Former basketball coach Knight offers take on Tech football team
By Jeff Walker | A-J SPORTS EDITOR
Bob Knight has won 902 college basketball games, has three national championships in 42 years and still coached the last team to go undefeated, so he knows about winning.
Knight also has developed close friendships with coaches and administrators in football, which has always been of interest to him.
As the Texas Tech football team prepares for its biggest game in the program’s history today against No. 5 Oklahoma, Knight offered his insight on why this year’s second-ranked Red Raiders have been so successful.
Knight said the formula started back when Tech hired Mike Leach.
“Tech’s season starts because Gerald Myers hired Leach,” Knight said. “That’s the most important thing to this season. That’s No. 1 because they wanted to hire (Rich) Rodriguez, the committee did, and Gerald fought (because) they wanted to start the whole search all over again. Gerald really fought that and he won and they hired Leach.”
Rodriguez, who coached at West Virginia before leaving after last season to coach at Michigan, turned down the Tech job in 1999 when he was the offensive coordinator at Clemson. Leach, then the offensive coordinator at Oklahoma, and then-New Mexico State head coach Tony Samuel were believed to be the top three candidates for the position to replace Spike Dykes.
Two days after Rodriguez pulled out of the running, Leach was named the Red Raiders’ 13th head coach.
The coach
“The reason why Leach was such a good choice is because he did not play a conventional brand of football,” Knight said. “He wasn’t going to bring that to Texas Tech. He wasn’t going to try and be Oklahoma or Texas, Texas A&M and Nebraska or anybody playing the way they play. He was going to do something different. That’s what his game was, and it was so ideally suited to this school in this geographic location in terms of recruiting that you could have spent five years and you wouldn’t have found anybody equal to Leach as a choice.”
The Red Raiders have been making steady progress since Leach’s arrival. Many will look at the offensive numbers, but the program as a whole has reached new levels. Tech has been eligible for a bowl game in every season under Leach.
The prestige around the bowl games has gotten better under Leach as well. What started with the Gallery Furniture Bowl quickly moved up to the Alamo Bowl the following year. In three of the last four years, Tech has reached what many would consider upper-tier bowl games – the Gator, Cotton and Holiday.
With two games left in the regular season, Tech probably will do no worse than a Cotton Bowl appearance. However, the Red Raiders control their destiny for a spot in the BCS national championship game. They also still have a good shot at another BCS game.
“Leach comes in with his offensive approach and it catches on and gets better and better and better, and we are very tough to play against offensively,” Knight said. “… That has been a tremendous asset to Tech football. He brings an offense that is tough to defend and the job he does teaching it, he does a hell of a job teaching it.”
The quarterback
“I think (Graham) Harrell is the best passer I’ve ever seen in college, without any question,” Knight said. “He has a great arm, just like the passes he made in the Texas game. He has the best patience of a quarterback I’ve ever seen. He just sits there. He doesn’t mind getting hit and has learned to scramble a little bit, get outside. He makes the best choices with the best patience I’ve ever seen. He doesn’t try to do the impossible. He doesn’t try to throw it through two guys. He takes what’s there.
“So many quarterbacks want to look like the next (Tom) Brady or the next Peyton (Manning). If he isn’t the Heisman Trophy winner, they ought to eliminate the Heisman.”
Throughout most of Leach’s tenure at Tech, the scenario has presented itself so that the quarterbacks learn the offense in preparation for taking over for their senior season. With Tech’s pass-oriented attack, and the knowledge of watching those before them, the quarterbacks still have success with only a year or two of game experience.
Harrell, though, grabbed the starting job as a sophomore and has improved every season, to the point that he is one of the frontrunners for the Heisman Trophy.
“Some guys wouldn’t learn,” Knight said. “Some guys, as they got more and more recognition, would try to bring more attention to themselves by forcing to make plays. That kid makes the plays that are there.
“Here, I think you have a situation of a coach and a quarterback who are about as good a combination of those two as has ever been in college football.”
The defense
“None of this would have happened this year had Tech been playing the same kind of defense that it had normally been playing,” Knight said. “The problem was Tech was scoring points, but others were scoring on them and they would lose a game they shouldn’t have lost, and that’s where Ruffin McNeill comes in.
“He has done a great job defensively. The offense would have been there. They would have set the same kind of scoring records that they’re setting now, but they wouldn’t be winning like they are now without Ruffin McNeill’s defense.”
McNeill took over following last year’s Big 12 Conference opener at Oklahoma State, a 49-45 loss. In a conference dominated by offense this season, Tech is second in the Big 12 in scoring defense, second in rushing defense, third in total defense and sixth in pass defense.
