Conference media days are a great way to break up offseason monotony and silence from ? college football teams since their spring workouts wrapped up, but with every team being 0-0 there is a lot of politically correct rhetoric teams are hoping will suffice readers without giving away too much.
There were a few exceptions at the Big 12 Media Days in Dallas. Baylor head coach Art Briles received high rating for a second consecutive year and the Bears? player delegation gave great soundbites.
Then there was Texas Tech which featured new head coach Kliff Kingsbury and three players who not only will be key during the 2013 run but also left reporters with a better grasp on the happenings in Lubbock.
Here are five new things to think about 36 days before the season gets going at SMU:
1. Eric Ward came out salty
Senior receiver Eric Ward, participating in his second Media Days, came away as a winner in Dallas.
Ward has been a good interview since enrolling early at the university in 2009. His first experience with college beat reporters was at the 2009 Signing Day press conference. But he?s getting better which will serve him well through his final season at Texas Tech and onto what he hopes is an NFL career.
This is a guy who caught 12 touchdowns and went for more than 1,000 yards last season and then opted not to declare for the NFL Draft even with a young family at home.
He?s not buckling under the pressure to do more this season. Ward seems comfortable being one of the marquee faces of the 2013 roster.
?Show appreciation,? Ward said as his message to fellow Red Raiders. ?Don?t be unappreciative. Sometimes people try to walk over their privileges. They let you know this is a privilege that can be taken away. Me and Kerry (Hyder) have been selected to enforce it. We?re not trying to be mean, but we let them know they need to respect themselves and respect this school.
?I take it seriously. For me to come back to school and get my Masters and enhance my stock and play for Coach Kliff means a lot to me. I take every day seriously.?
2. Player committee
Both Ward and defensive tackle Kerry Hyder were voted by the seniors as two class representatives.
The two said the team had an internal vote and players were asked to pick captains for their respective class, freshmen through seniors.
Kingsbury said the staff hasn?t fully decided on the on-field captains selection process, but Ward and Hyder seem like obvious choices with impressive careers up to this point.
Mike Leach had permanent captains during his time at Texas Tech. Tommy Tuberville sent out different players on a weekly basis based on performances and captains in the bowl game were supposed to go down as the team?s official captains retroactively.
?We haven?t worked through that,? Kingsbury said. ?We?ll talk about that as a staff once we get back, camp gets going and figure out that selection process. It?s usually a team vote type deal. That?s the way we?ve done it in the past. So I?d assume those two guys have a good chance.?
Ward and Hyder want the opportunity on a full-time basis.
?Me and Kerry have been here for five years so I would hope so,? Ward said.
3. Hyder is a threat at every gap
Hyder finished his junior season as a defensive tackle with 56 tackles ? six tackles for sacks.
He?s listed as the starting defensive end in the 2013 media guide with the Red Raiders transitioning away from the 4-3 defensive scheme to the 3-4.
?I?ve played all of it before,? Hyder said. ?The 4-3 was nice and I addressed the B-gap, but we?re throwing different combinations at them and I?m not going to be in the same spot all the time. I?ll be the end. Then I?ll be the nose and tackle on other plays and move and slant different ways. This will be better for me.?
The 6-foot-2, 281-pounder added he can be successful anywhere along the defensive line.
?Players make plays in whatever defense they?re in,? he said. ?I?m not restricted to the 4-3. I feel like no matter what position or defense you put me I?ll be able to succeed.?
4. KennyWill
Ward and Hyder were accompanied by junior running back Kenny Williams who could join six other Red Raiders as players who have rushed for more than 1,000 yards this season.
Williams had 824 yards, five touchdowns and a handful of SportsCenter Top 10 moments last season while splitting time with Eric Stephens.
With Stephens graduated, it?s Williams is the expected starter in a nice rotation of players that is at least three-deep.
?I?m trying,? Williams said. ?We have the linemen to do it and the team to do it. I feel like our mentality has changed and we know we can compete for a Big 12 Championship.?
5. Kingsbury has links to three other Big 12 head coaches
Briles, West Virginia?s Dana Holgorsen and Kansas? Charlie Weis all have working experience with Texas Tech?s brand new coach. They?re all optimistic he?s the answer Red Raider fans are looking for.
Briles and Holgorsen coached Kingsbury, a former quarterback, from 2000 through his graduation in 2002. Weis then lobbied for the New England Patriots to draft Kingsbury in the sixth round of the 2003 NFL Draft as the Pats? offensive coordinator
?Kliff was a pleasure to be around,? Weis said. ?He obviously had some guys ahead of him that are Hall of Fame?type people that he was behind, but I can tell you that he was a pleasure to be around. He was a sponge and him having early success in his coaching career has come as no great surprise to me.?
Briles left his position as running backs coach to become the head coach at Houston after the 2002 season. Holgorsen stayed on as the Red Raiders? receivers coach and co-offensive coordinator through the 2007 season.
When Briles left to become the head coach at Baylor in 2008, new Houston head coach Kevin Sumlin hired Holgorsen to be his offensive coordinator.
Kingsbury?s professional career ended in 2007 and Holgorsen helped his former quarterback land an offensive quality control position with the Cougars where Kingsbury rose to become an assistant coach.
?He was always good from day one at Houston, but he soaked everything up and never tried to talk about something he didn?t know,? Holgorsen said. ?What he knew, he applied. He learned. And once he learned he applied it as well.?
Holgorsen left Houston after the 2009 season to become the offensive coordinator at Oklahoma State ? where he was subsequently hired as head coach in waiting before the Bill Stewart controversy at West Virginia.
Kingsbury was promoted to co-offensive coordinator with fellow assistant Jason Phillips before Kingsbury gained all of Sumlin?s trust and got to call all the plays.
Sumlin took Kingsbury to Texas A&M as his standalone offensive coordinator and they replicated success with Johnny Manziel.
How did Kingsbury climb the coaching ladder so fast?
?It doesn?t surprise me that he?s having success,? Holgorsen said. ?Everybody says he?s a young kid with no experience, but he?s been around football for 33 years. He grew up as a coach?s kid and then had a successful college career. Then he was in the NFL and around professional football for five years before coaching.?
Briles remembers the new Red Raider coach fondly and hopes Texas Tech can help the Bears get separation from other opponents in the Big 12 standings.
?I?m going to like him a whole lot for 11 games like I do right now,? Briles said, laughing. ?I?m really happy and proud for Kliff because Kliff is a guy who is really passionate about football. He loves the game and appreciates the game. So he?s a good person to be in our game. It?s a wonderful spot for him.?
?
?
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.