Monday, August 16, 1999
The University Daily Kansan
Section B·Page 19
Big 12 Football
Texas Tech loses little, gains in experience
Heisman candidate Ricky Williams ready to outshine namesake
By Michael T. Rigg sportswriter@kansan.com Kansan sportswriter
Texas Tech coach Spike Dykes said that last season's surprising 6-0 start and Independence Bowl appearance was one of two things.
"I've been at Texas Tech a long time, and last year was the first year we had a chance to win every game," Dykes said.
"The moral of the story is that either we're getting better, or everyone else is getting worse."
Fortunately for Red Raider fans, it appears to be the latter. During the past six years, Texas Tech has qualified for
The Red Raiders will rely on running back Ricky Williams this season. Texas Tech beat Kansas 17-7 in 1998, the last time the two teams have met Kansan file photo
postseason play every season, the only team from the Big 12 South that can make that claim.
The scary part is that the Red Raiders only
appear to get stronger this season on offense, with the return of standout players such as Heisman Trophy candidate Rickey Williams, top offensive linemen Jonathan Gray and Curtis Lowery and quarterback Rob Peters, who is finally healthy after missing two contests and playing through pain much of last year.
Making big plays has become commonplace for the 5-foot-9, 190-pound Williams, who is relishing the chance this season to step out of the shadow of 1998 Heisman winner and namesake Ricky Williams, who departed Texas for the NFL.
RED RAIDERS QUICK FACTS
1998 Record: 7-5, lost to Mississippi in Independence Bowl
**Key Losses:** WR Donnie Hart, DE Montae Reagor
Coach: Spike Dykes (12th season)
Key Returnees: QB Rob Peters, RB Ricky Williams, OT Jonathan Gray, DE Taurus Rucker, LB Kyle Shiholz, PK Chris Birkhalz
Outlook: Texas Tech returns plenty of key players from last year's bowl team, including the Big 12's best offensive player in RB Ricky Williams. However, the Red Raiders still must prove they can win big games to compete in the tough Big 12 Conference.
"He helped me make a name for myself," Williams said, who was often referred to as the other Ricky Williams last season. "He's a great running back, and I admire him for a lot of the things he did, but if I just do the things I'm capable on of the field, then people will forget about the name."
Last season, Williams certainly proved his capabilities on the field, finishing fourth in Division I-A rushing with 1,582 yards on the ground, a statistic that has made Williams a bona fide 1999 Heisman Trophy candidate.
Williams' durability is what impresses Dykes the most.
"He has carried the ball as many as 40 times a game and never one Monday he
has not practiced," Dykes said. "He has never told us he was bruised, beat up or tired. That tells you a lot about him."
On the other side of the ball, however, Tech must replace five defensive starters, including consensus All-American Monte Reagor. The Red Raiders will rely heavily on preseason All-Big 12 linebacker Kyle Shipley to counter these
losses, but even Shipley knows replacing a star like Reagor isn't easy.
"We will miss not only his abilities on the field, but also his leadership." Shipley said. "Every time we needed a big play, he would do it."
easy nonconference schedule. Although the season opener at Arizona State figures to be a large obstacle, the Red Raiders then play at Southwest Louisiana and have a home date against the Mean Green of North Texas.
The Red Raiders will have excellent opportunities to make the necessary defensive adjustments due to a relatively
"I think we will be fine." Shipley said. "It's our time to step up and show what we can do."
Cowboys to concentrate on keeping focus
Quarterback rebounds from frustrating season
Bv Mike Miller
Kansan sportswriter
By Mike Miller
sportswriter@kansan.com
sportswriter@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
Frustrating.
Oklahoma State quarterback Tony Lindsay can sum up last season in one word.
The Cowboys were a mix of tough defense and poor focus, coming up just short in three critical games and finishing the season at 5-6, 3-5 in the Big 12 Conference. Two of the games were decided in the last minute, once against Nebraska in Lincoln and against Texas in Austin.
For Lindsay, a junior from Denver, the season marked a stark contrast from his freshman year, in which he won Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year. Though he posted numbers similar to his freshman year, four loses in the team's first six games put a damper on his spirits.
"Everyone around me kept encouraging me and telling me to keep my head up, but I didn't listen. It made for a tough year," he said.
gets tough."
"Everything stems from your quarterback," Simmons said. "When you're a quarterback, you have to display confidence in everything, especially when it
Last spring, Oklahoma State coach Bob Simmons took Lindsay aside and told to him to keep an upbeat attitude but also to assume more a leadership role on the team.
Lindsay will need to be tough this season. The focus of the Cowboy offense, he is the not only the main Cowboy gun, but the only one with experience.
No other Cowboy quarterback has seen any playing time.
"I'm gonna have to tell the rest of the Big 12 to stay away from Tony Lindsay," Simmons said.
