Texas Tech offensive coordinator Sonny Cumbie held his weekly press conference with the media on Tuesday to discuss the Red Raiders’ upcoming game against Kansas State and discussed last week’s contest against the Jayhawks.

Cumbie said he was proud of how his team was able to start fast against Kansas while overcoming an early mistake in the game, and that’s a sign to him that the offense has matured a little bit.

“I was really proud of how hard they played and how well we executed,” he said. “Probably the fewest mistakes we’ve had all season in terms of missed assignments. They were right back at it this week and for two days now we’ve had a really good approach.”

Cumbie said he thought the tight ends played really well against Kansas and made a lot of plays in the run game.

“They’ve been very consistent and physical,” Cumbie said. “We’re running power at times with multiple tight ends and they’re creating a lot of space. Catching the football, they’ve made plays. I’ve been really pleased with those guys. We ask them to do a lot, besides the quarterback and offensive line, we ask those guys to do so much. It’s a difficult position to take mentally and those guys have done a really nice job.”

Cumbie spoke on the experience gained from last year and how it’s been beneficial to Henry Colombi this season in terms of his ability to prepare. Cumbie noted that the speed of the game doesn’t surprise Colombi, and that he’s a poised quarterback that shows resiliency on the field.

“He’s able to overcome a mistake and really doesn’t blink,” Cumbie said. “There’s just a sense of calmness and confidence that he brings, and I think that comes from experience, but I also think it comes from preparation and he’s got a lot of both really.”

Cumbie said that a two-quarterback system can be tricky because you don’t want to disrupt Colombi and what you’re doing on offense but also noted how well Colombi has handled the situation.

“Henry is not really phased by it, I don’t think it affects his rhythm,” he said. “Donovan has been able to come in and really add a dimension to our run game and our pass game, and that’s kind of shot us in the arm a little bit. He adds a different dimension to our offense, and when he comes into the game it’s not a situation where it’s going to be all quarterback runs.

With “stacking success” becoming the almighty theme around the football program at the moment, Cumbie talked about the message he gives to the offense, that managing success is an everyday process that rewards effort.

“It’s human nature to let your guard down, and it’s our job as coaches to try and simulate ways to keep their guard up and to push them and motivate them,” Cumbie said. “You have to understand that managing success is every week and every single day. The steps that you take to prepare, watch film, eat right, sleep, working with Coach Scholz, the practice field, it’s a checklist that you have to do every single day the exact same way.

“The thing about football is, you typically get what you put into it. If you put all you can into it, the results are going to typically be in your favor. If you cheat the process, that’s going to typically be revealed at some point.”

Cumbie said the Kansas State defense is a disruptive unit that plays a physical brand of football.

“They used to be four down, but now they’re three down and very disruptive,” he said. “They play with a three-safety shell and from that you see various amounts of coverages. They are very physical, probably one of the more physical defenses I’ve seen. Reminds me of the defense that Baylor had in Coach (Matt) Rhule’s last season, in terms of guys flying around, making plays, and being very physical. They have a defensive front that at times only rushes three and they’re able to create a pass rush and make negative plays. It’s a very aggressive, tough-minded defense.”

Cumbie said that designing the offensive gameplan each week has more to do knowing your opponent and trying to “read the defense.”

“Hopefully you build your offense to where you have your foundation of what you do and who you are, but also what gives you the best chance to win a football game each week based off who you’re playing, what are our strengths and advantages, and trying to play to those.”