Jarrett: A

McGuire’s philosophy of wanting to consistently be the tougher team paid off time and time again this season. I would classify six of the eight wins as Texas Tech making plays when they mattered most and just wanting the win more than the opposition. 3-3 in the back half of the season may not be satisfactory for some, but an 8-4 record overall is something to take pride in.

Justin: B+

This season encapsulated a yearly academic journey for a lot of people, including myself. A slow start in September before rebounding in late September and riding that into fall break in mid-October, only to lose your momentum and falter. November is the time to figure it out, and for the most part Tech did, but dropped a heartbreaker to Colorado to keep from making this an A.

Jarrett: B+

Could be some recency bias but a strong finish to the season for his unit gives Kittley a pretty satisfactory grade here. The second quarter slumps were not fun to watch but the OC deserves some credit for the balance he was able to roll out every week.

Justin: A-

Quite the season for Texas Tech from a numbers perspective, the highest since Kittley has been here. Tech routinely moved the ball, pretty much with ease, and looked good on the macro-level. What keeps this from being a higher A is that Tech struggled to finish drives and play complimentary football on the offensive side, putting your defense in a bind in untimely situations. Best of luck to him at Florida Atlantic.

Jarrett: D

I’ll come out and say that while I do not particularly agree with the firing of Tim DeRuyter, I can understand why the change is being made. I thought DeRuyter did what he could with the cards he was dealt, from an absurd amount of injuries and the overwhelming amount of youth at his disposal. Turnovers played a big role this season, even if statistically this stayed the same (23 forced) compared to last season.

Justin: D-

It’s really unfortunate that this grade is what it is. DeRuyter is a great person to be around and from all accounts a great coach to be under. DeRuyter’s group was just way too inconsistent, you never knew what you were going to get. It could be a massive passing attack against you, which cost you games, or a massive running attack on the day, which cost you in Pullman. I watched every play with bated breath because you didn’t know when the next explosive was going to come.

Jarrett: B+

When given the right platform to operate, Morton was very solid and did his part to contribute to the team’s success. He was not a detriment, given his 27-8 touchdown-to-interception ratio. The best ability is availability and I think it got lost in the eyes of many that Morton was healthy enough to at least start every game this season. I think there’s room for improvement going into his final season as far as pocket presence goes. The hope would be he can take the final two games of this season and springboard off of those strong performances.

Justin: B

Behren Morton was able to start all 12 regular season games this season, remember when that was an issue? Overall, solid season for Morton, thriving in the system that he is in, consistently making correct RPO reads and keeping Tech on schedule. Where the issue lies with Morton, and it likely could still date back to his shoulder injury from last year, are his limitations in the dropback game. Morton never appears comfortable in the pocket and will make questionable decisions with the ball, something that can hopefully be cleaned up moving to 2025, but it was still a strong season for #2.

Jarrett: A+

Tahj Brooks is an icon of Texas Tech football. The older generation can have their Morris-Hanspard-Brooks debates. Brooks is up there with one of the best I’ve seen don the red and black.

Justin: A+

Do I have to say much? Tahj Brooks is everything this team could have wanted and more. Been a pleasure to watch it all unfold, I am very happy for that guy.

Jarrett: A

Josh Kelly started the year off on a tear and when he started to stumble because of a nagging injury, Caleb Douglas took the reins and kept it pushing. Coy Eakin was reliable all season, too. It all goes to show how balanced the room as a whole was. Kelly was the first Tech receiver to break the 1K mark since Antoine Wesley in 2018 and the way Douglas emerged towards the back end of the season should have this room in good hands (literally) going forward.

Justin: A

This group was special. It was different from last year and it showed on a weekly basis. Josh Kelly was everything you could’ve wanted, breaking 1,000 yards for the first time in his career, and being uber-productive on a week-to-week basis. The guys who can return in Douglas and Eakin have bright futures ahead and hopefully just scratched the surface this year.

Jarrett: A-

Good things seemed to always happen when Jalin Conyers had the ball in his hands or when he was involved on the field in some shape or form. It was good to see him get more involved later in the year, same thing with Tharp. Again, their impact stretches far beyond what a stat sheet can tell you and they made a major impact in multiple facets.

Justin: B+

This group was strong. Hit and miss production in the passing game but what this group was able to do in the run blocking and pass protection doesn’t go unnoticed in my eyes. Was cool to see Tharp and Conyers finish the year off strong and get into the endzone.

Jarrett: F

For all the grief that people could have about the play calling or the quarterback, the bottom line is this offensive line did not do the entire unit many favors, really in either the run or pass game. The writing was on the wall with the constant shuffle in the early parts of the year and despite settling on a full-time five, for the most part, it still never appeared this group worked well together at all.

Justin: D+

It wasn’t all bad, but boy did it feel like it. Tech’s left side of the line might’ve been one of the worst in the country, allowing 52 pressures between Porcher, Merryman and Buchanan. They were equally a struggle in the run game. Tech took some lumps with a R-Sophomore at center, but he was solid, while Davion Carter and Caleb Rogers were the best part of the line, despite their own flaws. Must improve this coming season.

Jarrett: C

While the edge rusher positions were underwhelming, I thought the interior did their job fairly well and the young talent like Rigsby, Cofield and McAlpine flashed their promising talent. It is a real shame that De’Braylon Carroll was only a one-year addition, because he was special.

Injuries certainly hampered the entire room, really from the outset and you just wished with the sheer amount of bodies still present that someone could have stood out more on the edge.

Justin: C-

This group as a whole was not a lot to write home about. When you have your highly specific sub-package linebacker near the top of the board, you’ve got issues at the edge position. While injuries play a role, it’s still not much of an excuse. Thought that De’Braylon Carroll, Quincy Ledet and E’Maurion Banks all had good seasons up the middle, but couldn’t stay on the field at times.

Jarrett: B

Right behind Tahj Brooks in terms of most impactful players on this team is Jacob Rodriguez and he was the glue that kept this defense from falling apart entirely. Rodriguez just has a knack for making plays all over the field and he did everything he was expected to do, and then some.

With Rodriguez potentially on the way out, it’s plausible to wonder if linebacker may end up on the portal shopping list, unless McGuire and whoever gets hired as defensive coordinator trust they can give guys like Mike Dingle and John Curry some more playing time.

Justin: B-

Jacob Rodriguez is really propping this grade up for this unit. He was everything this defense could’ve asked for, and hopefully will be running it back for his final season of collegiate eligibility. Ben Roberts had a sophomore slump while the rest of the two deep didn’t see a ton of action. Again, really liked the highly specific stuff from Miquel Dingle.

Jarrett: F

A position group that could never really catch a break. Cornerback in particular was rough, especially when Bralyn Lux missed time early this season. It was a tremendous opportunity for some of the youth to flash, which simply never materialized. Chapman Lewis filled in his role as best as he could and I think you feel good about him moving forward. CJ Baskerville was another anchor on the defense, but he had his flaws, too. A ton of issues with eye discipline, technique and coverage. There’s a reason this unit is in need of a position coach.

Justin: F

Just not anywhere good enough. Tech’s mainstays had rough years as Bralyn Lux and CJ Baskerville left things on the table, but the youth was a pretty large disappointment. Chapman Lewis was the best of that group, and I believe he got held back by some of Tech’s defensive structure, but he has to improve his eyes next season. Tech had a revolving door at corner and the STAR position had its issues throughout the year. It was just a really tough year and certainly a reason for change in the staff.