Interesting convo with the special teams coordinator this afternoon. Here's the transcript.
How do you feel about the kicking competition heading into week 1?
"I mean, that's still an option. We got this week of practice. It's pretty remarkable, like I said. Just goes back to that same year we talked about. They're both right around 82% I mean, almost identical through all this whole camp. So, you know, there's times where I thought one of the guys was already taking the lead, and the other one came back and which is a good problem to have. Gino's kicked a lot of footballs in college football. Reese hasn't, but Reese has kind of shown how he's improved over the last year, and we know what he can do for kickoff. And you know what our guys on this team love, Reese."
What do the "Dead Rabbits" mean to this team?
"I think you guys know that our walk ons here are a big thing for me, because that's kind of the, kind of the lifeblood of Texas Tech, I think. They've always had those kind of guys that come out of nowhere and play hard, and they represent West Texas. It's something that I take a lot of pride in with our guys, you know, because those kids don't get a lot of credit, you know, they're out there practicing every day, they're giving us a look. And then, you know, I'm pretty hard on those guys to do stuff on special teams for us."
Has anyone stood out in the return game as a blocker?
"You got to win up front to get returns. You know, Justin Horne's been one that's really stuck out, you know, as a young kid. Caleb Douglas has done well. I mean, I think he knows that for him to play at the next level, he's got to be a Swiss army knife. He's one that's done well. Coy (Eakin) coy is a tough kid. And I love that. I love tough guys, to be honest with you and Coy is one of those kids. Those are, you know, some of the guys, Cam Valdez has done some stuff as well. Then you've got Drew Hocutt, Joe Plunk, guys you can count on no matter what."
What about jammer / gunner?
"You know, usually the that's the hardest place to play. So gunners are big, you know, those guys out there. They're fast guys. So usually I try to use our defensive backs, and I tell you what, (Bralyn) Lux, AJ McCarty, Mo Horn, Macho Stevenson, those guys are just a few. That same thing. When you flip around on punt return. It's usually your corners, because that's the that's the hardest part to play out there, because, you know, guys are so fast coming down, and you got to be able to hold them up. So you just can't throw guys out there that never did that. Drae McRay will be another one. I'll use his gunner. He did some last year. Did a great job. He actually, you know, if he's not returning on punt return, he'll probably play some corner."
Where are you at in the return game?
"Kickoff return, that's Drae McCray's deal. You know, he's special on a strong he knows what we're doing. Punt return, Josh Kelly's done great. Jordan Brown's done great. Micah Hudson, you know, could get some of those. There's three or four guys, and it's going to, obviously, punt returns, kind of, you know, it's, there's some stuff that comes into that, obviously, field position, play making, you know, where we're at, are we going? Are we coming after it? You know? So biggest thing is we got to possess the ball. So whatever that situation deals us at that time is who we're going to see back there."
Prosper Energy Management is a mineral management company based in Dallas/Fort Worth with a Red Raider as a founding member. With over 35 years of experience in oil and gas management, Prosper provides full start-to-finish management, as well as tailored service, with the mission of serving their clients above all else. Prosper specializes in petroleum engineering, giving their clients that competitive edge when tackling the complexities of leasing, land & title, division orders, accounting, forecasting, etc.
www.prosperenergymgmt.com
@Zacbash10
How do you feel about the kicking competition heading into week 1?
"I mean, that's still an option. We got this week of practice. It's pretty remarkable, like I said. Just goes back to that same year we talked about. They're both right around 82% I mean, almost identical through all this whole camp. So, you know, there's times where I thought one of the guys was already taking the lead, and the other one came back and which is a good problem to have. Gino's kicked a lot of footballs in college football. Reese hasn't, but Reese has kind of shown how he's improved over the last year, and we know what he can do for kickoff. And you know what our guys on this team love, Reese."
What do the "Dead Rabbits" mean to this team?
"I think you guys know that our walk ons here are a big thing for me, because that's kind of the, kind of the lifeblood of Texas Tech, I think. They've always had those kind of guys that come out of nowhere and play hard, and they represent West Texas. It's something that I take a lot of pride in with our guys, you know, because those kids don't get a lot of credit, you know, they're out there practicing every day, they're giving us a look. And then, you know, I'm pretty hard on those guys to do stuff on special teams for us."
Has anyone stood out in the return game as a blocker?
"You got to win up front to get returns. You know, Justin Horne's been one that's really stuck out, you know, as a young kid. Caleb Douglas has done well. I mean, I think he knows that for him to play at the next level, he's got to be a Swiss army knife. He's one that's done well. Coy (Eakin) coy is a tough kid. And I love that. I love tough guys, to be honest with you and Coy is one of those kids. Those are, you know, some of the guys, Cam Valdez has done some stuff as well. Then you've got Drew Hocutt, Joe Plunk, guys you can count on no matter what."
What about jammer / gunner?
"You know, usually the that's the hardest place to play. So gunners are big, you know, those guys out there. They're fast guys. So usually I try to use our defensive backs, and I tell you what, (Bralyn) Lux, AJ McCarty, Mo Horn, Macho Stevenson, those guys are just a few. That same thing. When you flip around on punt return. It's usually your corners, because that's the that's the hardest part to play out there, because, you know, guys are so fast coming down, and you got to be able to hold them up. So you just can't throw guys out there that never did that. Drae McRay will be another one. I'll use his gunner. He did some last year. Did a great job. He actually, you know, if he's not returning on punt return, he'll probably play some corner."
Where are you at in the return game?
"Kickoff return, that's Drae McCray's deal. You know, he's special on a strong he knows what we're doing. Punt return, Josh Kelly's done great. Jordan Brown's done great. Micah Hudson, you know, could get some of those. There's three or four guys, and it's going to, obviously, punt returns, kind of, you know, it's, there's some stuff that comes into that, obviously, field position, play making, you know, where we're at, are we going? Are we coming after it? You know? So biggest thing is we got to possess the ball. So whatever that situation deals us at that time is who we're going to see back there."
Prosper Energy Management is a mineral management company based in Dallas/Fort Worth with a Red Raider as a founding member. With over 35 years of experience in oil and gas management, Prosper provides full start-to-finish management, as well as tailored service, with the mission of serving their clients above all else. Prosper specializes in petroleum engineering, giving their clients that competitive edge when tackling the complexities of leasing, land & title, division orders, accounting, forecasting, etc.
www.prosperenergymgmt.com
@Zacbash10
