Everywhere a Texas Tech football fan turns, it seems the Red Raiders have become the talk of the town - or the college football world for that matter.
Whether it be on the cover of magazines or daytime television, Tech football is getting its 15 minutes of fame.
The Red Raiders enter the 2008 season with many storylines, but the team's No. 12 preseason ranking in the AP Poll - the highest in 31 years - aids in garnering the extra attention.
On the cover of the 2008 edition of Dave Campbell's Texas Football magazine, Tech receiver Michael Crabtree, quarterback Graham Harrell and coach Mike Leach make a rare appearance.
"It's really not very often where you've had Tech by itself," Adam Hochfelder, executive director for the magazine said. "It's very unique."
In the 49 years the magazine has been around, Tech has been on the front by itself five times. The last time Tech was on the cover by itself was 1990 when former coach Spike Dykes made the appearance. The last time before that was when former quarterback Rodney Allison made the 1977 cover.
Hochfelder said over the years, some fans have believed Tech has not had its fair share of attention with the publication, but Crabtree, Harrell and Leach making the cover this year speaks volumes.
Over the years, the magazine has received "creative letters" from Tech fans who wished to see players or Mike Leach on the cover of the magazine, Hochfelder said.
"Most of the reaction in years past has been that we've selected some other story versus Texas Tech," he said. "Everything we've heard from fans (this year) has been really, really positive. The school has been fantastic about promoting it. There's people who get real defensive about it, that we haven't had Tech."
The exposure extends to television as well with Harrell and Crabtree making appearances for interviews on ESPN's College Football Live.
Scott Harves, producer for the show, said it is business as usual when choosing the best collegiate players to interview and that Crabtree and Harrell happen to fall into the category.
"We try to have the best players and coaches on and obviously if you're studying the best players in college football, Michael Crabtree is certainly on your Top 10 list, if not Top 5," he said. "I think, as would all shows would do, we're trying to get the best players on as possible. He's certainly one of them."
The style of football the Red Raiders play is a reason Harves said the team always has attention, but the expectations for the 2008 season only helps.
"I think they're different, so I think people are attracted to the fact that they play a different style of football," he said. "They've had a lot of hype in other seasons as well and have obviously fallen flat in some of their bigger games. As a person who has covered college football for the last eight or nine years, they're exciting to watch. I'll be the first to admit."
Tech's exposure may be at an all-time high heading into this season.
Former Tech quarterback Robert Hall said since his playing days in the 1990s, the school's exposure has changed considerably.
But with the attention, come the opponents hungry for the same exposure, as Hall said the Red Raiders have to stay focused throughout the season even with the extra scrutiny they may receive.
"You have to keep working," he said. "I know at times when we were picked to, let's say, beat A&M or we came in there with a good record. At times you get to believing what you're reading and what people are saying about you. You gotta always be humble. Work hard and kind of be scared to lose. You still have to go play the game because regardless of the publicity that you're getting, these are the teams that are going to see that get motivated to play you."
Keeping the players grounded and prepared for every game is a goal for the Red Raider coaching staff.
Tech defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill said the experienced players understand they still need to play the games.
"Coach Leach does that very well," McNeill said. "Our kids have been around us enough - the older kids, the Grahams, the Crabtrees, Rajons and those guys - know that we're not going to let them get too over confident about anything. We know we have a lot to prove. It's proven between the white lines. It's going to be proven with hard work and consistency. It's a long journey. It's not a sprint. It's a marathon. It's a thousand mile marathon really. Each step is important. Each practice is important."
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