On that note it has been interesting as heck to see how some folks around the Tech fandom have had trouble with statements like that from Tuberville. It is as if saying that’s a goal of his makes is like saying it wasn’t of Mike Leach. It was, they just hadn’t gotten there yet. Know way of knowing if they’d ever have gotten there. For now, the challenge is Tubervilles.

MORE LATER.

HYATT

Tech’s former Lead Pirate, Mike Leach, is back in the news. The A-J reports that Leach will be in town Friday to give his first put your hand on the Bible and tell the whole truth statements about his firing. Not only will Leach be giving his side of the story but other Tech officials like Chancellor Kent Hance are expected to put their statements down for history as well. Of course if this thing gets settled in the next few weeks like some still believe we’ll probably never get to see the statements. Probably.

I say that because conventional wisdom has been thrown out the window when it comes to this story. Leach has taken a much more aggressive stance than most fired coaches ever do and Texas Tech seems firmly entrenched and more than willing to let this play out in court confident that they’ve got the facts on their side. That’s what makes this so interesting to watch.

The element of the story about Leach this week that has tongues wagging is that his legal team is apparently seeking records from Frenship I.S.D. about Tommy Tuberville’s childrens’ enrollment status. In other words, when did they show up and did it pre-date Leach’s firing.

Some view this as a thinly-veiled attempt to smear Tech and Tuberville and encourage more conspiracy thinking on the part of the Team Leachers that think Leach’s firing and Tuberville’s hiring had been pre-ordained in the Old Testament. To some it wreaks of a desperate fishing expedition by a desperate legal team that knows they don’t have a chance in court so they’ll try to go scorched-earth in the media.

Then there are those that think it is a shrewd move to force Tech’s hand to hand over the cash and scare them out of a trial.

Some one’s got to be right, some one’s got to be wrong here.

Either way, if it does settle and there is no releasing of details, both sides will claim the other side caved in and that they won. They’ll also claim their disappointed the “facts” never came out, but they have to abide by the decision of the court. That’s why so many want this to go to trial. I still think those folks will be left wanting more, much more, at the end of the day.

By the way, if you’re looking for good comedy you’ve got to read the comment section after the A-J story on Leach. I worry about some of those folks, I truly do.

MORE LATER ON THE SHOW

Hyatt

1. How is it possible, according to DoubleTNation and others, that there were huge turnouts in Houston and Dallas for Texas Tech coach Tommy Tuberville’s recruiting round-up and meet and greets? I thought Tech fans were angry and boycotting the program over the firing of Mike Leach? I guess that’s what happens when a few internet agitators with empty activism garner headlines. More sound than fury and little action.
2. Keep your eyes peeled today for some Tech Football news at redraiders.com . It should be quite interesting to say the least.
3. It was great to turn on Speed last night and see NASCAR LIVE back on the air and practice for the Bud Shoot-Out. I love the “new” plate and can’t wait to get rid of the wing and get back to the spoiler. We may actually get to see drivers race out there this year. Maybe.
4. Peyton Manning isn’t the best QB of all-time, but he’s getting closer. If the Colts win Sunday it should end all debate, if there is any left, about him being better than Tom Brady.
5. Every time you complain about the snow and rain on the South Plains lately just go back and read this story in the A-J and feel better. This is great for the area Ag-producers which means it is great for you if you live around the Hubbaplex. Enjoy.

Monday morning thoughts coming down

I can’t say that I’m surprised that Texas Tech Strength and Conditioning coach Bennie Wylie is moving on to Derek Dooley’s staff at Tennessee. When Tommy Tuberville was hired he kept Wylie on out of professional respect but also sent a clear sign that a six-month trial was in effect, virtually ensuring that if Wylie found something better in the meantime he’d be smart to take it.

Of course some Tech fans will overreact and claim that Tuberville has “run-off” another great Leach assistant, but that really isn’t fair to either side. Every coach in every sport usually thinks “their guy” is the best guy when it comes to S&Q. I’m sure Tuberville has an idea who he’d like to work with and that’s the main thing here. For both the head coach and the S&Q coach you need to be on the same page from the git-go.

Make no mistake, part of what Tuberville wants to and needs to do at Tech is change the culture. He must have coaches that can convey a new message. I don’t think that after years of telling the current players one thing under Mike Leach that Wylie would have as much credibility sending a different set of messages under Tuberville. Right or wrong, Tuberville needs someone fresh and at the same time Wylie needs to work with a coach he’s comfortable with. I hope he gets that in Knoxville.

For the most part Wylie improved things greatly at Tech in his department. That isn’t to say he didn’t have his detractors though, both around the program and outside it. That may surprise some Tech fans.

