Spitballin' is presented by our friends at SpindleTap Brewery. We cut through the Houston Haze with these insider tidbits, and you can enjoy a six-pack of Houston Haze and other SpindleTap favorites in stores near you!
… For those that haven’t ever been, the Oklahoma home game experience is very similar to the Kansas basketball experience. The crowd is intense, loud and makes an impact.
… The best way I can think of to explain how much better the Sooners are right now is by pointing out that there isn’t one Red Raider that would start on offense or defense for Oklahoma.
… I think one of the most frustrating things about Alan Bowman’s injury is not knowing what the quarterback position looks like in the future. I expect him to be available at some point this season – the team’s record at that point will largely decide if he plays or redshirts – but these two injury-shortened seasons raise some questions about whether he is the long-term answer at quarterback.
… Maverick McIvor’s injury is set to be examined again this week and all indications are that he is still two or three weeks away at the earliest. He could be an option at signal caller at some point in the season but if he plays, I would bet he would play in no more than four games in order to preserve his redshirt status.
… If McIvor was healthy, he would more than likely be the team’s fill-in starter right now. I watched him some in August and he reminds me of Seth Doege. McIvor has a strong arm, can move around and run it and has a lot of moxy about him. He just needs to stay healthy.
… Both McIvor and Bowman have suffered multiple injuries in the last year and while it isn’t fair to label them as injury-prone, you can bet the staff is worried about their ability to remain healthy.
… Next fall, Texas Tech is scheduled to have Alan Bowman, Jett Duffey, Maverick McIvor and Donovan Smith in its quarterback meeting room and, if the coaches get their way, a committed Behron Morton on the way.
… I know that Matt Wells watched the Red Raiders’ March Madness run very closely and he knows that he needs his Jarrett Culver to build around. That doesn’t necessarily need to be someone local, just an elite player that can be the face of the program. Could Smith be that guy? Is Loic Fouonji that guy? How about Behron Morton?
… Speaking of Fouonji, he is set to visit this weekend. Make no mistake about it: He’s a starter on the outside from Day 1 and would be the best prospect in Texas Tech’s class if he commits. Fouonji is underrated and a freak athlete.
… The feeling right now is that Myles Price is the best slot receiver prospect in the Red Raiders’ class.
… Texas Tech's football team features several grad transfers playing prominent roles and fans should expect the Red Raiders to remain active with those types of additions in the future. There have been two recent additions to the NCAA's Transfer Portal that you should keep your eye on: Oklahoma's Starrland Baldwin and South Carolina's Jamyest Williams. Kerry Cooks recruited both players for the Sooners - Baldwin signed with Oklahoma in 2018 and Williams took an official visit to Norman during the 2017 recruiting cycle. Baldwin, who left the Oklahoma program before the start of the season, is coming off of a pair of knee injuries that caused him to miss his freshman season. Williams played as a true freshman for the Gamecocks and earned a spot on the SEC's All-Freshman team, but a shoulder injury cut short his 2018 season.
… The lack of juice at the offensive skill positions is painful. The Red Raiders have some good players, but there isn’t any aspect of the team’s stable of wide receivers or running backs that scares opposing defenses outside of T.J. Vasher’s catch radius and the occasional run from Armand Shyne or SaRodorick Thompson. The depth chart features a lot of former walk-ons, transfers or program guys such as Donta Thompson that haven’t ever been asked to do too much. Thompson being tackled after his lengthy 58-yard run cost the Red Raiders four points because they couldn’t punch it in from inside the 5-yard line.
… Erik Ezukanma has all of the pedigree that you’d want and had a stellar spring and preseason camp, but he’s been a no-show to this point in the season. It’s fair to think he’s probably a year away from contributing in a major way. I think he will mature as this season progresses, but he’s just not ready to carry the load yet.
