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.
----------
WEEKLY CLICKS
...a quick list of links from the various stories posted on RRS this week.
What kind of player is Texas Tech getting in Joel Ntambwe?
Oklahoma athlete Jeff Roberson "super excited" about Texas Tech offer
RRS Q&A: Former TTU DB Vaughnte Dorsey
New 2020 Offer Q&A: Nate Floyd
Around the Bases - NCAA Regional Edition
Frank talks TTU offer, summer visit
----------
THE BRU MCCOY SAGA AT TEXAS
Getting a 5-star prospect and consensus all-american, top 10 talent to commit is great.
Getting that same 5-star prospect onto campus as an early enrollee is greater than great.
Getting to re-recruit the same 5-star and consensus all-american, top 10 talent to "stay" after one semester with your program...priceless.
That is the very high-level story of what is occurring in Austin as 5-star athlete Bru McCoy has completed his first semester at Texas, and is now reportedly seeking a transfer to play back in his home state of California for USC....wait for it...the school he originally committed to and signed with last December.
Now hear me out, I will always advocate for the kids and try to think of these situations from multiple angles before making any judgements or forming any opinions.
The more I thought of this whole situation, I tend to blame what modern recruiting has become and the massive amount of attention/coverage these highly rated recruits receive for 2-3+ years. If a young man is this highly rated - national top 10 prospect - then the odds are Bru McCoy started receiving offers over 3 years ago.
A quick search shows Oregon offered young Bru as a freshman, then several other offers came during his sophomore season...he ended with 25 total offers.
That means 3+ years of interviews, camp invites, campus visits and most importantly the 'clout' or the tweets from said interviews, camps, 7v7, visits, etc/etc.
The transfer portal in college football is still new, but it seems like the free agency of college football is here to stay. Coaching change? That is a waiver, no need to sit. Need to move closer to family? That is a waiver, no need to sit. The list goes on and on, and there is plenty of precedent already in year one to support these claims.
So after thinking about it for a few days, no I don't blame Bru McCoy for the latest drama in what has been a drama-filled recruitment the entire time.
Is it normal? No. I sincerely hope it does not become normal, but it is hard to blame a 18 year-old kid for trying to follow his heart. A ton of kids transfer after one semester, after one year on campus. Things change and that is no different for athletes, regardless of ranking or perceived value of said athlete.
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NEW OFFERS
Jeff Roberson - ATH
Ben spoke with Roberson earlier in the week - story link above - about the offer from Tech. The two-star prospect now holds 15 total offers, including new offers from Texas Tech and Oklahoma State this week. He has now announced 10 new offers in the month of May alone.
The offer from Oklahoma State could loom large for a kid from Choctaw, but time will tell. Roberson mentions a visit to Texas Tech this summer, and it sounds like several other schools are close to offering the 6-foot-2, 215-pound athlete.
Tech sees him as an inside linebacker at the next level.
Mason Chambers - S
The three-star safety prospect now holds 20 total offers from programs across the country, including a few Ivy League programs. The Texas Tech coaches recently offered his teammate, LB Derrick Lewis II. The two both mentioned a possible visit to Lubbock over the summer.
Je'Vaun Dabon - S
Currently unrated, the 6-foot-2, 182-pound safety prospect holds 15 total offers from programs across the country. Texas Tech joins Houston, Abilene Christian, Houston Baptist, North Texas, Texas Southern, UTSA and Texas State in the group of in-state offers for Dabon.
In the past week, he added his first Big 12 offer from Tech and his first SEC offer from Missouri.
-----------
JUNE IS HERE...ALMOST
Ok, ok...so today is still technically May, but next week starts the month of June and what should be a big month for Texas Tech recruiting.
We have mentioned the weekend of June 21st as a big official visitor weekend. The team and I are still working to confirm visitors, but we are hearing as many as 15 official visitors will be in Lubbock for this particular weekend.
The program holds two verbal commitments for the 2020 class - QB/ATH Donovan Smith and OL Caleb Rogers.
