Good morning, happy Friday everyone.
As always, the Friday Flare is brought to you by our friends at Gator's Bayou. Need an adult beverage to round out your week? Head over to the patio at Gator's Bayou and have a few this afternoon.
Later this summer, they will be hosting live music. Check out their website and follow them on social media for more upcoming events.
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WEEKLY CLICKS
...wanted to add a quick list of links from the various stories posted on RRS this week.
LB Jaylan Ford excited to receive Tech offer
Brown building a good relationship with the TTU coaches
Signee Q&A: DE Gilbert Ibeneme
A look at Texas Tech football spring additions
Around the Bases - Big 12 Tournament Edition
The TTU coaches love Bonds' leadership abilities
Riley's unique journey to D1 football
Lufkin WR reacts to new TTU offer
Suitors emerge as Top 75 junior Micah Peavy opens recruitment
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NEW OFFERS
The 'new offers' feature is brief this week, the coaching staff made one new offer this week to Schertz Clemens LB Derrick Lewis II.
The 6-foot-1, 210-pound prospect now holds 12 total offers from programs across the country. He has had a nice run in the month of May with new offers from Texas Tech, Kansas, Oklahoma State, Nebraska, Kansas State and SMU so far.
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WOOTEN NAMES TTU IN HIS TOP 8
Wooten announced his Top 8 schools earlier this week and the Red Raiders made the cut. He immediately added a new offer from Cal the next day, so we will see how that changes anything, if at all.
He has already taken an official visit to SMU and is scheduled to officially visit Lubbock on June 21st - a date that a handful of prospects have mentioned to the RRS staff.
Although he named Tech in his Top 8 and has an official visit scheduled, I get the feeling from both Wooten and the Stafford coaches that his recruitment remains very much open to other schools.
But we all know that, so the coaches are doing what needs be done here and an official visit is scheduled.
So..."get them on campus" is happening, now we wait and see.
----------
PFF COLLEGE FEATURES TTU PLAYERS THIS WEEK
Howard leads the returning edge defenders in the Big 12 with the most QB pressures from last season. If you remember, he received eligibility back earlier in the year and now has two more seasons to play at Texas Tech.
Another note on Howard, a two-star prospect out of high school in 2015, is that he originally committed to North Texas and redshirted his first season in Denton.
He is the exception, not the rule...but sometimes kids develop later in the process.
He is also another example of a West Texas product who is producing for your Red Raiders.
Bowman leads the returning QBs in the Big 12 with the highest adjusted completion percentage, besting fellow true freshman Brock Purdy from ISU and all-world everything golden child Sam Ehlinger from Texas.
This after missing a handful of games with a collapsed lung, which he suffered against West Virginia and then again against Oklahoma only 3-4 weeks later.
A healthy Bowman is huge for the Red Raiders, his accuracy and leadership will mean everything for Coach Yost's offense this fall.
The statement that Matt Wells' biggest recruit or commitment has been keeping Bowman in Lubbock is still true. It will be interesting to see what the true freshman standout does in year two with a clean bill of health.
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TTU MEDIA DEPT. HAVING A WEEK
Follow TechLites on Instagram
We posted about a month or so ago about the new Texas Tech Giphy page with numerous new TTU related .gifs from every sports program, or most of the sports programs.
This week, the TTU media team started by posting about the new TechLites page on Instagram, where the team is posting highlights from various Red Raider sporting events. The page also adds to their daily 'stories' page for quicker viewing, for the young and hip RRS crowd...not sure about the olds.
"100 Days" Campaign
Yesterday marked 100 days until the Red Raiders' first game of the season, and the TTU media team ran a "100 days" campaign that was very impressive.
It is one thing to help the coaching staff tweet pictures, videos and various messages. Same for the current players, but to get former TTU players to tweet out these .gifs was truly impressive and borderline genius.
Not going to post every single one, but here is an example from Michael Crabtree below...
If you follow me, Ben or any of the @staff on social media, then you can find a ton of other examples from Kerry Hyder, Bradley Marquez and several others.
Now, I'm not trying to stir the pot here, but there was one notable former TTU player missing from said campaign yesterday.
Patrick Mahomes is a busy guy, he is a big deal these days and has a lot going on.
....but it has been months, Kingsbury landed on his feet and arguably failed upwards, so it is hard to understand how Mahomes can be the poster child for TTU fans during basketball's March Madness run and attend every game and cheer on the team via social media.
IIRC, Wells and his family met Mahomes during the Final Four and Championship game festivities in Minnesota.
