Texas Tech defensive coordinator Keith Patterson and offensive coordinator Sonny Cumbie spoke to the media after practice on Tuesday as the Red Raiders continued to prepare for their Big 12 Conference opener at Texas on Saturday (11 a.m. | ABC).

Here are a few takeaways:

What stands out on film about Bijan Robinson?

“He’s tough, he’s got good balance, runs hard.”

Patterson noted the need to swarm and gang tackle because of Robinson’s ability to “jump cut” and bounce the ball outside.

“You don’t want a bunch of one-on-one tackles with him. We need to try and create population to the ball carrier and gang-tackle him.”

What coach has seen from Casey Thompson?

Patterson complimented Thompson’s ability to extend plays and keep the ball alive to allow receivers to get open.

“He just seems to have a confidence in the game. He seems to operate with a lot of confidence in himself and his ability. I think the guys around him probably buy in to that as well.”

On confidence heading into the first conference game:

“To me, it’s game-to-game because you can lose your confidence in a hurry, but I like where we are mentally. I feel like our guys are more and more confident in the system and their ability to make plays.”

Patterson mentioned having five different guys who have had interceptions and made big plays add to that confidence.

On the increase in defensive takeaways this season:

Patterson referenced back 2010 when the Tulsa defense he coached had 36 takeaways and in 2018 when Utah State’s defense had 33, and how sometimes turnovers can come and go in waves. He mentioned that it’s about being ball conscience more than anything, and this Tech defense has some ball hawks that want to go get the ball when it’s in the air. He also went on to say that you can’t gauge anything on last season.

“There was nothing normal about that at all. I don’t even consider last year to be a season to be honest with you.”

On changes in the Texas offense under first-year coach Steve Sarkisian:

Patterson talked about how the Texas offense is still a run-first, play-action type of offense with the run-pass option built into the system. The Longhorns regularly look to take advantage of deep post routes and wheel routes out of the backfield.

“They still look like Texas – big, athletic and with good players.”

On the Tech defense’s improved ability to stop the run:

Patterson said that up front, the Red Raiders are a lot bigger and more physical this season. The players didn’t get a chance to have a normal offseason in 2020, so having the chance to work out again on campus, which they weren’t allowed to do during the pandemic, has resulted in a lot of players getting bigger and stronger.

“When you look at us, we don’t look that big. When they start playing us, I think they’re kind of shocked with how powerful we are up front.”

What has he seen from the Texas defense on film?

Cumbie talked about how active their defense is up front, and how the Longhorns’ success starts with those guys because they’re disruptive and hard to move around. He singled out Texas linebacker DeMarvion Overshown for how he really flashes on film, as well as the Texas secondary, which has a lot of experienced players.

“Those guys are very sound with what they do; they’re very active. They’re a defense that, in terms of creating negative plays, do a pretty good job at it.”

Will previous success against Texas while at TCU be an added benefit for Tech?

“With a new coaching staff, new defensive and offensive staff, you could probably throw a little bit of that out the window.”

Cumbie said Texas has a lot of the same players, but the scheme, mentality and mindset seem to be a lot different than the past.

“That’s all in the past. It’s experience you can learn from and draw from in terms of preparation and to tell our guys what to expect.”

On attacking a team with a new coaching staff:

Cumbie talked about how the Red Raiders have competed against Texas every year, so they’re somewhat familiar with the personnel and what UT players’ strengths are and ways they’ve attacked them in the past.

“Then you have to look at it scheme-wise, how similar is it to what they were doing in the past and figure out how to go and attack them.”

On how the Tech offense performed against FIU:

“I think playing more plays helped all of us. After the first quarter, we only had eight plays again. We were finally able to get first downs and get into a rhythm on offense. (Tyler Shough) being able to find his other guys, he did a great job distributing the ball. I thought he was very accurate, poised and he’s throwing the deep ball really well, which has helped our offense in terms of explosive plays.”

With the road test on Saturday, Cumbie stressed the need for Shough to be accurate and stingy with the ball in his decision-making.

On SaRodorick Thompson heading into this weekend:

Cumbie said he was hopeful Thompson will build up as Texas Tech gets into conference play as his “feet get under him.” He said that Tahj Brooks and Xavier White have done great job filling in, and it’s going to be about finding ways to get all three guys involved going forward.

“That’s hard at running back because I think RB is a bit more of a rhythm position; sometimes guys get better as they go. Whose night it’s going to be will depend on who’s got the hot hand, but we want to keep all three guys involved the best we can.”

On incorporating the tight ends:

Cumbie brought up the tight ends and talked about the most common trait with the group is size and ability to be a mismatch for the defense.

“For a while, it was a little bit of a comfort level for the quarterbacks, understanding that these guys really aren’t ever covered (because) they’re such big targets. You saw that on (Mason Tharp’s) third-and-4 catch that he caught on the zero blitz over the middle of the field. He was covered as well as that safety could have covered him, but he’s open because he’s 6-9, 250 pounds. We like to incorporate those guys in the passing game, but they’ve done a great job in the run game, too, creating space (with their) blocking.”