2009 Football Preview 
Building a Program(4)
BY DON WILLIAMS
AVALANCHE-JOURNAL
With a whole boatload of key contributors gone from Texas Tech’s memorable 2008 season, plenty of questions hang over the Red Raiders’ heads. Really, though, they can all be summed up in one:
Can Tech keep it going?
Like any program in a BCS conference, the Raiders are hoping not just for the occasional stirring [...]
Remodeling the Roster
BY ADAM ZUVANICH
AVALANCHE-JOURNAL
Conventional wisdom says Texas Tech should fall back to Earth this fall.
The Red Raiders enjoyed what might have been their best season in 2008, winning 11 games and a share of their first division title in the Big 12 Conference, along with earning a program-best No. 2 national ranking. But several of the [...]
Raiders can't afford to let opportune moment pass
uite often, when media folks ask Texas Tech football players to tell a story illustrating the quirkiness of Mike Leach, said players will harken back to how it all started.
More than a few relate what’s now an almost default tale regarding that first meeting with the coach. About how he shuffled into their living room [...]
Work progresses on expansion of Tech's Jones AT&T Stadium
BY DON WILLIAMS
AVALANCHE-JOURNAL
Great to behold and getting greater. Loud already and growing louder.
That’s what Gerald Myers envisions when he casts an eye across Jones AT&T Stadium, the capacity of which will increase from just under 54,000 to around 60,000 by midseason.
“Just adding those northeast and northwest sections is going to change the appearance of the [...]
Tech trying to keep up with Big 12's big spenders
BY ADAM ZUVANICH
AVALANCHE-JOURNAL
hen Texas Tech and Texas met on the football field last fall, the Red Raiders managed to score six more points than their counterpart.
One measly touchdown might not seem like much of a difference, but considering the vast gap in resources available to each program, it was quite an accomplishment.
Tech athletic director Gerald [...]
Red Raiders Position by Position
Defensive linemen
Projected starters: LE Ra’Jon Henley, Sr.; NT Colby Whitlock, Jr.; DT Richard Jones, Sr.; RE Daniel Howard, Sr.
Top backups: LE Sandy Riley, Sr.; LE Ryan Haliburton, Fr.; NT Victor Hunter, Sr.; DT Chris Perry, So.; RE Brandon Sharpe, Sr.
Returning statistical leaders: Whitlock 39 tackles, 5 tackles for loss, 1 sack; Jones 26 tackles, 1 [...]
Big 12 South could be just as competitive this year
BY STEPHEN HAWKINS
ASSOCIATED PRESS
There may be no more difficult path to a national championship than through the Big 12 South.
Ask Texas, which was 11-1 in the regular season last year and didn’t even make the Big 12 championship game because of a three-way tiebreaker.
“It may work for us this year,” said Longhorns coach Mack Brown, [...]
Bradford, McCoy forge unlikely friendship
BY CHUCK CARLTON
DALLAS MORNING NEWS
They represent the face of the programs engaged in 2009’s hottest rivalry and are the furthest thing from enemies.
No, Colt McCoy and Sam Bradford aren’t trashing each other anonymously on message boards. They aren’t planning the quarterback equivalent of Ultimate Fighting come Oct. 17 in Dallas. You know, two Heisman contenders [...]