Can you smell football season on the horizon? I definitely can and it intensified today with the opening of Big 12 Media Days in Las Vegas. Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire just got off the stage where he chatted with the media. Here is everything McGuire was asked and what he offered Tuesday afternoon.
Opening statement:
“It’s great to see everybody when we’re here. It just means we’re that much closer to college football. Man, I can't wait. I’d like to welcome Arizona, Arizona State, Utah and my good friend, Deion Sanders to the Big 12 with the Colorado Buffaloes. I’ve known Deion for a long time, excited that he’s in the conference. It’s an exciting time to be in the Big 12, I think this conference is as good as anywhere in the country. From top to bottom, I think every single week you’re gonna have to play well. You’re gonna have to have your team ready to go. It’s an exciting time to be a Red Raider, fixing to finish up a 250 million dollar facility build. I think you guys that have come to Texas Tech before who’ve been in our stadium are going to be blown away with the South Endzone. Then with the adidas partnership, with adidas and Patrick Mahomes, it is a really good time to be a Red Raider. Excited about this football team. I’m proud of our guys in the offseason in the summer and what they’ve done, so far.”
Texas Tech has a great lineage of players, how have you managed to tap into the culture of West Texas just across the board and melded that with the alumni of the past?
“The alumni has been absolutely incredible. Wes Welker came out and spoke to our team this year and spoke at our coaches clinic. Zach Thomas came out and spoke to the team. So the alumni, the past players, they know that the door’s always open. The one thing, you asked about the roster, the one thing going into year three, this is the deepest that we’ve been. We have 142 college starts in the offensive line. My very first year we had three defensive tackles. I had two defensive tackles that played more snaps than anybody else in the country. We feel like we have seven defensive tackles that can play in the game. I think the one thing, the roster has really changed, we have more talent, we have more depth. The style of play and what we believe in, we’ve embraced Texas Tech and West Texas and I think the alumni really appreciate that.”
Last couple seasons you’ve had some turmoil, some early losses in the season, but then some really strong finishes that culminated in bowl victories. What do you credit those strong finishes to and what are some of the things that you are trying to start faster out of the gates this season?
“That’s the question that we’ve been searching throughout this offseason because we’ve played well at home and we’ve played well late. We’re 8-2 in November and December games, we’ve got to continue that because we got some really tough road games late this season. I think the biggest thing you can attribute it to being able to play and keep playing throughout the season is our culture. Now we have a really healthy locker room, our guys love each other and care for each other, will really step up and keep playing for each other. I think that’s the big part of it. To get to a fast start, the great thing is we’ve got five of our first seven games are in Lubbock, Texas, and everybody knows it is a really tough place to play in Jones AT&T Stadium. We’ve got a great opportunity to get started on a fast note. We need to do that this year to get going in the right direction.”
You mentioned Patrick Mahomes in the opening, can you expand more on the relationship between your program and Patrick Mahomes?
“I don’t think anybody in here can come up with a guy at the level that he’s playing at, the best quarterback in the world, and doing what he’s doing whenever it comes to the university and he’s going to continue to do that. I always tell everybody, we were playing in Lawrence, Kansas last year, probably the majority of the NFL on their bye week are going somewhere to take a break and he’s on the sideline in Lawrence, Kansas watching us play the Jayhawks. The guy just absolutely loves Texas Tech. What’s cool is being able to join adidas and Patrick Mahomes is he gets to wear that Double T every single day without any tape over any other logo. I just really credit him for what he’s done and he’s one of the guys, literally texted me because his number changed, texted me ‘Coach, what do you need?’ He’s just one of those guys, he’s always there for us.”
Having the No. 1 recruiting class in 2024 in the Big 12, how soon will we see the impact from these players, including five-star WR Micah Hudson?
