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
Red Raider Nation.
This will continue to be successful only if everyone
does their part and keeps the discussions limited to this board.
Harvey's visit is extremely important
Everything is going well for Memphis (Tenn.) linebacker Fred Harvey.
With is upcoming visit to Texas Tech this weekend, he received some other news
this week.
"My coach told me today that he talked to some colleges and they said I’m on
their recruiting list and they still want to recruit me anyway," Harvey said. "I
told him that was OK."
The 5-foot-11, 230-pounder continued by saying that while most schools have
backed off since his commitment to the Red Raiders, his coach has told him about
two new programs in the picture.
"He told me he had a conversation with Florida State and a coach at Tennessee.
They told him that they were still going to be recruiting me."
At this point, it’s all talk, and not literally. Harvey has yet to get on the
phone with either school and does not have an offer from them either.
"You always want to be certain about your commitment. If I look into them, then
it’s just letting me know that the school I already committed to is the school I
really want to go to. Florida State is a wonderful program. It’s a real good
school. I went down to Tennessee in the summer and it was real nice. I liked
everything down there. It’s a real good program that they’re building up."
Whether or not Harvey (or the schools) is interested enough for him to take a
visit is unknown.
"I’m not sure yet, it depends. I might not but if it gets to the point where I
want to be sure then I might but I’m still undecided."
Our feelings are that all this talk about other schools will calm down after
Harvey’s official visit to Lubbock. The only reason he really mentioned it
anyway was because his coach told him about them the day we called. We don’t
think there’s much fuel to that fire.
Besides, he still seems to be all about Tech.
"Tech is a good team. They have one of the best offenses that I’ve seen. They
have a good defense, too. Everybody runs to the ball.
"I think that I’m a ball player and that I can go out there and make some plays.
I can make some stuff happen. The linebacker corps needs some more linebackers
to help. They said that on a couple of plays that sometimes their players get a
little winded. If they have more linebackers capable of playing at the same
level that the starters are playing then they won’t be as tired. I think I can
fit into their rotation."
Townsend feels strong about his decision
Things are going good for Javius Townsend right now.
After taking his official visit to Tech in September, the Tech commit feels more
like a Red Raider than ever before, and the senior from Dallas (Texas) James
Madison is pleased with how his team has been playing.
"The season is going good," Townsend said. "We are currently 5-2, we are
improving every week. And the goal is to make a long, long run in the playoffs."
A big part of his teams’ success has been the play of the offensive line, and
the 6-foot-4, 297 pound tackle thinks he is playing with dedication which has
been evident in his teams record. Although Townsend said he is playing well
right now, he also said he is nowhere near his potential yet.
"I think I’m performing very good," Townsend said. "I can perform greater. I’m
not where I can be. Nobody is where they can be right now."
Townsend said he believes if his team can continue to play at such a high level,
and continue to play dedicated that at the end of the season he would not be
surprised to be called State Champions.
Townsend had been talking to a few other schools about visiting their campuses,
but since his visit to Tech, Townsend has not taken another official visit.
Townsend said he wants to take another visit, but just to see what it looks like
outside of Texas.
"I missed my visit to Minnesota and Nebraska," Townsend said, "but I think I
want to visit somewhere else. It’s not that I don’t like Tech, I just haven’t
ever been out of Texas. I want to visit a school and get a plane somewhere. "
Tech fans should not be worried that Townsend wants to take another visit
because Townsend chose Tech for a reason and he said he plans to stand by that.
"I feel very strong about my decision, and I’m going to stick by that."
?
?
More Knight quotes
We had an opportunity to speak with Texas Tech men's basketball head coach
Pat
Knight earlier this week and ended up not using all of his quotes for our
notebook. Some of the extras are listed below.
On how John Roberson's responsibilities will change in his second full year
as head coach:
PK: "I'd like to get to the point -- I know people are going to
watch this and think I'm nuts -- I'll let Darko (Cohadarevic) bring the ball up.
He actually can handle the ball and he's actually bought into (system). Darko
was on thin ice last year, he didn't buy into our system and he was close to me
having to let him go. He knows it, we talked about it. He's apologized about
last year, about not buying into the situation.
