Shiel Wood emphasizes adaptability in defensive strategies
Texas Tech‘s Shiel Wood discussed the upcoming matchup vs UCF, and the importance of creating adaptability in defensive strategies. Wood also spoke on maintaining the team’s energy going into the matchup vs the Knights in the LBK.
Handling UCF
Texas Tech’s defense is coming off a 3 quarter shutout where they only allowed 7 points to BYU. The Red Raiders will look to continue that defensive success versus the Knights.
“When you have film on guys that get targeted a lot and have a lot of tape, then obviously you can see what their skill sets are. But I mean, 2-by-2, 3-by-1, we are gonna out there and play covers and defend it. And you know, if we don’t have specific film on certain players we will just fit the scheme, and play with technique.”
Main objective for the Red Raiders and Shiel Wood this weekend?
“Do a great job stopping the run. Get off the field on 3rd down and then try to limit their ability to pass the ball down the field for some gains.”
The 1-5 conference record can be deceiving to what will be a very quality team on Saturday, the Knights were a play or two away from taking down now 8-2 Houston.
“I see them doing a lot of really good things. They’re well coached. I like the scheme that they run. They create issues for you with matchups on the perimeter. Their offensive line is doing a nice job in the run game and in the passing game.”
“They played a lot of guys. They’ve played a lot of quarterbacks, they’ve played a lot of guys on the perimeter. They’ve played a couple guys at running back. They’ve got skill, they got speed. So it’ll be a test force, just like it is every week.”
“I think sometimes you can easily lose sight of the fact that every week, winning a ball game is a difficult thing to do, and there’s a fine line between success and failure, and you’ve got to be on it every week. And that’s what our guys, I think, have that sense urgency to understand that they’ve got prepared to be the very best in order to win, and this would be no different.”
J-Rod Heisman
One of the key pieces of this defense is Jacob Rodriguez, who now seems to be a runner in the Heisman Trophy race, Wood gave some insight into why thinks Rodriguez should be considered for the Heisman.
“Well, I would just say this. Jacob is a heck of a football player for us. He does a great job at inside linebacker. He makes a ton of plays.”
“He fits the defense at a really high rate in terms of assignment, technique, he’s a tremendous leader, high character. Could not want or wish for anything better from a coaching standpoint, in terms of working with the young man, just pleasure to coach, really glad he’s on our team. He’s doing a great job making a lot of plays.”
Lee Hunter
One of the more underrated players in my opinion on this defensive line is Lee Hunter. Who will now get a crack at his former team on Saturday. The defensive lineman has a been a force at the nose guard position throughout the season.
“He is a big, physical guy, very athletic at the point of attack. He’s doing a great job of taking on double teams, being disruptive. He’s doing a nice job pressuring the quarterback and collapsing the pocket of the middle.”
“Really proud of him in the run game, in the past game, he’s a consistent player. And you know, kind of, going back to Jacob, the guys at the second level are benefiting from a guy like Lee clogging up the middle. There’s times where he gets single and he can make some plays, and sometimes where he gets double teamed.”
“Maybe his ability to make a play or make a tackle was limited because of that, but he’s freeing up guys behind him to fit a gap and make a play. He’s doing a great job. His leadership has been outstanding, his work ethic has been phenomenal, and just really looking forward to a great game this week.”
Senior day
Saturday against UCF, Texas Tech will recognize its senior class. This senior class has done so much for this team, including possibly leading the Red Raiders into the Big 12 Championship and the College Football Playoff.
“They’ve been tremendous. The leadership from the group has been outstanding. The chemistry, in terms of their ability with this year’s team, to bond together, whether they were guys that had been at Texas Tech previously, or new to Texas Tech.”
“This year is the first time they’ve been here. This team is just really close. They really they love ball. They love playing with each other. They love playing hard for one another. I think there’s a defining characteristic of selflessness and how they play and that shows up and how they prepare each week.”
“It’ll be a special day for them on senior day, and looking forward to them coming out and playing really hard, really well.”
