We spoke with Coach Kingsbury as a group after practice today, and here are a few notes...
*On this week of practice so far:
"It's been good. Seven games left, and we want to make up for last week. This will be a great start. Homecoming, great crowd, and they've only lost two games to ranked teams as well, so I felt like our guys are focused and headed in the right direction."
*On injuries: Kliff said they're hoping to have Ian Sadler back by early November. So, there's something solid on that situation. With Dylan Cantrell, they'll make a decision at mid-season whether he will play or redshirt. He didn't practice last week, and he hasn't practiced this week so far.
*Tech will get one of their safeties back, as Jalen Barnes is good to go. Derrick Dixon still unavailable, however. Payton Hendrix should be back this week as well, as he missed last week because he was sick.
*Many have asked about why Gary Moore and Jalen Barnes didn't play against Baylor. Here was Kliff's answer:
"They're ready to go this week. We'll see. They've got to practice a little bit better to earn some playing time, and that's really their status right now."
*I asked the head coach if they were considering pulling the redshirts off either of Quan Shorts or Donta Thompson.
"Not yet, but that could be coming depending on how the other guys hold up. When you're down three guys, you start looking at all the scenarios, but as of this point no."
*Kliff talked about Iowa State's defense a bit as well.
"This year they're really mixing up their looks. They went from more of a four down base to a three down with a couple of stand up guys, one will come and one will drop, and really change it up well. It's impressive to see how they've evolved this year to their personnel, and they're doing a good job."
*Many wonder if Tech will overlook the Cyclones after the last three games, but according to Coach Kingsbury, that shouldn't be the case at all.
"A lot of these guys played in that game last year, and they know how good of a team it is. So, it's always been a tough game. They're better this year than they were last year. Last year they played a bunch of people close, and they've had some close games with top 25 teams, so we know it'll be a good challenge, and we won't take them lightly."
*Kliff also has a lot of respect for Sam Richardson, the ISU quarterback and one of the oldest signal callers in the conference.
"He's a tough kid, watching him over the last three years. Very accurate passer, moves well, makes plays with his feet, and has hung in there and taken some shots, runs the ball and keeps getting up. Very impressed by him, and I have a ton of respect for that young man."
*DeAndre Washington is starting to enter some elite territory as far as yardage goes for Texas Tech running backs. Kliff was asked about how the RB has handled that, and he also wished they could've given him the ball more against Baylor.
"He's really handled it well. With the way it went last week, we weren't able to get the number of carries he would've liked. We threw it more than we would've liked, but he did his job. He picked up the blitzes, he went out on pass routes, so he's a guy that's been a great example for our younger players."
*On this week of practice so far:
"It's been good. Seven games left, and we want to make up for last week. This will be a great start. Homecoming, great crowd, and they've only lost two games to ranked teams as well, so I felt like our guys are focused and headed in the right direction."
*On injuries: Kliff said they're hoping to have Ian Sadler back by early November. So, there's something solid on that situation. With Dylan Cantrell, they'll make a decision at mid-season whether he will play or redshirt. He didn't practice last week, and he hasn't practiced this week so far.
*Tech will get one of their safeties back, as Jalen Barnes is good to go. Derrick Dixon still unavailable, however. Payton Hendrix should be back this week as well, as he missed last week because he was sick.
*Many have asked about why Gary Moore and Jalen Barnes didn't play against Baylor. Here was Kliff's answer:
"They're ready to go this week. We'll see. They've got to practice a little bit better to earn some playing time, and that's really their status right now."
*I asked the head coach if they were considering pulling the redshirts off either of Quan Shorts or Donta Thompson.
"Not yet, but that could be coming depending on how the other guys hold up. When you're down three guys, you start looking at all the scenarios, but as of this point no."
*Kliff talked about Iowa State's defense a bit as well.
"This year they're really mixing up their looks. They went from more of a four down base to a three down with a couple of stand up guys, one will come and one will drop, and really change it up well. It's impressive to see how they've evolved this year to their personnel, and they're doing a good job."
*Many wonder if Tech will overlook the Cyclones after the last three games, but according to Coach Kingsbury, that shouldn't be the case at all.
"A lot of these guys played in that game last year, and they know how good of a team it is. So, it's always been a tough game. They're better this year than they were last year. Last year they played a bunch of people close, and they've had some close games with top 25 teams, so we know it'll be a good challenge, and we won't take them lightly."
*Kliff also has a lot of respect for Sam Richardson, the ISU quarterback and one of the oldest signal callers in the conference.
"He's a tough kid, watching him over the last three years. Very accurate passer, moves well, makes plays with his feet, and has hung in there and taken some shots, runs the ball and keeps getting up. Very impressed by him, and I have a ton of respect for that young man."
*DeAndre Washington is starting to enter some elite territory as far as yardage goes for Texas Tech running backs. Kliff was asked about how the RB has handled that, and he also wished they could've given him the ball more against Baylor.
"He's really handled it well. With the way it went last week, we weren't able to get the number of carries he would've liked. We threw it more than we would've liked, but he did his job. He picked up the blitzes, he went out on pass routes, so he's a guy that's been a great example for our younger players."