"I'm telling you, this kid's had an unbelievable spring, fall and first four
practices. He's got ability to bring the ball up. I'm not talking about he's
going to be zig-zagging back and forth because his guy's obviously going to get
back, but he's good enough to bring it up with no one guarding him.
"We'd like to get to the point where we'll have some lineups where all five
guys, whoever gets the rebound, can bring it up and then the other guys just
fill the lanes wide. I hate talking about the offense because that's all we
worried about last year, but I think it can be more potent having more than one
guy.
"Last year, our offense was good, but John (Roberson) always had to come back and get the
ball. That takes two or three seconds off the clock. It wore John out. It gets
tiring bringing the ball up all the time. John's actually a really good shooter
off of screens, so I'd like it where we mix it up where we have four or five
guys bringing it up and we can utilize everybody coming off of screens or
bringing the ball up."
His goals for this season.
PK: "We want to be better than we were last year. Show
improvement. I know last year, the record wasn't what we wanted it to be, but I
give those kids credit, they didn't quit. They could've made my first year
miserable. Most teams, those last two weeks, honest to God, 99-percent of them
would have quit. But we beat Kansas, we come back and beat A&M.
"If you were to come by practice, practice was a joy because we were breaking
down our defense, working on defense like two hours. I'm talking about loose
ball drills, zig-zag, I was even doing the, 'Alright, everybody get in a line,
we're doing defensive slides.' Elementary stuff. No one complained. They're
hooting and hollering. You would've thought that we were 25-4 if you came by.
From that standpoint, I think those kids did a great job of laying the
foundation of not giving up.
"I think we can look back in four or five years, even though it wasn't, quote,
the record we wanted, and I think teams from here on out from a record
standpoint are going to be what you want, we'll look back and that's probably a
big year for us. It made me a better coach. It made my staff better. But I think
it made these kids better players. I was really, from the standpoint of the
returning players, they've all improved. I told them. I needed double what I
have returning for depth, and we didn't have that last year. Now, by adding the
five guys and the kids that returned and them working hard all spring, summer
and fall, we have enough now I think to compete night in and night out."
On the impact of the five newcomers.
PK: "There's no secret behind a coach's desk. You've got to have the players.
All those guys that tell you they're great coaches, well the reason they're a
great coach is because they had great players. We've worked on that from a
recruiting standpoint.
"That's what's great about this administration. I found out a lot about what I
have here at Tech. I had friends call me, worried last year, even though it was
my first year because, as we like to say in our profession, it's an instant
coffee society. Put a spoonful in, pour hot water in, boom, you've got your
latte ready. That's how it goes with wins and losses.
"Mr. (Kent) Hance, Coach (Gerald) Meyers before the season knew it could be a
long season for me just because we weren't deep but had some good young kids,
but they're young. Just told me to worry about working, doing the best we can,
make sure they don't give up, work the practices and work hard at recruiting. We
kind of had a free pass last year, which is amazing in this day and age. I had
no pressure. I was just able to coach.
"There was a lot of stuff that I had to deal with off the court. When you take
over for your dad, there's a lot of B.S. people throw at you. Now, we've got
through all that, we've got more players, the ones returning are better. It's
probably going to be our first year without a lot of B.S. where we've got the
players we need, we've got the talent we need, we've got all that stuff off the
court, now everybody's concentrating. It's my team, it's Texas Tech. I think
it's just going to be better all around.
"My dad and I speak frequently. Last year was tough. We didn't speak as much as
we should've, but when you're a guy's assistant for nine years. I've talked to a
lot of assistants, it's tough that first year. It doesn't matter if it's your
dad or your mentor, when you take over for him, that's a weird situation. Now,
you're the head guy and this guy's retired. It's a strange situation and you
don't know how to approach each other. All that is tossed aside. We're closer
now than actually when I got done playing for him. He was just at workouts
yesterday. I make him talk to the players, because he sees stuff that none of us
do. He forgets more every day than any of us are going to know.
"Believe me, I know the type of coach he is and so, from a recruiting
standpoint, I've got to be a better recruiter because I've got to get better
players. He was able to do a lot with a lot less. I just don't want to put
myself in that position again. We have everything going for us, cranking on all
cylinders from my dad's and mine relationship, helping me, then with the kids
that returned, the new kids we brought in, the foundation the fans saw, 'Hey,
these guys are headed in the right direction,' just how hard they play, not
giving up. I just think that the future looks really good for us."
