Red Raider Sports Magazine - August/September 2020 by Red Raider Club

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RED RAIDER

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RedRaiderSports.com is a publication of TRI Productions Volume 26 Issue 1 Managing Editor Aaron Dickens

Cover Photo Michael Strong

Photographers Elise Bressler

Elizabeth Hertel

Norvelle Kennedy Artie Limmer

Michaela Schumacher Michael Strong

Writers Matt Dowdy

Terry Greenberg Brandon Soliz

Ben Golan

Randy Rosetta

Red Raider Sports (USPS 0013-768) is published bimonthly in February, April, June, August, October and December. Annual Red Raider Club membership dues of $500 or higher include a one-year subscription to Red Raider Sports Magazine. Red Raider Sports is a publication of TRI Productions, P.O. Box 53604, Lubbock, TX 79453. Periodicals postage is paid in Lubbock, Texas. Address all editorial-related correspondence to Red Raider Sports, P.O. Box 53604, Lubbock, TX 79453. Red Raider Sports is not an official publication of Texas Tech University. Postmaster: Send address changes to Red Raider Sports, P.O. Box 53604, Lubbock, TX 79453. For subscription inquiries contact the Red Raider Club at 806.742.1196. Give old and new addresses and enclose latest mailing address label when writing about your subscription. ÂŠ2020 TRI Productions. All Rights Reserved.

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Red Raider Club

update

I hope this message finds you and your family well. Thank you for your continued support and

commitment to Texas Tech Athletics. We are so grateful for your unwavering support over the past few months as we navigate these unprecedented times. We are looking forward to the fall season and seeing many of you soon!

As you may know, we recently lost one of the most beloved Red Raiders and friends, Tommy

McVay. Tommy was an important part of our football program and will forever be missed. A recent

ESPN article referred to him as the “gold standard” of college football administrators as he inspired and encouraged all of our football players and coaches for more than 20 years. In addition to his

role on our football staff, Coach McVay was a strong supporter of the Red Raider Club and was a great ambassador for our athletic department. Many of you likely met Coach McVay at one of our Red Raider Club events throughout the state over the past several years. He always enjoyed

meeting fellow Red Raiders and telling a good story. Our friends in Midland will also miss him and

his weekly visits during football season over the past 20 years. I know we all will continue to think about Tommy and his family.

This football season, we have taken extra safety precautions to ensure the safety of our fans,

donors, and student-athletes. As you know, each seating section of Jones AT&T Stadium will have

limited capacity which will allow for added physical distancing of fans and students in each section. While COVID-19 has affected every area of game day, we are committed to providing a great

experience for all fans and donors. Our staff has worked diligently the past several months to plan for this season in order to provide a safe and healthy environment for our fans, student-athletes,

coaches and staff. We may not have 60,000 Red Raiders in attendance this season but, as Kirby has said, even at 25 percent capacity, our fans are 100 percent Texas Tech.

We believe we have yet to realize the full financial impact of COVID-19, and we are expecting

and preparing for more significant changes to our budget. As always, season ticket contributions

and Red Raider Club Excellence Fund contributions provide critical financial support for more than 400 student-athletes across 17 sports. We understand these are difficult times for all of our

fans, and we are grateful for your continued support. Your contributions allow us to continue to provide critical resources for our student-athletes throughout this pandemic, regardless of our play-

ing schedule or capacity restrictions. Your gifts allow Texas Tech Athletics to provide a first-class

experience including scholarships, nutritional support, sports medicine, mental health, academic

services, strength and conditioning as well as leadership and life skills programs. Even with the

Andrea Tirey Senior Associate Athletic Director — Development — 806.834.3270

loss in revenue, we continue to support our student-athletes.Thank you for your generosity and impacting the lives of many young men and women.

Thank you for all you do for Texas Tech Athletics. The Red Raider family is strong and we are

grateful for each of you. As always, please don’t hesitate to contact our office at 806-742-1196 and a member of our staff would be more than happy to speak with you regarding your membership.

Guns up!

andrea.tirey@ttu.edu Andrea

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There are moments in life that try you as a

MRI. To me, that could wait until camp was over

Forney, from 1st grade up until that moment prior

My moment came at church camp prior to

at the time, which is about three hours from my

portunity ever again.

person and shape you into who you are today.

my senior year of high school. I was a two-way starter on the football team, a recent Texas Tech commit and was really having the time of my life, or so I thought.

But there I was, lying on the ground clutching

my knee following a pick-up game of basketball. I

sat there laughing to only hide the pain. I thought it was a knee sprain, and so did the camp staff. I

called my mother to give her a heads up and then went to the emergency room.

