Texas Tech gained its 11th commit for the 2017 class this afternoon.

I’ve talked to my family and I’m blessed and proud to say that I’m committing to Texas Tech University #WreckEm

— Adrian Frye (@frye_adrian) June 17, 2016

Adrian Frye committed to the Red Raiders after picking up an offer earlier in the day. Texas Tech was his 8th offer and first Power 5 offer. Frye is a defensive back from Houston and attended the Red Raiders camp held there this week. He must have showed out since the coaching staff extended an offer following the camp. See guys, satellite camps are great! Below is a link to Frye’s Hudl (embed code isn’t working) and I’ll get a full breakdown on him in this coming week’s Recruiting Roundup.

Check out Adrian Frye’s Hudl here.

2.  Texas Tech @ TCU 10/29

I am super pumped for this game because of what has happened the past two years. In 2014 we were all turning off our TVs by the end of the 3rd quarter. In 2015 we saw one of the most miraculous endings in program history and left the Jones with our hearts broken.

Tech and TCU have only met 58 times with Tech having a 30-25-3 advantage. The rivalry has been renewed since the Horned Frogs joined the Big 12 Conference in 2012. Since then, the series is even at 2-2. Three of those four games were decided by ten points or less.

Last year the Horned Frogs went 10-2 in the regular season and finished with a victory in the Alamo Bowl against Oregon 47-41. In that game TCU overcame a 31-0 deficit at halftime to win. The comeback tied the largest one in bowl game history first done by, guess who…Texas Tech in the 2006 Insight Bowl.

TCU’s offense last season was ranked 6th in the nation. Two spots below Tech. The Horned Frogs were 9th in passing and 24th in rushing. Their defense was not great last year as they were 65th in total defense.

TCU has a lot of talent to replace on offense. The unstoppable Big 12 duo of QB Trevone Boykin and receiver Josh Doctson is gone along with Kolby Listenbee and RB Aaron Green. They also lost FS Derrick Kindred as well as offensive linemen Halapoulivaati Vaitai and Joey Hunt. On top of all that, the man who led the comeback in the bowl game, QB Bram Kohlhausen, is gone too.

Who will fill these shoes? At QB the choice seems to be Texas A&M transfer Kenny Hill. Kyle Hicks, the third-leading rusher on the team last year, returns at RB. Hicks only had 262 yards rushing and scored 3 touchdowns. Hicks may be the starter, but it remains to be seen. The biggest offensive weapon TCU has coming back is KaVontae Turpin, who was the team’s second-leading receiver in 2015. Turpin finished with 649 yards and 8 touchdowns for the season.

I love Tech’s chances in this game because TCU looks like they have taken a step back. Tech is returning more talent on offense than TCU, especially at receiver and running back. TCU’s defense should still be respectable since they only lost one player to the NFL. I think TCU’s defense will be better than Tech’s in this game but I believe Tech’s offense will be better than TCU’s. Hill will put up solid numbers against Tech’s lowly defense but, as I have mentioned before, I got to give Patrick Mahomes the edge. Mahomes has played in the same system for two years while Hill has not. Mahomes has also put up better stats than Hill. In his college career Hill has only passed for 2,832 yards with 24 touchdowns and 8 interceptions. Mahomes threw for more than 5,000 in 2015.

It will be hard for Tech going on the road to the same place they gave up 82 points in 2014, but this a different team. Tech is fueled by the last two years and will come out with revenge on their minds. If their defense comes to play and their offense can start hot, I believe Tech can pull away from the Horned Frogs by the fourth quarter.

Ryan Bartow of 247Sports is reporting the first commitment for the Nebraska Cornhuskers this weekend.

Blessed to be able to say I’m committed to play football for the university of NEBRASKA! :red_circle::white_circle: #GBR #huskerpower pic.twitter.com/9P6NelpoOh

— Broc Bando (@broc_bando) June 17, 2016

Broc Bando, who is currently at the IMG Academy in Florida but hails from Lincoln Southeast, is the first commitment to the Huskers this weekend.

Bando is a lower end 3 star recruit, who is the 53rd best Offensive Guard in the 2017 recruiting class. He is also the 167tg best player in the state of Florida.

Bando had offers from Georgia, Kansas State, Louisville and Mississippi State before settling with the favorite Huskers.

I would say that Bando is solid to be a Husker, but it will be interesting to see what he brings to the table. He is a local fellow, so that is a feather in the cap to Mike Riley and Mike Cavanaugh for sure.

Who is next? We will figure that out soon!!

“For his part, though, Elliott has been both humble and hard-working as he is focused on helping Dallas get back to winning,”

– Patrik Walker (cowboyswire)

Already in the infancy of mini-camp, Ezekiel Elliott is shining brought in Dallas. Video surfaced of the former ‘hero in a half shirt’ tearing through the defense and scoring a TD.

More impressive: the person Elliott darted past was Byron Jones, the unofficial world record holder at the broad jump.

