Football Talk with Sonny Cumbie

Texas Tech interim coach Sonny Cumbie held his weekly press conference with the media on Wednesday afternoon to talk about the Red Raiders’ bye week, last week’s contest against Oklahoma, and the team’s outlook for the remainder of the season.

Junior quarterback Tyler Shough had a red jersey and shoulder pads on as the media arrived towards the end of practice. Asked about Shough’s availability, Cumbie said it’s still a process where the team will work through these next two weeks of practice and then re-evaluate his progress and where he’s at physically. Cumbie said Shough’s status is “to be determined, but he’s out here with us and that’s good.”

Cumbie said Wednesday was Shough’s first day in shoulder pads, but he still hasn’t been medically cleared for game action.

As far as who will line up at quarterback when the Red Raiders take the field against Iowa State on Nov. 13th is still undetermined. Freshman Donovan Smith saw the most extensive action of the season against Oklahoma and responded well passing for 192 yards and a touchdown while adding another 22 yards rushing.

“Donovan finished the game and did a really nice job,” Cumbie said. “That’s something we’re still kicking around going into the bye week and the practices we have this week. We’ll come back on probably Sunday or Monday with our first practice and have a clear plan as far as the guy who’s going to roll out there with the starters.”

Cumbie said there really isn’t anything in the playbook he has to hold back when Smith plays and added that the second-year QB “can do it all.” Cumbie said he has complete confidence in Smith and that the coaches want all quarterbacks to master everything they do in the game plan, and he feels good about Smith’s ability to do that.

Cumbie noted that he doesn’t want to oversaturate any of the quarterbacks with the offense, but instead tries to keep it clear for them.

Cumbie said the approach for the bye week consists of a lot of self-scouting but also using the opportunity to get started on preparing for Iowa State.

“One advantage we have on Iowa State right now, is that we have an extra week to prepare for them,” he said. “We want to take that advantage and use that, but it’s also an opportunity for us late in the season to touch up on some fundamentals. We were able to get out here and have some long, in-depth time for each position and kind of get back to the basics of teaching from footwork to hand placement, different things like that.”

Cumbie said the message for the team this week is belief, effort, and fundamentals.

“That’s what we’re trying to do this week is establish a deep belief in yourself, a deep sense of belief in this team, and do everything with great effort and get back to our fundamentals,” he said. “Obviously, every one of us here is disappointed with the results of Saturday’s game. As a coach, I’m encouraged with the resiliency and fight our guys showed in terms of everything they went through last week and how they came out to practice (Wednesday) with a lot of energy and enthusiasm. Then our execution has to match that on Saturdays.”

Cumbie talked about the importance of the bye week and how the timing was significant for everybody involved in the Texas Tech program.

“I think it was important for everybody in this building to really take a step back, take a deep breath and get your feet back under you,” he said. “I think mentally and physically our guys are in a better place (Wednesday) than they were Saturday after the game. That was not dependent upon the result; they needed some time to clear their heads and we’re going to get after it again (Thursday) and then we’ll have a couple of days to rest and recover. I think our guys do need a break from a mental and physical standpoint and it came at the right time with the bye week.”

Cumbie said that despite losing to the Sooners 52-21, being down on the field with his players was a lot of fun for him last week and described his first experience on the sideline as a head coach.

“Being in the mix with those guys and being on the sideline with them, I enjoyed that.” Cumbie said. “Offensively, we’ve got to score more points. But being able to really feel the emotion of our players though, that’s been good, I enjoy being down there with them. Especially if we can get these wins and play better. There were a lot of decisions and things coming at you fast, but the offensive staff did a great job in game.”

Cumbie said that some of the main differences between coaching in the booth and on the sideline is that when you’re in the booth, you’re removed from the emotion of the game, you lay out things differently in your thought processes, and on the sidelines, you have to be ready to handle all the situations that may arise over the course of a game.

“You prepare yourself (for certain situations), but football is a hard game to script because there are so many variables that change throughout the game,” Cumbie said. “We’ve all got to be better, myself included.”

With all the news currently swirling around the program weighing heavily on the coaching search, and not necessarily what this team still has a chance to accomplish this season, the current coaching staff is faced with the unusual challenge of reminding the players every day that it’s about them and what they represent.

“At the end of the day, whether you like a coach, an administrator, or any of us, the players are the ones that deserve the support,” Cumbie said. “The players are the ones that deserve everyone to rally behind them and the school, because that’s who they represent.

“I’m not going to sit here and tell you we’re not aware of it (coaching news) because we are, but these coaches are doing a great job of giving everything they have to the players on the field, in meeting rooms, and making it about them because that’s what this game is about is our players. That’s what makes this thing go, so they deserve our support and our fans support. “Whatever happens 5-6 weeks down the road, we have no control over. But today’s practice, attitude, body language, and the passion we give our players, we can control that.”

Cumbie said he asked the players in a meeting to stand up if they’ve ever been to a bowl game and only 5-7 players stood.

“That needs to change,” he said. “The expectation is to go to a bowl game. The expectation is to win football games and the belief is to win and go to bowl games. There are so many different things that come along with that.”

Cumbie said going to a bowl game equals as many as 15 extra practices for a team – the equivalent of another spring practice for young and developmental guys.

“When you’re not at a bowl game, and people you compete against in your league are at a bowl game, they’re basically getting 15-17 practices that you’re not,” Cumbie said. “They’re developing their younger talent and bottom end of their roster. There’s an opportunity for us to get to a bowl game and to keep developing our roster and you’d like to reward some of the older players here who have weathered the storm with a bowl game or really just a victory. Next week, let’s win a game and worry about the following week then.”

Asked about TCU and Gary Patterson agreeing to mutually part ways this week, Cumbie praised his former boss.

“It’s just crazy, as much as he’s coached, as long as he’s coached,” Cumbie said. “I’m just very appreciative of the time I was able to spend with him and learn from him. Appreciative of the opportunity he gave me to come there and believe in me as a coordinator. He’s pretty much an icon of college football coaching. We’re all in the results business, but there’s not a greater football coach or defensive mind. He really talked a lot about growing up coaches and he did that for me and a bunch of other guys.”