More on his relationship with his dad.
PK: "It was strange, I kind of had it half the time because we
really didn't know how to approach each other. That's normal for anybody. Just
strange, it wasn't bad, it was just odd. When you play for a guy, and then
you're his assistant and now you're the head guy. How do you ask him for advice?
He doesn't want to overstep boundaries, but now we got all that out. I'm like,
'Hey, you come tell me anything.' Now, it's open.
"He's in and out of my office. He's been already to two workouts. I had all my
new guys introduce themselves to him. He's just been great for this program. I'm
not stupid. When you've got guys like that that can help. I do the same thing
with Coach Meyers, I do the same thing with Mike Leach, Mr. Hance -- even though
he didn't coach, anybody that can beat a Bush in an election in politics, he's
got to know what he's doing. I actually got a lot of good leaders surrounding me
that I take a lot of advice from.
"It's amazing, and people don't know this, but Coach (Rick) Barnes has been
unbelievable to me even though he beats up on us a few times. I can call him, I
spent two days with him when I went to the Texas-Texas Tech football game. He's
opened up his whole program to me, which you don't see a lot of guys doing that.
He just told me, 'Hey, your dad was the same way to me and I want to be the same
way to you.' We want to beat each other on that day, but it's really nice to
have a mentor like that even though it's a rival.
"I'm not dumb. I don't think I know everything. I try to pick all these guys'
brains. It's nice on this campus, though, to have guys like my dad, Coach
Meyers, Mr. Hance and Mike Leach to bounce ideas off of."
?
?
Local expert breaks down Smith's performance
We had some communication with a local expert in the New Orleans-area who has
seen every Central Lafourche game this season, and he was kind enough to break
down the play of Texas Tech CB commit Brandon Smith.
"They're in a run-dominated district, four of their last five opponents have run
the Wing-T, so he hasn't had much of an opportunity to make plays. Also, they've
only returned five kicks this year. Teams have been kicking it short so they
can't return it.
"This week, they faced a spread team and Brandon locked down one of the better
WR's in the area, he didn't get thrown on. He also chased down a 10.5 100m speed
guy coming from five yards back, and came across the field to make a play on a
ball and nearly had another pick. He had one the week before.
"If he had better hands he would have around seven to eight interceptions. He's
always there to make the play but they just slip out his hands. However, he
doesn't wear gloves and they've been playing on a wet field for all but two
weeks this year so I'm sure that contributes to the drops."
?
?
Premium Q&A: Texas Tech OL commit Beau Carpenter
Are you headed up to Lubbock on Friday after your game, or flying up there
on Saturday?
BC: "Headed up on Saturday because it's an away game, so I'm
not going to be able to fly out that night."
You've been up there before, obviously, but what are you looking forward to
checking out this weekend?
BC: "I'm really looking forward to getting to see the gameday
experience. I picked a good one, I guess, because apparently A&M is a big rival.
I just really wanted to get that game atmosphere feel. Then, on my extra day,
I'm really wanting to get a tour of the school and kind of get to see the
buildings that I'll be spending a lot of time in, getting a good feel for the
campus."
Aside from Kedrick, have you had much of a chance to interact with any of
the other guys in your commit class?
BC: "No, I haven't. That's why I'm really glad I ended up going
this weekend because, apparently, there's three or four other ones going this
weekend. This will be my first time meeting any of them."
How important is that, to establish a level of rapport with those guys
before you hit campus for good?
BC: "It's really important for me. I want to know what kind of
people they are, because I'm going to be spending the next four years of my life
with them. I want to really get to know them and meet them face to face."
What did you think of Texas Tech's win against Nebraska last weekend?
BC: "I thought it was a very dominant win. They seemed like
they controlled just about every aspect of the game. Right there at the end,
Sticks got hurt, but other than that it was a good win."
??
?
To view previous installments of the Red Raider Confidential, you can visit the
archives by
clicking here.
Thank you for subscribing to RedRaiderSports.com!
This post was edited on 10/26 10:14 AM by A. Dickens