However, nothing as it relates to Texas Tech football from the NFL MVP. No participation in this campaign, nothing.
Leach coached Crabtree, he posted about it.
I don't have sources, I don't know someone 'in the know' here, but it seems pretty obvious that Pat has no interest in even retweeting a "congratulations" from his alma mater.
Again, not making a fuss here, but doesn't that seem weird?
Dale is Mahomes, Wells is the new stepfather...maybe it will just take more time?
----------
KENTUCKY LANDS 5-STAR DT
We have talked a lot about recruiting lately, or the potential of what recruiting could be under a new coaching staff here at Texas Tech.
This caught my attention earlier in the week, because Kentucky - yes Kentucky - just landed the No. 10 overall player in the nation.
And it isn't like this kid is from Kentucky or has ties to Kentucky either, he is from the Detroit area and chose the Wildcats over 30+ other offers including offers from both Alabama and Clemson.
So it can happen, but it doesn't happen over night.
Stoops and his staff have been at Kentucky for six seasons, which included three straight losing seasons and two consecutive 7-6 seasons before finishing 10-3 this past season with a win in the Citrus Bowl over Penn State.
I don't think Tech needs to land 5-star talent, I don't think it needs to happen this summer or even this first year.
...but it can be done friends, it can be done.
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P.J. FLECK COMMENTS ON RECRUITING / DECOMMITS
...story link for full context, not that it helps.
“We have a problem in our society. We don’t have a problem in our program,” Fleck shared on their latest Coaches Caravan stop, according to the Star Tribune.
“I have a rule: You commit to me, you can’t go see another place. Not because I’m insecure. But if you want to be committed, you’re going to be committed. Too many people teach young people to be committed but also one foot in and one foot out. You’ve got to be all in.”
Look, I realize some people will read this and think "damn right, these kids don't understand the meaning of commitment"...but to those people, I would say you are not considering the bigger picture.
Do P.J. Fleck and his staff continue to recruit committed players? (most definitely, yes)
Has P.J. Fleck or one of his assistants ever pressured a kid to commit with the guise of 'spots filling up' well before signing day before? (most definitely, yes)
Did P.J. Fleck get caught cheating on his first wife, mother of his three children? (most definitely, yes)
Sorry, but this approach simply does not work in modern recruiting, especially if you cannot back up the high moral ground of which you speak. This is the old Mack Brown mantra and it worked back in the day.
But now? I think this is silly and sincerely hope it impacts Fleck and Minnesota's ability to recruit in the future.
He flipped Adam Beck late in the process, January of 2017, when he first arrived at Minnesota. Who knows what was said, who knows the angle they took with young Mr. Beck, but clearly it did not stick and now he transferred back to Texas and joined the Red Raiders...his original choice.
So to you P.J. Fleck, I say boooooooooooooooo P.J. Fleck booooooooooooooooo.
Boom, roasted.
----------
GOOD CULVER INTERVIEW WITH SHAMS
Good stuff here, lengthy interview where Culver talks about a ton of subjects headed into the NBA Draft next month.
----------
FINAL FOUR CELEBRATION WARRANTS
Remember when the videos of cars being flipped over and Lime scooters being lit of fire went viral earlier this March after Tech beat Michigan State in the Final Four?
Yeah, that was fun...funny to some.
But while it might have been fun, five people were served warrants and some were arrested this week in connection with the incidents.
----------
CUSA SIGNS DEAL WITH....NFL NETWORK?
Conference USA - so think Rice, UNT and UTSA here in-state - agreed to a deal with the NFL Network earlier this week. No dollar amounts were disclosed, but 10 games will be aired on the channel this upcoming season and that seems like a pretty big deal for these programs.
I mean, I'm not sure where one would have watched a UNT game on TV last season...(?)
----------
LIKE, WHOA
This one is less of a 'whoa', and more of an LOLOLOLOLOL, or maybe BAYLOLOLOLOLOL....
Medcalf, an ESPN radio personality out of the Minnesota area, simply tweeted a question out to the world the other day...
"If you had the power to kick one school out of your favorite team’s league, which team would you choose?"
Please click the link and read through the responses, but for those who don't do Twitter...it is about 50-100 consecutive responses of "Baylor" from a ton of people, no exaggeration.
I laughed, everyone laughed...you will too.
----------
FAST FOOD FUN ON TWITTER
No idea what the original tweet was about, but one of the funniest and most entertaining things on Twitter is fast food chains and restaurants fighting one another.
.....have a great Memorial Day weekend everyone!
