Amari McCrottry is a 6'-6" PG we are on.

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a. Vince Lombardi
b. Chuck Noll
c. Bill Belichick
d. Don Shula
e. Jimmy Johnson
f. Mike Shanahan
g. Bill Belichick

Transfer RHP from West Alabama, originally from Alexandria.

He’s 7’0 tall.

Here are updated NCAA transfer portal statistics. Approximately 30% of portal entries have not found a new home (this includes players that were told to leave the team, many of which are 'done with NCAA athletics').
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Second punter Tech has added this week:

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Tech has 12 (!!!!!) players in affiliated professional baseball in 2023.

Shemar Bartholomew is a transfer DB from Northwestern State that has one year of eligibility remaining.

He’s an All-Southland Conference guy that would add additional experience to the cornerback position.

Bartholomew has been in talks w/ Tech, and the plan is to visit some time this week. The exact day isn’t set, so stay tuned on that front.

The last few additions have been, “if you show up for a visit, you’re committing” type of deal when it comes to transfers. We’ll see if the same happens with this one.

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The Dogs are getting that work in.

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I have so many thoughts on the 2017 LA Tech Football Season:

- Three (!!!!) losses by one-point in a single season is INSANE.

- Carlos Henderson turning pro instead of coming back in 2017 might have been the difference in a 7-win season turning into a 10-win season.

- J’Mar was a first-year starter with sky high expectations based on one game from 2016.

- I’ll forever believe that J’Mar’s INT on the goal line at South Carolina changed Skip’s mentality with him at QB for 3 years. He just never fully trusted him, in my opinion.

- Blake Baker really came into his own as a DC. That defense wasn’t flashy, but it was really good.

- Amik stepped on campus and was immediately a DOG.

@cwardell03 with a great recap. Your thoughts?

Koby Duru from McNeese State will camp at La Tech today.

He’s been at Montana State, San Diego State, and McNeese State during his career.

There isn’t a ton of production there. Would Tech give him a scholarship? I have no idea.

6’2, 205.

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Today:

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Why were these cancelled?

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@cwardell03 recaps a really fun 2016 football season for the ‘Dogs.

Ryan Higgins led the #2 scoring offense in the country that possessed a 4,500-yard QB, 1,000-yard RB, and two 1,500-yard receivers.

Tech scored over 50 points five times in 2016.

The negative: Dropped a 21-20 game at Arkansas (two missed field goals), gave up 58 to Mahomes (he turned out pretty good), and fell to WKU in Champ Game after beating them in regular season.

Is Putin Dead?

Newsy day today.

Daniel Beale from Catholic High will be in for an unofficial visit tomorrow.

Tech has offered Beale & Marcos Davila (Purdue commit) at QB in Class of 2024. That’s it.

What’s that mean? Beale is who Tech wants.

Offers: Tech, Houston, Tulane, North Texas, ULL, Colorado State, Memphis, ULM

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Later dude

Valdosta awaits

I believe this may be a walk-on.
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Some really interesting stuff in here:

- Bruno only allows 1 quarterback pressure in 52 pass blocking snaps in his first career start.

- Singleton plays starter snaps in the secondary.

- Woods must've been banged up to not have played one snap, but that's just a guess.

Here is what I think in terms of easiest to hardest games on the 2023 schedule:

1. Northwestern State - The Demons knocked off the 'Dogs in 2014 in Ruston. Tech got their revenge in 2017. In 2023, plan another fireworks show. Tech will roll the Demons.

2. FIU - First game of the season can be tricky, but it's an 8 PM kickoff at The Joe. It's also a conference game. Tech is an early 10.5-point favorite. I think Tech wins by 14-17 because the Panthers have been crushed by the portal this off-season, but I will say that this is a HUGE game for Sonny Cumbie to start year two. Need this win.

3. Sam Houston State - This is another home game, which is why I think Tech wins. The Bearkats will end up being pretty good in C-USA over time, but I think it'll be a mismatch in the trenches in year on.

4. Jacksonville State - Will Tech have plenty to play for in late November? We've seen how these games can go with not much on the line, and it's a road game. Rich Rod is also in year 2 which causes some uneasiness knowing that he'll get their offense clicking.

5. New Mexico State - Jerry Kill is a good football coach. How in the world did he take that program to a bowl game in year 1? This is one of those games that Tech has to win if it wants to go bowling.

6. Middle Tennessee - I said a few days ago that there is no way MTSU is better than Tech. Well, this road game will tell us a lot. Tech has lost its last two trips to Murfreesboro. Not that Tech has a huge home field advantage or anything, but there will be 19 people at this game.

7. UTEP - This isn't a fun road trip. UTEP isn't an easy team to square-off against with their boring style of offense. Can Tech stop the run? Can Dana Dimel get UTEP back to .500? In El Paso, turnovers will likely be the difference.

