Takeaways: Barnes, Panazzolo discuss OSU, early experiences and more

DB Douglas Coleman, DL Zach Barnes and P Dominic Panazzolo met with the media Tuesday evening to discuss the upcoming game against Oklahoma State.

Here are a few quotes from each of the three Red Raiders from the session.

Beginning with Coleman, he discussed how Oklahoma State attacks through the air and uses the deep ball to beat its opponents.

Coleman just might have to be the safety to prevent that deep threat as he has been hearing his name called to fill in for DB Vaughnte Dorsey, who has been hit with a couple of injuries early this year.

Coleman, usually at the nickel back position, is in rotation with DB Kisean Allen at the spot. Coleman, however, doesn’t feel like it’s much of a change playing the safety position.

“It’s basically the same position,” Coleman said. “They both I guess interact with each other.”

Coleman said that he began getting some plays at safety at the start of this year.

WR Keke Coutee currently leads in the team in receiving in yards, receptions and touchdowns. When asked about how Coutee matches up against all of the other receivers in the Big 12, Coleman said you can’t find anyone better.

“Honestly, no one compares to him,” Coleman said. “If I say, he’s probably the best of the best in our league.”

Coutee preparing the defense in practice has showed with their open field tackling. Coleman said the team starts practice off with sideline tackling drills – a drill that is new to the team this year.

“We just emphasize on tackling,” Coleman said. “We make it our main goal on defense.”

Meanwhile, Barnes spoke about the overall difference on the defensive line this year.

Barnes said the unit is more patient in their approach and focused on each play – something defensive line coach Terrance Jamison has brought with him.

“So everyday (Jamison) comes in and it’s about perfection with him,” Barnes said. “It’s about perfection and also making plays. He’s been a big part of it.”

When asked about the confidence of the defense, Barnes said it’s there and it’s rising. However, he said the defense gets complacent late in games when teams start to fight their way back.

“I think it’s coming up,” Barnes said. “One thing we do know about ourselves is that we have to finish a game. We’d like to keep teams down, you know, keep them down to 10 points instead of letting them come back in the fourth quarter. That’s one thing that we talk about everyday.”

Zooming in on Barnes specifically, he has started in all three games this season – matching his career total at Texas Tech since seeing the field in 2015. He appeared in 10 games last season and started in one game which was against Oklahoma. He had two starts the season before in 2015.

Barnes said he always knew he was up to the challenge – he just had to step-up and commit.

“I always knew I could do it, it was just a matter of doing it,” Barnes said. “I’m just a lot more disciplined, and being in the playbook a lot more. Just been working on my technique every single day.”

Barnes said during the press conference that his hidden talent would have to be his controls at the fighting video games, or more specifically, playing as Sub-Zero on Mortal Kombat.

However, Barnes himself holds a black belt in taekwondo, which he credits for being able to keep balance, but he would rather keep it on the down-low when it comes to smack talking.

His favorite fighter – Conor McGregor.

One ritual that helps Barnes keeps up with on Saturday’s is cutting off the fingertips of his gloves before kickoff. He said he picked up the routine last year and that it helps with getting a better grip on opposing tackles.

Another way he tries to improve his game is not just by talking with coaches following a game, but his father, Zachary Barnes.

Zachary attended and played defensive end at Alabama State and was drafted in 1984 by the then-San Diego Chargers in the ninth round.

Barnes said his dad’s criticism is far more intense than his coaches.

“Even before I started football I wanted to be just like him,” Barnes said. “I call him every game, right after the game and we talk about the game and just life. He’s a real good pop. He’s a real good man.”

Family is something that revolves around the Texas Tech community and in Lubbock in general. However, being in Lubbock and from a different country often means missing out on seeing relatives or eating your favorite meals – just ask Panazzolo.

His family was able to watch him play after coming to the states from Australia with his first Division I team.

“It’s unreal,” Panazzolo said. “It’s a great opportunity coming over here. Playing in front of, I guess, 35,000 people in Houston and then the Arizona State game and being able to back that up against Houston is great, especially since I was playing against a fellow Australian on the other team; that was a great experience.”

The Aussie punter is one of 50 Australian natives in the United States playing college football, he said.

The one punter he mentioned though is Houston's Dane Roy, and the two have known each other for over a year.

Panazzolo said the kids in Australia are starting to look more and more towards football. He said some high school friends have even reached out to him and asked how to get their foot in the door.

In Lubbock, Panazzolo was one of the main conversations this entire offseason, but his first punt with a ‘Double-T’ on his helmet, and on the turf at Jones AT&T Stadium, wasn’t thrilling.

If you recall, Panazzolo shanked it, but, he redeemed himself and has looked confident since.

“After that first punt against Eastern Washington I guess that kind of got the nerves out of the way,” Panazzolo said. “Punting seven times against Houston I felt comfortable, there was no rush. I guess I could use everything to my abilities. I mean, stuff like that happens. Every player in college football has that one play and I’m just glad it was my first one.”

Ever since his first snap, Panazzolo has netted 510 yards on 13 total punts with an average of 39.2 yards per kick. He has a career long punt of 53 yards in his three games as a Red Raider. Three of his 13 have landed inside the 20-yard line.

The former rugby player said the special teams unit in front of him during plays are also a confident booster as they have picked up on his style of punting.

He added that special teams coach Joe Robinson worked with the unit before he arrived.

One other thing Panazzolo brings to the team besides his punting talents is his culture.

He said his parents brought him some Australian candy, that he shares with the team, along with vegemite, a dark Australian paste that is spread over bread or pastries.

The one thing that his parents couldn’t bring him though was kangaroo meat. He said it’s pretty much a lean, red meat.

How do you prepare kangaroo, you ask?

“You just marinate it. You can do whatever, I guess. You just slap it on the barbie and have a good one, I guess.”

To stray away from kangaroo, he said he’s had elk up in Utah and recently had himself a camel burger. But his favorite food here in the U.S. is a southern classic.

“I mean, I love a good rack of ribs,” Panazzolo said. “Just love good barbecue. I haven’t really had too much. We get the same stuff pretty much everyday here at the football facility so not much diversity, but probably a good rack of ribs, right now.”