“You’ll see week one, Micah Hudson is, couple of coaches have talked about generational player, he’s really special. He’s extremely athletic. But, you know, his maturity level and the love of football and just the love of the locker room, I haven’t been around a lot of people like that. The one thing about that class I’m really excited about, we have three safeties that all ran in the state track meet that have come in. I’m anxious to see them, they didn’t go through spring because they were still in high school so I’m anxious to see Malik (Esquerra), Oliver (Miles) and Peyton (Morgan). We had some guys that did come in along with Micah, Will Hammond had an absolutely incredible spring. To give you an idea, he threw 25 touchdowns and four interceptions in every competitive throw, in the spring. I’ve never seen a freshman do that. He was with the ones, twos and threes. That’s not just saying that he was with guys that had the same amount of playing time at the college level. He did it at all levels. Really excited about this class, but you’ll see Micah August 31.”
You brought up Deion Sanders, what is it that Coach Prime brings to this conference?
“I’m a Texan. I grew up in the old Southwest Conference and the old Big 12, it’s great to see Colorado back in the right conference. Man, I love Deion. I always tell everybody, I coached Bucky (Deion Jr.), his oldest son in high school and he’s honestly the best dad of a player that I’ve ever had. He was absolutely incredible. What he brings is he is who he is. He doesn’t make any excuses and he doesn’t take anything back. He’s gonna say what he believes in and say what he thinks. He brings a lot of excitement, I think Colorado is going to be really good. They added a lot of talent. They have one of the best quarterbacks in the nation, whenever you’ve got a quarterback like his son who can make plays with his arm and his feet you’ve got a chance to win games. I think it’s gonna be a lot of fun. I am glad that he gets to come to Lubbock first before I have to go to Boulder. I think that’s going to be a big game late in the season and I’m excited to see him.”
How will new offensive line coach Clay McGuire do in developing this offensive line that has quite a few new pieces to it?
“That was a huge hire, No. 1 to get Clay back to Lubbock. He’s got a lot of experience in this very similar offensive. What I was excited about and what he’s shown exactly who he is, he’s an absolutely incredible teacher. That was the one thing that we were needing, somebody that can really develop our offensive line. Not just the young guys, but whenever you’re adding guys from the portal and they’re learning a new offense, you got to have somebody that’s a great teacher. That’s the one thing that Clay’s done, he has done a great job. I’m really excited, he was a guy that we were looking at whenever I first got hired, it didn’t work out but it’s good to have him.”
What do you want Texas Tech to be known for and how close are you to that?
“The biggest thing, being the toughest, hardest working, most competitive team but it starts with being tough. If you’re gonna win games on the road, you got to be a tough football team. If you’re gonna win games late November and December, you got to be a tough football team. We’re growing, we’re trending in that direction. We have not been tough enough to win games on the road. That’s been our achilles heel, consistently winning games on the road, it’s tough to do in this conference. But if we’re going to be in the mix, if we’re going to be talked about at the end of the year or playing in the Big 12 championship, we’ve got to go to Iowa State, we’ve got to go to TCU, we’ve got to go to Oklahoma State. We got to find ways to win games on the road. I’m fired up, we’re gonna be tested right off the bat at Washington State, it’s gonna be a huge game, Mike Leach is getting inducted into their hall of fame. It’s gonna be a big game for Texas Tech and Washington State. It’s tough, man, I want to be known as a tough football team that’s very physical, that’s going to play you every single snap.”
Caleb Rogers took the mic to ask “How do you allow your players to be themselves and be just like you?”
“That’s my starting right guard, Caleb Rogers, started 42 college football games, glad he decided to come back. The biggest thing as coaches, we put so much stress on our young men, it’s a tough game. It’s a full time job. It’s 24/7 being a student-athlete. If you’re not consistent and they don’t see the same guy every single day when they walk in the building, it’s gonna put a lot of pressure on them. What they’re gonna see when they walk in the building everyday is I’m fired up to see them. I’m always gonna smile, I want the best part of their day to be when they walk into our football facility. I think it’s hard when you try to put parameters or conform people or not let them be who they’re supposed to be, I think it kind of stunts their growth as men. I think you have to help them become that guy but you also gotta let them be who they are. Everybody’s personality is different and it brings different things to a team.”
