On the Diamond
Texas Tech defeated Dallas Baptist, 9-7 last night behind home runs from Logan Hughes and Caden Ferraro. They’ll host BYU starting on Thursday for the weekend series with 6:30 p.m. starts on Thursday and Friday and a 2:00 p.m. on Saturday.
On the Gridiron
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal’s Don Williams on the quarterback situation for Texas Tech. I have said previously that I don’t know that Brendan Sorsby plays a down for Texas Tech because he bet on Indiana and that’s Williams’ thought as well. I will be happy to be wrong about that and for Sorsby to play, I’m simply not counting on it. Based on what Williams has seen, he thinks that Kirk Francis is ahead of Lloyd Jones III:
Based on 40 years of watching Texas Tech football practices and what we observed this spring, both in limited weekday viewing periods and in the spring game, Francis was pretty clearly the second choice to Sorsby. That might not sit well with some Tech fans, given that Francis started his college career as a walk-on and Jones as a Texas top-70 recruit. In three years at Tulsa, Francis played in 18 games, throwing for 3,045 yards and 18 touchdowns with 13 interceptions.
Jones played just enough in one game last year at West Virginia to stir some excitement, going in when it was 35-0 and throwing two touchdown passes against a 4-8 team. He dealt with a season-ending knee injury of his own the year before and wasn’t cleared to return until the second half of last season, so he missed a lot of practice time. That matters.
I’d already said that I’m wary about Francis given his stats at Tulsa, it wasn’t great. And that’s not to say that I think that Jones is a world-beatert. Maybe he improves, but he only has to hang on for 3 games and I hope that the coaches don’t get hard-headed about Francis because they signed him with the intention to be the back-up.
ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg writes about what college coaches say about draft picks:
Even more impressive, five of Texas Tech’s selections came in the top 75, including two non-transfers in linebacker Jacob Rodriguez (No. 42, Miami) and wide receiver Caleb Douglas (No. 75, Miami).
“A lot of people can sit there and say, ‘Well, those are transfers, and they’re only there a year,’ but every one of those guys had their best year,” McGuire said. “There were some projections last year, or when we’re looking at David Bailey, that he was a third-round draft pick, and he comes here, and he’s a first-round draft pick, plays his best football by far, and he’s put in a position to play his best football. The same way with [defensive end Romello Height] and then having the year that Jacob [Rodriguez] had, I was so proud that he went so early.
“It shows that we’re putting these guys in the right position.”
McGuire admitted being nervous about Rodriguez, who had incredible numbers last season — 128 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, seven forced fumbles, four interceptions, two fumble recoveries — but as an off-ball linebacker didn’t play a premium position. After Ohio State’s Sonny Styles went No. 7 to the Washington Commanders, McGuire felt good about Rodriguez in the second round but wasn’t sure where he’d be drafted. He ended up being the first of four linebackers selected in the round.
“I felt like he did enough, and at the pro day and at the combine,” McGuire said. “As we talked to different people, they kept saying, ‘This kid, he’s got his stuff together, he’s so mature.’ So, I thought that was going to be a big help for him.”
ESPN’s Eli Lederman, Max Olson and Adam Rittenberg with a good summary of what went right and what went from for each Power 4 team. Obviously, the Sorsby situation is in the “what went wrong” column for Texas Tech and here’s what went right:
What went right: Texas Tech was a big spender yet again during portal season and reloaded with ESPN’s No. 2-ranked transfer class. The staff inked eight defensive linemen and edge rushers out of the portal to restock up front, led by San Diego State’s White and Miami (Ohio)’s Trick, and landed an All-Big 12 linebacker in Kansas State’s Austin Romaine to help take over for Rodriguez. They replaced two NFL draft picks at wide receiver with four new transfers, and former five-star recruit Micah Hudson looks poised for a breakout season. Combine those additions with the No. 13-ranked high school recruiting class and strong retention — including keeping tight end Terrance Carter Jr., cornerback Brice Pollock and tackle Howard Sampson out of the draft — and there are still a lot of reasons to believe the Red Raiders can remain the Big 12 front-runner regardless of Sorsby’s status.