Joey McGuire's mentality going on the road to Arizona State
The Red Raiders are now 6-0 for the first time since 2013 and are bowl eligible after a 42-17 victory on homecoming over the Kansas Jayhawks. After dominant performances from running back Cam Dickey and, as usual, the defensive front, Texas Tech is ranked #7 in the country. Now heading into another challenging road game, Tech will head to Tempe to take on the reigning Big 12 champions, Arizona State.
The availability of Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt is still uncertain. Still, Tech head coach Joey McGuire expects to see him out there and has given high praise for their explosiveness on offense, as well as for Sun Devils head coach Kenny Dillingham.
“I expect him (Leavitt) to play. I think he’s really talented. He extends plays with his feet, you know, he’s got a really good arm. He’s smart. I mean, he’s a guy that’s gonna play on Sundays. You know, whenever you face guys like, that’s really tough,” McGuire told the media on Monday. “This is a really big game, and I know Kenny (Dillingham) will have them ready to go. I expect a really loud crowd. He’s done a phenomenal job. I think he’s one of the brightest young coaches in the game right now.”
Injury updates
Quarterback Behren Morton and defensive lineman Skyler Gill-Howard both left the game in the first half against Kansas. Morton re-injured the same calf that he had injured during the Arkansas-Pine Bluff game, and Gill-Howard left with an injured ankle. Morton and Gill-Howard received X-rays and MRIs, but all tests were negative for both of them.
“Behren’s day to day. He feels a lot better than what he did after the Arkansas-Pine Bluff game. I’ve said it a million times, and I don’t know if there’ll ever be a player like him, but that dude’s the toughest kid I’ve I’ve ever coached. His pain tolerance and just toughness and care factor is really high,” McGuire said. “Skyler is a little bit different. We’ll know a lot more by Thursday… we want to send him to an expert in Dallas, you know, to see how fast we can get him back and exactly what possibly, you know, we need to do so he’s going to be a little bit more questionable.”
Even with Behren’s availability not yet known, McGuire feels confident in the “next man up” mentality they have when someone goes down, knowing the guys stepping up will do their job.
“You know, if this was a normal situation, I would be in a full blown panic,” McGuire said. “I’d also be more in a panic I didn’t have Will Hammond, you know, and honestly, and we haven’t really seen him other than late, but Mitch Griffis. I mean, those, those guys play off each other so well, and Mack (Leftwich) and Lindsey Scott do a good job of those preparing those guys.”
McGuire’s mentality going on the road
During his career with the Red Raiders, McGuire has struggled to win games on the road. So far this season, they are 2-0. Tempe will be another huge road test against the reigning Big 12 champs, but McGuire has a different confidence in his team this year and knows that the guys he puts on the field will do their job.
“I wish I could tell you it’s something I said, but I think we got an older team, you know? I mean, I feel really good that #9, and #31 and #2 and #33 are going to be on the plane. I mean, whenever you have guys like that, I feel great. And I’m gonna walk by and you know see our big boys and our top dogs sitting first class. You know, our donors and our coaches don’t sit in first class. Our players do. And I’m going to walk by Jacob Rodriguez, and he’s gonna have that cowboy hat on,” McGuire said. “We’ve talked a lot about Special Forces have never won a game that we know of at home. They have to go on the road and win games for the United States. And so we’ve talked about a lot about that being focused, mission-focused. They really bought into what we’re doing, and they’re going out and playing at a high level.”
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