Coach Leach has Texas Tech ready to make some noise
Mike Leach long has maintained that football makes for great impressionistic art. For one, there’s a lot of color in the sport. You know, the fans, the uniforms, the marching bands.
LeRoy Neiman does great art of sporting events, said Leach, the Texas Tech head coach. Leach also is a fan of the late Jackson Pollock, although the coach feels the painter sometimes went “a little too far.”
“I’d like it more toward Van Gogh, you know?” Leach said. “If Van Gogh were to paint a football game, to me that would be kind of interesting.”
Texas Tech football is awfully interesting these days, too. Talk is the Red Raiders can legitimately challenge Texas and Oklahoma for supremacy in the Big 12 South Division. Leading the way for Tech is a head coach who has a law degree from Pepperdine and would just as soon talk about one of his favorite subjects, pirate history, as discuss his brilliant offense.
Nebraska plays Texas Tech on Oct. 11 in Lubbock, Texas, the Huskers’ second Big 12 game. It’ll be extremely interesting to see how Bo Pelini’s defense handles a Tech offense that last season was second nationally at 529.6 yards per game.
As for those soaring expectations at Tech, “The most important thing is just to successfully ignore them,” said Leach, preparing for his ninth season at the school.
Prognosticators are touting the Red Raiders because they feature 10 returning starters on offense. What’s more, the defense shows signs of improvement and features eight returning starters.
Texas Tech finished 9-4 overall and 4-4 in the Big 12 in 2007, capping the season with a 31-28 win against Virginia in the Gator Bowl. It was Tech’s second straight 4-4 finish in the conference. The Red Raiders’ best league finish under Leach was a 6-2 mark in 2005, good for a tie for second.
Leach acknowledges that the current excitement about his program from fans and pundits isn’t necessarily a hindrance of any sort.
The thing is, “I’m always real excited and always think we’re going to win,” he said. “To me, the excitement at our place lately has come a little more from our guys enjoying being around each other. If you go downtown, there’s not just one player — there’s like 20 of them together. They hang out and spend quite a bit of time together. That’s the part I notice the most rather than a glowing article here and there.”
Leach actually noticed chemistry in the program improving significantly in the final stages of the 2006 season, fueled in part by Tech’s stunning comeback victory against Minnesota in the Insight Bowl. The Red Raiders trailed 38-7 midway through the third quarter before rallying to win 44-41 in overtime.
“The improvement mainly has come with guys getting older and just being steadier in what they do,” Leach said.
It also helps to have Heisman Trophy-caliber talent. Wide receiver Michael Crabtree qualifies. The sophomore from Dallas last season had 134 catches for 1,962 yards and 22 touchdowns, leading the nation in all three categories.
The 6-foot-3, 210-pound Crabtree is “a real confident guy and incredibly competitive,” Leach said. “He’s one of those guys who continues to work (during plays) and continues to find open spaces. He caught an amazing number of passes on cleanup plays by just continuing to play. He’s got a good sense of space, of knowing where there’s an open space and where the defender is vulnerable.”
Meanwhile, senior quarterback Graham Harrell — who led the nation in total offense last season — has become a more assertive leader, Leach said.
Tech’s running game takes a back seat to Leach’s high-flying passing attack. That’s worth noting because critics will tell you that teams that don’t often run the ball typically will have a hard time stopping the run because it’s not emphasized in practice.
“I don’t think that’s very accurate at all,” Leach said. “Sure, you need to take pride in defense and work on it a lot. But Oklahoma won a national championship (in 2000) running this offense. They stop the run. I just think it’s an excuse. It’s a manipulated comment centered around some agenda or cop-out.”
Leach praised Tech’s defensive progress of late, saying coordinator Ruffin McNeill — who took over the defense last season after the fourth game — has a presence that “captivates players’ attention.” McNeill will try to upgrade a unit that was 82nd in rush defense in 2007.
“I don’t think there’s any replacement for being excited to play,” Leach said. “And I don’t mean just a bunch of guys prancing around with smiles on their faces. I mean guys really being committed to playing well.”
Leach sees such commitment throughout his program, and the nation also has taken note.
