It was a big day for Head Coach Joey McGuire and the coaching staff, as today marked the first official scrimmage of the year for the Texas Tech football team. Music blared on the stadium speakers, loud cheers rang throughout, and good vibes were definitely present at Jones AT&T this afternoon.
After the festivities concluded, I got a chance to hear from both Joey McGuire and RB Tahj Brooks on the scrimmage and how the team looked as a whole.
Key Points:
-Coach McGuire was pleased with the offensive play, but both Tahj Brooks and SaRodorick Thompson caught his eye. Brooks had a couple of long runs and Thompson punched both runs into the endzone, one being on third down.
"We're going to be really aggressive on third and try to get to a good fourth down that we can go for. Those third downs are important that you don't bounce it, you just hit it up in there."
-McGuire was also extremely impressed with the WR group today. Brady Boyd had a tremendous catch in the end zone for a score. Jerand Bradley has been the most consistent player out of the bunch, "he's been an animal during practice. He's hard to cover because he's so long and big." Myles Price and Jordan Brown (Brown newly transferred from Kansas), also made big plays that impressed McGuire.
-Coach also expects big seasons for the TE group. "I think what you saw today more than anything, is we got some dudes at tight end. I mean, Teeter made some huge plays, had a touchdown, and may start. They are going to be threats. Number one because they're so athletic, but they're also so long, they're big targets. You got to mix those guys and you're going to see more 11 and 12 personnel in West Texas than you've seen in a long time."
-The "race" in the quarterback room remains open and extremely competitive. Behren Morton, Tyler Shough, and Donovan Smith have all impressed the coaching staff, and each quarterback took equal reps in the scrimmage. "I would like to at least like say, hey, this guy's in the lead by the end of spring, or even name a quarterback just for the leadership aspect. We're in a good position. We've got dudes, we've got a very healthy room, they care about each other, they want to be great and so they're pushing each other."
Although the offensive side of the ball was talked about the most, McGuire also touched on what impressed him defensively.
-What stood out the most was the defense's ability to get third-down stops. There was a lot of pressure on the quarterbacks. "I think we went like three or four times in a row, they probably would have had a sack in the game. So it was good to see because it was coming from everywhere pressure-wise, so the guys really understood what we wanted to do."
Finally, Tahj Brooks addressed the running back situation and how he feels he has performed this spring.
-Brooks is excited that he finally feels 100% healthy and is working every day to become a better runner.
-Offensive coordinator Zach Kittley has implemented more motion and allowed both Brooks and Thompson to be pass catchers moving forward. "I think in this offense, Kittley knows how to get us the ball, that's one thing I love about him. I think I'll be great at the receiver position."
The Red Raiders are back in action on Tuesday for spring practice #7.
