Checking In on Texas Tech, Again

Better late than never! RD from the Cheap Seats and Double T Ranch was able to answer my questions regarding the Texas Tech Red Raiders spring football practice and the upcoming season.

Thanks RD for the response.

Who will be the next 4,000 yard passer that Mike Leach plugs in?

Most likely, it will be Graham Harrell, a redshirt sophomore out of Ennis, TX, and probably the best overall talent they've started at the position in the Leach era. The major difference between him and some of the other quarterbacks Tech has started in past years is that Harrell actually has arm strength enough to stretch the field. What remains to be seen over the next year will be if he can make the quick reads that Leach's offense demands.

What is the biggest question that Texas Tech needs to answer this spring?

Can they find defensive linemen that can give them a consistent pass rush? Texas Tech was near the bottom of the country in sacks last year, and never seemed to give opposing QBs much trouble.

As for an answer, the defensive linemen were impressive in the spring game, particularly DT Dek Bake, but we'll have to wait and see whether they can get pressure on a conventional offense.

What will be the biggest position battle this spring?

Both Safeties were really up for grabs with the departure of Vince Meeks and Dwayne Slay. Strong Safety is still TBD, but it looks like Joe Garcia locked up the Free Safety spot.

On offense, Shannon Woods, who was supposed to take over for Taurean Henderson, is basically hanging onto his job by a thread because of his mediocre play and Kobey Lewis's excellent play. If Woods doesn't improve drastically over the summer, he may lose his job.

Kicker has also been a point of contention, as it has been for the last 3 years with Alex Trlicka and Keith Toogood battling for the starting placekicking duties, but I wouldn't trust either one if the game was on the line.

Who is an unknown player that will emerge as a star this spring?

A lot of defensive players that may be in starting spots in 2007 or 2008 got a chance to star in the scrimmages and Red-Black game due to injuries to starters, particularly LBs Kellen Tillman, Brent Slaughter, and Calen Shearer, and CB LaShawn Vation. (Personally, I'm in favor of starting a lot of these guys since our starters were bad last year, but apparently the coaching staff thinks they're still too green.)

As for the people who might actually play this year, Dek Bake is beginning to emerge as a DT that can stuff the run and play the pass, and Kobey Lewis may have played himself into the RB spot.

What will it take for the Red Raiders to reach the Conference Championship game?

Unless the rest of the defensive starters recover from their injuries over the summer and improve their games or they play some of those freshmen and sophomores that are actually starting to look like bonafide defenders.

It looks like Tech is going to be stuck in that 2nd place/3rd place holding pattern for another year.