Granted, this is just the prelude to the pre-season, but it’s always refreshing to see Buckeyes tearing it up on the next level.

Elliott has big shoes to fill as a Cowboy. The No.4 pick of the draft follows the mold made by Tony Dorsett and Emmitt Smith – legendary running backs to dawn the blue and white.

“Here’s the real reason 100,000 people show up for a very basic practice: Ohio State has created a caste system for its football fans,”

– Jeff Long (Columbus Monthly)

It’s no secret that Ohio State people like their football. In the June edition of Columbus Monthly, Jeff Long delves into the reason why 100,000+ plus people would jam into a stadium to watch a glorified practice.

According to Long, a ticket caste system has been created for home games in the Shoe. If you want to watch the Buckeyes take on the likes of Tulsa, that’ll cost you about $75.

Want to see an Ohio State-Michigan game? *laughs incredulously * That will run you about $195 per ticket. As Long notes, that seat will probably be somewhere in the stratosphere (a.k.a. C-Deck).

Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports Yes, 100,000 people showed up (and paid) to see a practice back in April. Welcome to Ohio State football fandom.

The “premier” ticket created for bigger games in the Shoe is basic economics at work. Ohio State is riding high during the Urban Meyer era, and are virtually on either national television or primetime every week. Buckeye football is the hottest ticket in town, and Ohio State wants to make money on their product.

Now, is roughly two Ben Franklin’s worth a Michigan football ticket in the Shoe? That’s debatable. However, if the stadium can be packed for the spring game, then certainly someone will buy that ticket at $195.

As the National Football Foundations’ Hall of Fame Ballot deadline approaches, two Buckeyes wait for the call

Monday is the deadline for the National Football Foundation’s Hall of Fame ballot. On the ballot are two former Ohio State greats

Former running back Keith Byars (1982-1985) and fullback Jim Otis (1967-1969) represent the scarlet and gray on the list of potential members for enshrinement.

For Byars, the Heisman runner-up in 1984 (behind Doug Flutie) led the nation in rushing on his way to claiming the Big Ten conference MVP. On top of that, Byars finished his Buckeye playing days with 3,200 rushing yards, good for fifth all-time.

Before the Byars days, there was Otis. Otis was part of the 1968 National Championship team. In 1969, Otis picked up consensus All-American honors (of the first team variety) and was All-Big Ten.

In the name of politics, it isn’t too late to have your voice be heard for who you want in the hall. While you can’t go to a polling place to cast your vote, you can take to social media and push your football writers to make the pick on who is the most deserving to get that call for enshrinement.

I say this because I’ve looked at the ballot daily since it came out, and I can’t reach a final verdict on who to pick.

Here’s the full list of potential hall of fame members:

Geoff Hammersley Mirror mirror on the wall, who do I pick to make the call? (please help)

STICK TO SPORTS!!!!!!

• You’re never too old for Twitter. Just look at K-State’s Bill Snyder

• Satellite camps may be partnering with the NFL

• But sir… Gotham is a real place

• An insight on law degrees by the New York Times

• If you need to take your mind off the fact that college football is still two months away, may I suggest you play the new Resident Evil VII demo. The Internet is having an an aneurysm trying to solve the hidden ending.

The Razorbacks might have just gotten a much-needed boost on the offensive line with the transfer of Jake Raulerson from Texas.

Raulerson will have two years of eligibility remaining and could compete for a starting position at center immediately. Arkansas’ previous center, Mitch Smothers, graduated and the Hogs had been practicing with Frank Ragnow at center in the spring. Ragnow had been playing at guard, and if Raulerson is able to take the starting spot at center, Ragnow could stay at guard. Raulerson can also play guard as well.

It’s no secret that offensive line has been a major concern for the Hogs this offseason since the team is replacing three starters and recruiting along the line has been inconsistent. Raulerson’s arrival should at least help alleviate some of those concerns. If nothing else, it adds to quality depth along the line.

Raulerson was also considering North Carolina and SMU as finalists. He was initially hoping to go to UCLA but wasn’t accepted into their MBA program.

From Burnt Orange Nation:

The 6’4, 295-pound Raulerson was a US Army All-American and the No. 2 center nationally, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings, prior to his early enrollment at Texas in early 2013. However, he arrived as an undersized lineman and was never able to consistently crack the starting rotation for the Longhorns.

In 2015, Raulerson was out of the rotation, but with Taylor Doyle’s graduation, he was expected to once again step into that starting role in 2016. His departure left the ‘Horns thin at the position.

John Werner of the Waco Tribune-Herald writes the notion of bringing Briles back is wrong:

But if Baylor ever planned to reinstate Briles after the scathing Pepper Hamilton findings, the national outcry would be deafening. It would provide critics with even more fuel that football trumps all at Baylor.

Briles oversaw a football program that the Pepper Hamilton report described as operating an “internal system of discipline separate from the university process.”