As always, the Friday Flare is brought to you by our friends at Gator's Bayou. Need an adult beverage to round out your week? Head over to the patio at Gator's Bayou and have a few this afternoon.
Later this summer, they will be hosting live music. Check out their website and follow them on social media for more upcoming events.
----------
WEEKLY CLICKS
...wanted to add a quick list of links from the various stories posted on RRS this week.
LB Jaylan Ford excited to receive Tech offer
Brown building a good relationship with the TTU coaches
Signee Q&A: DE Gilbert Ibeneme
A look at Texas Tech football spring additions
Around the Bases - Big 12 Tournament Edition
The TTU coaches love Bonds' leadership abilities
Riley's unique journey to D1 football
Lufkin WR reacts to new TTU offer
Suitors emerge as Top 75 junior Micah Peavy opens recruitment
----------
NEW OFFERS
The 'new offers' feature is brief this week, the coaching staff made one new offer this week to Schertz Clemens LB Derrick Lewis II.
The 6-foot-1, 210-pound prospect now holds 12 total offers from programs across the country. He has had a nice run in the month of May with new offers from Texas Tech, Kansas, Oklahoma State, Nebraska, Kansas State and SMU so far.
----------
WOOTEN NAMES TTU IN HIS TOP 8
Wooten announced his Top 8 schools earlier this week and the Red Raiders made the cut. He immediately added a new offer from Cal the next day, so we will see how that changes anything, if at all.
He has already taken an official visit to SMU and is scheduled to officially visit Lubbock on June 21st - a date that a handful of prospects have mentioned to the RRS staff.
Although he named Tech in his Top 8 and has an official visit scheduled, I get the feeling from both Wooten and the Stafford coaches that his recruitment remains very much open to other schools.
But we all know that, so the coaches are doing what needs be done here and an official visit is scheduled.
So..."get them on campus" is happening, now we wait and see.
----------
PFF COLLEGE FEATURES TTU PLAYERS THIS WEEK
Howard leads the returning edge defenders in the Big 12 with the most QB pressures from last season. If you remember, he received eligibility back earlier in the year and now has two more seasons to play at Texas Tech.
Another note on Howard, a two-star prospect out of high school in 2015, is that he originally committed to North Texas and redshirted his first season in Denton.
He is the exception, not the rule...but sometimes kids develop later in the process.
He is also another example of a West Texas product who is producing for your Red Raiders.
Bowman leads the returning QBs in the Big 12 with the highest adjusted completion percentage, besting fellow true freshman Brock Purdy from ISU and all-world everything golden child Sam Ehlinger from Texas.
This after missing a handful of games with a collapsed lung, which he suffered against West Virginia and then again against Oklahoma only 3-4 weeks later.
A healthy Bowman is huge for the Red Raiders, his accuracy and leadership will mean everything for Coach Yost's offense this fall.
The statement that Matt Wells' biggest recruit or commitment has been keeping Bowman in Lubbock is still true. It will be interesting to see what the true freshman standout does in year two with a clean bill of health.
----------
TTU MEDIA DEPT. HAVING A WEEK
Follow TechLites on Instagram
We posted about a month or so ago about the new Texas Tech Giphy page with numerous new TTU related .gifs from every sports program, or most of the sports programs.
This week, the TTU media team started by posting about the new TechLites page on Instagram, where the team is posting highlights from various Red Raider sporting events. The page also adds to their daily 'stories' page for quicker viewing, for the young and hip RRS crowd...not sure about the olds.
"100 Days" Campaign
Yesterday marked 100 days until the Red Raiders' first game of the season, and the TTU media team ran a "100 days" campaign that was very impressive.
It is one thing to help the coaching staff tweet pictures, videos and various messages. Same for the current players, but to get former TTU players to tweet out these .gifs was truly impressive and borderline genius.
Not going to post every single one, but here is an example from Michael Crabtree below...
If you follow me, Ben or any of the @staff on social media, then you can find a ton of other examples from Kerry Hyder, Bradley Marquez and several others.
Now, I'm not trying to stir the pot here, but there was one notable former TTU player missing from said campaign yesterday.
Patrick Mahomes is a busy guy, he is a big deal these days and has a lot going on.
....but it has been months, Kingsbury landed on his feet and arguably failed upwards, so it is hard to understand how Mahomes can be the poster child for TTU fans during basketball's March Madness run and attend every game and cheer on the team via social media.
IIRC, Wells and his family met Mahomes during the Final Four and Championship game festivities in Minnesota.
