This was a very lengthy presser that went a variety of ways, so I'll pull some of the important quotes & notes from it here, rather than put together a story.
Notes: Jake Strong is QB2 for the bowl, followed by Jalin Conyers QB3. Jordan Brown, Brady Boyd and Tre McAlpine will play in the Liberty Bowl. McGuire said Tahj Brooks hasn't made his decision but has "been at every practice." Joey also said that he expects a couple more players on the roster to portal by the end of this.
Opening Statement:
"Yeah, really excited. We've had great practices. I think we're practice eight or nine. Just to give you, Mack (Leftwich) and Shiel (Wood) have been at every practice. They're evaluating coaches, evaluating players, and you know, Shiel comes up after the last practice. He said, Man, the energy at this place is just incredible. And I said, Well, you know, we feel like we have a good schedule. We've got enough practices to get all our game plan in. So we keep it short. We try to practice fast and and have a lot of energy, and so we feel really good about where we're at. We know it's going to be really tough game. One point that I made to our team was the team that's wants to practice the most and wants to play in this game the most is the team that's going to win. You can't look and read about who's not playing and think that it's going to be an easy game. And my example was, and it was an easy example to use is, Will Hammond, if anybody that has been around this young man or has seen him practice. Doesn't think that he is not fired up about this football game. You haven't noticed what kind of person he is....I know Imma have another opportunity to talk about 2025 but I know everybody's following social media and what's going on. And man, it's a great day to be a Red Raider, and I appreciate our fan base for doing what they're doing, for getting behind this team, for getting behind the matador club, for getting behind everything that's going on in that world. But right now, I'm having to focus on a lot of different things, and it's fun. We're not sleeping a lot right now in this building, but it's awesome. But this team is focused on beating Arkansas, so we'll be ready to go."
How have you handled the timeline this December?
"A lot of coaches you know are talking about a lot of different things. For me, it's a little bit less hectic than last year, because last year we hadn't signed (our HS class). There was a point where the portal was open. We hadn't signed our high school class. We could be on the road recruiting, and we were trying to get ready for a bowl game. And so at least with this, they closed December. So December's dead...It's less hectic because I'm concentrating on two things versus three. But we've had a recruit on campus every day for the last two weeks, and we have been practicing. I think that's helped us, because they've seen the nature of our practice. I always think that helps because you get to see coaches coach. So right now, it's a little bit little bit less hectic because we gave the guys three and a half days off, so anybody that could get back home for Christmas. This is their Christmas time. We're able to do that two years ago when we played in the Texas bowl. And so we'll practice Saturday, we'll practice Sunday, we'll travel Monday, we'll practice Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and play on Friday. So we'll get back into a normal week."
How does the portal change, going over the 10 number, and how big a role has @MatadorClub played?
"I almost started this out saying "I will." I almost wore a shirt that Zane made me that actually has the tweet of, I will, I will, and Cody's picture. You know, some of the change was losing guys, you know, like, whenever you're sitting there and you're like, hey, we're good here, and all of a sudden we lose a guy, and it's like, Okay, we have a spot. There's a really good player here. It helps us. So that's kind of been it. To give you an idea of where we're at, we want a kicker and we want a running back. Then we'll take a big deep breath, reevaluate where we're at, feel like we're in a good spot. But those are the two. TMC, our fan base, Cody Campbell, John Sellers, Dusty Womble, Gary Peterson, I don't want to miss anybody, but that crew, the guys who have been behind The Matador Club. And you know, Cody has has been the guiding force behind this...TMC has been really big behind that, you know. And I talked to Cody the other day, and that's why I started out by saying thank you to the Red Raider Nation and all our fans. Is because Cody says, Man, every time something pops on social media, we're getting more and more people donating, because everybody's so excited, you know, and and so it's a lot of fun. I think what's really cool too, is we've got guys and families coming into this building. And you have the best facility in the country. They're in other places, and they go coach, this doesn't even compare to anything we've seen. And then you have a fan base like this is so passionate that they want to be a part of and so it's a really good selling point right now. But those, those guys have been absolutely incredible."
