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All-American Watch...

Armour Emerges As Butkus Candidate

Senior weakside linebacker Anthony Armour, who has been included among the list of preseason candidates for the Butkus Award given by the Downtown Athletic Club of Orlando, Fla. to the nation's outstanding collegiate linebacker, recorded five tackles, two tackles for loss and a quarterback sack at Kansas State. He has 199 total tackles in his career, including 14 for loss and six sacks.

The list will be trimmed to 10 semifinalists on Oct. 17 and the three finalists will be announced on Nov. 14. Armour, a graduate of Dallas' Carter High School, is starting at has third position at Texas Tech during his career. Last season he led the defensive line with 55 tackles at the end position and caused three fumbles. He redshirted 1994 after undergoing knee surgery following a sophomore season in which he was 10th in the SWC in tackles with 91 at outside linebacker.

Hanspard 30 Yards From Surpassing Donny Anderson

Junior Byron Hanspard entered the 1996 season with an opportunity to become one of college football's most sensational runners and contend for the Doak Walker Award and the Heisman Trophy. He didn't hurt his cause with 115 yards in just three quarters of play before suffering a sprained ankle and sitting out the fourth quarter. He is just 30 yards from passing former Red Raider great Donny Anderson on the Tech career rushing charts (page 4).

The junior from DeSoto is the third-leading returning scorer in the nation this season, after averaging 9.82 points per game last season. A preseason All-America selection, Hanspard averaged 223 yards per game in his final three games of last season, including 260 yards against Air Force in the Copper Bowl, where he was named the game's MVP. He rushed for 1,374 yards last season, the second-best sophomore performance in the Southwest Conference's 82-year history. He also led the team with 35 catches for 474 yards. 

Hanspard's Career Stats
        Rush    Yds     Avg     TDs     Rec     Yds     Avg     TDs
1994    173     761     4.4     5       11      230     20.9    1
1995    248     1374    5.5     11      35      474     13.5    7
1996    21      115     5.5     0       2       19      9.5     0
Total   442     2250    5.1     16      48      723     15.1    8

Lethridge one of the Nation's Top QB Threats

Junior quarterback Zebbie Lethridge has quietly emerged as one of the top signal-callers in the nation, if not the most electrifying. The Lubbock native is already listed among the top-five on the school charts for carer passing yards, pass attempts, pass completions, total offense and TD passes. Last year he set a final Southwest Conference record with 211 consecutive passes without an interception, which will stand as the all-time SWC mark. Last season Lethridge recorded the most prolific sophomore season ever for a Red Raider with 1,885 passing yards, 22 total TDs and 2,022 yards in total offense. 

Lethridge's Career Stats
        Att     Comp    Pct     Yds     Int     TD      Eff     Rush    Yds     Avg.    TD
1994    261     132     .506    1596    6       12      112.0   110     289     2.6     6
1995    281     136     .484    1885    6       13      115.7   122     137     1.1     9
1996    47      16      .340    190     0       1       75.0    21      34      1.6     0
Total   589     284     .482    3671    12      26              253     460     1.8     15

Diminutive Mitchell One of Nation's Smallest

Starting junior flanker Stacy Mitchell, who stands 5-5, 150-pounds, is the third smallest player in Division I football this season. The DeSoto native is also a key kickoff returner for the Red Raiders and is a major threat on the ground after the catch. Mitchell overcame an early-season sprained ankle last season, starting the final five games and catching a 47-yard pass against Texas, and a 38-yard TD against Air Force in the Copper Bowl He also had a 49-yard run on a reverse against Rice. Mitchell recorded three catches for 69 yards against Kansas State.

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