The coaches have a running total of 128 offers out to 2020 prospects...
I think it is fair to mention, a certain percentage of the 128 number has to be allocated to offers made by the previous coaching staff...but for high-level overview purposes, let's just use the recorded offers for the 2020 class.
QB - 7
Smith is the quarterback for this 2020 class, so not much else to cover here in terms of additional targets/options at the moment.
RB - 12
The group of a dozen running back offers includes some 'not going to happen', some 'top target' types and a few 'new' offers from the past two weeks.
Tahj Boyd is visiting campus again next week.
Stacy Sneed remains a top target and could officially visit later in June.
Brown, Eldridge and Taylor are all offers made in the past month or so...and each have mentioned a potential to Lubbock over the summer.
The coaches are not done targeting additional 2020 prospects at RB either, earlier today, North Shore running back/athlete John Gentry mentioned that he has FaceTime conversations with Tech running backs coach DeAndre Smith.
WR - 24
Still a little early to say who the 'top' targets are within this group of offers, but here is my best take at the moment...
Loic Fouonji - a four-star, West TX talent
Daniel Jackson - Cibolo Steele product, that alone makes me think a visit is inevitable
Ja'Lynn Polk - lists TTU in his Top 4 programs, more on this below
Devin Price - son of A&M DL coach Terry Price, four-star prospect who was recently offered
Dylan Robinson - a fast-rising WR prospect this spring
Jay Wilkerson - a longtime target, Wells & Co. picked up where the previous staff left off
J.J. Sparkman - another East TX target, another tall/long prospect for the outside
TE - 3
The other offers at tight end, including a few targets listed as 'athletes', have already committed to other programs.
But that is okay, the Texas Tech coaches are going after Conyers as their primary TE target in the 2020 class. The four-star prospect named Texas Tech in his Top 6 last Friday along with LSU, Georgia, Oklahoma, Ohio State and Arizona State.
He recapped why Tech made the cut and is currently on a road trip for visits to Ohio State, Georgia, LSU and potentially Arizona State later in the week or early next week.
Another visit to Tech is on deck, and I ultimately think the proximity to home and family creates a Tech vs. Oklahoma battle towards the end.
OL - 17
Caleb Rogers is committed.
A few top targets...
Tyler Bailey - planning another unofficial visit to Lubbock in June
Calib Perez - officially visiting later in June
Cedric Melton - planning another visit to campus for this summer
A few of the newer offers on the OL - Tobias Braun, Casey Collier, Larry Moore - are other prospects that could be scheduling visits to campus over the summer.
DT - 3
Nwankwo named Texas Tech in his Top 5 earlier this week, more on this below.
There are a few other DE offers that will most likely slide inside and play DT, but for now it looks like Nwankwo is the primary target with a few others on the radar.
DE - 10
Goram-Welch will visit Tech later in the month of June.
Wooten is scheduled to officially visit on June 21st.
LB Moore is another West TX standout, who is planning a summer visit to campus
The coaches recently offered Maceal Afaese, a prospect from Hawaii. We need to speak with him to see if there are any official visit plans for this summer or later in the fall.
OLB - 4
Jaylan Ford and Jabar Triplett Jr. are newer offers from this spring, and both are potential visitors for the month of June or later this summer.
ILB - 3
The coaches continued to pursue Corey Flagg Jr. from North Shore, but it seems the mutual interest has weakened over the spring. The Red Raiders have not been mentioned in recent interviews with Flagg Jr., but time will tell where things stand.
Lewis II is one of the latest offers and could be visiting campus later in June.
CB - 18
Frank, Gamble, Muhammad, Black and Gonzalez are some of the top 2020 targets at corner.
S - 13
Bonds, Chambers and Dabon are all newer offers from this month. All three have mentioned a summer visit to campus.
*keep in mind, it sounds like the staff is recruiting all of these CB and S prospects as interchangeable pieces - meaning they would play corner, nickel, safety on different plays...no set positions.