Lindsay can stay away from the rush by giving the ball to the coach's son, senior running back Nathan Simmons, and junior fullback, Jamaal Fobbs. Nathan Simmons rushed for 937 yards a year ago but could be hampered by offseason knee surgery, Fobbs and sophomore Reggle White might split time in the backfield, so coach Simmons
said that Fobbs might see time at slotback.
Though the skill positions have returning starters, the offensive line only returns two, and senior guard Adam Davis spent last spring rehabilitating his right shoulder. But with an average weight of 300 pounds, the line should be strong enough to develop a running game.
The strength of the defense is the linebackers, including two-time All-Conference Kenyatta Wright. He anchors a defense that returns five starters from a squad that ranked 29th overall in the NCAA and eighth in the Big 12. Seniors
The defense is another story.
Tarrel Knauls, Raymond Cato and Jack Golden make up the rest of an experienced linebacker core. But, coach Simmons was quick to shoot down any unearned praise.
"The word potential is thrown out there, but when the season comes around, they have to prove they are the best out there," he said.
Especially when Wright has not practiced with the team this fall because of a disagreement with coach Simmons. No comment was made by the coaching staff, except that they were hopeful Wright would be with the team as soon as possible.
The defensive line returns one starter, but Simmons isn't too concerned about that.
"One of the things that is said about Oklahoma State is that they're good against the run, bad against the pass," he said. "We have to get better in the secondary."
Two seniors, cornerback Evan Howell and free safety Adam Edwards are the returning secondary starters on a team that was No.10 in pass efficiency in the Big 12. Junior Alvin Porter, who attended junior college last year, and freshman Chris Massey will try to bolster the defensive backfield.
The Cowboys return both senior place kicker Tim Sydnes and sophomore punter Scott Elder, who were consistent last season. Fobbs was the second-ranked kick returner in the league last year and could earn time as punt returner, too.
Bob Simmons, the 1997 Big 12 Coach of the Year, has a rejuvenated Cowboy pro
COWBOYS QUICK FACTS
1998 Record: 5-6
1998 Record: 5-6
1978 Record. 5-2
Coach: Bob Simmons (5th season)
- Key Losses: WR Willie Grissom, WR Sean Love, S Ricky Thompson.
Key Returnees: QB Tony Lindsay, RB Nathan Simmons, G Adam Davis, LB Kenyatta Wright, BL Tarrel Knails
**Outlook:** If a few things had gone the Cowboy's way last season, they would have been in a bowl game. Lindsay is poised for a huge year, and the defense might have one of the best units of linebackers in the Big 12. Wright is a terror, but he has yet to practice with the team. The Cowboys might surprise some people and finish second in the Big 12 South.
gram that could have won eight games last year. The task won't be any easier this season, as Oklahoma State plays six bowl teams, including trips to Lincoln, Neb., and College Station, Texas.
"We always talked about being the type of football team that could win on the road," he said. "Even on the road last year we had chances to win and didn't. We have to turn that around this year."
Lindsay remains the key to Oklahoma State's season. Even with the strength of the defense, he must direct an offense that came up short three times last season.
The solution to that? Lindsay's favorite word for the 1999 squad — focus.
"Last year, sometimes we were focused, sometimes we weren't," he said." But we have to focus this year. I know I say that a lot, but that's what we have to do win."
AP PRESEASON TOP 25
The top 25 teams in The Associatee Press' preseason college football poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, 1998 records, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote, and ranking in the 1998 final poll:
rank team
rank team pts pts pts
1. Florida St. (48) 11-2 1,720 3
2. Tennessee (15) 13-0 1,643 1
3. Penn. St. (4) 9-3 1,582 17
4. Arizon. St. (1) 12-1 1,537 4
5. Florida (1) 10-2 1,361 5
6. Nebraska 9-4 1,327 19
7. Texas A&M 11-3 1,314 11
8. Michigan 10-3 1,292 12
9. Ohio St. 11-1 1,160 2
10.Wisconsin 11-1 1,091 6
11.Georgia Tech 10-2 979 9
12.Miami 9-3 928 20
13.Virginia Tech 9-3 896 23
14.Georgia 9-3 829 14
15.Colorado 8-4 636 —
16.UCLA 10-2 587 8
17.Texas 9-3 487 15
18.Notre Dame 9-3 463 22
19.Southern Cal 8-5 455 —
20.Albama 7-5 445 —
tie.Kansas St. 11-2 445 10
22.Akansas 9-3 441 16
23.Purdue 9-4 370 24
24.Virginia 9-3 222 18
25.Arizona St. 5-6 108 —
Others receiving votes: Brigham Young 93,
Marshall 75, Mississippi State 72, Michigan
State 34, Air Force 25, Mississippi
23, Syracuse 23, Louisville 20, Wyoming
15, Louisiana State 13, Oklahoma State 9,
Missouri 7, North Carolina 6, Oregon 6,
Southern Mississippi 2, Washington 2,
Miami, Ohio 1, North Carolina State 1,
Texas Christian University 1, Texas Tech 1,
Utah 1, Western Michigan 1, West Virginia 1.
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