Texas Tech no longer a novelty act

By Darrell Laurant  |   Thursday, February 23, 2006  |  Comments( 0 )

Texas Tech Red Raiders
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The Texas Tech Red Raiders offense is like a finely tuned race car -- the driver isn't as important as the engine.

Last season, Cody Hodges took most of the laps at the wheel of Mike Leach's souped-up Red Raider attack, throwing for 4,042 yards and 30 touchdowns as Tech went 9-3.

How can a guy like that ever be replaced? Simple: Leach does it every year. Before Hodges, Sonny Cumbie led the nation in passing; before him, there was B.J. Symons; before him, Kliff Kingsbury. This always makes Tech's annual spring game (this year, April 15) more interesting than most, as fans flock to discover the identity of the next 4,000-yard hurler.

Texas Tech likes its quarterbacks smart, steady and accurate.

"If a guy can throw the ball through a wall but can't hit a target," said co-offensive coordinator Dana Holgorson, "we're not going to be much interested."

This year's driver will probably be redshirt sophomore Graham Harrell. More precocious than the usual heir apparent (Hodges played in only seven games his first three years on the team). Harrell saw considerable action during Tech's early-season schedule, hitting 14 of 17 passes for 208 yards in an 80-21 dismemberment of Sam Houston State. He was also used later on, however, hitting three of four passes for a touchdown against Texas A&M.

Right behind the Texas-grown Harrell is Elizabethtown, KY product Chris Todd, who threw for over 10,000 yards and 120 touchdowns as a prep. Leach once coached the offense at the University of Kentucky (remember Tim Couch?) and used those prior connections to bring Todd to Lubbock.

Meanwhile, the Raiders wooed 6-5, 210-pound four-star quarterback Hunter Potts out of Abilene and away from the University of Michigan, reeling in Potts' battery mate, WR Lyle Leong (6-9 in the high jump) as well.

The Raiders are coming off five straight bowl seasons (losing 13-10 to Alabama in the 2006 Cotton Bowl) spent much of last season among the top 15 and beat Oklahoma, so it's hard to call them unsung. Still, good news takes time to percolate down to high school coaches and players, and this winter's recruiting haul demonstrates more than anything else how much respect Tech's program has earned.

LSU, Oklahoma State and Texas A&M wanted DB Leonard Hewitt, but he chose Tech. Notre Dame, LSU, Miami, and OSU were interested in Laron Moore, another DB, but he, too, wound up in Lubbock. Chief recruiter Sonny Dykes (named one of the nation's best by rivals.com) also sold Leach's freewheeling style to man-mountain Brigham Young transfer Ofa Mohetau, a 6-3, 367-pounder who will help protect the blind side of Tech's quarterback de jour.

Four 2005 starters also return on the offensive front, along with Hodges' top four receivers -- Jarrett Hicks, Joel Filani, Robert Johnson and Danny Amendola. (One of the receivers who will graduate was Hodges' twin brother). This will probably prove the most prolific group since Wes Welker, Carlos Francis and Mickey Peters all went over 1,000 yards receiving in 2003.
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