The doctors agreed. I had either sprained my

knee or hyperextended it based on their observations. They wouldn’t know for sure until I had an

at the end of the week. We were in Huntsville, hometown of Forney. I really didn’t give it a sec-

to my senior year. I knew I wouldn’t have that op

Needless, to say, it was difficult. I was used

ond thought about returning to camp. I just as-

to being a leader on the field, either on the defen-

the field. I used to laugh because I knew I would

sumed my knee would be better in a week or two.

After the MRI, I knew the results before my

mom could even tell me. I could read it on her

face. It wasn’t good news. In fact, it was the worst

sive line or as a running back. I loved being on

be trotting onto the field for the first possession of the game no matter what. I’d either take my spot

news I had received at that point in my life.

on the defensive line or I’d be in the backfield as

was also a running back in high school!

I couldn’t believe it. I had torn my ACL.

My senior season was officially out of the

picture. I needed to have surgery and then have

plenty of time to rehab if I intended to play col-

lege football the next year. I had grown up my entire life playing football alongside my friends in

a running back. Yes, this FBS defensive lineman

My role had to change, though. I had to find

another way to help the team. Sometimes that meant helping coaches with drills in practice.

At other times, it was maybe advice or just sim-

ply encouragement to someone who needed

it. Those were my friends out there, and even

though the season didn’t go as planned, I was

proud of them and proud of myself.

In the end, that season taught me the defi-

nition of patience and perseverance. I’m who I am today because of the difficulties of that season and what I learned from it. Yes, I still wish I

wouldn’t have torn my ACL, but I’m thankful for what I learned from it.

That brings me to my “why.”

I am where I am today because of my mom.

She helped me through rehab and has encour-

aged me to not only be a great football player

but a better man. I am so thankful for everything I have learned from her and how she has supported me and my younger brother, Caden, our entire lives.

During the recruiting process, she was a

great sounding board. She wanted me to fulfill my dream of playing at this level so bad that she

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drove me around the state to different camps.

have to work harder and develop my skills to

to a camp in Houston on Friday, then Austin on

what sets me apart is my work ethic, my explo-

One weekend alone, we packed up and went Saturday and finally in Dallas on Sunday.

Now, she’s always at my games here at

Texas Tech, even two years ago when I was a

redshirt. I can’t tell you what it means to me to

separate myself from everyone else. He says siveness and my speed. Three good traits to have.

Like I said earlier, I’ve learned I can play

at this level. The goal now is to continue to de-

have her and my brother there each and every

velop my skills to where I can be a dominant de-

school, and I can honestly say I wouldn’t be a

you play in the Big 12, and I have high goals

I want to win, and I’ll do whatever I can to help

Saturday. I dreamed of playing for a Power Five Red Raider without her.

Since I first visited Lubbock, Texas Tech felt

like a family environment. I had other offers to go to a few other schools, but Texas Tech felt

different. Plus, it was part of the Big 12, and I

fensive lineman in this conference. That’s why

and standards for my team. First and foremost, this team achieve that goal.

Could that be the occasional fake punt?

I’m ready if needed. I was surprised last year

knew I would have a better opportunity to show

when head coach Matt Wells and special teams

ways wanted.

a couple fake punts. Coach Tommerdahl had

my true talents at this level. That’s what I al

Even in a few games as a true freshman,

I knew I belonged at this level. The Kansas

game, in particular, is one I remember. Even

though I didn’t get a ton of snaps that day, I did really well with the opportunity I had. I felt like

my time was coming. The knee brace was fi-

nally coming off, and I knew I could play.

We obviously had a coaching change fol-

lowing that season, which brought in defensive line coach Paul Randolph, who has continued to mentor me and make me a better player and

man. He reminds me often that you have to work for everything you want to achieve.

Coach Randolph always tells me “would

I rather have the 6-foot-3-inch guy or a 6-foot

guy? I’d choose to the 6-foot-3-inch guy because you have to find something different as

a 6-foot guy.” I took that to heart because, as

someone who is exactly 6 feet tall, I know I

coach Mark Tommerdahl called my number for

said I had really good feet for a big guy. My only

thought was to not drop the ball and then I’d be good from there. I was still used to carrying the football from back in high school.

I learned from my knee injury to not

take things in life, like football, for granted

because they could be gone in an instant. That’s why I’m always looking to help

others, whether that be a teammate or coach or someone in the Lubbock

community. I’m big on helping others.

In the facility, you’ll always see me

with a smile on my face. I want to bring a

good time and laughter to my teammates and really be an inspiration to hopefully make someone’s day better.

See, I was once in a rut, myself.

I’ve persevered, though, and have learned so much from it.

