Ask An Athlete #3

(Freshman Year)

     Anonymous puts me on the spot with this question, he asks "You've been through 4 different defensive coordinators in your time at Texas Tech (Ruffin, Willis, Glasgow, Kaufman). Rank the following for each DC: (1) Scheme easiest to learn (2) Scheme you liked playing in the most. Don't be a homer, either! : )"

     Well... I can see why you wanted to stay anonymous! Lol. Here is my opinion of my experience...again, MY OPINION = Not fact. I bet you could ask every player on the team and come up with something different every time.  It depends on how you like being coached and what style you do the best in.  I will be the first to tell you that I like a coach that puts confidence in their players and sets expectations for them.  I believe players will strive for those expectations harder than they would being forced through negative motivation. I will be ranking the schemes in order from 1st place being the best to 4th place being the worst relatively speaking for ease of learning the scheme and enjoyment of playing.

• Ruffin
•      Ease of Learning = 1st
•      Enjoyment Playing = 2nd 
• Willis
•      Ease of Learning = 4th
•      Enjoyment Playing = 3rd
• Glasgow
•      Ease of Learning =3rd
•      Enjoyment Playing = 4th
• Kaufman
•      Ease of Learning = 2nd
•      Enjoyment Playing = 1st

-Student of the Game

I'm Ready for Football! Are You?

2012 Football Preview
Video from YouTube:

Video (CLICK HERE) : Duncan's Closer Look: Cody Davis.

Watching these videos got me even more excited about this year...I am ready to step out on the field and make this year my best one yet.  Football is around the corner and it will be here before you know it.  I'm excited about this year and the potential we have, time to turn in into reality.  Let's get the Jones rockin' this year!  The players are ready... are you?!  Wreck EM!

-Student of the Game

Leadership

     "Leadership is the art of getting others to want to do something that you believe should be done."  I read this from a book I am reading for class this summer.  The class is about Project Management and it has a lot of great information about leadership.  As the summer is well under way, leadership is a big deal.  Summer is voluntary, and as the years have gone by it seems like more players are getting bigger egos, resisting to join their team, or giving excuses and not coming.  It is hard to get 120 different players, from different backgrounds, and different values to focus and commit toward achieving the same goal and vision.  Still 99% of our team is there grinding to get better, but it takes a leader to gather the team together and focus them towards our goal.

     Ever since I began playing football, coaches told me I need to be more of a vocal leader.  But, as my high school DB coach Kevin Wilson would say "don't talk about it, be about it!"  This has been my motto ever since.  The coaches however want a vocal leader. Screaming, yelling, and enthusiasm looks and sounds good to a coach, but that doesn't mean it is effective to the fellow players.  I personally hate people who scream and yell, then fail to back it up.  There has been plenty of these type of players in my football career.  That is why I choose to lead by example and try and make my words count.  I don't say much, and when I do it's in a calm manner telling people what they should do and why it is important.  I want my words to carry weight... when I say something I mean it.  That is my role as a leader and that is how I play.  Everyone has their own style.  Thankfully we have a strong set of leaders this year and I believe we have the strongest leadership that I have seen since I have been here.  That is attribute to my fellow teammates.  Hopefully we will continue to work and grow leadership to focus this team and accomplish our vision and goals...

-Student of the Game

Getting Back in the Groove

     The May break... although I enjoyed my off time away from football and school, I don't like getting out of my workout routine.  I have been getting stronger and had just gotten into the grove of offseason workouts when the break hit.  When I don't have set workout times and a good place to workout I have to work that much harder to stay in shape.  Also, as one could imagine, it is very hard to push yourself to the edge like the strength coaches do.  Their organized workouts are high tempo and the workouts are designed to flow well in the Texas Tech weight room.  This is an added challenge when working out on your own.  No trainer is there to tell you what to do next which adds time between sets.  There is also a possibility of someone using the machine in the public fitness and rec centers.  That's why people like getting trainers at their local fitness place...they work them harder!

     This being said, I'm not waiting to be catered to.  I enjoy the challenge of finding a workout in a different environment.  My parents live in Whitney on the lake (see picture above) and I am originally from Stephenville; both of these small towns don't have the best workout equipment by any stretch of the imagination.  In Stephenville I enjoy working out at the high school and getting to see my old coaches.  There is also a couple fitness places where I can get a short term membership.  Whitney doesn't have hardly anything except the high school, so I have to improvise.  There is a pretty big hill down to the lake that I use to run and I also utilize the lake to do some long distance swimming.  This past week I got in a little blow up boat and swam with my arms about 2 miles total going from in front of my parents house to the bridge and back on Lake Whitney.  This was a long hard journey that nearly sunk the boat that was only design to carry up to 190 pounds.  I also got a nice sun burn!  But whatever the circumstances, during the break it is hard not to slack on staying in shape and enjoy the off time that we rarely get.

   The break is at an end and I am back in Lubbock, Texas.  I enjoyed seeing friends and family, watching my fiancee graduate, watching my cousin Jordan graduate, camping, and relaxing.  However, I'm glad to be back and ready to get back into my groove.  The routine of school, homework, football, workout, blogging, and social life is back in action!