Whatever stock you place in Chip Brown news, Chip Brown mentioned yesterday that his sources expect Baylor will eventually release players from their LOI:

Six incoming freshmen football players have requested a release from their letters of intent with Baylor to enroll elsewhere. Baylor has 30 days to respond to those requests (on or about June 24), sources said. Grobe has been meeting with the players and their families to try to convince them to stay. But if those players still want their release when the 30 days expire, sources said those players will be granted their release, sources said.

Taurean Prince mentioned to Nate Taylor of the Indianapolis Star his love of Baylor and getting his degree:

With the Bears, Prince played power forward and small forward. He became a starter during his junior season and shot 39.5 percent on 3-pointers. But instead of declaring for the draft, Prince returned to Baylor for his senior season to finish his Bachelor’s degree in communications.

“I graduated on May 15,” he said. “That’s really a big stepping stone in my family. It was great and I knew I was going to be there all four years.”

Baylor closer Troy Montemayor was named to the American Baseball Coaches Association all-regional team, per the Waco Tribune-Herlad:

Baylor relief pitcher Troy Montemayor has been honored on the American Baseball Coaches Association all-region team.

We had an evening edition last night, you can read here.

Ezekiel Elliott may be gone. There’s no clear starter at running back between Bri’onte Dunn and Mike Weber. The offensive line has to replace four starters, including both tackles. Only 15% of Ohio State’s offensive experience will return for 2016.

In short, there’s a lot of uncertainty for the 2016 Buckeye run game — but there are also reasons to be optimistic. Below I’ll look at four factors that should influence our benchmarks for a successful 2016 run game: precedent, J.T. Barrett, the offensive line, and recruiting talent.

From Zeke to Weber, but with Barrett as the constant

The Buckeyes are familiar with uncertainty in the run game. Ohio State had new names at both running back and quarterback in 2014. Ezekiel Elliott and J.T. Barrett were hardly known outside of the Buckeye community entering the season, but combined for 2,972 rushing yards en route to a national championship.

We’re in a similar place for 2016. While Bri’onte Dunn could definitely win the running back race (or he and Weber could split carries), Mike Weber is the odds-on favorite. So what can Zeke and J.T.’s first year as starters tell us about next year?

In Zeke’s sophomore year, he averaged 6.88 yards per carry and 6.64 highlight yards per opportunity, while maintaining a 46.5% opportunity rate. Opportunity rate is the percentage of carries that gain five yards or more — which is theoretically the percentage of yards that the offensive line is responsible for (though, as a side note, Geoff Schwartz noted on the Solid Verbal that some running backs make their lines look much better).

Essentially, that means that Zeke was both dependable — nearly half of his rushes gained at least five yards — and explosive — with nearly 6.64 average highlight yards (average yards after the initial five — a measure of how big a player’s big runs are). So even with a mostly-new line in 2014, Zeke was able to be both efficient and explosive, fueling the stretch run of the Buckeye’s playoff push. He nearly repeated those numbers in 2015 despite a less-efficient passing game and quarterback uncertainty for much of the season.

So, assuming Mike Weber wins the job and doesn’t share carries, it’s fair to expect roughly a 6-6.25 yards per carry, 5.5-6 highlight yards per opportunity, and a 42-45% opportunity rate out of Weber.

Stability at quarterback with J.T. Barrett certainly will help. Not only will a healthy passing game benefit the run game, but so will a reliable second ground threat from the quarterback. J.T.’s rushing numbers declined by over a highlight yard per opportunity, though his opportunity rate only dropped by 2%. This indicates that J.T. was nearly as efficient with fewer touches last season, but he didn’t generate as many explosive runs as he did in 2014.

But stability should benefit J.T. greatly for 2016, so it’s fair to expect similar numbers at J.T.’s 2014 campaign: over 6.5 yards per carry, 6 highlight yards per opportunity, and a mid-50s opportunity rate.

Replacing The Slobs

The other half of the equation is the offensive line. Despite replacing four starters, there’s reason to expect good things from this year’s group. For one, the first stringers will all be incredibly talented, no matter who ends up in that first group. Second, the team replaced four starters for the 2014 season — what’s to say they can’t repeat that successful transition for 2016?

The 2014 line, which only returned Taylor Decker, managed to lead the country in opportunity rate, meaning that they created the most efficient overall rushing attack, and were second in opponent-adjusted line yards. Their one deficiency was in power success rate, which measures short-yardage situations.

The 2015 line, which was much more experienced, was still top-ten in the first two categories, but improved in short-yardage situations and fell in allowing negative rushing plays. It remains to be seen whether the 2016 version will achieve the same level of excellence, but I wouldn’t bet against Ed Warinner’s group.

Looking at talent

Finally, I looked at the recruiting rankings for Zeke and Mike Weber according to the 247 Composite. As you can see, they’re neck and neck, with Zeke holding a slight edge. So all in all, it’s fair to have high expectations for the 2016 run game, despite the near-total turnover on offense.