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Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Wreck ‘em Tour went virtual this year via Zoom. Texas Tech Athletics still put on a show for the Red Raider Club, which included guests like Atlanta Dream draft pick Brittany Brewer, Texas Tech head baseball coach Tim Tadlock, head football coach Matt Wells, and head basketball coach Chris Beard.
The tour also featured three Red Raider alumni: country artists Grant Gilbert, William Clark Green and Josh Abbott. They performed in between segments and closed with Abbott’s “My Texas,” a surprise guest from his daughter, and finished off with "Victory Bells".
Green provided some insight on his college experience and said he would always be excited when class was canceled, but he misses being in college and being in Lubbock. What he said after is something we can all relate to.
“Hold on to what you got. The grass is always greener,” and followed that with a song.
Tadlock was the first guest on the show and showcased a Willie Nelson painting in the background of his frame. He also had a fire burning in his backyard to cook some chicken but also said it was because fans might be missing Beard's famous Fireside Chats.
Tadlock got to talk about the hot start his club had this season before it was interrupted due to the ongoing pandemic.
“It was really fun watching it come together,” Tadlock said. “When it starts with the guy that was in bullpen with (Clayton Beeter), and he really just evolved over the year, and (Bryce Bonnin), Austin Becker, Mason Montgomery, and then you start thinking about our Friday night guy that was in the bullpen. Micah Dallas, and then, by the way, we had a guy throw 100 in John McMillon, a senior.”
Tadlock said anytime you have a senior come back for another season you have a chance for something special.
“He’s a great teammate as he is a great player,” Tadlock said on McMillon, “and then you start talking about Dylan Neuse and Brian Klein and (Braxton Fulford) and (Cal Conley). All those guys really did a good job.
“I think the neatest thing since the season has ended is just how close they were,” Tadlock said. “There was a really neat bond amongst the guys.”
Tadlock talked about Klein and said he knows how well to manage the plate with balls and strikes.
“He’s prepared, shows up every day, really embraces the moment within games,” Tadlock said. “Ironically, he came around as the guy who can really play defense, and he evolved into a great hitter. I mean, he’s hit third for us the last two years. He hit third in front of (Josh Jung), which is saying a lot. When your staff and your team is OK sending a guy up there before the guy that goes eighth overall, that says something about him.”
Some other talking points Tadlock made were how he's not afraid to go out and play any team, like Minnesota, who had a pitcher he looked forward to playing against. Tadlock also talked about the bullpen and its depth this year.
“Our bullpen was really deep,” Tadlock said. “You can’t even name all the guys. I mean, you go (Ryan Sublette), (Kurt Wilson), (Andrew Devine), and I hadn’t even scratched the surface on guys, but it really starts with Micah Dallas and John McMillon. Obviously (Jakob Brustowski), the left-hander, was up to 98 (miles per hour). There was some really special ability there. Probably, more importantly, is there is a bunch of guys that really wanted to be great at their craft. They weren’t guys that were just OK with just being physically gifted. They were all trying to pitch in the big leagues, I would think.”
Tadlock wrapped up talking about catching a perch at the Rawls the other day on one of his fly rods.
Lady Raider and Atlanta Dream draft pick Brittany Brewer also joined the virtual tour. Brewer was selected No. 17 overall in the 2020 WNBA Draft. Since the pandemic began, Brewer was still able to have access to a court to work on her game and is thankful for the time to work on her craft.
Brewer got to talk about her experience playing for Team USA and how it was amazing it several ways.
“Playing with some of the best players in the nation,” Brewer said, “and playing against women I’ll be playing against now. Then, getting that training camp feel like how I’m about to hopefully going into soon through our training camp for the Pan-Am games and increasing physicality, confidence, all that stuff. I think I had a lot of invaluables that I learned from that.”
Brewer said she is up to date with “The Last Dance” documentary, and she mentioned how the weight room portion for Michael Jordan spoke to her.
“I think you have so many benefits getting in the weight room,” Brewer said. “Just to see how that elevated his game. I think I was like, ‘Okay, I want to do even more in that way.’ Definitely, just bits and pieces like, I mean, every five seconds there’s something where I’m like, ‘OK, I’m going to write that down.’ Love watching it, love watching it with my family.”
As far as communication goes with the Atlanta Dream, Brewer said she has a workout plan through an app through the Dream’s strength coach. She added she is working on stuff that the Dream want from her and is thankful for all the technology in place right now.
Brewer talked about draft night and how special it was to have her Lady Raider teammates and family with her even though it was virtually.
“Just to have that memory definitely was a really big blessing,” Brewer said, “with my family and my Tech family. So, it was really, really fun.”