ATH - 14
Quinshone Bright was supposed to commit to Texas Tech last week, but the standout receiver prospect delayed the decision and will wait for a decision.
Abner Dubar is a former commitment, targeted as a safety or defensive back at the next level. Tech is not 'out' of things with Dubar, but it isn't often that a prospect decommits and recommits to the same program...but who knows?
Nate Floyd is a new defensive back target, see linked update above.
Herbert Gums is a OLB/DE offer who recently added an offer from LSU. He could be a prospect that visits campus this summer.
Kobee Minor is a defensive back offer who will officially visit campus later in June.
Myles Price is an inside receiver target from The Colony, same program as a few other Tech targets in the 2020 class.
Jeff Roberson is mentioned above, a linked story and details on him as a new offer from this past week. The coaches are recruiting him as an inside linebacker prospect.
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DO TEXAS COLLEGES OFFER TEXAS PROSPECTS??? - A STUDY
We covered the Bru McCoy situation earlier, a nationally ranked kid from California.
This topic created a dialogue around the numbers behind the total amount of offers to Texas prospects from both the Longhorns and Aggies, and the results did not reflect well for them...
Then a few days later, another nationally ranked recruit - North Shore RB Zach Evans - left both the Longhorns and Aggies off of his Top 5 list of schools...which included all out-of-state programs.
It prompted a few current players to post things along the lines of..."the best players in Texas should stay in the state of Texas"
Our very own @B. Golan jumped in with some math of his own, look at the brain on Ben...
"#WreckEm has offered 128 prospects, 101 of them in-state recruits (79%)"
...but for those worried about the new staff's ability to recruit the state of Texas, whammy amirite?
101 of 128 offers are to prospects from the Lone Star state, 79% of the 2020 offers.
Matt Wells and his staff are on the road building relationships, evaluating the state for additional targets and putting an emphasis on recruiting the state predominantly.
----------
TECH ON "TOP" LISTS THIS WEEK
Tech offered the three-star prospect in late April, and Polk definitely seems interested in the offer...even shouting out former Lufkin receiver and Texas Tech standout Keke Coutee when announcing his offer.
We expect Polk to visit campus in the month of June, and the Red Raiders have a lot of ground to makeup on Arkansas and Baylor here.
Nwankwo committed to Houston very early on in his recruitment, sometime last year under the former UH staff. He reopened his recruitment during the staff change and now lists a Top 5 of programs - Texas Tech, Houston, Arkansas, LSU and Louisiana Lafayette.
The three-star prospect seems high on LSU and Houston, but a visit this summer could help the Red Raider gain ground with Nwankwo.
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ART BRILES HIRED AT MOUNT VERNON
There is already a thread with multiple pages on the entire story, a pathetic news dump late on a Friday evening on a holiday weekend.
So it isn't my plan to revisit the story, but the bottom line is that Art Briles now coaches football in Texas again.
A 63 year-old man who has received multiple opportunities in the coaching world up to this point, culminating a few years ago at Baylor where he helped the Bears out of the basement, winning a few Big 12 titles in the process.
Nobody can deny the success, but nobody can deny the mess either.
He does not deserve this opportunity. I don't care to discuss what happened at Baylor, but we can all agree it was some awful horrible and unforgivable stuff.
My issue is that there are a ton of young TXHSFB coaches grinding their way along, making next to nothing just to coach football, most likely a required coaching spot on another team (baseball, track) and a teaching position in history or an elective class.
Basically, the hiring of Briles means much more than an embarrassment for the town of Mount Vernon, but more importantly takes an opportunity away from the other applicants who were most likely not even considered while the district coordinated a Skype call with their preferred "splash" hire candidate who joined the school board meeting from Italy.
No, not Italy, Texas...Italy Italy, overseas coaching a semi-pro team after being chased away from any and all potential job opportunities in the US for over two years.
So congrats on the tire fire Mount Vernon, and a "keep your head up" to the dozens of aspiring young coaches who will miss out on another TXHSFB head coaching opportunity this off-season.
