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Texas Tech football GM James Blanchard staying with Red Raiders after Notre Dame pursuit

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Texas Tech football GM James Blanchard staying with Red Raiders after Notre Dame pursuit


Texas Tech general manager James Blanchard has turned down an offer to assume the same role at Notre Dame and will remain with the Red Raiders, the school announced on Friday.

Blanchard, whom Notre Dame heavily pursued in the last week to fill the void left by Chad Bowden, received a three-year contract to stay in Lubbock through the 2027 season with a total value of $1.575 million over the three years, according to a school source, to keep him among the highest-paid front office staffers in the country.

“The success of our personnel department led by James Blanchard has obviously been noticed nationally with the significant interest he continues to generate annually,” Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire said in a statement. “We’re excited James and his family have chosen to remain Red Raiders and continue the work we started not long ago in building a consistent program that can compete for Big 12 titles. We’re much closer today than when we first arrived, and I look forward to continuing to work with James on further building out this roster.”

Notre Dame hosted Blanchard for a visit over the weekend and received a lucrative offer from the Fighting Irish. Blanchard is considered one of the top GMs in the sport and has a level of autonomy and authority over Texas Tech’s recruiting operation that most Power 4 GMs don’t.

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Blanchard was McGuire’s first hire when he became Tech’s head coach in November 2021. The two worked together at Baylor, where Blanchard was hired by Matt Rhule in 2019. He spent two seasons at Baylor and had a one-year stint with the Carolina Panthers sandwiched in between.

Texas Tech signed back-to-back top-30 recruiting classes in Blanchard’s first two years with the program, only the second time the Red Raiders have achieved that in the modern recruiting era. This winter, Texas Tech heavily attacked the transfer portal, signing the No. 3 transfer class in the country according to 247Sports.

Before this season, Blanchard signed a two-year contract that would pay him $400,000 annually, which was one of the top GM salaries in the sport. Alabama awarded its GM, Courtney Morgan, a three-year deal in August with an $825,000 annual salary, resetting the market for the position. Bowden is believed to have received an even more lucrative deal than Morgan’s to join USC.

Why Blanchard was an attractive GM candidate

It’s easy to look at Texas Tech’s 23-16 record over the last three years and be underwhelmed, but it’s worth noting that that’s the best three-year stretch the Red Raiders have enjoyed since the Mike Leach era. This is a program that was spinning its wheels for the better part of a decade prior to McGuire’s arrival.

When McGuire took over, he entrusted the personnel operation to Blanchard to run how he saw fit. Blanchard bet big on athleticism, offering recruits with elite track times or other distinguishing athletic traits, even if a prospect’s high school film didn’t pop. The goal, as Blanchard has often put it, was to build “the most athletic team in the country.”

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Tech was at or near the top of the Big 12 recruiting rankings in the 2023 and ’24 classes, and this year the Red Raiders shifted their attention to the portal, going all-in in hopes of winning a Big 12 title in 2025.

Blanchard, in tandem with the Matador Club — the Red Raiders’ name, image and likeness collective — led an effort to construct one of the top portal classes in the country. They largely succeeded, beating out SEC and Big Ten schools for some coveted recruits thanks to an organized, targeted effort and a lot of cash. Texas Tech turned heads in college football personnel circles for what it was able to accomplish in December.

“James is one of the smartest guys I know and an incredible talent evaluator,” Cody Campbell, co-founder of the Matador Club and a former Texas Tech offensive lineman, said earlier this winter.

Final say on scholarship offers usually falls to the head coach in college football, and though McGuire also has that power, he gave Blanchard the freedom to offer recruits without prior approval because of their mutual trust. That level of autonomy is unique in the sport.

Where does this leave Notre Dame?

There’s no getting around that failing to pry a staffer away from Texas Tech is a difficult look for Notre Dame less than a month after the Irish played for a national championship.

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Head coach Marcus Freeman wanted to push his personnel department forward after Chad Bowden’s departure for USC, needing to rethink back-of-the-house operations in the eras of NIL and the transfer portal. Blanchard checked many of those boxes, although his expertise was in scouting at the high school and transfer portal realms more than managing NIL and roster limits. Because that role is new for virtually every college program, where and how Notre Dame is a process that lacks a best-process practices.

