Takeaways: Kingsbury and Gibbs review big win over Kansas

Texas Tech head coach Kliff Kingsbury and defensive coordinator David Gibbs met with local media members on Sunday night to review the Kansas game...

-DC David Gibbs was asked at tonight's availability about what he's seen that's led to the major jump from his defense this year:

"We have players who've played. We have linebackers who have actually played in Big 12 football games, handled Big 12 running backs, and we actually have them on the field at the same time, which hasn't been the case in years previous since I've been here. Just some experience, some depth, guys buying into the system and working their rears off to get better every day. We've adjusted some things, and we're not perfect by any means. We're just trying to improve from week to week."

"I think we have better players now, obviously. I've always created turnovers, and it's part of what we do. It's part of our identity. Guys have bought into it, and I think they work at it every day."

-Coach Gibbs also said he believed much of this year's success so far has had to do with the depth and ability to rotate so many bodies on the D-line and in the secondary. He's hoping to add more linebackers to the mix to get Jordyn Brooks and Dakota Allen a few more breathers a week.

-Gibbs also noted that the biggest blessing in disguise for all the JUCO newcomers - Tony Jones, Octavious Morgan, Jaylon Lane, Vaughnte Dorsey - was that they were here in the spring. It's why they've been able to handle all their responsibilities without many hiccups so far.

-On freshman LB Riko Jeffers:

"He's gonna be a great player here. He's just a baby. He didn't get here until June, and he's picked things up. We put him in the game a lot more yesterday, and we're looking for him to contribute."

-On how well Mych Thomas and Broderick Washington have been playing together so far this year, with an interesting note at the end:

"Just two big body guys who play hard and do what they're supposed to do. It's hard for those guys. It's hard to eat up blockers every play because everybody talks about making tackles and getting sacks and doing this and doing that, and the unsung heroes are the guys up front who are getting double teamed every snap. The truth is, we have unselfish players now, which was not the case when I got here three years ago."

-Gibbs said that the biggest thing that Dakota Allen does for this defense is bring a calming presence. Just a guy who never panics, is always there to keep everyone level headed.

-On how competitive the rotation at corner has been so far this years:

"Some guys play a lot in some games, and then they don't in the next (game). We've got five corners who can actually go into a game and function, so if you don't play good, if you're not practicing well, then you're going to be number five on the depth chart."

-On Eli Howard's big game against the Jayhawks:

"I've been saying for the last two or three weeks that I'm surprised that he hasn't made some wow plays, because he's that kind of guy. I look like a fool in front of the TV people because I'm telling them every week that Eli is going to be the MVP of the game, and he finally showed up and affected the football game. But he does it every day. Not surprised at all."

-Kliff was asked if this was the most complete game that Tech's played under him, specifically this season:

"I felt like at times it was. There was a little drought there to start the second half, had a turnover, kicking game wasn't real smooth, but I think overall the energy, intensity, focus, only having two penalties is about as clean as we've played."

-I asked Kingsbury why they've added so many running concepts to the offense that involve pulling guards and tackles, if it has to do with the background of the starters and their natural athleticism:

"A little bit of that, and then a lot of it is Coach Jones and what he's brought schematically. Every O-line coach has different things they like and tend to do, and he likes all that stuff. It helps us with some angles. It's been good for us, and we do some different stuff off of it, and hopefully we can continue to run the ball well. Our whole offense is built around running the football, and if we can do that, we'll have a shot."

-Interesting thought from Kliff on the fast start against Kansas when the offense has been so flat to start most of the games this year:

"I felt like we tried to play too perfect against Oklahoma State after they kind of shut us down a little bit early, and I felt like we've just got to let those guys play, trust them. They're young, but let them grow up. Let them play, let Nic play, and I felt like we kind of played more freely and didn't try to play perfect all game."

-On why Quan Shorts got the start at X over Derrick Willies:

"He's just been very consistent with his approach and attitude, with the way he's been practicing, so we just wanted to get him out there, let him have his go at it, and I'm just proud of the way he's competing, and we feel like we have two really good X's, and we'll keep both of them running through there."

-Coach Kingsbury said that Doug Coleman could play against West Virginia. They're just feeling it out this week and seeing where his ankle is at.

-Kliff noted that they tried to focus on fast starts in individual drills and team periods this week to try and fix their slow start issues on offense. It seemed to work against Kansas, so they're going to keep approaching things that way.

-Kingsbury said a big deal against Kansas that helped them have so much success was limiting negative plays, whether they were penalties or negative yardage plays.

-On Eli Howard improving each week and really flashing against Kansas:

"It's more just that he hasn't played in a while. Getting back into it, similar thing with Travis Bruffy. He graded out the highest of any O-lineman this week, so I think the more those guys play, the more they're going to get comfortable."

-On where Keke Coutee was at health-wise going into the Kansas game:

"He wasn't 100 percent, I know that, and he was smart. Caught some things and went out of bounds on the sidelines, which is what we wanted him to do. Didn't take too many shots, so hopefully we can keep working him back this week and get him back to 100 percent."