-Student of the Game

Inside the Locker Room : I Hit for 15

     Inside the Locker Room for spring practice we have a board to track how many players make it through all 15 practices.  This can be difficult sometimes because there are usually a lot of injuries, big and small, that can occur.  Spring practice is different than most practices that we have during the fall as far as contact is concerned.  In the spring, there is more tackling and more physicality because it is so far from the season.  We have it early so players will have plenty of time to heal!  Also, coming off a big break in December/January there is a greater chance of injury because our bodies have to get back into the swing of things.  There is a board like the one above for both offense and defense. Whenever a practice is completed you get a Double T if you started and finished the practice.  If you cannot finish the practice for any reason, then that day doesn't count.  At the end of spring ball, if you started and finished all 15 practices then you are rewarded with a "I Hit for 15" T shirt shown below.  But more than that, it's more of a pride issue that you put in all the work you could to make yourself better and not let your teammates down.  Now you know if you see someone wearing this shirt, what they had to go through to earn it... I Hit for 15!

The Final Push

     It's that time of year again... where us students have to cram in last minute projects and try and remember everything we learned this semester to prepare for finals! I have been really busy with school, and haven't been able to blog much.  This final push comes around every semester and always takes a lot of energy out of me.  I always push hard in the classroom and rarely miss class.  However, student syndrome inevitably takes hold of me.  This is where you put off projects and homework till the last possible moment.  I try to stay ahead of the game, but as the semester gets close to the end the due dates begin to pile up.  Thankfully, the NCAA makes it where we can't have mandatory workout during the last days and into our finals so that we can focus and study.  Although I still workout on my own, this frees up my schedule to give academics priority.

     It is also hard to give this final push, because we are in school 24/7.  As a student-athlete, we are expected to stay over the summer and take both summer sessions.  And the summer sessions are even harder than the normal semesters because they are so crammed and you have to go to the same class everyday.  Except for a week or two between semesters we are always in the classroom.  This has been the case for even before I walked the stage for my high school graduation.  Football wants you on campus as soon as possible following your high school career.  For me, the first summer session started the week before I graduated.  I moved to Lubbock and went through a week of college classes before I had to go back to Stephenville to graduate and walk the stage for my high school diploma!  I have been in college classes ever since that June 2008.  This vigorous school schedule gets us through school fast, but wears on you.  However, I am thankful to now have my undergrad degree and working on my getting most of my masters while still on scholarship.  I know my time left here is short, so I will continue to push hard in the classroom and be a STUDENT of the game...

Role Models

     This past week I had an opportunity to go visit with kids at Cooper West Elementary School.  Seth Doege, DJ Johnson, and I went to wish the kids good luck on their STARR tests and sign autographs.  When we arrived there was an excitement about the staff and the kids that was very noticeable.  We were signed into the front office and then sent to their auditorium/cafeteria.  The kids, coming in the auditorium, were wide eyed and excited to see us.  One kid was even wearing Seth's jersey.  When all the kids were there, I was given a microphone with no instruction on what to say... maybe I should have thought of this before.  Well I struggled through a welcome speech with a little raider power chant and encouragement to do well in school.  Then I handed the microphone to the more experienced social speaker Seth.  Seth and DJ both took their turn thanking them for having us and giving them encouragement, then it was on to the autographs!  After we got to take pictures with the classes of students and teachers, and also have a question and answer with the students.  They asked us things like: what job do you want, what was your best game, and what made you choose Texas Tech?  It was very impressive to see how much they knew about us and how great of fans they were.  It was a fun experience that we get a lot of chances to do in the community, and I love it every time.

     As we were driving home, we started talking about how those kids used to be us.  It's crazy to think that back in the day we were in their shoes and looked up to football players.  I remember when I was growing up always mimicking my favorite football players and keeping up with them any way I could.  Football players were my role models and I dreamed of being a Stephenville Yellow Jacket one day.  Whether we like it or not, us football players are role models for kids and even our peers.  They look at everything we do and everything we say, and with internet today that is easier than ever.  All you have to do is get on Facebook or Twitter and see inside what we are doing and saying.  What we put out on the internet and what we do when others are around effects our image and also effects the kids who see it.  If we do it, then it must be right and the cool thing to do.  Therefore, we have an obligation to set a good example and do right because the whole world is watching!  Some players don't understand this and the stuff they put on the internet is terrible.  This not only gives us a bad image and a bad example, but also possibly jeopardizing future employment.  With the internet, once it's out there...it's out there.  Any bad stuff you do will end up on your future employers desk.  This is why I strive to not only be a good person, but also to be a good role model.  I invest in my future, and try and leave my mark by the things that I do and accomplish.  There is only one way to do this, "Don't talk about it, BE about it."  I believe when you strive to be great in everything that you do... the goals and dreams will take care of themselves.

-Student of the Game

Matthew 5:14-16 

“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."