RedRaiderSports.com

the new

b y T E R RY G R E E N B E R G

When the Red Raiders kick off against

Houston Baptist on Sept. 12, the Texas Tech Athletics team will have a moment of relief.

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ORMAL “It’ll be great that football’s here – great for the university and the community,” said Tony Hernandez, Deputy Director of Athletics. Then the Athletics team will get back to the daily anxiety of keeping everyone safe in a world still impacted by the coronavirus, as Texas Tech Athletics stays focused on keeping everyone – players, staff, fans – safe through the season. It’s been a dramatically different off-season for the Athletic Department, which started in April preparing for student athletes to return and numerous scenarios of what they’d have to do for games at Jones AT&T Stadium. Athletic DIrector Kirby Hocutt created two task forces in late April – one for bringing students and staff back to campus, the other to work on games with fans. The task forces had numerous Zoom meetings a day, not only with their Texas Tech colleagues, but staying in touch with Big 12 and Power 5 conference counterparts. If there was one constant over the past few months – it was no constant. “It’s been frustrating. Lots of questions and few answers. It felt like a wave in the ocean,” said Hernandez. Jonathan Botros, Senior Associate Athletics Director/Finance & Administration, said, “The uncertainty is almost worse than bad news. You come up with a plan and it’s out the window.” They started working on models for both 50 and 25 percent capacity during this time. Then, on August 11, both the Big Ten and Pac-12 conferences decided to postpone fall sports – pushing their football into winter and spring. National headlines announced the college football season was on the brink of being canceled.

But the following day the Big 12 announced it would go ahead with fall football, joining Power 5 members the SEC and ACC. But fans will have a different experience at the Jones including:

• Mobile ticketing.

• Safe distancing in the stadium, at gates and on the concourse. •

Fans in the stands seated in a “checkerboard” format promoting social distancing and avoiding fans walking right next to someone to get to their seat. Some seats will be clearly blocked off and some – as people have seen with Major League Baseball – will have photos of “ImPerson Raiders,” where fans can pay for their likeness to be in the stadium.

• Touchless concessions.

• People monitoring bathrooms to ensure safe distancing.

• Band and spirit squads not allowed on the field.

• Expanding the “box” for each team to the 15-yard lines to space players out. Different – for a different season in a different world. And a lot of work has been going on behind the scenes to get the Red Raider Nation to this point.

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Patience & Flexibility Hernandez led the events task force, which was ever evolving. “We did a lot of planning, but little implementation. We’ve tried to be patient and flexible and hone in on the least number of scenarios. We’re looking forward to doing something instead of planning, adapting and changing,” he said. They did look at using United Supermarkets Arena as a place for more football fans to watch the game, a drive-in theater style idea and possible tailgating concepts. “But the more options we created the more we created possible risks” and would need staffing, he said. “So we tended to focus on the Jones and make it the best possible venue,” said Hernandez, adding even if the crowd is at 25 percent, they will still need a lot of staff to protect fan health and safety.

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No Playbook Grant Stovall, Director of Sports Medicine, was constantly involved with both task forces. “He’s been called on a lot,” said Hernandez. Stovall’s also been communicating with city and state health experts and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for guidelines and recommendations. “There’s no playbook to follow along,” he said. “May was a blur, the spotlight was on us,” he said about Athletics being the first university department to bring students back to campus. In addition, some areas in the Big 12 Conference had different standards. “Our health department valued masks early on and others didn’t,” said Stovall. “We had a 14day hard quarantine for close contact but Kansas said seven days and with a negative test can go.” As student athletes came back, they were tested for the virus.

A number of football players were positive and a handful in other sports, said Stovall. All have since recovered. Testing is done weekly and there were no positives the week of August 3, he said. (Stovall was interviewed August 11 for this story). Football, both basketball teams, soccer and volleyball were active as the university got closer to having all students back in August. Football players started with lifting weights and running and Stovall’s team set protocols. When players got on the field with coaches in mid-July, new protocols were needed – including no hanging out before or after practice. As football moved into pre-season camp, more protocols had to be created for showers and locker rooms. Texas Tech started using two locker rooms to spread players out. “We’re learning to practice as safely as we can,” said Stovall. That includes experimenting with helmets and what goes inside them. “A clear visor protects their eyes and a covering of clear plastic on the inside of the face mask covers their mouth and we’re giving them the option of gaiters and ski masks and experimenting with that,” said Stovall. The biggest impact helping athletes stay safe has been watching their teammates who’ve gotten the virus or those who were exposed and had to quarantine, Stovall said. For most Texas Tech athletes who’ve tested positive, they’re either asymptomatic or have mild symptoms. “They don’t feel good, but they don’t feel terrible, it’s more of an inconvenience. But the isolation is hard for them,” he said. “When you’re positive you have to isolate for at least ten days and most recover in ten days. But when you do contact tracing, those who were in contact with them have to be in quarantine for 14 days and they don’t want to be down for that long,” said Stovall. Contact tracing has been the biggest challenge. “It’s hard to do – trying to figure out who the close contacts are of an athlete who tested positive. Then you have to quarantine someone for 14 days and we’ve had some subsequent positive tests from kids we quarantined so that was good. But it’s hard on them because they feel fine,” said Stovall. One of the reasons two major conferences shut down football were concerns about the virus affecting an athlete’s heart. “As soon as COVID hit, there was a cardiac concern,” said Stovall. “A lot of viruses can cause heart problems. That’s concerning but there’s not a lot of data because COVID is new and there is little data about highly functioning athletes returning to playing,” Stovall said.