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GAME TIMES RELEASED
8/31 Montana State @ Texas Tech - 3 pm
9/7 UTEP @ Texas Tech - 7 pm
9/14 Texas Tech @ Arizona - 9:30 pm
11/29 Texas Tech @ Texas - 11 am
Montana State, whatever State...just give me football, almost there folks.
The season starts with very decent start times, a 3pm followed by a 7pm and 9:30pm kickoff...nice.
Thanksgiving break in Austin, game time 11am...feel like this favors a Tech team on the road, especially the early kickoff late in the season.
I have never been to Austin for one of these Thanksgiving week match ups, but really want to get this one on the calendar for a quick trip.
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"GETS IT"
Earlier in the week, we had new head coach Matt Wells retweeting an RRS users son's writing assignment...good stuff.
Wells met with the student orientation group earlier this morning, making an effort to "pack The Jones" with 14k students for each home game this fall.
Key word there, effort.
I believe this combined with gameday upgrades to the overall experience will help drive student attendance.
Winning helps too.
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"10 THINGS"
This was shared on social media earlier in the week, and I'm going to assume it is a new addition to the facility.
I'm big on controlling what you can control, let the rest sort itself out.
Some may think it is corny, some may love it...not sure, just wanted to share.
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VERY COOL ZHAIRE SMITH VIDEO/STORY
This was a pretty great story about Smith and his father, who both found inspiration in one another. I never knew the complete story about Smith's father, maybe that was known, but a great story and great video here.
----------
MAHOMES REGRESSION TO THE MEAN?
This was shared from an ESPN Insider article, but the overall idea is that Mahomes' numbers will go down next season because the numbers say so.
Most of us are Mahomes homers, but this seems like another situation where people are still shying away from completely believing in the young gunslinger. I'm not saying he cannot regress, just that he is best when they let him sling it around and I do not see that changing regardless of what the numbers say at this point.
----------
WHOA
These are great, I love how social media can capture the bad takes from the various talking heads on ESPN and the like.
A lot of misses after Milwaukee won game one against Toronto...hate to see it.
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
...a quick list of links from the various stories posted on RRS this week.
What kind of player is Texas Tech getting in Joel Ntambwe?
Oklahoma athlete Jeff Roberson "super excited" about Texas Tech offer
RRS Q&A: Former TTU DB Vaughnte Dorsey
New 2020 Offer Q&A: Nate Floyd
Around the Bases - NCAA Regional Edition
Frank talks TTU offer, summer visit
----------
THE BRU MCCOY SAGA AT TEXAS
Getting a 5-star prospect and consensus all-american, top 10 talent to commit is great.
Getting that same 5-star prospect onto campus as an early enrollee is greater than great.
Getting to re-recruit the same 5-star and consensus all-american, top 10 talent to "stay" after one semester with your program...priceless.
That is the very high-level story of what is occurring in Austin as 5-star athlete Bru McCoy has completed his first semester at Texas, and is now reportedly seeking a transfer to play back in his home state of California for USC....wait for it...the school he originally committed to and signed with last December.
Now hear me out, I will always advocate for the kids and try to think of these situations from multiple angles before making any judgements or forming any opinions.
The more I thought of this whole situation, I tend to blame what modern recruiting has become and the massive amount of attention/coverage these highly rated recruits receive for 2-3+ years. If a young man is this highly rated - national top 10 prospect - then the odds are Bru McCoy started receiving offers over 3 years ago.
A quick search shows Oregon offered young Bru as a freshman, then several other offers came during his sophomore season...he ended with 25 total offers.
That means 3+ years of interviews, camp invites, campus visits and most importantly the 'clout' or the tweets from said interviews, camps, 7v7, visits, etc/etc.
The transfer portal in college football is still new, but it seems like the free agency of college football is here to stay. Coaching change? That is a waiver, no need to sit. Need to move closer to family? That is a waiver, no need to sit. The list goes on and on, and there is plenty of precedent already in year one to support these claims.
So after thinking about it for a few days, no I don't blame Bru McCoy for the latest drama in what has been a drama-filled recruitment the entire time.
