 "Photo: File photo")
IRVING- Colby Whitlock is getting to be pretty good at media days.
The senior nose tackle made his second trek to the event Tuesday and gamely answered a barrage of questions from reporters. This time he was dressed in a suit garnished with a Double T lapel pin that matched everyone in the Texas Tech contingent, including head coach Tommy Tuberville.
“(Tuberville) wanted us to be in suits and look good and professional,” Whitlock said. “It’s great. It’s a little hot, but it’s good.”
The suits are just one indication of the transformation the program is undergoing as the Red Raiders shift from the easygoing Mike Leach to the hard line style of Tuberville.
“It’s a lot more structured,” Whitlock said. “You know what’s gonna happen. The way he runs things and does things, it’s a breath of fresh air.”
Whitlock will be the anchor of a unit that will see plenty of transition, changing from a base 4-3 (with four linemen and three linebackers) into a 3-4, but even with the switch Whitlock drew a far smaller buzz than the two quarterbacks sitting in the same room with him. While this year’s dueling quarterbacks didn’t draw the attention that offensive linemen Brandon Carter’s skull tattoo did last year, they still were the focus of the bulk of media, but that’s just fine with Whitlock.
“It doesn’t bother me at all personally, it’s whatever,” he said of the media swarms interviewing Taylor Potts and Steven Sheffield.
It might be the last year anyone on the defensive unit can skirt attention on media day. Tuberville is known for focusing on defense and said he hopes the team shows more balance during his tenure.
“For some reason, everything was focused on offense,” he said. “I'm a team player. I wanted the players to know pretty quick this is going to be about team.
“It's not going to be about special teams or defense or offense. It's going to be about team. Everybody is going to play their part, play their role and get the job done. If we do that, then we've got a much better chance of winning a championship than we do if we separate the team.”
Whitlock, for one, said he is ready to get on the field and fulfill his new role. He said the 3-4 will allow linebackers to blitz and get the attention of the guards, a prospect that has him salivating.
“That might give me a chance to get one-on-one with the center. I just feel like that’s a battle I can win every time,” he said.
He said Tuberville hasn’t announced any formal leadership processes like choosing captains, but as a senior Whitlock is doing his best to lead by example.
“I’m going out and doing what I normally do, just playing hard, being where I’m supposed to be and doing the things I’m supposed to do.”
Whitlock expressed optimism that this could be the year Tech finally defeats both Texas and Oklahoma in the same season, a feat they have not achieved in the Big 12. He was a member of the 2008 team that went 10-2 and is referred to as one of the best Tech teams of all time, but he believes this team can be even better.
“I feel like this is the most well rounded, talented team that we’ve had since I’ve been here in my three years,” he said. “I feel like if we do what’s right and we execute what we’re supposed to we’ll be great.”
And if that’s true, then there will be enough media buzz surrounding the team next year to go around for everybody.
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