On Broadway: A flurry of commitments
When I walked off the white hot skillet that was New Braunfels' turf field last Friday afternoon, I found out that Taylor cornerback Da'Marcus Fields - who looked great at the camp - had committed to the Red Raiders. I immediately thought, "Well hey, what a nice cherry on top for the week for both the coaching staff and Tech fans!" Little did I know that would merely be the tip of the iceberg peaking out over the glacial waters.
I thought the coaching staff had done a great job of really solidifying their positions with Houston Miller, John Picone, Fields, and others during their satellite camp escapade across the state, but I couldn't have predicted that so many of them would decide to pull the trigger. But, it really makes so much sense.
Many have asked what the recruiting identity and personality of this coaching staff is. I have a solid answer for that now after seeing them on the road in action for an entire week. Yes, they have energy and youth, which has always been one of their calling cards, but it's much more than that. The promotion of Mike Jinks to associate head coach and the addition of David Gibbs as two older, experienced voices has really helped many of the other coaches on staff find their footing and grow by leaps and bounds in a short period of time, and I think that's a big factor, too. You can see it in the way that the coaching staff interacts with recruits, and maybe more importantly, how they interact with each other, both on and off the field. There's a bond there, and although I hate this word, they have so much synergy right now. Yes, everyone has their designated recruiting areas, but moreso now than ever before, every coach knows and has built relationships with prospects across regions. Everyone is willing to dish out an assist wherever they may be, and many of the prospects I keep in contact with make note that they talk to more Tech coaches than they do coaches at other schools.
When looking at prospects, the coaches want guys who want to be Red Raiders, first and foremost. Yes, of course they want top shelf prospects, but if a player isn't going to give them a legitimate look, it's now on to the next one. If it's a waste of time, they aren't going to waste their time. This applies on the opposite end of the spectrum, as I'll just let you know that the coaches are very aware of what players are doing outside of football and have essentially moved on from a number of recruits because of what they're posting on social media. It's a two way street of 'Hey, we like each other for each other!', if that makes sense.
And yes, the coaching staff - especially defensively under Gibbs - has become much more focused on in-person evaluations. If they see a kid in person and think he can play, then it's that simple, here's your offer. I think that's been a big reason why this staff has been in on quite a few prospects that have blown up after they offered, too.
Yes, some people may be upset that Tech did that with Bravvion Roy, who committed to Baylor after being offered by the Red Raiders at their camp, but look at the bigger picture. That shows consistency in the strategy, and isn't that what Texas Tech football really needs the most right now.
Overall, I just see a clear picture in recruiting, and it's why Tech added all these players at once over a few short days. They saw each one of these prospects in person, were able to nurture the relationships with the staff as a collective group, and they reaped the rewards.
Tech wants to promote a family atmosphere that's young and energetic, preach the identity of Red Raider football as a group of coaches and players that work harder than everyone else, and then simply find the players they believe can compete in the Big 12 and match the identity they're trying to build. It's that simple, and it's working.
Consistency, folks.
Link Me, Bro.
Chip Kelly sure seems to like cutting pro bowl caliber players loose. The latest victim is guard Evan Mathis.
Collider has an early review up of season two of True Detective. Can it live up to the greatness of the first season?
Star Wars Battlefront is totally going to be awesome.
The LA Clippers and Steve Balmer might be the funniest team in sports.
Vox takes a closer look at how Jurrasic World was - unbelievably - able to break box office records last weekend.
Brian Williams is back at NBC....but the dude was given a well earned demotion.
Power Rankings: Favorite Beers
It's summertime, which means everyone is likely drinking a few more suds on average than they would throughout the rest of the year. So, I decided to go down a dark hole of a list that people are willing to spill blood over: My beer power rankings. I am admittedly a man of simple taste, so some of you are probably going to try and throw me from my throne of power after this. Provided without comment....
5. Michelob Ultra (Yup, went there right out of the gates.)
4. Shiner Blonde
3. Fireman's #4
2. Dos Equis
1. Molson Canadian
Now you can throw things.
Off The Reservation: Sunburns
I was not a man graced with lovely, golden brown skin that makes sweet love to the summer sun. Really any season's sun, to be fair. No, good ole genetics decided to give me classic Western European whiteness. I'm not albino by any means, but I'm that good shade in-between paper and sandalwood. So naturally, the sun and I have become mortal enemies once outdoorsiness, heat, and cutoff shirts become a norm.
And yeah, I get that a large portion of the American population is in the same boat where sun burns are a weekly occurrence from June to September. But it doesn't get much better for me as the summer goes on, as my skin wants to reject the radiation barreling down upon it, refusing to turn even a few shades crispier.
No, I somehow am the one man I know who gets to earn real hot-tamale-red sunburns on multiple occasions per year. In fact - and you can ask my friends this - it's now an official wedding tradition that I must get a searing burn on my skin that puts off nuclear heat the day before. If you look through any wedding pictures where I was a groomsman from the last two years, all you have to do is look for the color crimson, and there I am in all my third-degree-burned glory.
I've also recently started legitimately balding, so the scalp sunburn is new fun for me! "Hey, does Will have dandruff? No, his head's peeling, he'll be fine."
Oh summer. One day I'll kill you, you SOB.