“So far, all our kids who’ve tested positive have had good cardiac exams,” he said. The focus is on the virus, but Stovall and his crew have to think of other things, too. “It’s better to be outdoors than indoors,” he said because of the virus, but Lubbock summers create another challenge. “Heat can kill people and not just COVID. If we have to go indoors (to the Sports Performance Center) we go indoors,” Stovall said. It’s also a new ballgame, so to speak, when the football team travels. Athletics also has to come up with protocols for game-day routines, getting on busses, planes and hotels. Lots of Projections For all the scenarios Texas Tech has considered for playing football, Botros has done accompanying financial projections. Lots of projections. And like his colleagues, he meets with groups beyond campus. Botros is part of think tanks with Power 5 and Big 12 chief financial officers, meeting a minimum of every two weeks. Part of his job is working with concession partners and they’re developing mobile ordering so fans can pick up their order or they can scan a QR code to pay when a hawker comes by in the stands. When asked if he’d prefer fall football with 25 percent capacity or spring football with potentially a larger crowd, Botros did not hesitate to pick the fall. “You know what you’ve got in the fall, but if it gets shut down later and you lose spring, you’ve lost your only shot at playing football,” he said of the sport that brings in about 75 percent of the Athletic Department’s revenue. In addition, Texas Tech’s TV partners, he said, are not excited about spring football. “There would be too much competition with other sports,” said Botros. And the top players who hope to play professional football could sit out in the spring because the NFL has said they will not push back the April draft. Another financial challenge was losing about $2 million for the fall semester by cutting the student activity fee to be fair, he said. All students pay $61.50 a semester and have access to all sports events. But this season because it’ll be harder to get into games, there will be a student ticket option at a deeper discount than staff. So students will only pay if they can get in to an event, said Botros. Not Easy Greg Glaus, Senior Associate Athletic Director/Academic Services, has led the task force to bring students and staff back to campus. That’s happened in phases over the past few

months as facilities and safety precautions were put in place. The task force had 20 internal staff members including coaches and administrators, he said. And there were sub-task forces: • Employees • Athletes – including international students, which had its own set of challenges. • Facilities

•

Strategic communications A steering committee that met every day to send out information keeping people up to date because so much changed.

“The first phase of employees came back June 1,” he said, adding those employees needed all the relevant safety information. Between all three phases, Glaus and his task force had to coordinate bringing about 275 people back to work. Many continued to work from home as the phases rolled out over the summer, but janitorial staff and groundskeepers could not. Workers in the marketing and ticketing offices worked closely together in cubicles and some

were moved up to the suite level in the east side of Jones AT&T Stadium to spread people out. Plexiglass barriers were installed in some areas. “Kirby promoted flexibility if someone was uncomfortable,” said Glaus. Football came back June 14 – the first students to come back to campus since spring break. When virus cases spiked in June and July after Texas opened more businesses, it caused concern, said Glaus. “When we saw 100-plus cases in Lubbock it brought some worry. It did not change our plans, but it slowed moving to phase two until August 1,” he said. They also sent emails to student athletes and their parents detailing what the university was doing. Bringing back Texas Tech’s 50-some student athletes from other countries was complicated. When Texas Tech closed campus in March and until mid-June, little information was available about bringing back international students. “Then it came at us like out of a fire hose,” said Glaus. “The situation remained so fluid with twists and turns it left our international students and coaches in an apprehensive state for part of June, July and part of August before things cleared up,” said Glaus. All of this took coordinating between Athletics, the university’s Office of International Affairs and government officials.