8. North Texas - I'm a huge believer in Eric Morris. Can he get it going in year one? I don't think he'll run the ball as much as Littrell did, and I think that plays into Tech's hands with its lack of depth on the DL. Chandler Rogers is a ULM transfer that will likely start at QB for the Mean Green. If Tech is "good", they'll win this game at home.

9. SMU - SMU defeated the Bulldogs on a Hail Mary in 2021. Remember that? Fun times. I'm still not sold on Rhett Lashlee as a Head Coach, but they'll have more talent on the field than Tech will. One advantage that Tech will have is that it will already have a game under its belt. Preston Stone was the #5 QB in America and will be making his 2nd career start. Will he be as advertised?

10. Liberty - Jamey Chadwell might be the best G5 coach in the country. I assume Kaidon Salter will be the QB. He’s got talent, but hasn’t blossomed just yet. Chadwell might be the guy that gets it all clicking. Very tough road game.

11. WKU - Only reason this isn’t the toughest game on the schedule is because it’s at home. Austin Reed is a STUD at QB.

12. Nebraska - The Cornhuskers wont wow you with talent, but Matt Rhule is fantastic. Jeff Sims at QB will be tough to slow down and it’ll be an excellent environment.

Thoughts? Which games would you switch around? How many games does Tech win? I see a bunch of toss up games, and that scares. Getting to a bowl game would make this season a success, but I want to get greedy and be top 3 in the league.

There was a very good article in the Tyler Morning Telegraph today about our Bulldog Blitz here in Tyler. They wouldn't let me transfer the link. There were also 4 nice color pictures that didn't transfer. Did the Times give us this kind of coverage in Shreveport?

College Notebook: Louisiana Tech coaches, AD visit Tyler
By Brandon Ogden bogden@tylerpaper.com Jun 23, 2023 Updated 15 hrs ago
Louisiana Tech’s Bulldog Blitz made its way to Tyler this week.

After a hometown visit in Ruston and a trip to Shreveport/Bossier City, the Bulldogs made their way to Tyler on Monday and stopped at Javi’s before trips to Dallas, Houston and Baton Rouge.

“They always come to us and watch us play or we’re on the road and they come, so for us to be able to get to their environment and be able to visit with them when it’s not a competition, and we can kind of relax and be able to spend some time with our stakeholders, it’s always a privilege,” Louisiana Tech women’s basketball coach Brooke Stoehr said.


Stoehr was joined by Louisiana Tech director of athletics Dr. Eric A. Wood and other head coaches Sonny Cumbie (football), Talvin Hester (men’s basketball), Brian Johnson (track and field) and Lane Burroughs (baseball).

“This is really important to us,” Wood said. “We can’t just stay in Ruston, particularly as we try to get people excited about next year and turn the page. It’s great for us to bring the coaches to the fan base. We want to get out to the people. They come and support us at our events. This is a time in the summer where we can make it happen and return the favor.”

Here is a look at what each had to say during their trip to Tyler:

ATHLETICS

Winning records and conference titles were hard to come by for Louisiana Tech during the 2022-23 school year with the women’s basketball, softball and women’s tennis programs as the only ones to finish above .500.

“I’m not naïve in that we had a tough year, particularly in football, basketball and baseball,” Wood said. “Coach Hester and Coach Cumbie are entering their second year and getting their feet under them. We know that Lane is going to bounce back. And Brooke was just shy of 20 wins again with another postseason appearance.

“It didn’t feel like we wanted it to feel, and it didn’t look like we wanted it to look, but there’s a lot of optimism moving forward.”

FOOTBALL

The Bulldogs went 3-9 in their first season under Sonny Cumbie.

But after a transfer portal haul that includes former Boise State quarterback Hank Bachmeier, former Baylor running back Sqwirl Williams and former Nebraska receiver Decoldest Crawford, the expectations are there for a big turnaround in 2023 for Louisiana Tech.


“I think we’ve had a lot of roster turnover,” Cumbie said. “The transfer portal has been good for us from the standpoint of we’ve been able to bring in a lot of players on defense, which we weren’t very good on defense last year. We will play better at quarterback this year with the addition of Hank Bachmeier and Jack Turner, who is already on our roster.

I think our staff and our team is really excited about where we are at right now. We play Aug. 26 at 8 p.m. against FIU in Ruston. Hopefully we will have a large East Texas crowd that comes over for the game and we’ll be able to play a lot better than we did at any point this year.”

East Texans currently on the Louisiana Tech roster are linebacker Brevin Randle (Marshall), punter/kicker Buck Buchanan (Marshall), defensive back Zion Hopes (Jefferson), tight end Nate Jones (Malakoff), offensive lineman Keystone Allison (Carthage) and defensive back Keddrick Harper (Carthage).

