LAWRENCE JOURNAL-WORLD
KUED • SPORTS
AUGUST, 1996 PAGE 55E
4
Southwest Conference runners-up return 14 starters
Texas Tech returns 'great core'
BY ANDREW HARTSOCK
JOURNAL-WORLD SPORTS WRITER
Just when Spike Dykes thought he had all the answers, the questions changed.
Dykes, Texas Tech's 10thyear football coach, and the Red Raiders finished no
lower than second in the Southwest Conference the past five seasons.
Tech placed seventh in the Big 12 preseason media poll.
"We worked like a dog," Dykes said, "and finally became a contender in that league. And then they disbanded it."
At least Dykes is taking an experienced group into the fledgling Big 12 Conference.
Tech returns 14 starters including eight on offense
from the team that went 9-3 last season, tied for second in the SWC and beat Air Force in the Copper Bowl,the
Raiders' third straight bowl appearance.
"It looks like we've got our tail to the heater," Dykes drawled. "But that doesn't hurt anything. I told our players, they better get excited. ... We've got a great core coming back."
Central to that core are QB Zeb-
bie Lethridge and '95 SWC rushing champion Byron Hanspard. Lethridge, a junior most often compared to Randall Cunningham, threw for 1,885 yards and set the SWC record for completions without an interception. Hanspard, also a junior,
rushed for 1,374 yards and 11TDs last season.
"It looks like we've got our tail to the heater. But that doesn't hurt anything.I told our players, they better get excited... We've got a great core coming back."
"Zebbie ended up as a great quarterback," Dykes said.
Spike Dykes
"He's a catalyst, a great leader for us. Football's important to him, and winning's important to him. ... And Byron was a Parade All-American. I didn't know what that meant until he got here. But I know now."
They'll operate behind a line that returns almost
intact. Tech lost just one starting offensive lineman to graduation.
"Nobody knows who's playing on the offensive line, except their mothers," Dykes said. "They're ugly, they don't smell good and they all look
the same. But we've got a good nucleus of 'em coming back."
The same can be said for the defense. Three seniors graduated from the secondary and two from the linebacking corps, but the line returns.
"On defense, we've got some big shoes to fill," Dykes said. "Our linebackers
are gone, but the good news is I think we've got some pretty good candidates to replace them. We get the bulk of our defensive line back. I don't know if that's good or bad. The guys who made most of the plays are gone, so those guys have to step up."
Tech will meet Kansas in Lawrence on Oct. 12.
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