I got the chance to speak with Kliff Kingsbury and Dakota Allen after practice today. Here are a few notes and quotes…….
Kliff Kingsbury
Injuries on the offensive side of the ball have been an ongoing issue for the past few weeks. Today, Kingsbury gave an update on a few guys that have been hit with the injury bug this season.
Freshman wide receiver Jonathan Giles is day-to-day at the moment with a knee injury. Kingsbury made it clear that it was just a slight tweak, and they’ll be evaluating his progress throughout the week.
There is still ‘no movement” on the status of Derrick Dixon, but Kingsbury feels he’ll be back soon.
Senior offensive tackle Le’Raven Clark is battling an injury this week. He’s been limited thus far, but the coaching staff is optimistic about him playing this Saturday in Norman.
Devin Lauderdale returned from injury last week, but wasn’t at his best. Kingsbury said he is back to full form this week.
Kingsbury spoke on what he thought about his defense potentially taking a leap after their performance last week.
“I hope so, i mean there are so many good offenses in the Big 12. I said it a bunch of times , but the definition of a successful defense in the Big 12 is a little bit different when you’re facing offenses like they are. I was really proud of their effort, i've been proud of their improvement but we know we’re facing a very good offense with very good skill players, so it’s going to be a tall task for us” said Kingsbury.
Kingsbury also spoke about his relationships with Oklahoma coaches Dennis Simmons, Lincoln Riley and Bill Bedenbaugh. Plus, he touched on the similarities between Texas Tech’s and Oklahoma’s system.
“I don’t know Lincoln as well as Bill and Dennis, so very close with those guys. Happy to see their success. They were always great to me when i was a player here, Bill and Dennis. Lincoln, he was after me a little bit, but i followed his career and he’s done a tremendous job” said Kingsbury. “ I think our base concepts all started out kind of where Mike’s (Leach) did, and then we all ran with it from there. He does his thing, we do a little different version but it all started with coach Leach.”
Dakota Allen
The redshirt freshman linebacker has had to learn on the fly, while keeping the defense going alongside Micah Awe. He spoke on the task of stopping Oklahoma’s two headed monster, which is Samaje Perine and Joe Mixon
“The biggest thing is just tackling. They’re both going to be hard to tackle, so this week we have a big emphasis on once you grab him don’t let him go. Roll, do whatever you need to do to get him down. That’s going to be the key” said Allen.
Allen also spoke on the importance of playing loose and having fun. He said he notices a huge difference when the atmosphere changes.
“I actually felt that feeling during the Arkansas game. It just like everybody was on the same page, and then once everybody was like that it started becoming more and more fun.”
Kliff Kingsbury
Injuries on the offensive side of the ball have been an ongoing issue for the past few weeks. Today, Kingsbury gave an update on a few guys that have been hit with the injury bug this season.
Freshman wide receiver Jonathan Giles is day-to-day at the moment with a knee injury. Kingsbury made it clear that it was just a slight tweak, and they’ll be evaluating his progress throughout the week.
There is still ‘no movement” on the status of Derrick Dixon, but Kingsbury feels he’ll be back soon.
Senior offensive tackle Le’Raven Clark is battling an injury this week. He’s been limited thus far, but the coaching staff is optimistic about him playing this Saturday in Norman.
Devin Lauderdale returned from injury last week, but wasn’t at his best. Kingsbury said he is back to full form this week.
Kingsbury spoke on what he thought about his defense potentially taking a leap after their performance last week.
“I hope so, i mean there are so many good offenses in the Big 12. I said it a bunch of times , but the definition of a successful defense in the Big 12 is a little bit different when you’re facing offenses like they are. I was really proud of their effort, i've been proud of their improvement but we know we’re facing a very good offense with very good skill players, so it’s going to be a tall task for us” said Kingsbury.
Kingsbury also spoke about his relationships with Oklahoma coaches Dennis Simmons, Lincoln Riley and Bill Bedenbaugh. Plus, he touched on the similarities between Texas Tech’s and Oklahoma’s system.
“I don’t know Lincoln as well as Bill and Dennis, so very close with those guys. Happy to see their success. They were always great to me when i was a player here, Bill and Dennis. Lincoln, he was after me a little bit, but i followed his career and he’s done a tremendous job” said Kingsbury. “ I think our base concepts all started out kind of where Mike’s (Leach) did, and then we all ran with it from there. He does his thing, we do a little different version but it all started with coach Leach.”
Dakota Allen
The redshirt freshman linebacker has had to learn on the fly, while keeping the defense going alongside Micah Awe. He spoke on the task of stopping Oklahoma’s two headed monster, which is Samaje Perine and Joe Mixon
“The biggest thing is just tackling. They’re both going to be hard to tackle, so this week we have a big emphasis on once you grab him don’t let him go. Roll, do whatever you need to do to get him down. That’s going to be the key” said Allen.
Allen also spoke on the importance of playing loose and having fun. He said he notices a huge difference when the atmosphere changes.
“I actually felt that feeling during the Arkansas game. It just like everybody was on the same page, and then once everybody was like that it started becoming more and more fun.”