You welcomed in Cam Brown this offseason, how do you want to implement him?
“Really excited about Cam, he’s 6’2, yesterday he weighed about 237 pounds, so he’s gonna be a load. The thing I love about Cam, he understands that part of him becoming a really good quarterback is the way he runs the football. Not only the way he throws the football but the way he runs the football. One thing we definitely want to do is add him to the quarterback run game but use him in a lot of different ways, he’s a great athlete. He brings, talking about personality, he brings a lot of personality to the locker room, he’s always fired up. He’s got a lot of energy and he’s very confident in what kind of football player he is. He’s another guy, we expect to see Cam in some role every single game.”
What does Tahj Brooks mean to this team?
“No doubt, I’m on the side that he’s the best running back in the country. I’ll argue that. Tahj Brooks, somebody asked me earlier, it’s gonna sound kinda funny but he’s kind of the security blanket. Whenever chaos is going on in the game and we’ve been through some injuries at quarterback, he’s the guy that is there and is steady. He’s the same guy everyday, he’s an absolutely incredible teammate. We’re 1,167 yards away from tying (Byron) Hanspard’s record, but we’re 1,168 away from breaking it. Our plan is to break it. I love Hanspard, he’s one of my favorite guys, I actually recruited and coached his son when we were in Waco, I love that family but we wanna break his record. It’s important, Tahj brings a lot to the table, he’s an every down back, he’s got great hands, one of the most physical kids I’ve ever been around when it comes to pass protection. He’s a complete back, I’m just happy, when he came into my office and told me he was coming back, there wasn’t anybody more happy than I was to have Tahj back. If you wanna check out anything TahjTime.com, we’re promoting him and he deserves it. He’s not only one of the best running backs in the country, but he’s one of the best players in the country and you’re gonna see that week in and week out.”
Opening statement:
“It’s great to see everybody when we’re here. It just means we’re that much closer to college football. Man, I can't wait. I’d like to welcome Arizona, Arizona State, Utah and my good friend, Deion Sanders to the Big 12 with the Colorado Buffaloes. I’ve known Deion for a long time, excited that he’s in the conference. It’s an exciting time to be in the Big 12, I think this conference is as good as anywhere in the country. From top to bottom, I think every single week you’re gonna have to play well. You’re gonna have to have your team ready to go. It’s an exciting time to be a Red Raider, fixing to finish up a 250 million dollar facility build. I think you guys that have come to Texas Tech before who’ve been in our stadium are going to be blown away with the South Endzone. Then with the adidas partnership, with adidas and Patrick Mahomes, it is a really good time to be a Red Raider. Excited about this football team. I’m proud of our guys in the offseason in the summer and what they’ve done, so far.”
Texas Tech has a great lineage of players, how have you managed to tap into the culture of West Texas just across the board and melded that with the alumni of the past?
“The alumni has been absolutely incredible. Wes Welker came out and spoke to our team this year and spoke at our coaches clinic. Zach Thomas came out and spoke to the team. So the alumni, the past players, they know that the door’s always open. The one thing, you asked about the roster, the one thing going into year three, this is the deepest that we’ve been. We have 142 college starts in the offensive line. My very first year we had three defensive tackles. I had two defensive tackles that played more snaps than anybody else in the country. We feel like we have seven defensive tackles that can play in the game. I think the one thing, the roster has really changed, we have more talent, we have more depth. The style of play and what we believe in, we’ve embraced Texas Tech and West Texas and I think the alumni really appreciate that.”
Last couple seasons you’ve had some turmoil, some early losses in the season, but then some really strong finishes that culminated in bowl victories. What do you credit those strong finishes to and what are some of the things that you are trying to start faster out of the gates this season?
