach Cox's project. We're toughening him up and making him real, real strong. He's an unbelievably talented player. Kind of like a Vlade Divac type player. He can step out and do a lot of things. He's going to do a couple of great things in Red Raiderland."
PG Ty Nurse ? "You saw him last year and he's a very good shooter. Also from Canada. I love Ty. He's a great kid on and off the court. He represents the program in a great way."
SG Dusty Hannahs ?"He's a good shooter. He was Arkansas' Player of the Year. He's really working hard to pick up everything. He's done a good job from the summer till now and really working hard in the classroom and really working hard on the court trying to pick up things. He's going to get there and be a really good shooter. You guys are all going to be raising your hands when he shoots the ball because every time he shoot I think it's going in, at least."
SG Luke Adams ? "This guy needs no introduction. He's a fan favorite. There's nobody else you can get more out of. He's five-foot-one. How tall are you? There's no one you can get more out of their size and height. You can't measure them by their size, but you can definitely measure their heart. No one has more heart than Luke Adams."
SF Toddrick Gotcher ? "He fought coming back from injury. Hurt his foot last year and didn't play any of the Big 12. He's done a great job in rehabbing. Just so you know, people get hurt and it's really, really tough. It takes a lot of work to get out of rehab. He's come back and done an amazing job."
SF Jaye Crockett ? "One of the leaders of the team. He's improving every single day to be the kind of guy we can depend on. We're trying to get his energy level up. He also fought injury last year. He's in decent health right now. He's doing a much better job in leading this program and I'm proud of him for that."
PG Josh Gray ? "The next guy, I always tease from being from Houston, Texas, (my hometown), but he's really from Lake Charles, La. Very, very talented. Doing a great job of learning the game and really trying to get his composure. He's learning a lot and trying to be a sponge. He's going to be a really exciting and electric player in Lubbock for years to come."
PF Clark Lammert ? "One of the guys I consider one of the leaders of the team. Only one problem. We lost a recruiting battle last year. His brother is playing at Texas so I don't know why we let him back on the team, but we're just going to see what happens. He's a really, really good player. Plays very hard. Gives every ounce of his ability every single day."
PF Aaron Ross ? "The last player, he's Dusty Hannah's little brother, or is it big brother? He's also a former Arkansas Player of the Year the year before Dusty Hannahs. Unfortunately, he has a knee injury. Tore his ACL. He's working very diligently to come back and working very hard academically."
- Graham
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I got in touch with Trinity Valley JUCO offensive lineman Josiah St. John for an update on the basics of his recruiting process. With the TVCC season coming to a disappointing end, the four-star prospect is now free to take official visits and focus on his decision.
St. John will be taking an official visit to Norman, Okla., this weekend to watch the Sooners take on Notre Dame, where he plans to get a little more familiar with their program.
"I know a little about Oklahoma, but I'm going there to see if I can find out a little bit more," he said. "They're one of my top schools right now but I haven't made a visit yet."
He says he may take a visit to Fresno State next weekend as well, but isn't sure if that will pan out. Either way he is likely to be done with official visits after the next couple of weekends.
St. John says he plans to announce his decision in early December. The 6-foot-6, 305-pound lineman says he would like to take another visit to Lubbock to check out a game, but is unsure if that is something he will be able to arrange.
"I want to (take another visit). I want to go to a game. Hopefully I can get up there. I already took my official to Tech, so I'd have to go back up there on an unofficial," St. John explained about the obstacles preventing him from taking another visit. "It's still up in the air. I'm all the way in Athens, Texas, so it's a seven-hour drive. The Tech-Baylor game in Dallas, I might try to go to that one."
Despite not being able to catch the Red Raiders in person, St. John has been keeping track of their season and is impressed with the results thus far.
"I watch the re-runs and I was very, very impressed," he said. "They said before they probably were going to have a big year this year and they seem to be delivering so far. It's definitely pretty good, the fact that they're winning a lot of games now, but it doesn't really change anything (for me)."
For St. John, it has always been about his relationship with the coaching staff, specifically offensive line coach Chris Thomsen.
"I talk to Coach Thomsen often. We talk about time frame and when I'm going to make a decision. He's just talking to me about why I should be a Red Raider," St. John said. "He says I could play right away, that I have enough talent to take care of that. I know they're losing their left tackle after this year, he's gone, and two other linemen who are going to be gone, so there's an opportunity there to go in and play right away."
Baylor is another school where St. John took an official visit and came away pleased with his trip to Waco. He cites his relationship with offensive line coach Randy Clements as the most attractive thing about the Bears.
Current TVCC teammate and Red Raider commit, Dakorey Johnson, has been one of Texas Tech's foremost allies in recruiting St. John to Lubbock.
"We talk often about Tech," he said. "He reminds me all of the time how much fun we had on our visit and we could have that much fun all the time if I go to Tech."
