With two games remaining on the schedule, Texas Tech is one win away from bowl eligibility heading into the home finale against Central Florida Saturday. The significance of the game cannot be understated- the Red Raiders are 5-5 on the season and a third-consecutive trip to a bowl game would be the longest stretch since the program made 11 straight from 2000-2010.
It is an especially meaningful game as several veteran players will be playing their last game at Jones AT&T Stadium. With the hustle and bustle of senior night festivities, there is still football left to be played, and this is not lost on the Red Raiders.
“The main thing (Joey) McGuire’s been talking about is just be where your feet are,” receiver Xavier White, a graduate of Monterey High School in Lubbock, said after Tech’s practice Tuesday. “Be here in the moment and just do things that you’re supposed to do. Take control of what you can control.”
White, a former walk-on who received his scholarship in January of 2020, said Texas Tech is part of a family tradition. Both White’s uncle and his grandfather played basketball for the Red Raiders. White has been a consistent force for the Red Raiders since his Tech debut in 2019. White turned in a five reception, 109 yard performance, something no Red Raider had done in their debut since the legendary Michael Crabtree. Blazing his own trail, White is leaving no stone unturned when he takes the field at his hometown stadium Saturday.
“Hometown kid, walk-on, just the accomplishments and the achievements I’ve done here,” White said about the legacy he hopes to leave behind. “Hometown kids, they can play at their hometown (school). And if it’s a walk-on, trust yourself, and then work hard and you’ll receive what you want.”
There is a lot on the line with the Knights coming into town this week. Both teams stand at 5-5, and similar to Tech’s last game against Kansas, the defense will likely have its plate full with UCF’s offense. Aside from the grueling labor it takes to become a competitive team at the highest level of college football, there are no shortcuts from the mental aspect of preparation. This especially holds true with a high-powered Knights offense coming in.
“After the Kansas game, I watched the last bit of the (UCF versus) Oklahoma State game, because they were trying to kill the clock,” safety Dadrion Taylor-Demerson said in regards to film study. “Just to see what kind of run game they have… Really just going back and watching the games that teams are running a similar defense that we run. We run a really unique defense here, a whole bunch of moving around, different packages and everything. Seeing games where guys are high when they’re running their best offensive stuff like that. We watch a lot of tape around here. We probably watched almost every single (UCF) game already and it’s Tuesday.”
Taylor-Demerson, in his final season of eligibility, has put together a string of several outstanding performances. A two interception night against TCU spilled into another high-profile outing against Kansas which saw him snag another pick. Taylor-Demerson being in this position was improbable from the outset, the Oklahoma City native grew up playing running back at Carl Albert High School.
Taylor-Demerson reflected Tuesday on one of his favorite memories while playing at Tech, his first start which came against Oklahoma State. During that game, Taylor-Demerson was able to play against Chuba Hubbard, a running back he admired from his own days rushing out of the backfield. Now a father, Taylor-Demerson expects his daughter and family to be in attendance Saturday, something that has not been of recent occurrence.
“She hasn’t been to one this season just because we were playing at night, when she goes to bed and stuff, her bedtime, but this will be pretty special, man,” Taylor-Demerson said. “I ain’t gonna lie man, walking down with her, she’s gonna see me cry a little bit, but it’s gonna be really special. Leaving all my guys, Tony (Bradford), it’s gonna be the last time I see him for a while before we reunite again, (Jaylon Hutchings), Malik (Dunlap), (Rayshad Williams), we really have had so much time, it’s really a brotherhood. We take care of each other, we honor, take pride in our relationships that we have with each other… Me and Tony been here a long time, we came in together, we got a pretty good, tight knit relationship. It’s just gonna be emotional, our last one in The Jones, that’s crazy. I would have never thought that I would have made it this far and I made it this far. It’s just a blessing to be in the position that I’m at right now.”
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