With only 1 specialist on campus, head coach Matt Wells and the Red Raiders received a nice little Christmas gift when Highland (AZ) punter Austin McNamara decided to commit and pulled the trigger for Texas Tech. McNamara committed on December 25th and is set to sign on National Signing Day, February 6th.
What you need to know...
- While the coaches were new to Texas Tech, they were not new to McNamara. Austin has long held an offer from the coaches at their previous stop at Utah State, so when Texas Tech offered it was much of the same for Austin.
- Austin got his offer from Texas Tech on Saturday, December 15th, two days before the start of the dead period. That didn't leave much time for a full official visit, but Austin says he got to come in on Sunday the 16th and meet with the coaches and see everything he needed to to decide Texas Tech was home.
Commitment: Austin says he called coach Wells on Christmas Eve to tell him he was committing to Texas Tech, to which coach Wells said was "the best Christmas present ever." Austin says that he and his entire family were also super excited to commit, be done with the process, and now he is looking forward to signing in February.
Coach Lorig: When McNamara committed to the Red Raiders they did not have a special teams coach, but head coach Matt Wells asked McNamara to give him his trust and that he would hire the right guy for him. On Tuesday, January 8th, Texas Tech officially announced their special teams coordinator with coach Joe Lorig coming over from Memphis. McNamara has already had a chance to speak with coach Lorig and he likes what he's heard, adding "he's a great guy, a great coach, he's energetic and I can't wait to get to work with him in June!" Coach Lorig will travel to Arizona to meet with Austin and potentially other targets this coming Friday.
Position: Austin is both a kicker and a punter, and enjoys doing both. Austin says he will start out as a punter, and that is his best chance at seeing the field early. He also plans on competing for the kicking job and can also handle kickoffs.
Why Texas Tech? Austin's top 3 options were UCLA, Missouri and Texas Tech, so why the Red Raiders? Austin says that he felt at home on his visit to Texas Tech, he has built close relationships with the coaching staff, he has family members and friends who have gone to Texas Tech and that all helped with his decision going into it.
More specialists: There is currently only one other specialist on campus, that being former preferred walk on kicker Trey Wolff. McNamara would be the second, but the coaches are not done adding yet. Austin says the coaches will look to add a PWO punter to join the team, and then potentially another kicker as well.
Signing Day Plans: Austin says he is 100 percent locked in with Texas Tech, and does not plan to visit elsewhere. He is excited and looks forward to signing with the Red Raiders on February 6th. In the meanwhile he is heading out to the Polynesian Bowl next week, focusing on that, getting ready for that game and experience in Hawaii. The Polynesian Bowl is set to be broadcast live on CBSSN, Saturday, January 19th at 7 p.m.
