There may be hurt feelings surrounding the Texas Tech football coaching staff when the team returns to its regular schedule next week.
Head coach Joey McGuire said Wednesday that the Red Raiders (5-1, 3-0) remain atop the Big 12 with four straight wins and a season-high with Saturday’s 28-22 win over Arizona. He said he showed great defensive performance. The Texas Tech University staff is spending an open day telling some hard truths.
This includes the offensive staff criticizing the Texas Tech defense and the defensive staff digging deep into the Red Raider offense.
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“I can’t wait for Sunday,” McGuire said. “I asked them to leave their egos at the door and be very critical of each other and very critical of me. I’m really looking forward to that meeting. I hope we’re still friends after all that.”I’ve seen some of them already, but there are a few that I think are really helpful for us.
Despite going 5-1 overall and 3-0 in Big 12 play, the Red Raiders know they haven’t reached their full potential yet. . McGwire said the game against Arizona was a “worst game” for his offense. Although the defense has made progress, it still needs work. The offense was less fluid in the two road games compared to the home game.
“We didn’t do much with what we could do,” quarterback Behren Morton said. “We didn’t really play a full game. We only played a half against North Texas. We didn’t play a full game there. What we can accomplish, that’s untouchability. … We accomplished We know we can reach that potential, but we’re not even close to that potential right now. ”
In addition to internal criticism, the Red Raiders will have a week to work on recovery, especially in the secondary. In fact, the absences of Chapman Lewis, Jaron Peoples and Joseph Plank forced the Red Raiders to make changes to Devin Cromwell’s season pass.
As McGuire recalled, Cromwell had been at Texas Tech for a long time and wanted to increase his playing time by 2025, so he approached him about the possibility of redshirting this season. McGuire agreed, but told Cromwell, “If a nuclear bomb goes off in the secondary room, you have to do it.” You can play. ”
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That bomb went off in the week leading up to the Arizona game, and Cromwell’s redshirt plans went out the window. He was credited with nine tackles in the win at Tucson. McGuire pointed to this as an example of what’s going on at Texas Tech, but other players around the country have already redshirted the rest of the season and given a one-year deal with the intent of heading into the transfer portal in December. Holds eligibility to participate.
“The rest is something people will have to deal with,” McGuire said. “Because here at Texas Tech, because of our culture, because of our university, because of our community, we have people who are going in the opposite direction and saying, “You know what? I don’t want to redshirt, Coach. .”
Because of his willingness to play without redshirting, McGuire said a package will be designed specifically for Cromwell to get more playing time on defense. Receiver Micah Hudson will also have a package to get him on the field. The first example of that came Saturday, when Hudson caught a 38-yard bomb from Morton and narrowly missed his first collegiate touchdown.
The hope for the Red Raiders is that with some rest and more body recovery, the team can put together a more complete effort in the second half of the season.
“It’s good to be 5-1,” McGuire said, “but there’s more to us than that. … We haven’t even been able to complete games at the level we can play, and that’s it. will drive you.”
