Signee QA: Nigel Bethel II
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Miami (Fla.) Booker T. Washington cornerback Nigel Bethel II
made waves earlier this season when he flipped his commitment from Miami (Fla.)
to Texas Tech. The four-star defensive back will arrive in Lubbock in June with
expectations of competing for a starting role.
Bethel II is profiled below in the latest installment of our signee Q&A feature which we are running on all of the members of
the Red Raiders' 2014 signing
class.
Thoughts and opinions:
WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE FOOTBALL PLAYER OF ALL TIME?
"I'd have to say Charles Woodson."
WHAT IS THE BEST FOOTBALL TEAM THAT YOU'VE EVER SEEN, IN PERSON OR ON
TELEVISION?
"Even though they lost the national championship game, I'd have to say the 2005
USC football team with Reggie Bush."
An up-close and personal look:
YOUR MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT FROM YOUR FOOTBALL CAREER?
"In a game my junior year that we won, I had like four pass breakups, an
interception and like two tackles for loss."
DID YOU EVER HAVE AN EMBARASSING MOMENT PLAYING FOOTBALL?
"My sophomore year at state, I dropped a kickoff return with less than a minute
left and the opposing team picked the ball up and scored."
DO YOU HAVE A PREGAME RITUAL?
"Not really. I usually just listen to music and that's usually all I do before I
go out and play."
WHEN DID YOU FIRST REALIZE THAT YOU HAD THE POTENTIAL TO BE A DIVISION I
FOOTBALL PLAYER?
"It's always been my dream to go Division I. I had always wanted to be recruited
to go D1 and stuff like that. My freshman year I was on varsity, and I ended up
starting after the 6th game. I knew after that if I stayed focus, I could go
Division I from that point on."
Thoughts on Texas Tech:
WHAT POSITION WILL YOU BE PLAYING AT TECH?
"I'll be playing corner."
ARE YOU EXPECTING TO REDSHIRT YOUR FIRST SEASON ON-CAMPUS?
"I'm not expecting to redshirt. I plan on coming in, working hard and hopefully
compete for a starting job."
WHAT IS A PERSONAL STRENGTH THAT YOU WILL BRING TO THE TABLE AT TECH?
"A personal strength is my leadership and bettering the guys around me. I'm a
very motivational speaking type of person. If I see a person having a down game,
I'm gonna keep pushing them to do better and have a short term memory."
WHAT IS ONE THING THAT YOU NEED TO WORK IN ORDER TO PLAY AT THE NEXT
LEVEL?
"One thing I need to work on is my technique more. No matter how much I do I
day, I know I'm not perfect, and I can always get better. To compete with those
great receivers in the Big 12, it doesn't matter how much strength I have, or
how much speed I have, I have to have great technique and have good
fundamentals."
HOW OFTEN DO YOU WORK OUT AND WHAT IS YOUR ROUTINE?
I workout every day, Monday to Monday. Right now it's track season, so I work
with my track coach on track things, but I just try to get better every day."
Personal preferences:
WHAT DO YOU DO IN YOUR SPARE TIME?
"I'm working. If I'm not working out, I'm at home watching YouTube. I'm looking
at defensive back highlights or track highlights."
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FOOD?
"Chicken wings."
DO YOU HAVE A NICKNAME?
"Showtime."
HAVE YOU DECIDED ON WHAT YOU WANT TO MAJOR IN AT TECH?
"Sports Management."
HAVE YOU MET ALL OF THE ACADEMIC REQUIREMENTS TO ENROLL AT TECH?
"I met all the academic requirements. I scored an 18 on the ACT, and I have a
2.9 GPA. Everything is good."
A look at the recruiting process:
WHAT ONE THING WAS THE DETERMINING FACTOR IN YOUR DECISION?
"Opportunity. When Tech was offering me, coach told me if I wasn't going to be
serious about the offer, don't take it. I told him I was going to be serious and
from that point on, even though I was committed to Miami, coach Curtis was
recruiting me and he was talking to me about there is no better place to come
than the Big 12. I thought about that, and I realized Miami was gonna always be
there, but I needed to branch out and get away. I wanted to have a real college
experience. That was basically the determining factor to me, when I went to
Tech, it felt like home."
IS THERE A TECH COACH THAT YOU FEEL ESPECIALLY CLOSE TO?
"Coach Curtis."
WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE MOMENT DURING THE PROCESS?
"When I started getting offers."
WHAT WAS THE WORST PART ABOUT THE PROCESS?
"Talking to five or six different coaches a day. I would talk to one for 30
minutes to an hour then get off the phone and have to talk to another one."
DID YOU MAKE FRIENDS WITH ANY CURRENT PLAYERS AT TECH OR INCOMING
FRESHMEN DURING THE PROCESS?
"Yeah I'm friends with Peyton Hendrix. He's cool. I'm also cool with (Derreck)
Edwards, No. 19 receiver."
WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE PART ABOUT YOUR OFFICIAL VISIT TO TECH?
"The atmosphere when I went to the games. At Miami, the games used to be packed
but over the last 10 years they aren't as packed as they used to be. So to go
into a big game like that, even when it's not against a big school, and see the
stadium packed was awesome."
WHAT SCHOOL WOULD YOU HAVE CHOSEN IF YOU HADN'T SIGNED WITH THE RED
RAIDERS?
"Probably Miami."
The future and goals:
WHAT NUMBER WOULD YOU LIKE TO WEAR AT TECH?
"I would like to wear number 1 because I just want to go in and show that I am a
leader, vocally and physically. I just feel like my hard work and determination
will show that I deserve to wear number 1."
WHAT IS YOUR PERSONAL GOAL FOR THIS SEASON?
"Personally I just want to win a Big 12 Championship."
WHEN WILL YOU ARRIVE IN LUBBOCK FOR GOOD?
"I'll arrive June 1st."