mrescape43
08-08-2006, 07:31 AM
Prized recruit leaves ASU for Tech
BY DON WILLIAMS
AVALANCHE-JOURNAL
Throughout Mike Leach's time coaching Texas Tech, the Red Raiders have had one quarterback after another lead the nation in passing. Now they'll have one who, coming out of high school, led the nation in recruiting attention.
Derek Shaw, judged by PrepStar magazine as the No. 1 quarterback prospect in the country when he came out of Oceanside, Calif., High School in 2005, said Monday that he is transferring to Texas Tech.
Shaw was a freshman last fall at Arizona State, but left ASU this spring. He plans to pay his way to Tech as a walk-on this fall and go on scholarship in the spring. Shaw is spending time this week with his father, who lives in Arlington, and said he plans to come to Lubbock sometime in the next few days.
He toured the campus in June.
"The single most important thing is the people,'' said Shaw, who was born in Arlington and lived there until age 7. "I took the visit and really enjoyed being with the guys and being with the coaches and the town and everything.
"Tech runs a spread offense, and I ran a spread offense in high school. That kind of offense suits me well, I think. I just felt that it was a perfect fit.''
Shaw, who said he is 6-foot-31/2 and 215 pounds, must sit out this season in accordance with NCAA transfer rules. Then he will have four years of eligibility remaining after redshirting last season.
It was unlikely that Shaw would have played this season at Arizona State, which has two proven quarterbacks returning - senior Sam Keller, who passed for 2,165 yards and 20 touchdowns, and sophomore Rudy Carpenter, who came in when Keller got hurt and finished the season with 2,273 yards and 17 TDs.
Shaw
Shaw said playing time wasn't the reason for his transfer.
"It's a little more complicated than that,'' he said. "I was immature going into college. I made some mistakes in my life, and it was a growing process, a learning process and a maturing process. I thought I needed a new start. It wasn't really anything to do with football.''
Tech, after starting fifth-year seniors for four seasons in a row, finally will turn to a boatload of young quarterbacks. Sophomore Graham Harrell and redshirt freshman Chris Todd, prolific schoolboy quarterbacks in their own right, are battling for the job this August. True freshman Taylor Potts started practice Monday with the Raiders. To land those three, Tech had to beat ASU and North Carolina State for Harrell, Oklahoma and South Carolina for Todd and Michigan for Potts.
The Raiders also have a recent oral commitment from Little Rock, Ark., high school senior Stefan Loucks, a two-time 4,000-yard passer.
Shaw was more hotly pursued than any of them after his senior year at Oceanside, when he passed for 2,813 and 30 touchdowns and led the team to a 13-0 record. Among his many suitors were Miami, Fla., to which he originally committed, Florida and most of the Pac-10 Conference schools, including Southern Cal.
That Shaw would turn to Tech could be viewed as a significant endorsement for Leach, who is often portrayed as a coach whose system gets the most out of passers with ordinary physical skills.
Shaw said he gave Tech serious consideration coming out of high school. Once he decided to leave Arizona State, he said he felt confident Tech was where he wanted to be.
"Texas Tech stands out in a lot of ways, mostly because of the coaches,'' Shaw said. "They're such great people, and they're down to earth. Coach Leach, I could talk to him for hours. That's very unique. He's more of a person than a coach. I don't know if that's putting it the right way, but that's the way I feel about him. He's the kind of person I want to work for.''
Shaw said he doesn't have to be sold on Tech's offensive scheme, because it's similar to the one he operated in high school.
"It's not the pro-style style offense, but I think it's the most fun and exciting offense that I could possibly be in,'' Shaw said. "It's just wide open. It seems like an amazing offense. No other school has such big splits (among the offensive linemen). I think that's genius.''
Shaw's grandfather, Dick Enright, was head coach at Oregon from 1972-73 and later worked as an assistant in the World Football League and with the San Francisco 49ers. Enright coached Dan Fouts at Oregon and coached former schoolboy passing sensation Todd Marinovich in high school.
Enright said Shaw "was probably the most sought after guy that I've ever been around.''
"He's got a lot of ability,'' Enright said. "God really blessed him. He has an extremely quick delivery. He's very accurate. He's got an extremely strong arm. It might even be a little too strong sometimes. It takes good receivers to catch him.''