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First there was concern if the student was from a country the United States had banned from traveling to America, the student would have to quarantine in another country for 14 days. The university did not recommend students do that and it was eventually waived. Things also changed if students could continue online classes and keep their Visa. For a while, government rules said if students did not return for face-to-face classes they would lose their Visa. Lawsuits were filed and the government rescinded that requirement. Senior Red Raider golfer Sandy Scott, ranked in the top ten of the World Amateur Golf Rankings, needed to return to Lubbock for school, but also get to Oregon for the U.S. Amateur Golf Championships August 10-16. His native Scotland has been one of the banned countries. While Scott worked with the U.S. Embassy in his country, the Texas Tech University System Office of Government Affairs worked with Lubbockbased Congressman Jodey Arrington’s office to “connect the dots,” said Glaus and get Scott back to the United States. Scott then made it to the round of 32 in the U.S. Amateur, a few days after 264 golfers started play. “That was pretty cool,” said Glaus. Planning & Replanning Gearing up for another football season is always busy. There are always changes, but a lot of things stay the same. Until this season. “A lot of our preparation for football is routine. There is zero routine right now,” said Robert Giovannetti, Senior Associate Athletics Director/ External Operations & Strategic Communications. Reinventing ticketing, parking, tailgating and other Game Day traditions took a lot of work. Then tearing it up and starting all over again. And again. And again. “We’re so proud of the Athletic Ticket Office and Red Raider Club staffs who have collaborated to pull this all together for premium and general bowl tickets and more. There have been a ton of moving parts with almost daily adjustments and changes,” said Andrea Tirey, Senior Associate Athletic Director/Development. Giovannetti added that the process has definitely taken a toll. “The mental duress of not knowing and hearing and reading so many different scenarios made it harder on staff,” he said. “But they kept up their morale and enthusiasm. They want to see this happen.” While all those parts were moving trying to figure things out, fans kept calling every day wanting to know about football tickets and the gameday experience, said Giovannetti.

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“We were transparent - we didn’t know every answer to every question so that’s what we told our fans,” he said. Once plans were finished, fans were given the following choices: • Donate your Red Raider Club seat contribution, 2020 football season tickets and excellence fund gifts to support student-athletes. Earn triple points on your contributions and increase your RRC Membership Level •

Apply 2020 football season ticket payments towards 2020 football mini-plans or single-game tickets.

•

Credit 2020 football season ticket payments to the 2021 football season. (This does not apply to seat contribution or Excellence Fund.)

Ask for a refund.

•

The Red Raider Club has extended the annual membership deadline until October 1. Many have already decided to donate the money to help support student athletes – as baseball fans did earlier this year – which helps offset revenue losses and budget cuts Athletics has had to make because of the impact of COVID-19. “Right now, every single dollar impacts our ability to take care of our student athletes,” said Tirey, adding her team has received countless messages from donors asking what they can do to help.

Here are more details about the Game Day experience: •

Parking: With fewer people coming to the games, parking has been consolidated to let people be closer to the stadium and it became a separate purchase for this season.

•

Tailgating: Large groups and corporate tailgating will not be allowed. Fans can tailgate in groups of ten or less and lots will open three hours before kickoff. Texas Tech is the only school in the Big 12 currently allowing any tailgating.

• Other large pre-game events like Raider Alley are not going to happen this season. •

When fans get ready to go into the stadium, their ticket will tell them which gate to enter to spread people out because so many go through Gate 1 on the southwest corner of the stadium. There will also be striping on the ground to help people with safe distancing.

A video will be available for fans to watch before coming to a game to get more information. Only one thing is for sure kickoff is almost here and we’re all thankful.

ROAD-TRIPPING? South Plains Electric Cooperative believes the best way to learn about electric vehicles is to drive one. We’ll be able to share our knowledge and experience with our members as they look at driving electric. We also installed three public charging stations (Lubbock, Spur, Childress) to help build the network. We’re your source for power and information!

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Donor Spotlight

b y T E R RY G R E E N B E R G

Linda & Terry Fuller When it was time to pick a college, Dean Quinn wanted to go to what he called one of the “big four” universities in Texas. He eliminated the University of Houston because it was too close to Pasadena, where he grew up. “I didn’t want to be an Aggie. I didn’t want to be a Longhorn. Aggies were just Aggies. I had a lot of friends going to Texas, but it felt bigger and distant,” he said. That meant a trip across the state to Lubbock. “I liked it from the get-go and fell in love with the people and the university,” he said. Dean and his wife Christi love Texas Tech. They’ve shown it through their involvement and philanthropy. •

Funding the Dean and Christi Quinn Educational Kitchen in the Cash Family Nutrition Center that opened earlier this year.

• Generously funded a nutrition center inside the Football Training Facility. •

Establishing the Dean and Christi Quinn Scholarship Endowment in the Rawls College of Business, along with supporting the Chancellor’s Council, the Red Raider Club and the Texas Tech Alumni Association.