“That’s the question that we’ve been searching throughout this offseason because we’ve played well at home and we’ve played well late. We’re 8-2 in November and December games, we’ve got to continue that because we got some really tough road games late this season. I think the biggest thing you can attribute it to being able to play and keep playing throughout the season is our culture. Now we have a really healthy locker room, our guys love each other and care for each other, will really step up and keep playing for each other. I think that’s the big part of it. To get to a fast start, the great thing is we’ve got five of our first seven games are in Lubbock, Texas, and everybody knows it is a really tough place to play in Jones AT&T Stadium. We’ve got a great opportunity to get started on a fast note. We need to do that this year to get going in the right direction.”
You mentioned Patrick Mahomes in the opening, can you expand more on the relationship between your program and Patrick Mahomes?
“I don’t think anybody in here can come up with a guy at the level that he’s playing at, the best quarterback in the world, and doing what he’s doing whenever it comes to the university and he’s going to continue to do that. I always tell everybody, we were playing in Lawrence, Kansas last year, probably the majority of the NFL on their bye week are going somewhere to take a break and he’s on the sideline in Lawrence, Kansas watching us play the Jayhawks. The guy just absolutely loves Texas Tech. What’s cool is being able to join adidas and Patrick Mahomes is he gets to wear that Double T every single day without any tape over any other logo. I just really credit him for what he’s done and he’s one of the guys, literally texted me because his number changed, texted me ‘Coach, what do you need?’ He’s just one of those guys, he’s always there for us.”
Having the No. 1 recruiting class in 2024 in the Big 12, how soon will we see the impact from these players, including five-star WR Micah Hudson?
“You’ll see week one, Micah Hudson is, couple of coaches have talked about generational player, he’s really special. He’s extremely athletic. But, you know, his maturity level and the love of football and just the love of the locker room, I haven’t been around a lot of people like that. The one thing about that class I’m really excited about, we have three safeties that all ran in the state track meet that have come in. I’m anxious to see them, they didn’t go through spring because they were still in high school so I’m anxious to see Malik (Esquerra), Oliver (Miles) and Peyton (Morgan). We had some guys that did come in along with Micah, Will Hammond had an absolutely incredible spring. To give you an idea, he threw 25 touchdowns and four interceptions in every competitive throw, in the spring. I’ve never seen a freshman do that. He was with the ones, twos and threes. That’s not just saying that he was with guys that had the same amount of playing time at the college level. He did it at all levels. Really excited about this class, but you’ll see Micah August 31.”
You brought up Deion Sanders, what is it that Coach Prime brings to this conference?
“I’m a Texan. I grew up in the old Southwest Conference and the old Big 12, it’s great to see Colorado back in the right conference. Man, I love Deion. I always tell everybody, I coached Bucky (Deion Jr.), his oldest son in high school and he’s honestly the best dad of a player that I’ve ever had. He was absolutely incredible. What he brings is he is who he is. He doesn’t make any excuses and he doesn’t take anything back. He’s gonna say what he believes in and say what he thinks. He brings a lot of excitement, I think Colorado is going to be really good. They added a lot of talent. They have one of the best quarterbacks in the nation, whenever you’ve got a quarterback like his son who can make plays with his arm and his feet you’ve got a chance to win games. I think it’s gonna be a lot of fun. I am glad that he gets to come to Lubbock first before I have to go to Boulder. I think that’s going to be a big game late in the season and I’m excited to see him.”
How will new offensive line coach Clay McGuire do in developing this offensive line that has quite a few new pieces to it?