The Red Raiders are third in turnover ratio and are first in interceptions with 16. Nationally, Tech is 20th against the run and 46th in scoring defense.
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Knights comments regarding TxTech football program are as accurate as I have ever read… All of TxTech should take their hats off to him regarding. I have been a Tex U fan since my high school days, and I was in Norman OK going through Navy
Electronic school when TX finnally beat the U of OK in1958.. What a wild night that was for us Texas boys…
One of the five best foot ball games I have ever watched was this yrs Texas and Texas Tech game…It had everything a fan could want from both sides…as predicted, the team that has the ball last will win the Game… good on Texas Tech.
With football programs like we have in Texas, from the Pee Wees through Collage there will always be a great game to watch in the big12…. How meny Texas boys are playing Ball in the Top ten teams of the nation….nuff said,, go hornes ,go red raiders..
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Why do you make such disparaging remarks to the UT fan? He made very good comments about the Raiders and obvioulsy cheers for them when not playing his Horns. You are the fan every one despises. Grow up fellow.
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Wow, big words from a UT fan! As a Tech alum living in Austin, I am shocked by this. We don’t get much respect here in longhorn country. Thanks for the cheers! (Shame on you Devin.)
WRECK ‘EM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Sailor in the past you have annoyed me and a lot of TTU folks, but your last post is admirable. Maybe it will be good give and take now for both sides.
But Devin your comments are totally out of bounds and does not represent my thoughts or any Raider fans I know. Clean up your act and give the Raiders decent support!
Wreckem Tech! TTU 42 Sooners 35!
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Coach Knight is the best! He is such a wealth of knowledge and a pleasure to have on our side. I think the best hire was Coach Knight then Leach. What an incredible dynamic duo to have as Red Raiders. I hope Coach Leach doesn’t do what Billy Gillespie @ A&M did and follow the money. He went to Kentucky and now is getting branded on a daily basis. He could have had aggieland in the palm of his hands. Streets, stadiums etc built and named after him. They Dont care about his past record, what he did elsewhere. All they care about is wins. There was a column on it yesterday in the Houston chronicle and the comparison to Leach in this makes sense.
The grass is not always greener in these other places because the more $$$ you make, the higher the expectations and less tolerance from fans and alumni from a standpoint of a program that has to be built to fit his coaching style. Ask Rich Rodriguez
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Thanks, Coach Knight, for the good words. I especially liked the “we” comment (“WE are very tough to play offensively”). Love it–he’s still a Red Raider!
Sailor, thanks for your comments, too. I appreciate your support.
Devin, what loser comments. The man was complimenting our state and our school. Did you even READ what he wrote?? Grow up, friend.
Man, I sure hope we can pull this off tonight!! Go Tech!
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Hello from Arizona. I am so proud of my Red Raiders and all the fans. Being so far from home has been tough this year. I miss the days at Jones Stadium but sure enjoyed the Insight Bowl a few years back..whew..what a game.
Devin, you were out of line and do not speak for the rest of the Red Raider fans. When living out of state, it is an honor to be a Red Raider, a dedicated fan of Texas football (pee wees, high school, college and the Cowboys) and above all a Texan.
Many people in Phoenix, including Pac-10 fans are cheering for the Red Raiders and I for one appreciate their support. Thank you Sailor, we will even welcome UT fans to our band wagon!
Wreck em Tech!
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Great story. I have been a Knight fan many years, even before he came to Tech. There is none other as capable in the coaching profession and I believe he knows a thing or two about great coaching. That is why he remains a Red Raider. Thus his very positive comments about the Tech football coaches. He elevated our basketball program as well as the whole university by coaching at Tech. He handed the reigns of the basketball team over to his son and Pat has really made it HIS team. All the things he learned from his dad only enhances his own coaching abilities. Expect some great moments in the future (maybe this year) in the Big-12 by the Tech Basketball team. I live in Austin and am always being denegrated for being a Tech fan, even more so since the big win this year over the Longhorns. Thanks to old Texas Sailor for his kind words. We hope to be very competitive from now on with Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri and all the rest of the Big-12. How unfortunate there are still some Tech fans (re: devin everett) who cannot accept praise, even from a Longhorn fan. Hopefully all the digs on him will help him to realize the errors of his ways and he will be more open to comments from the “enemy”. Tech basketball wins again today, just prior to a big win, I hope, by our Raider football team. GO TECH!
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Bobby Knight is a has been Hoosier basketball coach. We all see now why he never was a football coach. I bet he was in Indiana cheering on OU while they were sticking Tech’s GUNS UP there ass and fireing off a few rounds. Every year you frauds are exposed you just got away with it a little longer this year so shut up and win something like a championship or Bobby Knight’s son will quit too and come coach the football team
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