•

Dean was on the Rawls College of Business Advisory Board for six years and Christi currently sits on the Texas Tech Foundation Board of Directors.

“Donors like Dean and Christi Quinn are so important as we carry out our mission of serving student athletes. Their generosity serves hundreds of student athletes through scholarships and academic support, nutrition education and more,” said Andrea Tirey, Senior Associate Athletic Director/Development.

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“They give back to something they feel extremely passionate about – which makes what we do, in college athletics, so very special,” she said. And even though the Quinns have been generous with Texas Tech, they both made it clear during this interview they don’t seek recognition and are a little uncomfortable with it. Seven Years on the South Plains After getting his undergraduate degree, Dean went on to the Texas Tech University School of Law. “When I came to Tech I already knew I wanted to be an lawyer – for all the wrong reasons. I thought that people would look up to you,” he said, poking fun at his profession. In addition, Dean had family members who were lawyers and it seemed like an interesting profession. “I was involved in performing arts and performing to a jury was intriguing to me,” he said. He saw a lot of Texas Tech sports in his seven years on the South Plains. “Football, basketball, baseball and occasionally one of the other sports,” said Dean, remembering watching the late running back James Hadnot and basketball sharpshooter Bubba Jennings. He also remembers the Red Raider basketball team facing Houston’s Phi Slamma Jamma squad with future Hall of Famers Akeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler coming to Lubbock during the days of the Southwest Conference. Dean was also involved in the Greek system. Dean and Christi After graduating from law school and moving back to Houston, Dean’s law school roommate introduced him to Attorney Christi, who clerked with Dean’s roommate at a law firm. The Quinns celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary this year. They’d planned on throwing a big party where their reception was held – but the coronavirus pandemic changed plans. They ordered takeout from Prego – the restaurant they went to for their first date and where

they celebrated the night they got engaged – and celebrated at home with a smaller soiree. Christi grew up the Rio Grande Valley and was a sports fan. “I’d lay in bed and listen to (sportscaster) Harry Caray,” she said, but sometimes all they could get on the radio was the Mexican Baseball League. So she’d listen to it in Spanish. Christi went to the University of Texas and South Texas College of Law. Dean brought Christi to Lubbock for a Texas Tech football game when they were dating. “It was my first time to go to Lubbock and I fell in love with the town and school,” she said. Over the years she made friends in Lubbock who’ve become lifelong friends. “I slowly became more of a fan as I was exposed more to Lubbock and the university, said Christi. Then their two sons – Connor and Graham – started coming to games. Graham followed his dad to Lubbock, graduating in 2018 and is engaged to Kirsten Elrod, also a Red Raider. The Quinns and their sons were at the Texas Tech-Texas football game in 2008 at Jones AT&T Stadium when the No. 1 Longhorns took a late lead over the No. 7 Red Raiders in the final two minutes. Christi was wearing a University of Texas shirt. After all, it was her alma mater. But she was conflicted. Her family and friends were all Red Raiders. “It was important that my family be happy – that’s what I was thinking,” said Christi. Then Graham Harrell connected with Michael Crabtree in the final seconds of the game for a 3933 win for the Red Raiders. “I got just as happy and excited as everybody,” she said. “The point of that story is my mind went to UT, but my heart is with Texas Tech. In my heart I wanted Texas Tech to win,” she said. Christi recently told an abbreviated version of that story to Texas Tech football coach Matt Wells. Wells laughed and told her, “I need you in the

stands every week,” said Christi, who said she does root for her alma mater too. Texas Tech is Where I Grew Up Dean is happy to support his alma mater. “Texas Tech was where I grew up. I was there for seven years. They were formative years and it’s one good memory after another,” he said. Christi is also happy to support her husband and son’s school. Dean asked her if she wanted to make donations to UT. “Christi said UT has all it needs and Tech needs it,” he said. Christi added: “I could see where our contribution could make an immediate impact. And as a donor we appreciate the total transparency on how the funds are used.” Another reason for supporting Texas Tech is the quality of students they see. Dean is senior vice president and general counsel for S&B Engineers and Constructors. He mentioned a survey of major oil companies in each state and which schools they like to recruit from. “In Texas, one was A&M and the other was Texas Tech. Kids who come out of Tech don’t have that feeling of entitlement. They’re hard working and eager to make a contribution. That’s something worth helping,” he said. When Christi was asked to be on the Foundation board, part of the reason she said yes echoed what her husband said. “The caliber of students at Tech are kids you want to help, kids who work hard and who have a good work ethic,” she said. Nutrition is a Passion “Dean and I have always tried to eat healthy and did the same with our children,” she said. Christi knew a fellow lawyer who played football at Notre Dame and told her how he was always hungry as a student athlete — when they were first asked to give money to the Athletic Department, they had an idea.