“That was a huge hire, No. 1 to get Clay back to Lubbock. He’s got a lot of experience in this very similar offensive. What I was excited about and what he’s shown exactly who he is, he’s an absolutely incredible teacher. That was the one thing that we were needing, somebody that can really develop our offensive line. Not just the young guys, but whenever you’re adding guys from the portal and they’re learning a new offense, you got to have somebody that’s a great teacher. That’s the one thing that Clay’s done, he has done a great job. I’m really excited, he was a guy that we were looking at whenever I first got hired, it didn’t work out but it’s good to have him.”
What do you want Texas Tech to be known for and how close are you to that?
“The biggest thing, being the toughest, hardest working, most competitive team but it starts with being tough. If you’re gonna win games on the road, you got to be a tough football team. If you’re gonna win games late November and December, you got to be a tough football team. We’re growing, we’re trending in that direction. We have not been tough enough to win games on the road. That’s been our achilles heel, consistently winning games on the road, it’s tough to do in this conference. But if we’re going to be in the mix, if we’re going to be talked about at the end of the year or playing in the Big 12 championship, we’ve got to go to Iowa State, we’ve got to go to TCU, we’ve got to go to Oklahoma State. We got to find ways to win games on the road. I’m fired up, we’re gonna be tested right off the bat at Washington State, it’s gonna be a huge game, Mike Leach is getting inducted into their hall of fame. It’s gonna be a big game for Texas Tech and Washington State. It’s tough, man, I want to be known as a tough football team that’s very physical, that’s going to play you every single snap.”
Caleb Rogers took the mic to ask “How do you allow your players to be themselves and be just like you?”
“That’s my starting right guard, Caleb Rogers, started 42 college football games, glad he decided to come back. The biggest thing as coaches, we put so much stress on our young men, it’s a tough game. It’s a full time job. It’s 24/7 being a student-athlete. If you’re not consistent and they don’t see the same guy every single day when they walk in the building, it’s gonna put a lot of pressure on them. What they’re gonna see when they walk in the building everyday is I’m fired up to see them. I’m always gonna smile, I want the best part of their day to be when they walk into our football facility. I think it’s hard when you try to put parameters or conform people or not let them be who they’re supposed to be, I think it kind of stunts their growth as men. I think you have to help them become that guy but you also gotta let them be who they are. Everybody’s personality is different and it brings different things to a team.”
You welcomed in Cam Brown this offseason, how do you want to implement him?
“Really excited about Cam, he’s 6’2, yesterday he weighed about 237 pounds, so he’s gonna be a load. The thing I love about Cam, he understands that part of him becoming a really good quarterback is the way he runs the football. Not only the way he throws the football but the way he runs the football. One thing we definitely want to do is add him to the quarterback run game but use him in a lot of different ways, he’s a great athlete. He brings, talking about personality, he brings a lot of personality to the locker room, he’s always fired up. He’s got a lot of energy and he’s very confident in what kind of football player he is. He’s another guy, we expect to see Cam in some role every single game.”
What does Tahj Brooks mean to this team?
“No doubt, I’m on the side that he’s the best running back in the country. I’ll argue that. Tahj Brooks, somebody asked me earlier, it’s gonna sound kinda funny but he’s kind of the security blanket. Whenever chaos is going on in the game and we’ve been through some injuries at quarterback, he’s the guy that is there and is steady. He’s the same guy everyday, he’s an absolutely incredible teammate. We’re 1,167 yards away from tying (Byron) Hanspard’s record, but we’re 1,168 away from breaking it. Our plan is to break it. I love Hanspard, he’s one of my favorite guys, I actually recruited and coached his son when we were in Waco, I love that family but we wanna break his record. It’s important, Tahj brings a lot to the table, he’s an every down back, he’s got great hands, one of the most physical kids I’ve ever been around when it comes to pass protection. He’s a complete back, I’m just happy, when he came into my office and told me he was coming back, there wasn’t anybody more happy than I was to have Tahj back. If you wanna check out anything TahjTime.com, we’re promoting him and he deserves it. He’s not only one of the best running backs in the country, but he’s one of the best players in the country and you’re gonna see that week in and week out.”
