Texas came as close last week as a region can to hitting for the meteorological cycle: In a matter of days, the Lone Star State endured heat, cold, wind, heavy rain, some hail and even, over the weekend, a little flurry in the panhandle. Texas Tech coach Mike Leach, in his intimate knowledge of west Texas weather, knew Friday's cold spell was a fleeting opportunity -- in Lubbock, after all, how often do you get to send a wayward wide receiver to the 50-yard-line to study by himself in the snow?

Edward Britton, Texas Tech’s most experienced split end, was demoted before spring practice and further raised the ire of Tech coach Mike Leach this week. After Friday’s practice in 30-degree weather and a few snow flurries, Britton was sent to study classwork on the double-T at midfield of Jones AT&T Stadium.

He sat at a desk, in street clothes and a heavy coat with the hood pulled up.

"Ed didn’t like showing up and studying at places I felt like he needed to and like the academic people asked him to, so he can go study out there on the 50-yard line," Leach said. "We’ll take baby steps, and if he does good studying out there, we’ll decide if we’re going to actually let him practice."
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"If somehow he fails to do that, then that’ll be the last we ever hear of Easy Ed," Leach said.

We'll assume in that last line that Leach means he might boot Britton (above, No. 27) from the team, since the Captain's taste for unorthodoxy and blood presumably does not extend to fitting players for concrete Nikes (or, in Tech's case, Under Armours). Still, until the Justice Department wrangles tapes of Alabama's closed "study session" at Devil's Island from the man-sized safe in Nick Saban's office, the modern title for "Most Cruel and Unusual Punishment in College Football" belongs to Leach.