However, nothing as it relates to Texas Tech football from the NFL MVP. No participation in this campaign, nothing.
Leach coached Crabtree, he posted about it.
I don't have sources, I don't know someone 'in the know' here, but it seems pretty obvious that Pat has no interest in even retweeting a "congratulations" from his alma mater.
Again, not making a fuss here, but doesn't that seem weird?
Dale is Mahomes, Wells is the new stepfather...maybe it will just take more time?
----------
KENTUCKY LANDS 5-STAR DT
We have talked a lot about recruiting lately, or the potential of what recruiting could be under a new coaching staff here at Texas Tech.
This caught my attention earlier in the week, because Kentucky - yes Kentucky - just landed the No. 10 overall player in the nation.
And it isn't like this kid is from Kentucky or has ties to Kentucky either, he is from the Detroit area and chose the Wildcats over 30+ other offers including offers from both Alabama and Clemson.
So it can happen, but it doesn't happen over night.
Stoops and his staff have been at Kentucky for six seasons, which included three straight losing seasons and two consecutive 7-6 seasons before finishing 10-3 this past season with a win in the Citrus Bowl over Penn State.
I don't think Tech needs to land 5-star talent, I don't think it needs to happen this summer or even this first year.
...but it can be done friends, it can be done.
----------
P.J. FLECK COMMENTS ON RECRUITING / DECOMMITS
...story link for full context, not that it helps.
“We have a problem in our society. We don’t have a problem in our program,” Fleck shared on their latest Coaches Caravan stop, according to the Star Tribune.
“I have a rule: You commit to me, you can’t go see another place. Not because I’m insecure. But if you want to be committed, you’re going to be committed. Too many people teach young people to be committed but also one foot in and one foot out. You’ve got to be all in.”
Look, I realize some people will read this and think "damn right, these kids don't understand the meaning of commitment"...but to those people, I would say you are not considering the bigger picture.
Do P.J. Fleck and his staff continue to recruit committed players? (most definitely, yes)
Has P.J. Fleck or one of his assistants ever pressured a kid to commit with the guise of 'spots filling up' well before signing day before? (most definitely, yes)
Did P.J. Fleck get caught cheating on his first wife, mother of his three children? (most definitely, yes)
Sorry, but this approach simply does not work in modern recruiting, especially if you cannot back up the high moral ground of which you speak. This is the old Mack Brown mantra and it worked back in the day.
But now? I think this is silly and sincerely hope it impacts Fleck and Minnesota's ability to recruit in the future.
He flipped Adam Beck late in the process, January of 2017, when he first arrived at Minnesota. Who knows what was said, who knows the angle they took with young Mr. Beck, but clearly it did not stick and now he transferred back to Texas and joined the Red Raiders...his original choice.
So to you P.J. Fleck, I say boooooooooooooooo P.J. Fleck booooooooooooooooo.
Boom, roasted.
----------
GOOD CULVER INTERVIEW WITH SHAMS
Good stuff here, lengthy interview where Culver talks about a ton of subjects headed into the NBA Draft next month.
----------
FINAL FOUR CELEBRATION WARRANTS
Remember when the videos of cars being flipped over and Lime scooters being lit of fire went viral earlier this March after Tech beat Michigan State in the Final Four?
Yeah, that was fun...funny to some.
But while it might have been fun, five people were served warrants and some were arrested this week in connection with the incidents.
----------
CUSA SIGNS DEAL WITH....NFL NETWORK?
Conference USA - so think Rice, UNT and UTSA here in-state - agreed to a deal with the NFL Network earlier this week. No dollar amounts were disclosed, but 10 games will be aired on the channel this upcoming season and that seems like a pretty big deal for these programs.
I mean, I'm not sure where one would have watched a UNT game on TV last season...(?)
----------
LIKE, WHOA
This one is less of a 'whoa', and more of an LOLOLOLOLOL, or maybe BAYLOLOLOLOLOL....
Medcalf, an ESPN radio personality out of the Minnesota area, simply tweeted a question out to the world the other day...
"If you had the power to kick one school out of your favorite team’s league, which team would you choose?"
Please click the link and read through the responses, but for those who don't do Twitter...it is about 50-100 consecutive responses of "Baylor" from a ton of people, no exaggeration.
I laughed, everyone laughed...you will too.
----------
FAST FOOD FUN ON TWITTER
No idea what the original tweet was about, but one of the funniest and most entertaining things on Twitter is fast food chains and restaurants fighting one another.
.....have a great Memorial Day weekend everyone!
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