McGuire confident in veteran leadership for first road game at Utah
Texas Tech is now 3-0 after a 45-14 win against Oregon State on Saturday. Head coach Joey McGuire has mentioned that these first three games of the season would be important to see if they can do what is expected, and that’s exactly what they have done. This is the first time Texas Tech has started the season 3-0 in the McGuire era, and the goal is to continue building wins.
McGuire spoke to the media on Monday to discuss his confidence in his veterans heading into their first road game and what they will need to do to prepare for a top 20 matchup in Salt Lake City on Saturday.
Veteran group is key for McGuire
McGuire has preached all offseason about how old and experienced this team is. These guys have played a lot of football, and that experience will show up when it’s needed most. Going into Saturday’s matchup against Utah, McGuire is confident in that aspect of his team, and it will be a big factor for Tech to pull out a win.
“I don’t know if we could be more ready when it comes to the amount of snaps this team has played… we have a really old team that have played a lot of games,” McGuire said. “I think the thing with us being able to go in there is the experience we have. We’re playing with a fifth year quarterback that’s been in some big games. Offensive line is an old group. Defensive line is an old group. The two safeties have played a lot of football, and so hopefully that gives a chance to play really well in this game.”
One of those veterans McGuire thinks is not getting enough credit is his quarterback. Behren Morton threw for 464 yards and four touchdowns in three quarters against the Beavers.
“He was named to the Great 8 Davey O’Brien weekly award,” McGuire said. “He’s got a chip on his shoulder. I’m glad he got that award because there’s not a lot of respect going around for Behren Morton which I think he really likes… I do love having a veteran quarterback to go lead us on the road.”
Taking on some Grant McCasland philosophies?
McGuire brought in Texas Tech head basketball coach Grant McCasland during fall camp to talk to his team before the season started. McGuire mentioned how McCasland knows how to win and continues to show that, especially in big games on the road. In his press conference on Monday, McGuire took on McCasland’s famous saying and told the media that the game against Utah will come down to “who wants to be the toughest team.”
“I was working on my power point for tomorrow, where I present Utah to the team, and I’ve got some things of how you win on the road. I mean, some of them I got from Grant McCasland,” McGuire said. “Him just talking about how you tighten the huddle. You know, you’ve got to pull tighter. You’ve got to celebrate a guy in Texas Tech red, black, and white, and celebrate with that. I think that will bring the emotions and us locked in.”
Thoughts on Utah
This will be Tech’s toughest challenge yet, and one of the biggest ones all year. Devon Dampier will be the best quarterback they have faced so far. Dampier is also Utah’s leading rusher, with the Utes averaging 290 rushing yards per game and having one of the best offensive lines in the league.
“He’s (Dampier) a dual threat man. He, you know, he does a phenomenal job of pulling it down whenever he gets pressure… he’s a dynamic runner,” McGuire said. “We’ve got to be really disciplined in coordinating our rush without him getting out. And then, you know the secondary, when he does start scrambling, man, they got to plaster the receivers. They can’t have their eyes in the backfield. They’ve got to let really, our front seven, they try to take care of him and not lose sight… they’ve got a good football team. This is going to be a really good game.”
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