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Someone asked about Fitsum last week when I posted the highlight of Youssouf and this is a week ago from the 1st day of school. Fits is a junior, in band and cross-country. It’s great because I’ll never get to leave my seat on Friday nights, watching Yo during the game and Fits at halftime.

First day of school for 2026. 11th grade for Fitsum and 9th grade for Youssouf. pic.twitter.com/z8KclrNxir

— Seth Jungman (@SethJungman) August 14, 2026

I have no idea how well this will go over, but if we get 20 people consistently doing this then I’ll keep it going for the rest of the year. This is the inaugural STP Super 16 where you can vote on who you think are the best 16 teams in the nation (this is just a Google form). I’ll post it on Sunday after the weekend of games and ask for your Super 16 teams in the nation. You can rank them however you want. To be totally honest, I pulled the list from some random website and am not even sure that all 138 are listed, but if I need to revise, I will just let me know.

On the Gridiron

Offensive coordinator Mack Leftwich and running backs coach Garrett McGuire from their media scrums. Leftwich mentioned that Hunter Zambrano and D’Antnis Upshaw are battling things out at left guard.

Lubbock Avalanche-Journal’s Don Williams with 5 players making waves and the aforementioned position battle mentioned again. Here’s a bit about J’Koby Williams:

“Oh, my gosh,” running backs coach Garret McGuire said. “I think he is probably one of the most improved players on the team, if not the country. The number one thing that stands out to me is his mental capacity and how he can handle the volume of what we’re asking him to do because of so many different roles — playing in the backfield, playing in the slot, playing at number one (wide receiver) and then the details that come with that — being a true route runner and then what we’re asking him to do in the backfield.”

Red Raider Sports’ Lane Selph recaps the presser from Mack Leftwich including a bit on Will Hammond’s progression:

“Just knowing when to check the football down, when not to be too aggressive and take what the defense is giving you,” Leftwich said. “Especially the guys that we have that you’re throwing those checkdowns to. You get the ball in space to J’Koby Williams, Terrance Carter, Cam Dickey — those guys have the explosive-play capability on a five-yard pass.”

Leftwich also saw encouraging flashes from Texas Tech’s offensive line in pass protection, although consistency remains the biggest area of emphasis for the group.

“I thought they showed flashes of being able to protect at a really high level,” Leftwich said. “I think the consistency is still something that we’re searching for, and I’ll give the defense credit too. We’re going up against a really good defensive line every day, and they do a great job.”

ESPN’s Bill Connelly on how to get the most fun out of the 2026 season. This is a fun read, not intended to be anything deep.

Connelly also writes about how the SP+ shakes out against the AP Top 25 and that SP+ likes Texas Tech a lot more than the AP Top 25:

Texas Tech. I fear I might be a little too confident in the Red Raiders this season, since they steamrolled through the Big 12 last year despite often mediocre quarterback play. Am I already taking their portal abilities for granted? Am I assuming too much from a defense that had to reload quite a bit in the front six? The pollsters downgraded Tech to 12th, but SP+ has my back, starting them eighth despite the turnover. That’s a pretty solid reinforcement of just how good they were in 2025.

Mic’d up with LT Howard Sampson: