Takeaways: Defensive players, Kingsbury talk this week of prep before TCU

Head coach Kliff Kingsbury and select defensive players met with the local media on Tuesday evening to discuss how things have gone so far this week as they prepare for TCU:

*I asked Coach Kingsbury if they decided to tweak more things in practice as they did a week ago, or if they'd found a routine they liked more. The head coach likes how the team responded mentality-wise against Oklahoma, so they're mostly sticking with it:

"I felt like last week worked for us as far as energy on Saturday, so we'll probably be in a similar routine. may tweak something here or there, but pretty similar to last week's schedule."

"I think the second half obviously wasn't what we wanted on that side of the ball, but after watching the film, I think we feel like they're mistakes that can be fixed, and we just have to get better. We're back to being physical this week, and we're going up another great offense. But, I like what I've seen so far."

*Kingsbury noted that both rush end Kris Williams and linebacker D'Vonta Hinton practiced on Tuesday. He believes Williams will be good to go for this weekend, not sure about Hinton yet, who practiced in a non-contact jersey.

*The head coach was also asked if he thought missing Hinton hurt them in run defense. His response:

"I'm not sure. Hard to say. When he's on, when he's into it, when he's physical, he's a good player. When he's not, he's not so good. So, we've got to get him more consistent."

*True freshman defensive back Douglas Coleman has missed the last few weeks, too. Kingsbury said he was just "dinged up" and is back and full-go this week. Senior running back Quinton White should be back and ready to go this week, too.

*As for outside receivers Dylan Cantrell and Derrick Willies, Kliff said both could possibly go this weekend, but he believes it's likely that it will be next week when the two are ready to roll before the Texas game. Willies has been out with a knee injury, while Cantrell has been out with a hand injury.

*Kliff noted that after practicing some of the week last week before Oklahoma, QB Pat Mahomes has practiced all week this week and is essentially full go now.

*Texas Tech's inside receivers have been fantastic this season, as all four players in the rotation have at least 350 yards receiving so far this fall. I asked the head coach why he thought the group had been so stellar this season:

"Just hard work in the offseason. It was a group we challenged. They were young last year, not as productive, and we had some good players in front of them. We just asked them to step up and told them we needed them, and they embraced the role. All of them are getting a ton of snaps, 50 to 60 snaps a game, and have been very productive. But, it was definitely the work they put in this offseason in the weight room, film study, and being tougher, more physical players."

*Since moving to Michael Barden as the kicker on kickoffs, Texas Tech's number of touchbacks has risen dramatically. Kingsbury has been happy with Barden's efforts there and is hoping he can improve as a punter:

"It's been good. Following that Kansas State game when we had the kickoff returned, we were looking for answers, and he stepped up and has been solid on those kickoffs. The punting hasn't been what we wanted, but I'm proud of him for stepping up in that department."

*Kliff was asked about true freshman running back Da'Leon Ward and the role he'll have moving forward after starting against Oklahoma. It'll depend on the package and looks they're going for, but when Tech's trying to get tough yards, they for sure know which RB will get the carries:

"Going back to the DFW area, I know he's excited about this opportunity to play in front of a bunch of friends and family, and he's been getting better with every day and every rep. We'll continue to rotate those guys, but like I've continued to make mention of, just having a little bit more physical, bigger back to fall forward on some of those runs really helped our offense last week."

JAHSHAWN JOHNSON

*Johnson shared some interesting thoughts on how things went for the defense against Oklahoma and what he thinks the unit must do to get better:

"I think our effort and energy was definitely there. We just still have some things we have to clean up and get better at," he said. "We kind of just started doing our own things, getting out of our gaps, things of that nature, letting guys run by us, and you can't do things like that in a game like that, especially with a great quarterback and great skill people like that, so you just have got to be disciplined and play all four quarters."

MALIK JENKINS

*Count Jenkins in as a big fan of the new practice schedule Kingsbury and the staff implemented last week:

"I think everything keeps getting better. We continue to go with the schedule that Coach Kingsbury made for us last week, and I just think it's better, more physical, so I'm enjoying it, and I think the rest of the defense and team is enjoying it as well."

*So, what does Jenkins think the biggest key for improvement for the defense is?

"If we can eliminate the big plays, we're gonna be fine. I just feel like that's the one thing we're really trying to control more now, just emphasizing technique in individual (drills) and everything."