Any thoughts on the JUCO eligibility (Pavia) ruling and how does that effect HS recruiting?
"Yeah, all this is hurting High School recruiting more and more. I was really shocked with that. It makes no sense to me that was passed, but we're not going to try to take advantage of it. Every rule that comes up, you got to find a way to it can help your team. I mean, a guy that's part of ours is Davion Carter. We've got to sit down with Davion and say, let's talk through this. And of course, we got to get all the rules first, you know, we talked to compliance and trying to see. But I was really shocked. I struggle with that because I really don't understand. You were able to play football. You were able to maybe you didn't do it at the same stage. A JUCO can't limit you from having NIL. So some of this stuff, you have a lot of people making decisions that really, I don't know, understand everything about what's going on, but it's okay. I mean, like, again, if that's going to be the rule, then we're going to find a way to take advantage of it. It could be that we keep a really good football player and Davion Carter and so we'll see. But I was shocked, like, there's a lot of things that you're like, Man, I could see that coming, that doesn't shock me, but at what point does it end? For example, Brian Nance is our Director of player personnel. I said, Nance, you might have another year round because you went to a prep school and I don't know we can count that. So maybe we need to go ahead and see. But like, at what point does some of this stuff end. And I'm hoping, honestly, that I'm playing with some players that you get to that point, at that age, that they're good enough to play in NFL, and so they're trying to go play at that level."
Could you touch on Taylen Green and how he guides that Arkansas offense?
"What a great kid from Lewisville. Watched him, you know, grow up, watched him play in high school and remember him at Boise State. He's scary because he's a dual threat. They do a lot of different stuff with him on third and short and fourth and short. That's something that we have to do a great job. Is we got to be disciplined if, if we're not chasing the line, we got to sit and surf, and make sure he's handing, the ball off. They're going to run some different quarterback game with him. We got to do a good job that whoever has those gaps, or whoever has him responsibility wise takes him. He's special. I mean, he said he was coming back and playing in the game, you know, it changes a lot. He's, he's a really good football player."
Whole thing is worth a listen. Will link below when Tech puts it out.
@ALL HANDS
Notes: Jake Strong is QB2 for the bowl, followed by Jalin Conyers QB3. Jordan Brown, Brady Boyd and Tre McAlpine will play in the Liberty Bowl. McGuire said Tahj Brooks hasn't made his decision but has "been at every practice." Joey also said that he expects a couple more players on the roster to portal by the end of this.
Opening Statement:
"Yeah, really excited. We've had great practices. I think we're practice eight or nine. Just to give you, Mack (Leftwich) and Shiel (Wood) have been at every practice. They're evaluating coaches, evaluating players, and you know, Shiel comes up after the last practice. He said, Man, the energy at this place is just incredible. And I said, Well, you know, we feel like we have a good schedule. We've got enough practices to get all our game plan in. So we keep it short. We try to practice fast and and have a lot of energy, and so we feel really good about where we're at. We know it's going to be really tough game. One point that I made to our team was the team that's wants to practice the most and wants to play in this game the most is the team that's going to win. You can't look and read about who's not playing and think that it's going to be an easy game. And my example was, and it was an easy example to use is, Will Hammond, if anybody that has been around this young man or has seen him practice. Doesn't think that he is not fired up about this football game. You haven't noticed what kind of person he is....I know Imma have another opportunity to talk about 2025 but I know everybody's following social media and what's going on. And man, it's a great day to be a Red Raider, and I appreciate our fan base for doing what they're doing, for getting behind this team, for getting behind the matador club, for getting behind everything that's going on in that world. But right now, I'm having to focus on a lot of different things, and it's fun. We're not sleeping a lot right now in this building, but it's awesome. But this team is focused on beating Arkansas, so we'll be ready to go."
How have you handled the timeline this December?
