Tech's receivers this weekend..

[Techsan-81]

Welker, Peters, and Francis are gone from last year's squad. Nehemiah Glover and Jarrett Hicks are back, along with Trey Haverty and Cody Fuller. But there are some names that SMU fans probably aren't familiar with in the mix this year.

Supposedly, these are the guys that will start:

88 Jarrett Hicks Soph 6'4" 208
17 Bristol Olomua JR 6'5" 250
6 Nehemiah Glover Sr 5'8" 177
8 Joel Filani Soph 6'3" 225

Also you'll see some of Brandon Douglas of Mesquite, Danny Amendola (true freshman) from The Woodlands, Cody Fuller (plays CF on the baseball team), Trey Haverty, Joey Hawkins (6'9" tall), and the former Parade All American JUCO transfer Marquis Johnson.

Tech fans are very anxious to see Olomua and Marquis in particular. Most think Hicks will have a breakout year, and Amendola is said to have the best hands of anybody.

[SMUguy]

Jeez, a 6-9 receiver AND a receiver who goes 6-5, 250? Did Bobby Knight sign a permission slip to let the suit up?

Hey T-81, I'm curious about your special teams. I've read all about the punter/kicker, but who holds? (A first-year holder, I hope!) Deep snapper? Up-man on punts? We didn't get much pressure last year on kicks, and I'm just hoping we can this year.

[westexSMU]

Hey Techsan-81, How fast is that 6' 5" 250 lb. reciever ? Is he a JUCO transfer, freshman or what ?

[Techsan-81]

I'll have to find out about the special teams guys. The kickers are pretty set with Keith Toogood handling the field goals and Alex Reyes from Allen doing the punting, but I have no clue on the holder or deep snapper. Mickey Peters did the holding last year I think, so that'll be somebody new.


The 6'5" 250 lb guy (Olomua) is a good story. Not sure of his 40 time, but he's supposedly pretty fast, and athletic for his size. He is a transfer from BYU, originally from Hawaii. He was a prized recruit at BYU and just sorta fell out of favor with the coaching staff there for some reason.

His uncle is the Texas Tech offensive line coach, so he came to Tech. He sat out last season. He had a big academic load over the spring and summer to get eligible, so he didn't actually start formally practicing with the team until this fall. There was some question about exactly how much contribution he would be able to make, but in the last two weeks he has really asserted himself. He's a runaway freight train after he catches the ball and has knocked a few of our DBs silly. He'll be wearing jersey # 35 I think.

[Techsan-81]

Here's an article about the special teams from yesterday's Lubbock paper:

Lubbock AJ article on Tech special teams

[83RedRaider]

X - Split end Jarrett Hicks is really 6'2.5 or something. He is a stud.
20 Danny Amendola 5'11, 174. He is so much more polished than we ever dared to expect. Not sure how he does, but he isn't redshirting.

Y - TE
Bristol Olomua is a BYU transfer and the nephew of our OL coach. He is a legit 6'5. His WT is listed from 225 to 260, the most common is 245 or so. I have no idea what his 40 times is, but has good speed and is fluid. He probably won't start the SMU game because he sat out a bit & nursed an injury during the process. However, has worked out w/ 1st team a lot.

#24 Cody Fuller probably starts. He is a JR who had minimal success as a RS FR & margional success as a RS SO. He is our CF on the baseball team & incredibly athletic. He is 6'0, 200. We may see him on teams w/ lighter DL & have him always running routes & use Bristol when we need a TE to block a lot too.

#80 Joey Hawkins is an enigma. Too many drops last season, but looked awesome at times.

Z - Flanker
8 Joel Filani Soph 6'3, maybe 6'2.75. Listed at 225 but said he was down to 215 last spring. Came in at 205, bulked up as a RS year, looked bad at that wt, said this spring was down to 215 & broke out. He is still listed at 225. Was a monster in HS and dominated Arizona HS ball. We've been waiting to see him break out.

11 Brandon Douglas RSSO 6'0, 190. Was a hero of a Mesquite's 15-0 State Championship team a few years back. Looked good from day one but constatly nicked up. Hopefully healthy now.

27 Marquis Johnson SO 6'2, 225. Stud recruit for Texas a few years ago who didn't qualify then went on a JUCO odessy but now here at Tech. Don't worry about him too much. He probably only gets 5 snaps in the game as he needs to be brought up to speed. He probably won't be a serious part of the O until the UT game, if at all this season.


H - What Wes Welker played last season
6 Nehemiah Glover Sr 5'8" 177. He may be 5'7.25 or 5'7.5. Faster than Wes & just as fearless. Wes did get up to 190 though.

7 Tray Haverty 5th year SR 6'0, 207 backs him up but won't play much. Tray started out as a WO & earned a ship. He had his moments but has not been able to break into real PT.

Might as well consider the TB or F because they'll get as many catches as rushes:
19 Taurean Henderson JRorSR, was a PQ out of HS 5'9, 198 - Going to be a moster this year. Rushed for 3000 yards & 40 TDs as a SR in Gatesville State Championship team.

4 Johnnie Mack 5th SR transfer from JUCO top program CCSF. 5'7, 175 & very fast. Generally comes in the 2nd half when the D is tired from chasing Taurean.

40 Taurance Rawls RS FR 5'10, 198 from Garland High. He may or may not play. He showed he is ready to move in 2005.

[Corso]

That's a heck of a report - thanks.

I think Coach Gush had the right idea in that chalktalk - keep these guys in front of us. That's also the hard part, though, since they've always had WRs with the jets to take a quick screen or crossing pass and blow through the secondary for big plays.

Maybe we can convince Cumbie to miss every pass, so they won't have that chance.

Some how I doubt it.

[The PonyGrad]

How does "keeping then in front" square with "challenge at the point of the reception?"

Tech tossed a lot of picks last season. That might be a key in the game, especially if we are to have a shot at winning.