Many folks in the know will tell you they thought Wylie did a great job making players stronger and more powerful, but at the same time they had reservations about his commitment to the quickness side of things. The word was that Wylie focused so much on “stats” and power numbers that jump off that page but that there was a disconnect at times to how that translated onto the playing field for all positions.

I’m not smart enough to say whether that is true or not.

I’ve also heard from many that there was a caste-system at Tech in the weight room and that if you might be able to make the coach look good, you’d get more help and that certain players got more attention. Sounds like a typical set-up to me where you focus on starters more than scrubs but we’ve also heard it created a disparity amongst work-ethic on the team.

This isn’t to say Wylie isn’t a loss to Tech or that he isn’t a very good S&Q coach, because he is. It is saying that it is very hard for a S&Q coach to be everything to every coach. It’s difficult to straddle the line between power and strength and quickness and conditioning.

Tuberville made it very clear early on at Tech that he wanted to get the Red Raiders faster and quicker. He didn’t care so much about size as speed. That may or may not run counter to what Wylie does best, I don’t know. I do know that both coaches need to be comfortable with each others’ process and I had a feeling from day one that Wylie would be moving on as it is just the nature of the game.

So, thanks for everything Bennie and thanks for being a great Red Raider. I hope you figure out a way to rock the orange as well as you did the scarlet but you’ve got a challenging color scheme to deal with there on the sidelines!

MORE LATER

HYATT

1. New Texas Tech coach Tommy Tuberville is putting together quite the staff. He added in Robert Prunty on Thursday from Hargrave Military Academy in Virginia. HMA has an impressive list of graduates going on to college ball and then the NFL including guys like Tory Holt and Jay Ratliff amongst others. If nothing else, Tuberville’s staff has the ability to tap into talented pipe-lines not just in Texas but across the South and Southeast. The SEC country is an area Mike Leach’s staff spent a lot of time and money on over the last few years and it finally paid off in this recruiting class with guys like Corker and Boone. It is good to know that won’t be going to waste in the coming months and years.
2. Why wouldn’t CBS air a pro-life ad featuring Tim Tebow during the Super Bowl? It is funny that before he’s taken the stage in a pro sport, Tebow has already demonstrated more social awareness and the willingness to stand on principle than Tiger Woods could do in the last 15 years. Maybe Tiger was busy texting.
3. Why do I wonder if the money I donated to Haiti relief efforts will ever even end up there, let alone do anything of worht or value to help the people there? It was a broken country before the earthquake, why do we expect to be able to fix it after the disaster? Hopefully this moment will serve as a tipping-point to provide the Haitian people with global accountability that will force their government to improve. We can hope and try and help.
4. Pat Forde does a nice job writing a column that should make any fan think twice before dropping more than a few bucks a year for “recruiting news”. Of course they’ll be no shortage of grades being handed out by the folks at ESPN, but you can’t say he didn’t warn ya. Great read.
5. Why does the NFL think the fans want the Pro Bowl game to be played at all? Why?
]]> http://www.thewilliamsandhyattshow.com/2010/01/5-things-we-know-on-a-friday-12910/feed/ 0 http://www.thewilliamsandhyattshow.com/2010/01/blinded-by-the-stars-or-how-fans-cant-think-for-themselves-anymore-when-it-comes-to-recruiting/ http://www.thewilliamsandhyattshow.com/2010/01/blinded-by-the-stars-or-how-fans-cant-think-for-themselves-anymore-when-it-comes-to-recruiting/#comments Tue, 26 Jan 2010 15:13:52 +0000 Ryan Hyatt http://www.thewilliamsandhyattshow.com/?p=1759 Good morning West Texans and all you good, fine, friendly folks out there who wish you were . . .

Forget about the stars already

I‘m not talking about the Dallas Stars ( seems like most folks in the metroplex already have forgotten about them ) I’m talking about recruiting rankings. Don’t worry about them. Most coaches don’t. Far too many fans do as evidenced once again by the reaction to the oral commitment over the weekend by Arkansas Monticello linebacker Joe Carmical.

It seems some fans think they know a better fit and a better player than guys like James Willis and Tommy Tuberville. Never mind that those guys have coached linebackers for over a combined 30 years or so, that doesn’t matter. What matters is that the recruiting services didn’t have Carmical ranked high at LB, that other schools hadn’t shown enough interest in him. He wasn’t sexy enough for some fans.

Of course these were probably the same fans that didn’t think Tech should have offered low-starred offensive linemen like Daniel Loper and Dylan Gandy a few years back. Never mind that they get paid to play on Sundays, they obviously weren’t highly thought of enough to be 4 or 5 star recruits so how could they end up being solid guys at Tech and in the NFL?

The Carmical commit reminds me of some of the guys Mike Leach and his crew brought in over the years. Leach and his staff didn’t care about rankings they cared about getting the right guys in that fit what they needed done on the field. The right guy for Mike might have been the wrong guy for Mack, but it worked for Mike. I kinda put the same trust in Tuberville when it comes to a position like LB.

