Friday can only mean one thing for the discriminating Red Raider fan.
It's time for another edition of the Red Raider Confidential! The ground rules
are simple and easy to follow: everything reported in this report is not to be disclosed elsewhere. This feature is posted in the premium forum to ensure that this information stays exclusively within the
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Mixed signals from Arps
We detailed on Thursday Jaqwaylin Arps’ trip to an Oklahoma camp a few weeks
which probably calmed any worries about the Texas Tech commit bailing for the
Sooners. Upon closer inspection, though, it appears as though it might not be OU that
Red Raider fans should be worrying about.
After he described the solidity of his commitment as "very solid," he had an
interesting response when we asked if any other programs were still pursuing
him.
"I’m still kinda messing around with Kansas," he answered.
Confused, we asked him to explain.
"Oh, you know, just talking to them a lot. I’m going to visit them on like July
26th with my boy Mundine (DE/LB Jimmay Mundine). See, they’re saying he’d be at
linebacker and me at end, and we’re real tight, so it’d be like we’re on point,
you know?"
But he still considers himself solid to Texas Tech?
"Oh yeah, I’d say I’m real solid to Tech, I like them a lot," he responded.
Yet Arps said that he had more than a passing interest in the Jayhawks.
"Oh, real serious," Arps said when asked about his interest level in KU. "Almost as serious as I am about Tech. If I hear
the right things on that visit, that will be a tough decision because they’re
like even almost with Tech."
At this point, to say we were confused would be a profound
understatement.
"Okay, help me understand this a little better," we asked. "If you’re solid to Tech,
but you like Kansas and are serious about them, how does that work? Have you
thought about changing your commitment or anything?"
"Oh, see, that’s the thing," he answered. "I don’t know. I might be looking at
that after my visit if it goes well. They’re real tight and I’d get to play real
early there too, but with my boy Mundine, so it’s going to be a tough decision."
"But you still consider yourself a solid commitment to Texas Tech, not a soft
verbal or anything like that?"
"Yes sir, I’m solid to Tech," answered Arps. "I committed to them because I fit in well there and
like it a lot, so I’d say I’m solid."
We have no idea what to think. He spent 15
minutes describing how much his trip to Norman made him more solid to Texas Tech
and then just sort of dropped the Kansas talk into the conversation out of left
field.
Buckle up, this could be an interesting ride. (JS)
Wade already impressing
It remains to be seen how quickly 2009 signee Myles Wade
will adjust playing football at the Big 12 level after sitting out a
year, but the four-star defensive tackle has already made a great impression by
arriving on campus in great shape.
From what we understand, Wade checked in at 340-pounds. That may sound like a
lot, but he apparently doesn't look an ounce over 315-pounds. In fact, a source
told us that he was re-weighed three times to make sure the reading was
correct.
The source also passed along that Wade was told that he was already "towards the
top" of the team with his weight room numbers and "in the top 15-percent for
conditioning."
It's still probably fairly unrealistic to expect any kind of major on-field
contributions this season from Wade, but he is definitely starting things off on
the right foot in Lubbock, Texas. (AD&CL)
The latest with Texas Tech's baseball signees
Texas Tech baseball coaches still have about a month to sweat out the arrival of
three of their signees who were drafted in the recent 2009 MLB Draft.
The biggest concern appears to be Canadian pitcher Jay Johnson, who was drafted
in the 25th round by the Baltimore Orioles. Johnson, who has been clocked in the
mid 90's this summer, has expressed an interest in signing with the O’s and is
already entertaining a serious offer.
Brandon Petite, another pitcher from Canada, was drafted in the
30th round by the Houston Astros but at this point appears headed to play ball
at Dan Law Field next year. Two JUCO guys that were drafted, Bobby Doran
in the 36th round by the Pittsburgh Pirates and Stephen Hagen in
the 42nd round by the Seattle Mariners, both have decent contract offers from
their respective teams. However, both Hagen and Doran have played at four year
schools and realize what good numbers at a Big 12 school would do for their
draft status next season. Red Raider coaches are optimistic the pair end up in
Lubbock this fall. (RG)
Smith ready to be a Red Raider
With his commitment to Texas Tech more than a month old, most everyone around
Raceland (LA) Central Lafourche cornerback Brandon Smith knows
about his pledge by now.
"The word has spread," said Smith. "Everyone has been real happy for me and real
excited. They said that it was a real nice opportunity and not to lose it. I’m
just going to keep working hard. I’m really excited about Texas Tech."
It is difficult for Smith to single out just one thing that he likes about the
Red Raiders. When asked
what attracted him to Texas Tech, he said, "a lot of things, man."
Despite his commitment,
Smith hasn't been keeping in regular touch with the coaching staff.
"I really haven’t been talking to the coaches," he said. "I tried to get in touch with them
one time but it didn’t go through. I haven’t really tried since. I haven’t
talked to him but they were real nice. I really like them."
The next step for Smith will be to see Lubbock for the first time on his
official visit.
"I’m going to go on my official visit sometime in August," he said. "I’m excited about
everything. I like meeting new people. I like just being in the game. I want to
meet the players and the coaches."
As far as any other schools that might want Smith to visit, he made it clear
that Red Raider fans don’t need to worry.
"I’m not listing any other schools because I’m ready to be a Red Raider."
He went on to add that he has zero interest in other programs. (AW)
Premium Q&A: 2010 Texas Tech OL commit Beau Carpenter
Has there been anything new lately as far as offers go?
BC: "Not really, it’s still the same 14. Or, I guess, 15 if you count Harvard. Actually, Purdue offered me a while back and I hadn’t told anyone yet. They actually called me at like 7:30
a.m. on the day I was headed to Tech and offered. So I guess they were the latest."
What’s been the best part about being committed to Tech?
BC: "I’ve got to say it’s probably getting to sport all the Tech gear I can in the UT fan capitol of the world. It gets everyone pretty riled up. (laughter) No, I guess the serious answer to that question is just knowing it’s a great school and a great opportunity for me to get a world-class education for free. And I’m also really excited to have such a good buddy (DE commit
Kedrick Dial) heading up there with me."
Are you pretty excited about moving on with Kedrick?
BC: "Oh, absolutely. He’s so fired up about Tech - he’s been keeping me in the loop about all the recruiting stuff. There’s a safety from Round Rock
(Desmond Martin) who he was saying just committed and he was showing me all his highlights and stuff. He was telling me too that he’s been texting this defensive lineman (Elliot Porter) in Louisiana and been trying to recruit him to Tech. He’s really been trying to make sure we get some great guys in this class."
At one point, Kedrick had indicated he might be open to a few other schools if they came calling, like
Oklahoma and Texas. Any idea how solid he is to Tech?
BC: "I think pretty solid. He seems really excited about Tech, I know that. At first, I think he really liked OU, UT, and Tech, but at this point, I think he’s fired up about Tech.
"
A few weeks ago, Kedrick gave us a scouting report on you. Care to return the favor?
BC: "(laughter) He’s a freak athlete. He’s fast, has great natural instincts, just tough to block. You know, a lot of people don’t know he had never played defensive end until this last year, and he came out and led the team in sacks. It’s really ridiculous how good he was for his first year."
So what does the rest of the summer look like for you?
BC: "Eating, eating, and more eating. I finished the season at 265, but by February, I weighted in at 227 at a camp, so I’ve been working on that and am back up around 260 right now. It’s all good weight though, so that’s what I’m working on, just getting that weight at the right level."
Thanks, Beau.
BC: "No problem, thank you sir."
(JS)
Martin reading to tear it up in College Station
Texas Tech's newest commitment, Round Rock (TX) Stony Point defensive back
Desmond Martin, is headed to College Station this morning to
participate in the Texas 7-on-7 State Championship. The Tigers are in Division
I's Pool L, and will begin play this afternoon at 2:00 p.m. against The
Woodlands.
When reached by text message on Wednesday, Martin summed up his attitude towards
this weekend rather succinctly.
"Just ready to take on all comers," he said.
Stony Point is considered by some to be the favorite in Pool L, which also
includes Houston (TX) Lamar and Colleyville (TX) Heritage. We will keep you
updated on the Tigers' progress throughout the tournament. (AD)
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This post was edited on 7/14 4:48 PM by A. Dickens
