Thursday, February 6, 1997

Rhodes makes it official by inking with Tech

By LANCE FLEMING / Staff Writer

Dominic Rhodes' day got off to a little bit of a shaky start Wednesday when he locked his keys in his car. It ended, though, with him signing up to play for head coach Spike Dykes at Texas Tech.

Rhodes was the only player from Cooper's Class 5A Division II runner-up team to sign a national letter-of-intent to play college football. But he'll see some familiar faces when he arrives in Lubbock.

District 4-5A rivals John Norman and Antwan Alexander of Midland Lee and Jason May of Odessa Permian also signed with Tech on Wednesday.

Rhodes, who rushed for 2,183 yards and scored 33 touchdowns last season for the Cougars, committed to the Red Raiders late Sunday evening after visiting the Lubbock campus earlier that day.

Not only did Rhodes like the campus, its proximity to Abilene and the chance to play in the Big 12 Conference, he also liked what Dykes told him about playing time next season.

"I asked Coach Dykes if he was going to redshirt me next season," Rhodes said. "He said no, that I'd be fighting for the starting tailback job and that I'd play in the season opener against Tennessee."

First, though, Rhodes must make his test scores to qualify academically. His core grades - school grades - are good enough to qualify.

He took the SAT on Jan. 25, but doesn't have the results back yet. It's believed that he would need a 930 on the test to qualify for Tech. However, he can keep re-taking the test until school starts in order to get the necessary score.

He'll also take the ACT this Saturday.

Another big reason Rhodes chose Tech over his other hot pursuer, the University of Texas, is that Dykes and his staff told Rhodes they would wait for him to get his test scores.

"Tech is staying with me," Rhodes said. "Texas didn't want to do that. To me, my grades are no longer an issue, because I'm going to make them. Now I just have to get my test scores, and I'm working hard at it. And when I make them, I'll be playing for the Red Raiders."

He'll get a shot at the starting job because the Red Raiders are looking for someone to replace record-setting tailback Byron Hanspard, who left Tech to enter the NFL Draft.

Besides the running backs already on campus, Rhodes will also have to compete with fellow incoming freshmen Jason Coffey of North Mesquite and Ricky Williams of Duncanville for the starting job. Coffey, however, could be moved to fullback. The competition, though, doesn't bother Rhodes.

"Do the names Gabe King and Jamine Rozzell ring a bell?" Rhodes asked. "I had to compete against them my first two years for playing time, so I'm used to a challenge. Jamine went to a Division I school (New Mexico) and Gabe could have. I'm not scared of a challenge.

"I'm going to work my tail off this summer to get ready to play this season," Rhodes said. "If those other guys want it (the starting job) they better get to work because I think I'm going to be the starter."