He recorded 134 receptions for 1962 yards and 22 touchdowns in '07.

Several other contributors should be Detron Lewis, who saw playing time as a true freshman last season, sports analyst Craig James' son Adam, and true freshman Cornelius Douglas. Coaches think Detron could be breakthrough in '08.

OFFENSE LINE: The Red Raiders will challenge Oklahoma this season for the best offensive line in college football. Don't worry, you read that statement correctly, and remember I'm not an overzealous fan.

I'll give you some facts to back up my reasoning: Tech returns all five offensive linemen from a unit that gave up only 16 sacks on 713 passing attempts. As much as the Red Raiders air out the football this is a very impressive statistic, even for a professional line. Since these are not professionals, this position group is coached very well.

Texas Tech's offensive line has been deemed by the press as the largest offensive line in the nation. The line averages a gigantic 6'6" and 334 pounds.

On the left side of the line protecting QB Graham Harrell's blind side are seniors Rylan Reed and Louis Vasquez. In all likelihood both will be first day draft picks following the 2008 season. Each has individually set bench press records in their university's weight room.

Louis Vasquez has recorded a bench press of over 560 pounds, and Rylan Reed recently shattered the old record with a bench of 625 pounds.

Head coach and offensive coordinator Mike Leach seems to think the most athletic out of the lot is junior returning starter Brandon Carter, a 6'7" 360-pound guard who Leach has said is one of the fastest linemen he's been around since at Tech. That's saying a lot for someone of that stature.

By all accounts this mammoth group is not only athletic and well-coached, but also a year older and potentially much improved.

Texas Tech's gigantic offensive line as follows:

LT: 6'7” 314 Reed Sr.

LG: 6'6” 335 Vasquez Sr.

C: 6'4” 306 Byrnes Jr.

RG: 6'7” 360 Carter Jr.

RT: 6'7” 358 Johnson Sr. (or) 6'6” 329 Winn Jr.

DEFENSIVE LINE: Texas Tech returns all four starters on the defensive line. This group that was young a year ago looks to be much improved with an extra year in the weight room and added experience with second-year defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill's system.

A couple plusses to the unit are the addition of two junior college All-American defensive ends. Dixon originally signed with Texas Tech in 2005, where he was a freshman All-American before having to go the junior college route for grades, while Sesay originally signed with the Univ. of Georgia coming out of high school.

This past recruiting period Sesay was one of the most heavily recruited junior college players in the nation standing at 6'6” and 278 lbs while being clocked at a 4.6 40.

A transfer at defensive tackle from the Univ. of Miami also joins the already deep defensive line. The transfer Perry participated in spring drills and is a contender to start at the nose tackle position in the season opener.

Ruffin McNeill has commented recently that this year will be the deepest his defensive line has been since he's been at Tech. McNeill is an original member of Leach's staff in 2000.

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