“I think East Texas is very important for us,” Cumbie said. “You mentioned our kicker, Buck Buchanan. We have linebacker, Brevin Randle, his father is a coach over in Marshall. We also have two Carthage kids who are state champions who know how to win. They come from a great program with Coach (Scott) Surratt, who is established.

“I think that’s important that we get kids that are highly talented that come from great programs, and they’ve won a lot of football games. The other thing is they love Ruston and they love North Louisiana. Nowadays, retention is the name of the game. So if you can check as many boxes as you can before the kids get there in terms of all of those things. And East Texas kids fit the mold, so we are continually recruiting kids from this area, and we will as long as we’re there.”


MEN’S BASKETBALL

The Bulldogs went 15-18 overall and 7-13 in a Conference USA that featured Final Four participant Florida Atlantic, NIT champion North Texas and CBI champion Charlotte.

All of those schools are now gone from the conference, and Louisiana Tech is joined by Florida International, Jacksonville State, Liberty, Middle Tennessee, New Mexico State, Sam Houston, UTEP, Western Kentucky and Kennesaw State.

“I think everybody is adjusting,” Hester said. “We will adjust accordingly. I think we’re bringing in some really good teams in the league, a lot of conference champions the last couple of years, so we’re excited about it and read for the challenge. I think this year prepared us for what we’re looking for in the future.

“We’re just trying to continue to teach and build. We will try to get carryover from the guys that are returning and teach the new guys what we’re about and what we’re doing and then just trying to continue to grow. I think we have a good bunch of guys. Hopefully we come in ready to play.

“We’ll play hard defensively and be tough. Hopefully we protect the rim a little better and rebound a little better and continue some of the things we started last year.”

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

The Lady Techsters went 19-13 and advanced to the WNIT this past season and will look to continue to build on that success in 2023-24.

“We’ve got a good nucleus from last year’s 19-win WNIT appearance,” Stoehr said. “We are adding a transfer from TCU in Evie Goetz and two freshmen in Paris Guillory and Jianna Morris. We are excited about those three.”


TRACK AND FIELD

Olympian Johnson, who competed in the long jump in the 2008 Summer Olympics, is finishing his first season as the head coach at Louisiana Tech.

“The first season went well,” Johnson said. “We are technically still in the season with one athlete trying for USAs. So far, so good.”

Johannon Murray (Grace Community), Jenaia Williams (Tyler Legacy) and Hunter Clayton (Atlanta) represent East Texas on the Louisiana Tech track and field team.

Murray tallied 4,911 points in the heptathlon, which ranks as the fifth-best heptathlon score in program history, to finish sixth overall at the Conference USA Outdoor Championships.

“Jo is actually coming back for her grad year, and that’s awesome for us,” Johnson said. “Being able to dip into Texas is very instrumental for us to get our program moving in the right direction.”

BASEBALL

The Bulldogs went 28-31 and were eliminated by Charlotte in the Conference USA Tournament.

Burroughs said recruiting in Tyler and East Texas has been instrumental to their success.

Louisiana Tech currently has two former Tyler Junior College standouts on the roster — pitcher Reed Smith and infielder Dalton Davis, who hit .290 with 15 home runs and 58 RBIs.

“Being here in Tyler is awesome,” Burroughs said. “We’ve had great success not only with Tyler Junior College but Tyler itself and East Texas. This year, Dalton Davis was our three-hole hitter this year, and Reed was outstanding. Before that, Hunter Wells played at Tyler Junior College, and in three years, broke our all-time hits record. Tyler in general has been good to us.”


Former Tyler Lee Red Raider Parker Bates played at Louisiana Tech from 2017-21 and hit .310 with 32 home runs, 49 doubles and 194 RBIs.

“Parker is unbelievable,” Burroughs said. “He’s a Bulldog man, which means he’s a forever captain. He was one of the guys when we had the tornado, and Parker was an All-American, and he didn’t leave. He could’ve left. He could’ve went to Texas or A&M, and he would’ve played. He was loyal to us. Parker Bates is a program changer. I kind of inherited him. He was already there when I got the job. Just to watch him grow as a player and a young man, he was one of the finest character young men I’ve ever coached. He’s a great player obviously, but as far as integrity, character and work ethic, they don’t come any better than Parker Bates.”

There were some pretty big OL at Tech's football camp today as shown in the clip below. Several of our '24 (and beyond) recruits were in.

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Tech's all-time career, season, and single-game tackles leader (Glenell Sanders) has been selected to the Louisiana Tech Hall of Fame Class of 2023. The all-time winningest basketball coach and the only coach (Andy Russo) to take Tech to an NCAA Mens Basketball Tournament Sweet 16 was also included.

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Titanic Sub Tourism Expedition - You Tuber Who Went on OceanGate Expedition to see Titanic