Is it normal? No. I sincerely hope it does not become normal, but it is hard to blame a 18 year-old kid for trying to follow his heart. A ton of kids transfer after one semester, after one year on campus. Things change and that is no different for athletes, regardless of ranking or perceived value of said athlete.
----------
NEW OFFERS
Jeff Roberson - ATH
Ben spoke with Roberson earlier in the week - story link above - about the offer from Tech. The two-star prospect now holds 15 total offers, including new offers from Texas Tech and Oklahoma State this week. He has now announced 10 new offers in the month of May alone.
The offer from Oklahoma State could loom large for a kid from Choctaw, but time will tell. Roberson mentions a visit to Texas Tech this summer, and it sounds like several other schools are close to offering the 6-foot-2, 215-pound athlete.
Tech sees him as an inside linebacker at the next level.
Mason Chambers - S
The three-star safety prospect now holds 20 total offers from programs across the country, including a few Ivy League programs. The Texas Tech coaches recently offered his teammate, LB Derrick Lewis II. The two both mentioned a possible visit to Lubbock over the summer.
Je'Vaun Dabon - S
Currently unrated, the 6-foot-2, 182-pound safety prospect holds 15 total offers from programs across the country. Texas Tech joins Houston, Abilene Christian, Houston Baptist, North Texas, Texas Southern, UTSA and Texas State in the group of in-state offers for Dabon.
In the past week, he added his first Big 12 offer from Tech and his first SEC offer from Missouri.
-----------
JUNE IS HERE...ALMOST
Ok, ok...so today is still technically May, but next week starts the month of June and what should be a big month for Texas Tech recruiting.
We have mentioned the weekend of June 21st as a big official visitor weekend. The team and I are still working to confirm visitors, but we are hearing as many as 15 official visitors will be in Lubbock for this particular weekend.
The program holds two verbal commitments for the 2020 class - QB/ATH Donovan Smith and OL Caleb Rogers.
The coaches have a running total of 128 offers out to 2020 prospects...
I think it is fair to mention, a certain percentage of the 128 number has to be allocated to offers made by the previous coaching staff...but for high-level overview purposes, let's just use the recorded offers for the 2020 class.
QB - 7
Smith is the quarterback for this 2020 class, so not much else to cover here in terms of additional targets/options at the moment.
RB - 12
The group of a dozen running back offers includes some 'not going to happen', some 'top target' types and a few 'new' offers from the past two weeks.
Tahj Boyd is visiting campus again next week.
Stacy Sneed remains a top target and could officially visit later in June.
Brown, Eldridge and Taylor are all offers made in the past month or so...and each have mentioned a potential to Lubbock over the summer.
The coaches are not done targeting additional 2020 prospects at RB either, earlier today, North Shore running back/athlete John Gentry mentioned that he has FaceTime conversations with Tech running backs coach DeAndre Smith.
WR - 24
Still a little early to say who the 'top' targets are within this group of offers, but here is my best take at the moment...
Loic Fouonji - a four-star, West TX talent
Daniel Jackson - Cibolo Steele product, that alone makes me think a visit is inevitable
Ja'Lynn Polk - lists TTU in his Top 4 programs, more on this below
Devin Price - son of A&M DL coach Terry Price, four-star prospect who was recently offered
Dylan Robinson - a fast-rising WR prospect this spring
Jay Wilkerson - a longtime target, Wells & Co. picked up where the previous staff left off
J.J. Sparkman - another East TX target, another tall/long prospect for the outside
TE - 3
The other offers at tight end, including a few targets listed as 'athletes', have already committed to other programs.
But that is okay, the Texas Tech coaches are going after Conyers as their primary TE target in the 2020 class. The four-star prospect named Texas Tech in his Top 6 last Friday along with LSU, Georgia, Oklahoma, Ohio State and Arizona State.
He recapped why Tech made the cut and is currently on a road trip for visits to Ohio State, Georgia, LSU and potentially Arizona State later in the week or early next week.
