Signee appreciates support

Wacky weather has been known to wreak havoc on the Midwest. With North Texas and Oklahoma being in tornado alley, both locations have caught the blunt blow of some serious storms over the years. The latest batch of wooly clouds decided to touchdown in the metroplex area last Tuesday, including Lancaster, the hometown of 2012 Texas Tech signee and cornerback La'Darius Newbold. Newbold said that while things got out of hand for a while and some property was damaged, he was glad that no one was seriously injured throughout the onslaught of twisters.

"We were in school, and I knew what was going on, and we could see the tornado coming toward the school, so it was kind of crazy. As far as the weather, it's a blessing that nobody got hurt. Nobody knew what they were going to go home to," he said. "My home, we just had the backyard messed up, a couple of windows and shingles. My grandmother's house, her house got hit and it caused some damage to her house."

With the chaos occuring in the DFW area, many state residents wondered what they could do to aid those caught up in the storms. The Texas Tech football team was one of the first groups to lend a helping hand. On Saturday morning, head coach Tommy Tuberville, his staff, and a good number of football players loaded up and headed for Lancaster with supplies and muscle. Newbold was glad to see his soon to be brothers-in-football-arms jump in and help his community out in a big time of need.

"It felt good to have support from Texas Tech. For my future teammates to come down to my hometown with what they did, they didn't have to do that. It shows the character of the coaches and players for them to come down there and come help, it's just amazing."

The Lancaster corner enjoyed getting to spend some time with his friends, coaches, and future colleagues and Lubbock.

"I just kind of talked to them. They just told me they wanted to talk to me. We were just talking about what had gone on as far as weather, and then plans for next year. Just talking."

Like many other 2012 signees, the DFW defensive back was in Lubbock several weeks ago for the annual Red and Black game. Newbold loved spending the weekend with his fellow classmates and liked what he saw from Art Kaufman and the Tech defense.

"That weekend I got to hang out with my future teammates and all the freshmen coming in. We got everything taken care of at orientation. As far as the spring game goes, I was real excited because I'm ready to get down there and become a part of the team and (contribute) right away, because I (believe) that we're going to be a very good team."

The Red Raider secondary has been a group that seemed to get barraged like no other in 2011, but Newbold sees a bright future in the defensive backfield. The corner hopes he can come in and learn the ropes from vets such as Cornelius Douglas and Eugene Neboh.

"The secondary is a talented group of guys. I hope to come in right away, get a feel for the guys, and hopefully they can mentor me. That way I can come in and be a part of the secondary. Like I said, we're going to be very good. That's a talented group of guys."

The defender has caught a sniff of Red Raider spirit with his experiences over the last few weeks. Newbold is chomping at the bit, marking off the dates until he'll finally arrive in the LBK. He's ready for college football and read to become the newest freshman to don the red and black.

"I'm counting down the days on my calendar. I can't wait to get down to Lubbock and get started. Me coming down for the spring it just (raised) the anticipation for me. I'm just patiently waiting and everything so I can finally get down there and get started."

Newbold signed with Tech in February over offers from Arkansas, Nebraska, Missouri, Boise State, Baylor, North Carolina, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, and Notre Dame among others.