Texas Tech interim coach Sonny Cumbie held his weekly press conference with the media after practice on Wednesday and talked about the Red Raiders’ upcoming game against Iowa State. He also gave his thoughts on newly named Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire.
Cumbie said the team is still waiting to see if quarterback Tyler Shough can get fully cleared in time to play against the Cyclones. Shough has been practicing and taking reps, but the determining factor will be whether the team’s medical staff believes Shough can handle the physical demands of returning to action. Cumbie said the starter will be either Shough or Donovan Smith and noted that Henry Colombi won’t be available on Saturday, as he’s dealing with a sickness.
Cumbie said his message to Smith is similar to what he told him midway through the Oklahoma game: “You’ve had really good practices all season long. Every role we’ve given you throughout the course of the season, you’ve handled and done really well and had success with it. Continue to do that.”
Cumbie said Smith’s performance against Oklahoma revealed that the moment wasn’t too big for him. Cumbie said he was impressed with the quarterback’s accuracy and ability to extend plays when things broke down. Cumbie added that Smith has to go out and continue to improve and play like he practices.
Cumbie has added a pump jack chain as a daily reward for his players in an effort to inspire them and pique their interests and engage their hearts and minds. The concept was to tie something familiar to West Texas. The daily winner of the pump jack will stand in front of the team the following day and award it to a teammate and explain why he thinks his teammate deserves the award.
“It’s a daily thing that I think our guys take a lot of pride in and I want us to pour into these players as much as we can over these last four weeks,” Cumbie said. “That’s part of it, and at the end of the day, we still have to win, we need to win, and we’re doing all this to give ourselves the best chance to win a football game.”
Cumbie said the Iowa State defensive front is a solid, stout unit and that their secondary doesn’t make mistakes in coverage.
“That’s really how they play their whole defense,” he said. “They’re very assignment-sound and they’ve done a great job with their scheme. They don’t give you anything easy and they play really hard, but our guys play really hard too, and I’m excited about the challenge.”
Cumbie said that Iowa State presents a challenge with its tight ends, as much as they shift and move around players at that position. Cumbie said the defense needs to communicate well, tackle running back Breece Hall and contain quarterback Brock Purdy in the pocket and tackle him as well.
Cumbie said Purdy’s experience and ability to extend plays is part of what makes him so effective and referred to the Cyclone quarterback as a winner.
Cumbie said his players understand that on any given Saturday in the Big 12 Conference, a team can win or lose based off execution and preparation. He said that Monday-Friday and Saturday morning walk-throughs, as well as executing on the field, are where you win football games.
Cumbie said the expectation is that offensive lineman Ethan Carde will miss the remainder of the season after suffering a lower leg injury in practice last week.
Cumbie said he has known McGuire since 2011 when he started recruiting his players at Cedar Hill.
“When I was at TCU, we were just down the road,” Cumbie said. “He would come over to our facility and I got to spend a lot of time with him. He’s a good friend of mine, and I’m really excited for the passion and energy that he brings here. He’s a really good football coach. He’s won state championships at Cedar Hill, he’s done a nice job at Baylor and I’m glad that he’s here. I’ve known him for a long time, and I have a lot of respect for him as a coach and as a leader.”
Staying on the Red Raider staff under McGuire is something that appeals to Cumbie.
“I would love that,” Cumbie said. “I would love to stay here as offensive coordinator. I would love to help Coach McGuire win a lot of football games. I would love to help these players win a lot of football games, and I would love to continue to build on what we’ve started this year. The way the flow of this season has gone, it’s really been hard on everybody in terms of getting into a rhythm and getting our feet underneath us, and I’d love to have the opportunity to do that.”