Another visit to Tech is on deck, and I ultimately think the proximity to home and family creates a Tech vs. Oklahoma battle towards the end.
OL - 17
Caleb Rogers is committed.
A few top targets...
Tyler Bailey - planning another unofficial visit to Lubbock in June
Calib Perez - officially visiting later in June
Cedric Melton - planning another visit to campus for this summer
A few of the newer offers on the OL - Tobias Braun, Casey Collier, Larry Moore - are other prospects that could be scheduling visits to campus over the summer.
DT - 3
Nwankwo named Texas Tech in his Top 5 earlier this week, more on this below.
There are a few other DE offers that will most likely slide inside and play DT, but for now it looks like Nwankwo is the primary target with a few others on the radar.
DE - 10
Goram-Welch will visit Tech later in the month of June.
Wooten is scheduled to officially visit on June 21st.
LB Moore is another West TX standout, who is planning a summer visit to campus
The coaches recently offered Maceal Afaese, a prospect from Hawaii. We need to speak with him to see if there are any official visit plans for this summer or later in the fall.
OLB - 4
Jaylan Ford and Jabar Triplett Jr. are newer offers from this spring, and both are potential visitors for the month of June or later this summer.
ILB - 3
The coaches continued to pursue Corey Flagg Jr. from North Shore, but it seems the mutual interest has weakened over the spring. The Red Raiders have not been mentioned in recent interviews with Flagg Jr., but time will tell where things stand.
Lewis II is one of the latest offers and could be visiting campus later in June.
CB - 18
Frank, Gamble, Muhammad, Black and Gonzalez are some of the top 2020 targets at corner.
S - 13
Bonds, Chambers and Dabon are all newer offers from this month. All three have mentioned a summer visit to campus.
*keep in mind, it sounds like the staff is recruiting all of these CB and S prospects as interchangeable pieces - meaning they would play corner, nickel, safety on different plays...no set positions.
ATH - 14
Quinshone Bright was supposed to commit to Texas Tech last week, but the standout receiver prospect delayed the decision and will wait for a decision.
Abner Dubar is a former commitment, targeted as a safety or defensive back at the next level. Tech is not 'out' of things with Dubar, but it isn't often that a prospect decommits and recommits to the same program...but who knows?
Nate Floyd is a new defensive back target, see linked update above.
Herbert Gums is a OLB/DE offer who recently added an offer from LSU. He could be a prospect that visits campus this summer.
Kobee Minor is a defensive back offer who will officially visit campus later in June.
Myles Price is an inside receiver target from The Colony, same program as a few other Tech targets in the 2020 class.
Jeff Roberson is mentioned above, a linked story and details on him as a new offer from this past week. The coaches are recruiting him as an inside linebacker prospect.
----------
DO TEXAS COLLEGES OFFER TEXAS PROSPECTS??? - A STUDY
We covered the Bru McCoy situation earlier, a nationally ranked kid from California.
This topic created a dialogue around the numbers behind the total amount of offers to Texas prospects from both the Longhorns and Aggies, and the results did not reflect well for them...
Then a few days later, another nationally ranked recruit - North Shore RB Zach Evans - left both the Longhorns and Aggies off of his Top 5 list of schools...which included all out-of-state programs.
It prompted a few current players to post things along the lines of..."the best players in Texas should stay in the state of Texas"
Our very own @B. Golan jumped in with some math of his own, look at the brain on Ben...
"#WreckEm has offered 128 prospects, 101 of them in-state recruits (79%)"
...but for those worried about the new staff's ability to recruit the state of Texas, whammy amirite?
101 of 128 offers are to prospects from the Lone Star state, 79% of the 2020 offers.
Matt Wells and his staff are on the road building relationships, evaluating the state for additional targets and putting an emphasis on recruiting the state predominantly.
----------
TECH ON "TOP" LISTS THIS WEEK
Tech offered the three-star prospect in late April, and Polk definitely seems interested in the offer...even shouting out former Lufkin receiver and Texas Tech standout Keke Coutee when announcing his offer.
