Nations No. 1 DT-QB visits Texas Tech
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Stephenville (Texas) quarterback Jarrett Stidham, one of the Red
Raiders' top targets in the class of 2015, visited the South Plains over the
weekend.
Stidham, a member of the Stephenville basketball team, spent Friday and Saturday
at Texas Tech's United Spirit Arena competing in a regional tournament.
"It was a great weekend, my team and I made it to Lubbock on Friday afternoon
and hung out all day," Stidham said. "We drove around the town a little bit and
then went up to the basketball arena.
"Playing in a game at the United Spirit Arena was an awesome experience. I have
never played in a stadium like that before and it was a lot of fun. We had a
little more free time on Saturday and drove around the campus, got to see a lot
more and we also drove by 'The Jones'."
The Stephenville basketball team lost on Saturday, ending their season. Per NCAA
visit rules, Stidham was required to drive home to Stephenville and return to
Lubbock on his own.
"We had to drive home and come back for the visit on Sunday, but I knew that
going into the weekend so it didn't really bother me," he said. "I'm really glad
we were able to make the visit because it was great time.
"The actual visit on Sunday was incredible, the whole experience was tremendous.
It worked out great because I was the only player visiting and the coaches gave
me the full tour."
The 6-foot-3, 190-pound prospect went on to share more about his time with the
Red Raider coaches on Sunday.
"I had visited Tech and Lubbock before, but this visit was different," he said.
"I got to spend a lot of one on one time with the coaches, the entire staff was
there and I mean everyone.
"We toured the entire athletic facilities, I got to see all of the Tech Under
Armour gear, and met with the academic center about how they support the student
athletes."
Stidham spent a significant amount of time with both head coach Kliff Kingsbury
and offensive coordinator Eric Morris on Sunday.
"I watched game film of the Holiday Bowl with coach Kingsbury and coach Morris,"
Stidham said. "They went over some of the plays calls, the various formations,
and some of the reads. I would say watching film with coach Kingsbury and
getting to interact with him in the film room was one of my favorite parts of
the visit.
"Most of the offense is similar to what we run at Stephenville. There is of
course some different terminology, but that just takes practice and repetition.
I was more interested to see how Kingsbury worked with the quarterbacks in the
film room."
Stidham, ranked No. 48 in the Rivals100, also received a personal tour of the
campus from both Kingsbury and Morris.
"After watching film and meeting for a while, we all went onto the field and
toured the stadium," Stidham said. "We also stopped by the student rec center
and learned more about some of the activities for Tech students.
"Coach Kingsbury and coach Morris drove us around campus for a long time and
gave us a tour of the campus. They were telling me stories about what they did
back in school and showed me some of the local spots. Both of them went to
school at Tech so they gave me some insight into the city and what it's like
being a student athlete in Lubbock."
Stidham added that the coaches invited him back to visit for spring practice
next week.
"The coaches talked about setting up a visit next Wednesday or Friday for me to
come and watch the team practice," he said. "I'm not sure yet, but I might be
coming back up for one of the practices soon. Other than that, I don't really
have any visits setup. Honestly, my family and I really just play it week by
week."
Over the past few weeks, Stidham has spoken with current Tech quarterback Davis
Webb and even a few former Tech quarterbacks to gather information about their
experiences in Lubbock and playing for the Red Raiders.
When asked to sum up his visit, Stidham stayed true to form and kept things
close to the vest.
"I had a feeling it would go a certain way and it went really well," he said. "I
got to see all of the things I wanted to see and talk to the coaches and people
that I wanted to talk with."
Stidham will compete at the Rivals Camp Series event in Dallas this weekend and
RedRaiderSports.com will be on hand to provide further coverage of the nation's
">top-ranked dual-threat quarterback.
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