Texas Tech Coach Leach Thinks Future Bright
Staff Photo By Tom Turner
TEXAS TECH football coach Mike Leach speaks at a luncheon before the Texas Tech Alumni Association’s Fourth Annual J.L. Gulley Jr. Memorial Golf Tournament on Monday at Willow Brook Country Club.
By CHRIS PARRY
Staff Writer
Texas Tech finished the 2007 season with the best pass defense in the Big 12 and the fifth best total defense. On the other side of the ball, the Red Raiders led the nation in passing and were second in the nation in total offense.
Staff Writer
Texas Tech finished the 2007 season with the best pass defense in the Big 12 and the fifth best total defense. On the other side of the ball, the Red Raiders led the nation in passing and were second in the nation in total offense.
Tech went 9-4 last year, capped by a come-from-behind win over Virginia in the Gator Bowl to finish as the 22nd ranked team in the nation by The Associated Press.
Now for the punch line … Tech had the youngest team in the country.
Well, the second youngest, according to head coach Mike Leach as he addressed the 200 or so Texas Tech alumni Monday afternoon at the Fourth Annual J.L. Gulley Jr. Memorial Golf Tournament at Willow Brook Country Club.
“The only other school that was younger than we were last year was Temple … and they didn’t go to a bowl game,” Leach said.
Temple went 4-8 last year.
Leach was one of two guest speakers at this year’s J.L. Gulley Jr. luncheon and golf tournament. The entire event was sponsored by the Texas Tech Alumni Association and also featured Chancellor Kent Hance as guest speaker, along with the masked rider and Raider Red. All of the proceeds from the event went to benefit the J.L. Gulley Jr. Memorial Scholarship Fund.
Leach was one of two guest speakers at this year’s J.L. Gulley Jr. luncheon and golf tournament. The entire event was sponsored by the Texas Tech Alumni Association and also featured Chancellor Kent Hance as guest speaker, along with the masked rider and Raider Red. All of the proceeds from the event went to benefit the J.L. Gulley Jr. Memorial Scholarship Fund.
It was the first time Leach had attended the event, but added he enjoys coming to East Texas on recruiting trips.
Staff Photo By Tom Turner
Texas Tech masked rider rides Midnight Matador up the first fairway of Willow Brook Country Club on Monday, June 2, 2008 to open the Texas Tech Alumni Association's Fourth Annual J.L. Gulley, Jr. Memorial Golf Tournament. The tournament and luncheon proceeds benefit the J.L. Gulley Jr. Memorial Scholarship Fund of the Texas Tech Alumni Association and East Texas Communities Foundation. The scholarships go to area students who attend Texas Tech.
“We have quite a few players on our team from East Texas and we feel like we have some exciting things going on at Texas Tech,” Leach said prior to his luncheon address. “I don’t feel like we are short (in East Texas), but we’d like to have a bigger impact. We’d like to get more guys out of here.”
The Red Raiders currently have six area players on the roster, led by Spring Hill junior offensive lineman Brandon Carter and Lufkin junior defensive end McKinner Dixon.
Also plying their trade in Lubbock are Brownsboro redshirt freshman offensive lineman Lonnie Edwards; Tyler Junior College junior defensive tackle Broderick Marshall; Longview junior receiver Adrian Reese and Corsicana senior offensive lineman Louis Vasquez.
Texas Tech returns 11 starters on offense and eight on defense.
The only offense that was better than Tech (529 yards per game) last season was Tulsa, averaging 543 yards per game. Any debate on which one was better could’ve been answered this year as Tech was scheduled to play Tulsa.
But Leach said the Golden Hurricane nixed things.
“We actually had Tulsa scheduled and then Tulsa pulled out on us with just a few months to go,” Leach said. “We are now going out to Reno to play Nevada. Of course, you want as many (games) as you can at home. That is the most important thing as far as we go for our fans, and having the Red Raider faithful see as many games at Jones Stadium as possible.
“We do have three of or four of our non-conference at home, which is good.”
The Red Raiders open the 2008 season Aug. 30 at home against Eastern Washington before playing at Nevada on Sept. 6. Tech also will face SMU and UMass in non-conference.
Not exactly LSU or USC, but Leach adds that it has become tougher and tougher to schedule games because of how big conferences are and because teams don’t want to repay Tech in a home-and-home by coming to Lubbock.
Leach adds that Tech has played Ole Miss, Ohio State and N.C. State.
Of the three games listed by Leach against BCS-conference schools, only Ole Miss played at Jones AT&T Stadium. Tech repaid the Rebels the next year by playing in Oxford, Miss.
Tech has made national headlines with its offense and scoring, racking up a record of 56-37 in Leach’s eight years while also achieving five bowl wins.
Leach understands that East Texas has traditionally been a staple of recruiting for Texas, Texas A&M and more recently, Oklahoma, but adds that he will “just keep plugging away.”
Under Leach, Tech has turned the college record books upside down. Former quarterbacks Kliff Kingsbury and B.J. Symons currently own or are tied for over 20 NCAA individual passing records. Last year, receiver Michael Crabtree set NCAA freshman records for receptions (134), yards (1,962) and touchdowns (22).
Throw that in with the success former Tech receiver Wes Welker is enjoying in the NFL, along with graduate Danny Amendola turning heads in Dallas Cowboys practices, and one can see why Leach puts his program among the best in the nation.
“You have to go a long way to find a team that has had more impact on college football than Texas Tech,” Leach said. “It’s almost automatic that the guy that comes from our program has an opportunity (to play at the next level).”
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