We expect Polk to visit campus in the month of June, and the Red Raiders have a lot of ground to makeup on Arkansas and Baylor here.
Nwankwo committed to Houston very early on in his recruitment, sometime last year under the former UH staff. He reopened his recruitment during the staff change and now lists a Top 5 of programs - Texas Tech, Houston, Arkansas, LSU and Louisiana Lafayette.
The three-star prospect seems high on LSU and Houston, but a visit this summer could help the Red Raider gain ground with Nwankwo.
----------
ART BRILES HIRED AT MOUNT VERNON
There is already a thread with multiple pages on the entire story, a pathetic news dump late on a Friday evening on a holiday weekend.
So it isn't my plan to revisit the story, but the bottom line is that Art Briles now coaches football in Texas again.
A 63 year-old man who has received multiple opportunities in the coaching world up to this point, culminating a few years ago at Baylor where he helped the Bears out of the basement, winning a few Big 12 titles in the process.
Nobody can deny the success, but nobody can deny the mess either.
He does not deserve this opportunity. I don't care to discuss what happened at Baylor, but we can all agree it was some awful horrible and unforgivable stuff.
My issue is that there are a ton of young TXHSFB coaches grinding their way along, making next to nothing just to coach football, most likely a required coaching spot on another team (baseball, track) and a teaching position in history or an elective class.
Basically, the hiring of Briles means much more than an embarrassment for the town of Mount Vernon, but more importantly takes an opportunity away from the other applicants who were most likely not even considered while the district coordinated a Skype call with their preferred "splash" hire candidate who joined the school board meeting from Italy.
No, not Italy, Texas...Italy Italy, overseas coaching a semi-pro team after being chased away from any and all potential job opportunities in the US for over two years.
So congrats on the tire fire Mount Vernon, and a "keep your head up" to the dozens of aspiring young coaches who will miss out on another TXHSFB head coaching opportunity this off-season.
----------
GAME TIMES RELEASED
8/31 Montana State @ Texas Tech - 3 pm
9/7 UTEP @ Texas Tech - 7 pm
9/14 Texas Tech @ Arizona - 9:30 pm
11/29 Texas Tech @ Texas - 11 am
Montana State, whatever State...just give me football, almost there folks.
The season starts with very decent start times, a 3pm followed by a 7pm and 9:30pm kickoff...nice.
Thanksgiving break in Austin, game time 11am...feel like this favors a Tech team on the road, especially the early kickoff late in the season.
I have never been to Austin for one of these Thanksgiving week match ups, but really want to get this one on the calendar for a quick trip.
----------
"GETS IT"
Earlier in the week, we had new head coach Matt Wells retweeting an RRS users son's writing assignment...good stuff.
Wells met with the student orientation group earlier this morning, making an effort to "pack The Jones" with 14k students for each home game this fall.
Key word there, effort.
I believe this combined with gameday upgrades to the overall experience will help drive student attendance.
Winning helps too.
----------
"10 THINGS"
This was shared on social media earlier in the week, and I'm going to assume it is a new addition to the facility.
I'm big on controlling what you can control, let the rest sort itself out.
Some may think it is corny, some may love it...not sure, just wanted to share.
----------
VERY COOL ZHAIRE SMITH VIDEO/STORY
This was a pretty great story about Smith and his father, who both found inspiration in one another. I never knew the complete story about Smith's father, maybe that was known, but a great story and great video here.
----------
MAHOMES REGRESSION TO THE MEAN?
This was shared from an ESPN Insider article, but the overall idea is that Mahomes' numbers will go down next season because the numbers say so.
Most of us are Mahomes homers, but this seems like another situation where people are still shying away from completely believing in the young gunslinger. I'm not saying he cannot regress, just that he is best when they let him sling it around and I do not see that changing regardless of what the numbers say at this point.
----------
WHOA
These are great, I love how social media can capture the bad takes from the various talking heads on ESPN and the like.
A lot of misses after Milwaukee won game one against Toronto...hate to see it.
