Kenny Perry pleased with team's effort, aggressiveness early on
At the beginning of the season, several penalties on special teams were a big focus for special teams coordinator Kenny Perry to address and fix. Now four games into the season, the penalties have dramatically improved, but he continues to stay aggressive and coach his guys hard to continue the results they’ve had.
The mindset that Perry has preached all season has and will continue going into Saturday at Houston, and he doesn’t plan on changing it. Perry spoke with the media on Tuesday to discuss his group’s performance at Utah, what he sees from Houston, and more.
Kickers and punters staying solid
In Texas Tech’s 34-10 victory over Utah, Stone Harrington made a 58-yard field goal with some extra room that could’ve been made from farther away. Along with Harrington, Jack Burgess had a solid day punting the ball as well. Perry praised both of them for the work they’ve both put in, and it has shown.
“Utah pregame, he was on fire. His leg was live. So, you know, I kind of just go with the hot guy. So he had a good week,” Perry said. “Hopefully he continues this week. But you know, I keep saying, whether it’s Upton (Bellenfant) or Ian (Hershey), whoever it is, they’re going to be expected to perform. So I feel good about that. Feel good where we’re at.”
“All last offseason, he (Burgess) really worked. And man he flips the field for you, he’s definitely a weapon. And then what he does inside the 20 yard line, I’m pretty sure he’s gotta be up in the top two or three in the country for putting balls inside the 20,” Perry said. “I’m proud of Jack. And besides that, he’s a great holder. You watch games all the time. The holder drops the ball, so he’s great holder, too.”
Thoughts for Houston
As a former defensive back for Houston during his college years, Perry expressed his deep respect for the program and its accomplishments this year. However, his history with the Cougars doesn’t change how he approaches this game and what they need to do to take care of business.
“Coach Fritz is pretty involved on special teams and we’ve gone against each other. I know the challenges, what they have, what they’re doing, but you know us too we’re going to be aggressive,” Perry said. “We’re definitely going to come after it and see what happens… I’m happy for the success they’ve had. But obviously this is the one week each year that I don’t really care about them, you know. I care about Texas Tech.”
What Perry sees from his group right now
With some pretty clean games over the past couple of weeks, Perry continues to see his group grow and improve. He explained how there’s a different feel in the locker room this season, and it’s making a big difference on the field because of the chemistry this team has.
“This group is playing like their hair is on fire. I mean, punt coverage and kick coverage, just our specialists, our hold ups, our returns. I mean, they’re just playing at a different level,” Perry said. “They look forward to practice. They want to go hard. They want to they want to go as fast as we can, you know, Red Raiders speed and violence. We don’t have to really worry about that with those guys. That’s kind of how they practice. And then when we go out to the game, it’s easy, because that’s how they’re playing right now. So we just got to play at that level.”
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