“Dean and I were talking to Andrea Tirey and Alex Yack. We had a naïve vision for a smoothie station where each athlete could go for their specific nutrition needs,” she said. Tirey and Yack said they’d get back to the Quinns. Twenty minutes later they called back after talking to Dayna McCutchin, Director of Sports Nutrition. McCutchin has been talking to Director of Athletics Kirby Hocutt about something along the same lines. It led to the fueling station at the Football

Training Facility. Then they had a chance to be part of the new nutrition center supporting a kitchen to teach students athletes how to do healthy cooking. “I love to cook and Dean is a great baker,” said Christi. “When Dayna explained what she had in mind for the education kitchen to educate students athletes the way we educated our children we wanted to support it.” The Quinns also like how the kitchen will benefit student athletes in all 17 sports Texas Tech plays.

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b y T E R RY G R E E N B E R G

LETTERWINNERS Featuring Graham Harrell & Michael Crabtree Graham Harrell and Michael Crabtree are entering the Texas Tech Hall of Fame this year more than a decade after record-setting careers wearing Red and Black. “My two years at Texas Tech were full of great moments and launched an NFL career. This honor is just awesome,” said Crabtree from his home in Dallas. The pair rewrote the NCAA and Texas Tech record books. But for many Red Raider fans they would qualify for one play a dozen years ago. “Graham and Michael will always be remembered and revered by Red Raiders for the 2008 game against Texas,” said Rodney Allison, Director of the Double T Varsity Club, that organizes the Hall of Fame. “It’s fitting they go into the Hall of Fame together, but their careers were so much more than that game and we’re so happy to honor them.” There were eight seconds left in the 2008 showdown at Jones AT&T Stadium between No. 1 Texas and No. 7 Texas Tech. The Longhorns had fought back to take a 3332 lead with a minute-and-a-half on the clock. Senior quarterback Harrell drove the Red Raiders to the Texas 28-yard line, using all but those eight seconds. When Harrell took the snap, he quickly decided to go to Crabtree down the right sideline because the Longhorns didn’t put two defenders on him. “I thought there was no way they’d let me go to Crabtree. They’d want me to go anywhere but to that big monster,” he said from his home in Southern California, where he serves as USC’s Offensive Coordinator. Texas cornerback Curtis Brown followed Crabtree with his back to Harrell, who saw his chance and threw toward Crabtree’s back shoulder, away from the defender and high enough to get over him. Crabtree turned toward the sideline, catching the ball just in bounds around the 5-yard-line as

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Brown was trying to reach for it. The defender tried to tackle Crabtree around his chest, but Crabtree turned away and sprinted into the end zone. Safety Earl Thomas – who later helped the Baltimore Ravens win a Super Bowl – came over to help Brown, but ended up in front of the play and not in position to stop Crabtree. Harrell hoped his teammate would go out of bounds, leaving the Red Raiders with enough time for a game-winning short field goal. “Crabtree had a better plan,” said Harrell. Crabtree knew he was in bounds, wanted to get into the end zone and not put pressure on their kicker. “I’ve got to score,” he said. “If there was a white jersey in the way, I’d just go through it and score.” “Graham gave me a chance, just like he did all season. We practiced that play a million times, throwing to the back shoulder, so much repetition,” he added. Harrell thought the clock had expired. So did fans, who rushed the field. But there was one second left. Crabtree had no idea how much time was left. He was on the bottom of a pile of his teammates in the end zone. “I was so excited,” he said, adding he was having a hard time breathing until he was pulled up. Years later, Crabtree said he didn’t worry about if an opponent was giving him double coverage. “You still make plays. That’s how we played. Let’s just win. That was my mentality,” he said. After that season, Crabtree was drafted tenth in the first round of the NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers. Harrell played a season in the Canadian Football League before three seasons with the Green Bay Packers and one with the New York Jets before he started his coaching career. They left Texas Tech and college football with

tons of records. Harrell still owns seven NCAA records and Crabtree five. At Texas Tech, Harrell is the career leader in: • • •

Passing yards with 3,000-plus more than second-place Kliff Kingsbury. Passing touchdowns with 134 – and the only former Red Raider who has more than 100. Completion percentage with 69.8 percent, 8/10ths ahead of Seth Doege, who is now, ironically, is on Harrell’s offensive staff at USC.

