Takeaways: Kingsbury honors Gonsioroski, Shorts speaks confidence and more
- Texas Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury along with WR Quan Shorts and OL Terence Steele addressed the media on Tuesday before continuing their bye week. Next up for Texas Tech is a home game against the Arizona State Sun Devils. The session wasn’t of great length, but here are some quick hits.
- Shorts exploded with confidence when he spoke with media members. He was responsible for one touchdown on Saturday against Eastern Washington from a pass thrown by backup QB McLane Carter.
- Shorts, now a sophomore, said injuries really set him back whenever he first arrived in Lubbock. However, it was also his self-confidence that played a factor.
- WR coach Emmett Jones inspired Shorts after he worked with the scout team, he said. In a win against Baylor, Shorts’ saw a boost in his confidence following his performance.
- “Last year I wasn’t getting a lot of playing time,” Shorts said. “He always used to joke about, because I used to run a lot of posts for the scout team and I used to look fast and catch it. He said, he told me one day, ‘one play can change your life.’ They gave me a play in that Baylor game and it didn’t change my life, but it made my life a whole lot better.”
- Shorts said the people around him believe him and now he does too. He added that it feels like high school all over again.
- Having to deal with his injuries last year, he now prepares for the long haul, which benefits now having basically two whole weeks to prepare for Arizona State.
- Kingsbury had to deal with injured players last week before the opener with one being specifically with OL Travis Bruffy.
- Kingsbury provided a small update on Bruffy saying he is day-to-day. He said the main thing with Bruffy is adding weight back on.
- Kingsbury wouldn’t say how much weight Bruffy has lost since his absence was discovered. However, he did say it was ‘quite a bit’ and even mentioned it was ‘borderline.’ His main focus will be to get bigger.
- OL Madison Akamnonu took over Bruffy’s tackle spot in the lineup on Saturday. Kingsbury said his presence and preparation was good, but still mentioned he would like the depth to be there if Bruffy wouldn’t have been sidelined.
- Steele agreed with Kingsbury and said having Akamnonu in wasn’t a big adjustment. He said the communication upfront is better than it was last season.
- On the topic of last year, Kingsbury once again brought up being a one-dimensional team in 2016. He said having so much depth at the running back position gives them the balance they want.
- RB Desmond Nisby made his presence known on Saturday against the Eagles. Kingsbury said he has lost weight since his arrival, but it comfortable with giving him a max of 20 carries a game, if needed.
- “It’s hard for a quarterback when they’re dropping eight to find an open guy,” Kingsbury said. “Luckily, we had a really good quarterback who could still manage it, but that wasn’t fair to him all the time. Numbers wise, I would love to throw it probably 45 and run it 40 a game; that’d be good for me.”
- Defensively, Kingsbury said the pass rush on Saturday was aimed at containing Eastern Washington QB Gage Gubrud. Moving forward, they’ll gameplan around whoever is up next.
- Kingsbury said the team has moved on from Saturday’s win and has been focused on Arizona State since Sunday. Arizona State has a matchup with San Diego State this upcoming Saturday while the Red Raiders are focused on not letting last season’s battle with the Sun Devils happen again.
- After one week, the Red Raiders are tied for first place in the FBS in the turnover margin and rank No. 44 in total defense. They also received four votes in the latest AP poll.
- Kingsbury, as well as fans, will probably not think too much into those stats, but it is a good step in the right direction.
- Kingsbury wrapped up Tuesday’s presser with a statement about Luke Gonsioroski, a preferred walk-on in the class of 2017 who died after battling cancer before the season. Kingsbury wore the initials ‘LG’ on his shoes during game day.
- “He just meant a lot to me. He believed in me,” Kingsbury said. “We had a cool relationship and I think the world of that young man and his battle and how he handled it. So I Just wanted to represent for him.”