However, his rapport with Johnson is not the only reason St. John would feel comfortable at Tech.
"The coaching staff, I like how they treat their players," St. John said. I like how I'll have the opportunity to play right away. I have a good relationship with some of the players and some of the recruits I came down with."
St. John has a plethora of offers, but seems to be focused on Tech, Baylor, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State for the time being.
- Rosen
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Waco (Texas) Midway 2013 wide receiver Hunter Jarmon is receiving heavy interest from the Red Raiders, although they've yet to offer. Jarmon was originally scheduled to take his only visit, an official, to Tech in early December, however his schedule has opened up and he will take the opportunity to make an unofficial trip to Lubbock on Nov. 11 when Tech takes on the Kansas Jayhawks.
"As I'm up there I'm going to talk to the coaches to see where I basically stand with offering stuff because they've been busy preparing all season for the Big 12 and that's why they haven't been down to Waco to see me in person," Jarmon said. "I'm really the only guy they're recruiting down here at the receiver position. I'm going to talk to them and see what's up to get a better picture of where things stand."
In the meantime, Jarmon continues to stay in touch with Neal Brown and Tommy Mainord, who serves as his main recruiting coordinator.
"Coach Mainord, I talked to him two days ago," Jarmon said. "We were just talking about my last game, my stats and how I did and stuff. Coach Brown, I talked to him a couple of weeks ago. But Coach Mainord and I talk about every two weeks on the phone."
"I told them I was coming down and he said he would talk to me after the game a little bit," Jarmon said. "He said if I get there early enough he would try to talk to me in the recruiting tent."
The Red Raiders are the only school the senior wide receiver is visiting that he does not hold an offer from. Jarmon admits he is very high on Texas Tech and an offer from them would be a game changer for his recruiting process.
"As far as them offering me, it would be really exciting and they would be very high on my list. It would stand tremendously high. I'm real interested in Tech as a university. It will change things a little bit, it will peak my interest a little more," Jarmon said about receiving an offer. "If you don't have that offer, even though stuff can be set in stone, you still have that doubt in mind like do they want me and stuff like that. But, Coach Mainord has made it clear that they do want me, they just need more time and I'm okay with that because I'm not deciding until December or January so I don't have more time. "
Jarmon has visited Minnesota and Kansas already this season and plans other official visits to Oregon State and Washington State. He also holds offers from Iowa State, Missouri, New Mexico, North Texas, SMU and Tulsa.
- Rosen
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Leander (Texas) athlete and quarterback Caleb Woodward is preparing his team for the home stretch and hopefully a long playoff run. Leander is hoping to have the cards fall in their favor over the next few weeks and grab a district championship to go with their playoff berth.
"We're still fighting for a district championship," Woodward said. "If we beat Dripping Springs and then Marble Falls and Cedar Park loses, then we could end up being co-champions and have that number one seed of division one our playoffs. Hopefully we'll be the number one seed."
For a guy like Woodward, and all seniors readying themselves for the playoffs, it's a special feeling to be a leader. The Tech commit is ready to fight for playoff survival, his teammates, and a special legacy at Leander that might make its way into the history books.
The football brotherhood is important to Woodward, and he'll be sad when that special bond ends.
"It's really exciting," he said. "We have a group of guys with a special opportunity to do something that nobody in Leander has never done. It's really exciting to be one of the captains and leaders of the team and to be able to pick up the underclassmen and let them know that us senior are playing for them and trying to leave a legacy for them to carry on. They repay us by working their tails off in practice. It's a really cool brotherhood going into the playoffs. It's kind of sad that cause it's not going to be the same once football's over, so we're just going to fight as hard as we can to keep it going as long as we can."
But Leander football obviously isn't the end of the road for the versatile athlete.
Woodward watched many of his future teammates play a wild game against TCU, and he was excited to see the Red Raiders exercise some demons last Saturday.
"The Tech game was awesome," Woodward said. "It was really frustrating to me how we couldn't run the ball in the first half, but Kenny Williams really came through in the fourth quarter when he broke off that long TD run. It's awesome to see them respond, because in years past they've upset a big team and then come out and lose. They proved a lot of people wrong when they were saying they'd do the same thing again. They've got a special opportunity to shock people against Kansas State this weekend, and I believe they can do it."
Woodward has really taken the attitude of this Tech team to heart. He loves the 'never surrender' mentality of this Red Raider squad, and he's looking forward to becoming a member of the program next year.
"It says a lot," he said. "They accepted a big challenge when they were down, and they weren't afraid to give it all they had when there was a chance that they would lose. It was really exciting to see that, because I'm really excited to be a part of a program like that, and Tech's got a lot of rich tradition of winning and upsetting teams that they shouldn't. It's really cool to see these hard workers, and I'm excited to play with them."
- McKay