Tech is in transition period right now going to the 3-4 look and needs all the LB’s they can get. With Carmical having spent most of his time as a QB and very little at the position he’ll play at Tech it shows me that he’s an athlete and that he can run. Speed always wins.  They project him inside but I wouldn’t be surprised if doesn’t turn out to be athletic enough to go outside as well, depending on how he progresses in the program.

Bottom line is that fans need to quit relying on recruiting services and for ALL of their information and insight and they also need to quit trying to make value-judgements on players during the recruiting process. It can’t be done and it only leads to frustration on the part of the fan. Sign ‘em up, coach ‘em up and then call me in two to three years. Then we’ll talk about how good a class was or wasn’t. Until then, Worry about the guys you got on your 2-deep right now, they’re the ones that’ll matter this year.

MORE LATER

HYATT

]]> http://www.thewilliamsandhyattshow.com/2010/01/blinded-by-the-stars-or-how-fans-cant-think-for-themselves-anymore-when-it-comes-to-recruiting/feed/ 1 http://www.thewilliamsandhyattshow.com/2010/01/red-raider-nation-and-kamc-28-checks-in-on-the-show/ http://www.thewilliamsandhyattshow.com/2010/01/red-raider-nation-and-kamc-28-checks-in-on-the-show/#comments Sat, 16 Jan 2010 22:10:15 +0000 Ryan Hyatt http://www.thewilliamsandhyattshow.com/?p=1695 It’s from earlier in the week, but we’ve finally got the video from when Chan. 28 came out and listened in on you guys.

Watch and see if your call made the cut.

]]> http://www.thewilliamsandhyattshow.com/2010/01/red-raider-nation-and-kamc-28-checks-in-on-the-show/feed/ 0 http://www.thewilliamsandhyattshow.com/2010/01/time-for-texas-tech-to-tab-tommy-tuberville-as-head-coach/ http://www.thewilliamsandhyattshow.com/2010/01/time-for-texas-tech-to-tab-tommy-tuberville-as-head-coach/#comments Sat, 09 Jan 2010 21:10:52 +0000 Ryan Hyatt http://www.thewilliamsandhyattshow.com/?p=1552

Good afternoon West Texans and all you good, fine, friendly folks out there who wish you were. . .

Much like every other media outlet today, our sources are telling us this fine Saturday that Tommy Tuberville will be the next head coach at Texas Tech with an announcement coming on Sunday or Monday it looks like. For Red Raider fans that has to feel like falling into a pile of manure a week ago and coming out smelling like a rose.

A Double-T leading “The Double-T”



(AP Photo/Todd J. Van Emst)

Tuberville brings to Texas Tech the most proven head coach to take over as a new hire since Jim Carlen came in from West Virginia in 1970. However, Tuberville’s credentials blow away even Carlen’s, who went on to great success in the early 70′s at Tech. For A.D. Gerald Myers, President Guy Bailey, and Chancellor Kent Hance it is also vindication that the job at Tech was of value and that they weren’t locked in on some imaginary hire like Art Briles or Ruffin McNeill just because it was cheap, easy, or expedient.

If it took a few more days to get it right, it was worth it if Tommy Tuberville is the man I hear he is from those who have worked with him and the coach I think he is from the results we’ve seen in the past.

Tuberville positions himself as a great recruiter and he’d better be. His first order of business is going to be recruiting the current Tech players to get on board with he and his coaches after coming out so publicly for Ruffin. I’d be shocked if McNeill or really any of the current Tech assistants are retained, but it is possible. Not much is broken X’s and O’s wise at Tech and Tuberville may want to maintain some of that. If not though he’ll have to get the players behind him first, the current recruiting class after that and then make a huge sales-pitch to Red Raider fans everywhere that he’s got a boat big enough for everyone, even the disenfranchised pirates out there. (hell, maybe he’s a Jimmy Buffet fan!)

We said the minute that Tech fired Mike Leach that you wouldn’t be able to make a completge judgement about the impact of the story until you knew who Tech hired to replace him. As of now it looks like Tommy Tuberville is that guy. If that’s the case the Tech admnistration has sent a strong signal that status quo just wasn’t good enough both in terms of relationship with Leach and maybe even where they felt this program could go under Leach and Co.

It will be interesting to watch the reaction of Tech fans over the next 24 to 48 hours. I think those that are on Team Leach will begin to realize that life is going on with or without them. Those on Team Ruff will also come to realize that like Baron Batch said, the Double T is bigger than one man and if you support the Double T, love Texas Tech football and want to see  the program grow they’ll get on Team Tubby. If not they’ll end up being responsible for their own unhappiness, Kent Hance might tell them.

We live in interesting times…

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HYATT

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