"A lot of coaches you know are talking about a lot of different things. For me, it's a little bit less hectic than last year, because last year we hadn't signed (our HS class). There was a point where the portal was open. We hadn't signed our high school class. We could be on the road recruiting, and we were trying to get ready for a bowl game. And so at least with this, they closed December. So December's dead...It's less hectic because I'm concentrating on two things versus three. But we've had a recruit on campus every day for the last two weeks, and we have been practicing. I think that's helped us, because they've seen the nature of our practice. I always think that helps because you get to see coaches coach. So right now, it's a little bit little bit less hectic because we gave the guys three and a half days off, so anybody that could get back home for Christmas. This is their Christmas time. We're able to do that two years ago when we played in the Texas bowl. And so we'll practice Saturday, we'll practice Sunday, we'll travel Monday, we'll practice Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and play on Friday. So we'll get back into a normal week."
How does the portal change, going over the 10 number, and how big a role has @MatadorClub played?
"I almost started this out saying "I will." I almost wore a shirt that Zane made me that actually has the tweet of, I will, I will, and Cody's picture. You know, some of the change was losing guys, you know, like, whenever you're sitting there and you're like, hey, we're good here, and all of a sudden we lose a guy, and it's like, Okay, we have a spot. There's a really good player here. It helps us. So that's kind of been it. To give you an idea of where we're at, we want a kicker and we want a running back. Then we'll take a big deep breath, reevaluate where we're at, feel like we're in a good spot. But those are the two. TMC, our fan base, Cody Campbell, John Sellers, Dusty Womble, Gary Peterson, I don't want to miss anybody, but that crew, the guys who have been behind The Matador Club. And you know, Cody has has been the guiding force behind this...TMC has been really big behind that, you know. And I talked to Cody the other day, and that's why I started out by saying thank you to the Red Raider Nation and all our fans. Is because Cody says, Man, every time something pops on social media, we're getting more and more people donating, because everybody's so excited, you know, and and so it's a lot of fun. I think what's really cool too, is we've got guys and families coming into this building. And you have the best facility in the country. They're in other places, and they go coach, this doesn't even compare to anything we've seen. And then you have a fan base like this is so passionate that they want to be a part of and so it's a really good selling point right now. But those, those guys have been absolutely incredible."
Any thoughts on the JUCO eligibility (Pavia) ruling and how does that effect HS recruiting?
"Yeah, all this is hurting High School recruiting more and more. I was really shocked with that. It makes no sense to me that was passed, but we're not going to try to take advantage of it. Every rule that comes up, you got to find a way to it can help your team. I mean, a guy that's part of ours is Davion Carter. We've got to sit down with Davion and say, let's talk through this. And of course, we got to get all the rules first, you know, we talked to compliance and trying to see. But I was really shocked. I struggle with that because I really don't understand. You were able to play football. You were able to maybe you didn't do it at the same stage. A JUCO can't limit you from having NIL. So some of this stuff, you have a lot of people making decisions that really, I don't know, understand everything about what's going on, but it's okay. I mean, like, again, if that's going to be the rule, then we're going to find a way to take advantage of it. It could be that we keep a really good football player and Davion Carter and so we'll see. But I was shocked, like, there's a lot of things that you're like, Man, I could see that coming, that doesn't shock me, but at what point does it end? For example, Brian Nance is our Director of player personnel. I said, Nance, you might have another year round because you went to a prep school and I don't know we can count that. So maybe we need to go ahead and see. But like, at what point does some of this stuff end. And I'm hoping, honestly, that I'm playing with some players that you get to that point, at that age, that they're good enough to play in NFL, and so they're trying to go play at that level."
Could you touch on Taylen Green and how he guides that Arkansas offense?
"What a great kid from Lewisville. Watched him, you know, grow up, watched him play in high school and remember him at Boise State. He's scary because he's a dual threat. They do a lot of different stuff with him on third and short and fourth and short. That's something that we have to do a great job. Is we got to be disciplined if, if we're not chasing the line, we got to sit and surf, and make sure he's handing, the ball off. They're going to run some different quarterback game with him. We got to do a good job that whoever has those gaps, or whoever has him responsibility wise takes him. He's special. I mean, he said he was coming back and playing in the game, you know, it changes a lot. He's, he's a really good football player."
Whole thing is worth a listen. Will link below when Tech puts it out.
@ALL HANDS