… Here's Texas Tech receiver problem in a nutshell: The Red Raiders' top targets aren't catching the ball at a high enough percentage, and when they do catch a pass, they don't do much after that point. Texas Tech's top four receivers, in terms of targets, are Vasher (36), Dalton Rigdon (26), Ezukanma (16) and RJ Turner (15). Vasher is catching 52.8 percent of his targets, Rigdon is at 61.5, Ezukanma is at 50 and Turner is hauling in just 40 percent of his targets. Of that group, only Rigdon is providing much juice in terms of yards after catch (9.5). Vasher and Turner are averaging 2.3 yards after catch, while Ezukanma provides 4.5 yards on average. Compare that to last year, where the top four targetted receivers were Antoine Wesley (127), Ja'Deion High (82), Vasher (81) and Seth Collins (43). Their reception percentages were 69.3, 75.6, 66.7 and 76.7 respectively, and YAC numbers were 7.1, 5.5, 2.2 and 4.4.
… I’m guilty of just assuming that, hey, these are the Red Raiders and they always have skill on offense. They will be fine. But there just isn’t a player that has shown through four games that they have the juice to outrun or evade top-end Big 12 defenders. Antoine Wesley would obviously be the best receiver on this team right now, but so would Ja’Deion High.
… It’s not fun being vulnerable, but this is where Texas Tech football finds itself right now. The Red Raiders are vulnerable on the field and I think it’s fair to say that they are also vulnerable with the fanbase. I’ve had contact with a few folks that were patting themselves on the back for giving up their season tickets. Good job, high-five. It’s tough to see because the Red Raiders are going to have to grind and grind in order to get to the postseason and, for the most part, the fanbase seems very, very angry.
… I had a Texas Tech student contact me for a school project that tasked them with writing about something local that they were interested in. This student chose to focus on Jarrett Culver, and asked me how Culver will be remembered here. My first thought was that Culver made it cool to stay home and he did that for all the right reasons. He wasn’t worried about finding a bigger or better stage to play on, he just created that platform right here in Lubbock. I closed by discussing Culver’s work ethic. The reality is that as long as Chris Beard is at Texas Tech, every single player that comes through his program will have his work ethic compared to Culver’s.
… Speaking of Beard, at this very minute, has there ever been anyone in Lubbock associated with Texas Tech athletics with his current popularity or approval rating inside and outside of the fanbase?
… I talked to Beard recently and, as is usually the case, his first question to me was about football. “How’s Wells doing?” When we last talked, it was mostly about Bowman’s injury. Beard said Wells needs to tighten his circle and only surround himself with positive people. I thought that was an interesting glimpse into how Beard’s mind works. It’s also exactly how he operated when Keenan Evans went down with the toe injury in Waco two years ago.
… Texas Tech basketball recruiting is about to heat up. While the Red Raiders have three scholarships to use in this cycle, they will be careful with how they are used. Yes, Micah Peavy, Gethro Muscadin (visiting this weekend) and Nimari Burnett (visiting on Oct. 19) are all takes if you can get them. Bottom line: Beard wants to make sure that he is adding impact guys. If the Red Raiders can’t, they will save a spot for the late period grad transfer market with an eye on using that scholarship again in the loaded 2021 class. I think their thought process right now is that they are way down the road with most of their top 2021 targets and they would love to have as much ammo as possible for that cycle. Keep that in mind as the 2020 early period approaches.
… Make no mistake about Kirby Hocutt’s willingness to get this program back to where everyone wants it. It is his top priority. Wells knows this as well and that is why he is here.
… The Red Raiders find themselves on two lists that illustrate how irrelevant the program has been in recent years and how tough it will be to break through. They are one of 10 Power Five programs – alongside Cal, Kansas, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Oregon State, Purdue, Rutgers and Vanderbilt – that have spent zero weeks in the College Football Playoff Rankings. They are also one of about 20 or so Power Five programs that have never played in a conference championship game.
… No one wants to hear this, but the main ingredients in turning around the Texas Tech football program are patience, winning recruiting battles and developing players. A little luck wouldn’t hurt, either. Landing Fouonji or Morton would be a nice shot in the arm for this program. I’m anxious to see how the Red Raiders respond this weekend with a tough but winnable game against Oklahoma State. The Pokes’ skill is scary, but they are flawed like most teams in the Big 12 and are dealing with some offensive line injuries. A win would go a long way in making everyone feel a bit better about things, too. Texas Tech will win or lose Saturday in the trenches and with its tackling. I hope to see y’all there Saturday morning.
