After impressive outings from now-injured quarterback Alan Bowman, it is now the final boarding for the jet, Jett Duffey. The junior from Mansfield-Lake Ridge (TX) will be the man calling the signals this Saturday against the Oklahoma State Cowboys after coming in for grad-transfer Jackson Tyner early in the first quarter against the Oklahoma Sooners.
Final boarding call for the Jett
Texas Tech offensive coordinator David Yost spoke to the media Tuesday afternoon following practice and first talked on the performance by Duffey against the Sooners.
“It was okay, it was a little lower,” Yost said. “It was in the kind of upper 70s area. We like to, on the worst weeks, be in the kind of the 80s. It was slightly below that but I think in the circumstances did some good things, definitely things we need to clean up.”
It was a quick switch from Tyner to Duffey last Saturday. Now, that Duffey has the new feel and flow to a rather new offense (to him), there is plenty of time for Duffey to build off the Oklahoma loss and get better in the weeks to come.
“Him (Duffey) being able to get in there and get some stuff going, some first downs for us was really good for us,” Yost said, “especially on the fourth drive able to get us kind of down the field and get us in the end zone there. Those other three drives we got down there and had to settle for field goals. I think it’s a building point where we get some good evaluation on things he does best, things we got to accentuate with him, things we’ll probably tone back on and all those types of things and the game situation. There were definitely some good things that I think we can move forward from.”
Now that Duffey is the go-to man with Wells and Yost experimenting with Tyner and losing Bowman, Yost said it is the confidence that himself and Wells have put into Duffey that will help the dual-threat be more comfortable in the backfield with the Pokes coming to Lubbock this weekend.
“Also playing last weekend. We’d been in a live game action for the first time in a year. I mean, he talked about it and we don’t hit on quarterbacks in practice. We talked about it the other day and he said, ‘it’s weird to get hit again.’"
Duffey said he agreed quarterbacks don’t get hit until the live games.
“It’s just one of those, ‘Oh yeah, that’s how we play football.’ It’s one of those things like you know once the adrenaline starts pumping, you start get going. It’s just the game you’ve always loved.”
“I think he can just kind of build on last week and the positives,” Yost said, “fix the things that we can do better, and let’s go out and attack them and see what kind of comes.”
Jett’s altitude
Duffey, a third-year dual-threat quarterback who redshirted his freshman season and got substantial playing time last season because of another Bowman injury, talked about coming into a new week knowing he will be the signal caller and what it is like having some starting-battle pressure being taken off.
“Not necessarily,” Duffey answered to things being easier. “I always just focus on what I can do, what I can improve on anytime I touch the field. I just focus on what I have to do. That’s all I really focus on. I felt like I had a solid performance. I could always do better. I feel like I need to improve so this team can take the next step. I feel like it’s on me to take that step.”
Duffey said one of things he has been working on is ball security, which is any ball carrier’s top priority.
“Ball security is definitely something I’ve been working on. No one ever wants to give up the ball, but like, yeah, it’s something I’ve definitely been working on.”
Yost said Duffey asks the right questions during practice and film sessions. The relationship is there, and they hope to see eye-to-eye in the coming weeks.
“It’s been pretty great,” Duffey said. “Everyday, I ask questions, I like to improve. Even when I’m not getting reps, I will stay behind the quarterback. He’s a great guy. He’s got a great personality. He’s funny, so he keeps everything relaxed, but at the same time, he wants us to be great. So, he’s constantly pushing us.”
Between last season and this season, Duffey has learned a lot in his time stepping up when injuries affect the quarterback position.
“That was really my first time, honestly, getting out there since high school, being in front of the top defenses in the country. I’ve learned a lot. There was a lot of stepping stones, a lot of things that I got to see that I didn’t do, you know, after the season after watching my tape.”
Duffey will start Saturday at Jones AT&T Stadium for the first time this season and is excited to get the opportunity to play in front of a great crowd.
“It feels great,” Duffey said. “Great fans, great surroundings. The Jones is an amazing place, and we want to protect it this season. We want to go undefeated inside of this because this is our house.”