Notre Dame doesn’t need to make a splashy hire, though Bowden and Blanchard seemed to have high profiles in the recruiting and personnel worlds. But some understanding of how Notre Dame and the new era of college football works should be mandatory.

Once candidate might be Cincinnati general manager Zach Grant, a 2016 Notre Dame graduate who spent one season as the director of player personnel at Ohio State under general manager Mark Pantoni, generally considering one of the gold standards in personnel management in the sport.

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Inside the rise of the college football GM

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(Photo: Annie Rice / Avalanche-Journal / USA Today Network)



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Texas A&M Forward Transfer Seemingly on Visit to See Lady Vols Basketball | Rocky Top Insider

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Texas A&M Forward Transfer Seemingly on Visit to See Lady Vols Basketball | Rocky Top Insider


fatmata janneh lady vols basketball
Photo via Texas A&M Athletics

Lady Vols basketball is looking to add more pieces to its 2026-27 roster with high-level experience. After completing her junior season at Texas A&M, Fatmata Janneh has emerged as a Tennessee target for her final year of eligibility. According to her Instagram story on Sunday night, she is in Knoxville.

With the Aggies a year ago, the 6-foot-2 forward averaged 11.4 points per game on 43.3% shooting from the field. She also showed off an ability to hit from range, posting 1.1 makes per game on 33% shooting from three.

Perhaps Janneh’s biggest strength is her rebounding, though. She ripped down 9.7 boards per contest, good for the fifth-most in the SEC. This featured 2.6 rebounds on the offensive end per outing.

Janneh also averaged 1.1 assists, 1.4 steals and 0.4 blocks per game. She appeared in 27 games, starting in each.

More From RTI: How Watching The NCAA Tournament Drew Terrence Hill Jr. To Tennessee Basketball

Janneh started her career with a pair of seasons at St. Peter’s. As a sophomore, she averaged a double-double, posting 18.2 points and 11.6 rebounds per game. This made her a sought-after transfer in the portal before landing at Texas A&M as the nation’s leading defensive rebounder. As a freshman, she averaged 11.0 points and 8.0 rebounds.

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The forward is from London, England, attending Barking Abbey Sixth Form for her prep ball. She would be the second player from England to join the Tennessee roster if she committed. UT also added the commitment of incoming freshman and former Boston College signee Irene Oboavwoduo this offseason.

So far, Caldwell and the Lady Vols have landed five transfers in this portal cycle. This features Liberty guard Avery Mills, Northern Arizona guard Naomi White, Stanford forward Harper Peterson and Georgia forward Zhen Craft and guard Rylie Theuerkauf.

Tennessee will also roster a pair of incoming freshmen. Four-star recruit and top-50 prospect Gabby Minus is staying true to her signing despite the roster overhaul and assistant coaching changes, along with the addition of Oboavwoduo.





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Texas needs at least $174 billion to avoid water crisis, state says

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Texas needs at least 4 billion to avoid water crisis, state says


AUSTIN (Texas Tribune) — Texas communities will need to spend $174 billion in the next 50 years to avert a severe water crisis, a new state analysis revealed Thursday. That’s more than double the $80 billion projected four years ago, when the Texas Water Development Board last passed a state water plan.

The three-member board presiding over the agency authorized the highly anticipated draft blueprint Thursday, the first administrative step toward adopting the water development board’s plans for the next 50 years. The plan, released every five years, encompasses the projects that 16 regional water planning groups in Texas said are the most urgent, water development board officials said. 

The board’s latest estimates come as the state’s water supply faces numerous threats. Growing communities across Texas are scrambling to secure water, keep up with construction costs and cope with a yearslong drought. This week, Corpus Christi officials said the city may be just months away from declaring a water emergency. Meanwhile, other rural cities by the Coastal Bend are rapidly drilling wells to avoid a crisis. Residents in North Texas have also been bracing for groundwater shortages.

In an effort to restrain the crisis, lawmakers last year called an election in which voters approved a $20 billion boost for communities to use on water-related expenses. The water development board’s estimate shows that what lawmakers proposed on the ballot falls dramatically short of the needed cash, experts said.

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“What this number tells me at the end of the day is if we don’t get serious about (funding water projects), there are going to be serious consequences for Texas,” said Perry Fowler, executive director of the Texas Water Infrastructure Network. “Even with the billion-dollar-a-year plan kicking in, it’s not going to be enough to offset the costs of the projects that are going to have to be executed.”