BY DON WILLIAMS
AVALANCHE-JOURNAL
Throughout Mike Leach's time coaching Texas Tech, the Red Raiders have had one quarterback after another lead the nation in passing. Now they'll have one who, coming out of high school, led the nation in recruiting attention.
Derek Shaw, judged by PrepStar magazine as the No. 1 quarterback prospect in the country when he came out of Oceanside, Calif., High School in 2005, said Monday that he is transferring to Texas Tech.
Shaw was a freshman last fall at Arizona State, but left ASU this spring. He plans to pay his way to Tech as a walk-on this fall and go on scholarship in the spring. Shaw is spending time this week with his father, who lives in Arlington, and said he plans to come to Lubbock sometime in the next few days.
He toured the campus in June.
"The single most important thing is the people,'' said Shaw, who was born in Arlington and lived there until age 7. "I took the visit and really enjoyed being with the guys and being with the coaches and the town and everything.
"Tech runs a spread offense, and I ran a spread offense in high school. That kind of offense suits me well, I think. I just felt that it was a perfect fit.''
Shaw, who said he is 6-foot-31/2 and 215 pounds, must sit out this season in accordance with NCAA transfer rules. Then he will have four years of eligibility remaining after redshirting last season.
It was unlikely that Shaw would have played this season at Arizona State, which has two proven quarterbacks returning - senior Sam Keller, who passed for 2,165 yards and 20 touchdowns, and sophomore Rudy Carpenter, who came in when Keller got hurt and finished the season with 2,273 yards and 17 TDs.
Shaw
Shaw said playing time wasn't the reason for his transfer.
"It's a little more complicated than that,'' he said. "I was immature going into college. I made some mistakes in my life, and it was a growing process, a learning process and a maturing process. I thought I needed a new start. It wasn't really anything to do with football.''
Tech, after starting fifth-year seniors for four seasons in a row, finally will turn to a boatload of young quarterbacks. Sophomore Graham Harrell and redshirt freshman Chris Todd, prolific schoolboy quarterbacks in their own right, are battling for the job this August. True freshman Taylor Potts started practice Monday with the Raiders. To land those three, Tech had to beat ASU and North Carolina State for Harrell, Oklahoma and South Carolina for Todd and Michigan for Potts.
The Raiders also have a recent oral commitment from Little Rock, Ark., high school senior Stefan Loucks, a two-time 4,000-yard passer.
Shaw was more hotly pursued than any of them after his senior year at Oceanside, when he passed for 2,813 and 30 touchdowns and led the team to a 13-0 record. Among his many suitors were Miami, Fla., to which he originally committed, Florida and most of the Pac-10 Conference schools, including Southern Cal.
That Shaw would turn to Tech could be viewed as a significant endorsement for Leach, who is often portrayed as a coach whose system gets the most out of passers with ordinary physical skills.
Shaw said he gave Tech serious consideration coming out of high school. Once he decided to leave Arizona State, he said he felt confident Tech was where he wanted to be.
"Texas Tech stands out in a lot of ways, mostly because of the coaches,'' Shaw said. "They're such great people, and they're down to earth. Coach Leach, I could talk to him for hours. That's very unique. He's more of a person than a coach. I don't know if that's putting it the right way, but that's the way I feel about him. He's the kind of person I want to work for.''
Shaw said he doesn't have to be sold on Tech's offensive scheme, because it's similar to the one he operated in high school.
"It's not the pro-style style offense, but I think it's the most fun and exciting offense that I could possibly be in,'' Shaw said. "It's just wide open. It seems like an amazing offense. No other school has such big splits (among the offensive linemen). I think that's genius.''
Shaw's grandfather, Dick Enright, was head coach at Oregon from 1972-73 and later worked as an assistant in the World Football League and with the San Francisco 49ers. Enright coached Dan Fouts at Oregon and coached former schoolboy passing sensation Todd Marinovich in high school.
Enright said Shaw "was probably the most sought after guy that I've ever been around.''
"He's got a lot of ability,'' Enright said. "God really blessed him. He has an extremely quick delivery. He's very accurate. He's got an extremely strong arm. It might even be a little too strong sometimes. It takes good receivers to catch him.''