Carter, Parker discuss transition, Hill, defense focus on WVU offense

On Tuesday evening, QB McLane Carter, DB Justus Parker and DL Kolin Hill met with the media to discuss playing time and the upcoming game against the West Virginia Mountaineers.

To begin the session, Carter, who’s serving as the backup QB, opened up with how he has progressed since signing with the Red Raiders.

Carter, like starting QB Nic Shimonek, had one of his better outings in Tech’s previous win against the Kansas Jayhawks.

Shimonek shined in his entrance when former starting QB Patrick Mahomes went down with a shoulder injury against the Jayhawks on the road last season, and Carter made splash in Lawrence too by connecting on a touchdown pass.

Carter said he and Shimonek shared some words on how the circle has made its way back and what it means for Carter, who said he is a sophomore out on the field.

“It’s awesome,” Carter said. “Coach (Kliff Kingsbury) does a great job of putting all of the players, including me and everybody else on the field who comes in with me, in a great position to go out there and execute at a high level so just go out there and have fun, wrap up the game and go home with a win.”

Nerves were a problem for Carter and some of the first year guys on the Red Raider roster, he said.

Carter mentioned the system Tech runs is similar to the one at his former school Incarnate Word. The only difference was that he was fresh out of high school and couldn’t pick up quick enough so he decided to go the JUCO route.

“At first it takes a little bit to click,” Carter said. “You know you have your ups and downs but I feel like I’ve learned it pretty well. I just go out there – I execute and play ball.”

Carter’s transition into the game was beyond the playbook, though. The competition and athleticism he will now face from here on out is some of the best on the gridiron.

“Just a lot more like a lot more plays,” Carter said. “Get out there and you got to see coverages. There’s bigger, faster people. You gotta go out there and just execute.”

Carter said Kingsbury has been helping him out since he arrived on campus in becoming more of a throwing QB. At Gilmer High School, Carter was more of a scrambling QB, but had playmakers around him to rely on.

Moving forward, Carter is focused on defeating the left-handed QB cliché after receiving little recruitment. However, he said his build now is much different than it was out of high school. His experience behind Shimonek has brought him along in the Tech system as well.

Carter said Shimonek is a perfectionist. He added that learning from Shimonek’s work ethic is also something he likes to apply to his daily routines.

“You get here and you work really hard to get in here and you want to play, obviously,” Carter said. “You want to get a lot of snaps. Nic’s is a great QB. He’s been here. He knows the system. I’m learning a lot of things from him. I’m having a lot of fun doing it as well. He has a lot of things that he’s taught me. It’s a good deal that I’m behind him and learning some key aspects to help out my game. Just sitting back and watching how he plays has been fun. It’s going to be interesting next year.”

For Parker, his story is a little different having left Texas Lutheran after the 2015 season to pursue a spot elsewhere.

He walked-on to Texas Tech and has since found his way onto the field and making big plays for the Red Raiders.

“I’d say my major key was having a guy like David Gibbs and the coaching staff,” Parker said. “If you know his story, he walked-on at Colorado and earned a spot. He kinda shares his stories with me and I kinda use him as a role model. It dates back to my high school days. My coach really put into me, ‘You gotta work hard. You gotta go get everything you’re going to get in life.”

Against Kansas, Parker picked off a pass and ran back a fumble return for a touchdown. What that meant to him was nothing but hard work paying off.

“For me, for a walk-on, it’s surreal,” Parker said. “It’s everything that you work – everything that I’ve been trying to ... accomplish. It’s also a big sigh of relief.”

Parker attended La Vernia high School with a graduating class of 212 kids with the classification of the school meeting the requirement to be a 4A program.

Parker said his options coming out of high school were slim. The schools he listed were all preferred walk-on positions at UTSA, Abilene Christian and Montana State. Instead, he signed with Texas Lutheran a couple of days after National Signing Day since it was 20 minutes outside of his home.

His teammate DB Jah’Shawn Johnson said Parker seems to have a knack for the football and causing turnovers. Parker answered to his teammate’s response by saying he simply is doing what he has to.

“Sometimes, it just happens,” Parker said. “It’s what I like to do and I know that’s what our defensive coaches like to see so that’s what I strive for. I got to do above anybody I compete against coming from my background. I know if I can get a turnover or two it’ll catch a coach’s eye.”

Parker discussed the issue of his recruitment out of high school once more. This time, he talked about his attitude or drive diminishing with no offers or scholarships available.

He spoke about his time at Texas Lutheran as well as a maturing phase in his career.

“Coming out of high school and everything you want is a scholarship offer, and to not get a scholarship offer, it does diminish you. But, at the same time, it pisses you off. It makes you just want to be better. And I look at TLU as almost like, ‘Well, if I didn’t get a scholarship right now, maybe I’m not ready.’ So I went to TLU and I knew they were going to let me play right away. So my whole kinda thought process in it was, ‘I’m going to go there and I’m going to get better. I I can grow, if I can do anything.”

Now a Red Raiders, Parker has bought into the motto of ‘Texas Tech versus everybody.’

But, he also realizes how much the fans love the team and how he has to represent Red Raider nation on the field on Saturday’s.

“It means everything, Parker said. “It’s a six-hour drive for me and when I get about four hours away, all I can see is ‘double T’s.’ Everywhere I go it’s on mailboxes, cars and everything like that. So to know I’m representing a huge population of people that just love Texas Tech, and if I can score a touchdown for them, it’s surreal. It’s an awesome feeling.”

The next challenge for Parker and the Red Raiders will be going to Morgantown, West Virginia, to take on the Mountaineers.

The Red Raiders come in as the No. 24 ranked team in the nation following a win over Kansas in which the defense was able to slow down the Jayhawk ground game.

Hill said defensive line coach Terrance Jamison has been a really good person to play for.

Personally, Hill said he’s come along better this year after picking up the position better. He said he’s not surprised in what he’s doing because his confidence is strong.

“It kind of humbled me seeing other people in front of me so I just felt like I had to step it up to be a leader,” Hill said.

Hill mentioned that his teammates are doing their jobs upfront in the trenches, which is what’s turned the defense around this season.

Meanwhile, the Mountaineers pose a threat on offense with QB Will Grier and RB Justin Crawford. Hill said the challenge is going to be containing Grier.

When asked about the defense and where they sit currently, Hill responded by saying that the unit hasn’t shown its best capability.

“There’s a lot more growth,” Hill said. “We still haven’t played a complete game. There’s a lot more growth for this defense.”