Reach Steven M. Sipple at 473-7440 or ssipple@journalstar.com.
LeRoy Neiman does great art of sporting events, said Leach, the Texas Tech head coach. Leach also is a fan of the late Jackson Pollock, although the coach feels the painter sometimes went “a little too far.”
“I’d like it more toward Van Gogh, you know?” Leach said. “If Van Gogh were to paint a football game, to me that would be kind of interesting.”
Texas Tech football is awfully interesting these days, too. Talk is the Red Raiders can legitimately challenge Texas and Oklahoma for supremacy in the Big 12 South Division. Leading the way for Tech is a head coach who has a law degree from Pepperdine and would just as soon talk about one of his favorite subjects, pirate history, as discuss his brilliant offense.
Nebraska plays Texas Tech on Oct. 11 in Lubbock, Texas, the Huskers’ second Big 12 game. It’ll be extremely interesting to see how Bo Pelini’s defense handles a Tech offense that last season was second nationally at 529.6 yards per game.
As for those soaring expectations at Tech, “The most important thing is just to successfully ignore them,” said Leach, preparing for his ninth season at the school.
Prognosticators are touting the Red Raiders because they feature 10 returning starters on offense. What’s more, the defense shows signs of improvement and features eight returning starters.
Texas Tech finished 9-4 overall and 4-4 in the Big 12 in 2007, capping the season with a 31-28 win against Virginia in the Gator Bowl. It was Tech’s second straight 4-4 finish in the conference. The Red Raiders’ best league finish under Leach was a 6-2 mark in 2005, good for a tie for second.
Leach acknowledges that the current excitement about his program from fans and pundits isn’t necessarily a hindrance of any sort.
The thing is, “I’m always real excited and always think we’re going to win,” he said. “To me, the excitement at our place lately has come a little more from our guys enjoying being around each other. If you go downtown, there’s not just one player — there’s like 20 of them together. They hang out and spend quite a bit of time together. That’s the part I notice the most rather than a glowing article here and there.”
Leach actually noticed chemistry in the program improving significantly in the final stages of the 2006 season, fueled in part by Tech’s stunning comeback victory against Minnesota in the Insight Bowl. The Red Raiders trailed 38-7 midway through the third quarter before rallying to win 44-41 in overtime.
“The improvement mainly has come with guys getting older and just being steadier in what they do,” Leach said.
It also helps to have Heisman Trophy-caliber talent. Wide receiver Michael Crabtree qualifies. The sophomore from Dallas last season had 134 catches for 1,962 yards and 22 touchdowns, leading the nation in all three categories.
The 6-foot-3, 210-pound Crabtree is “a real confident guy and incredibly competitive,” Leach said. “He’s one of those guys who continues to work (during plays) and continues to find open spaces. He caught an amazing number of passes on cleanup plays by just continuing to play. He’s got a good sense of space, of knowing where there’s an open space and where the defender is vulnerable.”
Meanwhile, senior quarterback Graham Harrell — who led the nation in total offense last season — has become a more assertive leader, Leach said.
Tech’s running game takes a back seat to Leach’s high-flying passing attack. That’s worth noting because critics will tell you that teams that don’t often run the ball typically will have a hard time stopping the run because it’s not emphasized in practice.
“I don’t think that’s very accurate at all,” Leach said. “Sure, you need to take pride in defense and work on it a lot. But Oklahoma won a national championship (in 2000) running this offense. They stop the run. I just think it’s an excuse. It’s a manipulated comment centered around some agenda or cop-out.”
Leach praised Tech’s defensive progress of late, saying coordinator Ruffin McNeill — who took over the defense last season after the fourth game — has a presence that “captivates players’ attention.” McNeill will try to upgrade a unit that was 82nd in rush defense in 2007.
“I don’t think there’s any replacement for being excited to play,” Leach said. “And I don’t mean just a bunch of guys prancing around with smiles on their faces. I mean guys really being committed to playing well.”
Leach sees such commitment throughout his program, and the nation also has taken note.
Reach Steven M. Sipple at 473-7440 or ssipple@journalstar.com.
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