 "Photo: Sam Grenadier")
Texas Tech began spring practice with full knowledge that expectations are higher than usual.
The only people the Red Raiders are worried about are themselves as Wednesday was the start of Tech's road to the 2008 season.
"I thought it was pretty good for the first day," Tech quarterback Graham Harrell said. "I thought we moved around well. With that many players coming back, we should be pretty sharp offensively. I think we were pretty sharp, but we have a lot of room to get better. There's no question about that. We weren't as sharp as we can be. We were still kinda sloppy at times. We just have to keep getting better. If we improve every day, we're going to be a really special unit and really special team, and I think we know that. That's going to be our goal. Just get better every day."
Eight starters return on defense and 10 return on offense from last season.
Wednesday's practice focused more on skill and knowledge than contact. Tech players were in jerseys and shorts and participated in walking through plays and drills.
The practice also gave a chance for many injured players from the 2007 season to return to the field after a season of rehab. Receiver Todd Walker and running back Baron Batch were two of those players. Both Batch and Walker received repetitions on offense in hopes to make contributions to the team this season.
There also were many new faces being worked into the lineup.
With the spring depth chart being released before practice Wednesday, players such as Detron Lewis received many reps. On the depth chart, Lewis is slated as one of the starting receivers.
The return of Batch adds to Tech's depth at running back. The Red Raiders welcome back Aaron Crawford, Kobey Lewis and Shannon Woods at halfback, all of which saw significant time last season.
Tech defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill, who took over the position in the middle of the 2007 season, enters his first full season as Tech's coordinator.
The Tech defense returns many young players who developed last season including Brian Duncan, Brandon Williams, Jamar Wall and Colby Whitlock.
One of the most notable changes in the defense may be L.A. Reed's move from receiver to strong safety.
"I thought it was a good start," McNeill said. "I think the guys had a great mentality. Approached (Wednesday) with a great mentality which is what we expected. I think they expected, too. Not a lot of contact can happen these first two days without pads, but I really thought the speed - they played fast, they practiced fast, they really had some carry over from the bowl practices. They grasp the new little twinks that we put in and that we added as well."
Williams, who led the team in sacks in 2007 with five, said Wednesday was about listening more than anything else.
"It was good," he said. "Everybody moving around real good. It's a lot of teaching going on. It was OK for the first day."
Leach said it is vital the Red Raiders do not pay attention to how others feel about this year's team.
"They need to do a good job of that," he said. "That's one thing. A smart player does a good job of that. Ignore what's said and all the rest because the opinions that count are the ones that we have in a team meeting. The only thing that we can really improve is improvement from one day to the next. If we do that, then we'll be as good as we can be anyway."
The Red Raiders will practice for 15 days, including April 19 - the day of the Red-Black Spring Game.
Friday is the last day the players will practice in jerseys and shorts, as Saturday is the first day they suit up in pads.
Harrell said now that practice has started, the excitement has done the same for the Red Raiders.
"It's still a long ways to the season," he said. "I think a lot of people are anxious for it. Everyone in the locker room is ready to go, ready to play. I think everyone's excited. That's going to be big, and I think it's because everyone realizes how good we can be. If we get on the same page, if we play together, and if we really get together, then I think everyone realizes this team can be really, really good."
Tech practices every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, and works on conditioning drills every Tuesday and Thursday until April 21, the last day of spring practices. Tech practices are open to the public.
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