Virgil, Rodriguez, Wisniewski reflect on senior day & closing out the regular season
What a day and season for this group of seniors, now 10-1 and perfect at home for the regular season slate. Texas Tech dominated UCF on senior day, 48-9, with most of its starters sitting after halftime. Now, with the bye week coming at the perfect time, the Red Raiders will prepare for their final regular-season game against West Virginia in Morgantown.
Despite West Virginia only having two conference wins, they are playing some of their best football right now. Head coach Joey McGuire said this week that it was his job to make sure they didn’t have a letdown against UCF. Now, looking forward to West Virginia, the same message applies. Win, and you go to Arlington. This group of seniors knows how important each game is, no matter the opponent. That mindset didn’t change on senior day, and won’t for the rest of the season.
“As we go into these last couple weeks of practice, as we finish the regular season, we need to just overemphasize being focused. The game’s three hours. You have three hours of the best focus that we can have, and that’s what we’re going to need if we want to be able to accomplish the goals that we want to accomplish as we close out to the rest of the season,” Cole Wisniewski told the media after the game. “We can’t have let down drives. We have to be able to execute at the exact same level throughout the entirety of the game. There can’t be a lapse in focus, in doing our jobs at the highest level we could possibly do at any point. We can’t get bored of doing our jobs correctly at any time ever.”
JRod’s offensive touchdown
When Mack Leftwich made the call to put Jacob Rodriguez at the wildcat in the red zone, the crowd went wild. It was only fitting that a previous quarterback got to score a rushing touchdown in his last regular-season game at Jones AT&T Stadium. McGuire mentioned that they knew this would give the offense some juice, and he was right. His teammates went crazy, celebrating right alongside him.
“Just thanking him (Leftwich) for the opportunity. I know that it means so much to me that you know that that whole offensive side of always excited for me to be out there with them, and excited for me to get that opportunity. And know, it shows how much they care about me with this award (Heisman),” Rodriguez said. “I’m just gonna go up and give them big hug and just tell them how much I appreciate you for, you know, letting me do that. And I think again, it’s a moment I’ll never forget, you know, being a part of this team and being a part of that environment.”
“It just makes all of us excited because, like, he’s such a great player, but he’s such a great person too, like, great teammate,” Reggie Virgil told the media after the game. “It’s just, like, exciting to see how humble is and how really good he is to, like, get the just get the stuff that will help him win the Heisman.”
Last game of the regular season at Jones AT&T Stadium
The Red Raiders are perfect at home during the regular season this year, beating all of their opponents by very comfortable margins. The players know how much this means not only to them but also to the fans and the city of Lubbock. What these seniors have done has made this season, no matter how it ends, one to remember.
“It’s really cool seeing so many talented players just have fun. Because usually, like, it can be conflicts when it comes to, like, getting the ball or just somebody shining more,” Virgil said. “We’re so, like, selfless on this team, and all of us hang out together. We can do everything. So it’s so cool, like, because I’ve never been a part of a team this good, and then, like, even off the field is cool with one another.”
“It’s been so special all year, from the very first game, there was so much anticipation for the season. The whole offseason, the guys were super hyped up. The whole Tech fan base was super hyped up, so it’s been for the first Raider Walk. It’s just been an unbelievable experience that can’t even put into words. It’s truly special,” Wisniewski said. “We talked about this team being special, but I mean, this whole season, being able to go undefeated at the Jones throughout the regular season is just so much fun. I’m glad that we were able to do that for the fans, because they deserved it.”
“This is the most fun I’ve ever had playing football. And I hope that other guys in the locker room can, you know, believe that in their heart, too. And it’s just because how much we care about each other… I’m just so thankful for this team and for this opportunity that we get to play this game. And, you know, I think that everybody in the locker room, you know, believes that this is something that we get to do, not something we have to do,” Rodriguez said. “We have so much more to prove, and we have so much more, you know, to give. And you know, our execution, our effort, all that can be improved. And I think everybody in that locker room believes that. They come to work every day, ready to work.”
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