When I walked off the white hot skillet that was New Braunfels' turf field last Friday afternoon, I found out that Taylor cornerback Da'Marcus Fields - who looked great at the camp - had committed to the Red Raiders. I immediately thought, "Well hey, what a nice cherry on top for the week for both the coaching staff and Tech fans!" Little did I know that would merely be the tip of the iceberg peaking out over the glacial waters.
I thought the coaching staff had done a great job of really solidifying their positions with Houston Miller, John Picone, Fields, and others during their satellite camp escapade across the state, but I couldn't have predicted that so many of them would decide to pull the trigger. But, it really makes so much sense.
Many have asked what the recruiting identity and personality of this coaching staff is. I have a solid answer for that now after seeing them on the road in action for an entire week. Yes, they have energy and youth, which has always been one of their calling cards, but it's much more than that. The promotion of Mike Jinks to associate head coach and the addition of David Gibbs as two older, experienced voices has really helped many of the other coaches on staff find their footing and grow by leaps and bounds in a short period of time, and I think that's a big factor, too. You can see it in the way that the coaching staff interacts with recruits, and maybe more importantly, how they interact with each other, both on and off the field. There's a bond there, and although I hate this word, they have so much synergy right now. Yes, everyone has their designated recruiting areas, but moreso now than ever before, every coach knows and has built relationships with prospects across regions. Everyone is willing to dish out an assist wherever they may be, and many of the prospects I keep in contact with make note that they talk to more Tech coaches than they do coaches at other schools.
When looking at prospects, the coaches want guys who want to be Red Raiders, first and foremost. Yes, of course they want top shelf prospects, but if a player isn't going to give them a legitimate look, it's now on to the next one. If it's a waste of time, they aren't going to waste their time. This applies on the opposite end of the spectrum, as I'll just let you know that the coaches are very aware of what players are doing outside of football and have essentially moved on from a number of recruits because of what they're posting on social media. It's a two way street of 'Hey, we like each other for each other!', if that makes sense.
And yes, the coaching staff - especially defensively under Gibbs - has become much more focused on in-person evaluations. If they see a kid in person and think he can play, then it's that simple, here's your offer. I think that's been a big reason why this staff has been in on quite a few prospects that have blown up after they offered, too.
Yes, some people may be upset that Tech did that with Bravvion Roy, who committed to Baylor after being offered by the Red Raiders at their camp, but look at the bigger picture. That shows consistency in the strategy, and isn't that what Texas Tech football really needs the most right now.
Overall, I just see a clear picture in recruiting, and it's why Tech added all these players at once over a few short days. They saw each one of these prospects in person, were able to nurture the relationships with the staff as a collective group, and they reaped the rewards.
Tech wants to promote a family atmosphere that's young and energetic, preach the identity of Red Raider football as a group of coaches and players that work harder than everyone else, and then simply find the players they believe can compete in the Big 12 and match the identity they're trying to build. It's that simple, and it's working.
Consistency, folks.
Link Me, Bro.
Chip Kelly sure seems to like cutting pro bowl caliber players loose. The latest victim is guard Evan Mathis.
Collider has an early review up of season two of True Detective. Can it live up to the greatness of the first season?
Star Wars Battlefront is totally going to be awesome.
The LA Clippers and Steve Balmer might be the funniest team in sports.
Vox takes a closer look at how Jurrasic World was - unbelievably - able to break box office records last weekend.
Brian Williams is back at NBC....but the dude was given a well earned demotion.
Power Rankings: Favorite Beers
It's summertime, which means everyone is likely drinking a few more suds on average than they would throughout the rest of the year. So, I decided to go down a dark hole of a list that people are willing to spill blood over: My beer power rankings. I am admittedly a man of simple taste, so some of you are probably going to try and throw me from my throne of power after this. Provided without comment....
5. Michelob Ultra (Yup, went there right out of the gates.)
4. Shiner Blonde
3. Fireman's #4
2. Dos Equis
1. Molson Canadian
Now you can throw things.
Off The Reservation: Sunburns
I was not a man graced with lovely, golden brown skin that makes sweet love to the summer sun. Really any season's sun, to be fair. No, good ole genetics decided to give me classic Western European whiteness. I'm not albino by any means, but I'm that good shade in-between paper and sandalwood. So naturally, the sun and I have become mortal enemies once outdoorsiness, heat, and cutoff shirts become a norm.
And yeah, I get that a large portion of the American population is in the same boat where sun burns are a weekly occurrence from June to September. But it doesn't get much better for me as the summer goes on, as my skin wants to reject the radiation barreling down upon it, refusing to turn even a few shades crispier.
No, I somehow am the one man I know who gets to earn real hot-tamale-red sunburns on multiple occasions per year. In fact - and you can ask my friends this - it's now an official wedding tradition that I must get a searing burn on my skin that puts off nuclear heat the day before. If you look through any wedding pictures where I was a groomsman from the last two years, all you have to do is look for the color crimson, and there I am in all my third-degree-burned glory.
I've also recently started legitimately balding, so the scalp sunburn is new fun for me! "Hey, does Will have dandruff? No, his head's peeling, he'll be fine."
Oh summer. One day I'll kill you, you SOB.