Amier Boyd’s development
UTEP transfer Amier Boyd has been a big piece for this Texas Tech team in the secondary. Boyd will look to continue his good play versus UCF.
“He’s playing at a really high level. He’s continuing to get better each and every day in practice, he’s being more consistent. He’s challenging routes and coverage. He’s executing his assignment at a high rate, and he’s making plays on gameday.”
“So he’s a guy that’s definitely come on as the season has gone on. Typically for us, I think as we go throughout the season, most of our guys continue to get better, because we do a lot of the same things week to week. There’s a ton of carryover, and that allows them to bank reps in practice and in games and improve their technique, the fundamentals, and we react quickly. And I think that’s part of what you’re seeing with his play right now.”
Ignoring the outside noise
There were many possible-distractions during the ramp up to last week’s matchup vs BYU. Including the first College Football Playoff rankings, the campout, and ESPN’s College Gameday. Wood, and the defense will look to keep high-energy going into UCF.
It’s a player led team, and they’re into it every week. There’s a reason why we’re in the position that we’re in. It’s because we’re a process driven team. They prepare every week, they study every week, they take care of their body every week.”
“I think just continuing to emphasize to them the reasons why we’re where we’re at. And it’s a one game season every week. It’s the biggest game in America for us every week, because this game that we’re playing, and I think the maturity of our locker room and our guys understand what it takes to be successful.”
“It’s hard to win games, and every Saturday, you’ve got to go out there and perform the very best, and to do that, you got to prepare. So I expect our guys to continue doing this week what they’ve done each and every week, which is the process mindset and prepared to play a really good game on Saturday against a quality opponent.”
Speed
The technique Shiel Wood has run allows his player to run fast and attack the ball. Wood spoke on what allows this defense to play so fast on the field.
“I think when you can not have a lot of doubt as far as what you’re doing, then you don’t have to focus on thinking about your assignment, or where you get lined up, or where your eyes need to be.”
“You can just go out and you can play because you know what you’re doing. And then if you’re able to do that, then I think as you prepare throughout the week, then the majority of the time you spend in meetings is not going over “Hey, this is your technique.”, “This is your fundamentals.”, “Remember your assignment”, but more you’re focused on what are the what’s the opponent doing? What are the indicators pre snap that helps you read and react to things quickly? What do they like to do in certain situations? Based on the film that we’ve studied.”
“When you do those things, I think you play with a lot of confidence. It’s a real confidence. And I think that’s what you see with our guys right now on gamedays. They have a real confidence. It’s not fake confidence. It’s the confidence that they’ve earned through preparation and hard work, and it allows them to go out and play with great leverage, play with great technique, play with great fundamentals and really run to the ball at a high rate.”
Cole Wisniewski
The addition of Cole Wisniewski has proved to be one of the biggest throughout the season. The safety has progressed a lot throughout the season, and had a massive game on the biggest stage against BYU.
“Yeah, I think he had a little bug that he got on Thursday night, and then Friday morning didn’t feel great, and the training staff did a great job getting him hydrated, and he slept a lot on Friday and Friday night, and came out.”
“I mean, he’s a pro at everything he does. He’s got a ton of experience. He’s got a mastery of what we’re doing in terms of assignment and technique. Didn’t practice a lot on Friday, but that did not phase me in terms of being worried about his ability to be prepared.”
“I thought he would come out and perform well, and he did. It’s just a credit to his toughness, physical toughness, with the sickness that he had, and then just his preparation and maturity every week.”
One of the biggest in school history
The win over BYU is one of the biggest wins in school history, the Red Raiders needed it to stay on track for all their goals. Texas Tech has their eyes set on bigger goals, but that game certainly won’t be one to forget.
“I think coming off the field with the victory right after the game concluded, I think probably the thing that struck me was just how our team played. Played really well together, offense, defense, kicking game.”
“We complimented each other. We played really hard. You know, when we had some moments of adversity in the game, we weren’t fazed by it. And I think as a coach, you really proud when you can have that.”
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