The new estimate accounts for 3,000 projects, from regional infrastructure upgrades to smaller endeavors such as drilling new water wells. Texas’ water supplies are expected to drop by roughly 10% between 2030 and 2080, according to the water plan. In that same time frame, the maximum amount of water communities can draw is also expected to decline by 9%.

The 80-page plan notes approximately 6,700 recommended strategies that would add water to the state’s dwindling portfolio. The recommendations — which are not accounted for in the cost — include developing new supplies from aquifer storage and recovery, brackish groundwater, desalination and recycled water. It also calls for water conservation.

The report suggested that if Texas does not implement the plans and recommendations, the state is one severe drought away from an estimated $91 billion in economic damages in 2030.

The state’s plan attributes a variety of reasons for the bigger price tag, such as higher costs of construction due to inflation, impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on supply chains, and a growing backlog of water supply projects.

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“There’s a plan that can meet our needs,” said Matt Nelson, deputy executive administrator for the Office of Planning at the water development board, adding that they take their cues from the regional planning groups. “These are local projects that folks need to implement; they’re needed regardless of how they’re funded. It’s important to remember these are not top-down projects or state projects.”

Experts told The Texas Tribune that the board’s estimate is only a fraction of what Texas communities will need to ensure they have water in 50 years’ time, saying growth and development are outpacing the state’s ability to keep up.

“This is a bigger water plan in terms of volume strategies and capital costs compared to anything we’ve ever seen before,” said Jeremy Mazur, the director of infrastructure and natural resources policy at think tank Texas 2036.

Mazur suggested that the $174 billion only covers water supply projects and does not account for updating aging infrastructure, adding that the actual price could amount to a quarter of a trillion dollars.

“There’s a substantial magnitude with regard to the capital investment needed to both fix our aging and current systems and potentially develop the water infrastructure, water supply projects that we need.“

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The report largely confirmed what many water experts have warned regarding threats to the state’s water supply, said Sarah Kirkle, director of policy at the Texas Water Association.

“Population growth, extreme weather, and economic development needs are all increasing demands on our infrastructure, and the state is going to need more water, sooner,” Kirkle said. “This is all while water projects are becoming more costly and complex because the easiest and cheapest local projects have already been developed.”

Fowler, with the infrastructure network, said he expects the Texas Legislature to take up the issue next year, when lawmakers meet for the 90th legislative session. He said the state should take a bigger role in ensuring that communities can afford their respective water projects.

“It’s going to have to be a top-down priority, there’s no way around it,” he said. “The challenges are so immense that it’s going to take all hands on deck.”

Texas residents have until the end of May to comment on the proposal. Water development board officials must adopt it by January 2027.

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Alejandra Martinez contributed to this story.

This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at www.texastribune.org. The Texas Tribune is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans – and engages with them – about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.



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Co‑worker confesses to killing missing North Texas man and stealing his car, police say

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Co‑worker confesses to killing missing North Texas man and stealing his car, police say



A North Texas man reported missing earlier this week was found dead Friday, and police say a co‑worker has confessed to fatally shooting him and stealing his car.

The suspect, Gregory D. Lewis, 34, remains in custody and faces a forthcoming capital murder charge, according to the Fort Worth Police Department. 

Lewis is accused of killing 31‑year‑old Thomas King, who had been last seen in his Taco Casa work uniform. King was reported missing on Tuesday after failing to return home Monday from the fast‑food restaurant in the 1100 block of Bridgewood Drive.

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Car found at Arlington motel 

Police said King’s car was found at the Quality Inn on I‑20 in Arlington, and surveillance video showed Lewis arriving in King’s vehicle shortly after King left work. 

Detectives identified the man in the video and arrested him on unrelated charges.

  Gregory D. Lewis, 34

Tarrant County Jail

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Body discovered on Fort Worth’s East Side 

King’s body was located on Friday in an open field on Fort Worth’s East Side, authorities said. 

According to police, Lewis confessed to shooting the victim and stealing his car. 

Medical examiner review pending 

The Tarrant County Medical Examiner will determine the cause of death. 

CBS News Texas has reached out to Taco Casa for comment.

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