The year before Crabtree joined the Red Raiders, then-sophomore Harrell rallied Texas Tech to the largest come-from-behind win in NCAA Division I bowl history against Minnesota in the Insight Bowl, for a 44-41 overtime win. In 2007, he won the Sammy Baugh Trophy. In 2008, he was a candidate for the Heisman Trophy, won the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award and was also the AT&T All-America Player of the Year and shared the Sporting News National Player of the Year honor with Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford and Texas’ Colt McCoy. In all, Harrell amassed 16 awards and honors. Crabtree only played his freshman and sophomore years before turning pro and won the Biletnikoff Award both years as the best receiver in college football – two of 30 awards and honors including the 2007 AT&T ESPN All-America Player of the Year. He’s the school’s career leader in touchdowns with 41, nine ahead of Lyle Leong, who played four years. He had 3,127 receiving yards, second to Jakeem Grant, who also played four years. Crabtree’s 1,962 receiving yards in 2007 is still third best in NCAA FBS history and no one has bested that number since – even with the increase in passing offenses in college football. And that number is the most ever by a receiver at a Power 5 program.

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In Memoria

b y M ATT D OW DY

For the past 20-plus years, it’s often been said at Texas Tech that there wasn’t a person alive that didn’t like Tommy McVay. How could you not? McVay was the life of every event, shaking every hand available with usually a good story to go with it. During the fall, he was a reliable confidant to five different head coaches, serving as the Director of Football Operations, first under the late Spike Dykes as part of a legendary career with the Red Raiders. Sadly, Texas Tech won’t have the same smiling personality roaming the sidelines any longer as McVay passed away Thursday at the age of 76. “We are saddened by the sudden and tragic loss of our dear friend, Tommy McVay,” Director of Athletics Kirby Hocutt said. “In my 10 years now at Texas Tech, I never met anyone that didn’t like Coach McVay. He was an important part of our athletics department for over two decades, and I join his friends, family and countless former players and coaches who mourn his passing.” The 2020 season was supposed to be McVay’s 24th on the Red Raider sideline where he was usually not far behind any of Texas Tech’s head coaches, first with Dykes and then moving forward with Mike Leach, Tommy Tuberville, Kliff Kingsbury and now Matt Wells. Not many football administrators survive five different head coaches. Then again, there aren’t many people quite like McVay in the coaching profession, either. “Tommy McVay was one of the first people I met on my first day in Lubbock,” head coach Matt Wells said. “Man, what a legend. I will always remember and be forever thankful for the encouragement he provided me and the role he played on our staff in our short time together. The sport of college football needs more Tommy McVays in it. He touched the lives of countless coaches and players during his time at Texas Tech, and we all mourn his passing and send our sincere condolences to his wife, Chele, and the rest of his family.” McVay was hired at Texas Tech in September 1997 and was tasked with overseeing many of the administrative duties and recruiting efforts for the Red Raiders under the late Dykes. In fact, Dykes talked McVay back into the coaching profession,

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giving him an opportunity to join his staff after the two previously met while McVay was working in the appliance and television business, the job that originally brought him to Lubbock in 1988. McVay turned into a fixture on the Texas Tech sideline, known sometimes more for his slickedback hair and his dark black sunglasses, worn whether it was day or night. He was occasionally confused for George Seifert, the former San Francisco 49ers and Carolina Panthers head coach, or even Tuberville, depending on who the television cameras spotted. When the first whistle sounded, most of McVay’s work was complete as he was largely responsible for many of the logistics in traveling 100-plus student-athletes, coaches and support staff through most of his tenure at Texas Tech. During the week, he was also the team liaison to the NFL as well as a team ambassador, driving each Thursday to Midland to speak at a weekly luncheon of Red Raiders in the Permian Basin. No matter the responsibility, McVay loved it and brought an energy and passion to the Football Training Facility every day. McVay’s tenure will likely be best remembered for the discovery of a relatively unknown athlete in Oklahoma named Wes Welker, who received little Division-I interest out of high school other than Texas Tech and the Naval Academy. McVay convinced Leach, at the behest of Welker’s high school coach, to sign the undersized recruit as Texas Tech’s final member of his initial recruiting class. The gamble paid off as Welker quickly earned the nickname “The Natural” on his way to a successful college career that was capped by an NCAA record eight punt returns for a touchdown. Welker ended his Red Raider career in 2003 with 3,069 career receiving yards, departing as the program’s all-time leading receiver before embarking on a successful 12-year NFL career where he redefined the inside receiver position. “My heart is broken today with the passing of Tommy McVay,” said Welker, now the wide receivers coach with the San Francisco 49ers. “Throughout my life, there have been a few people who took a chance on me, and Tommy was the first. As an 18 year old kid that nobody wanted, he

believed in me. His contagious positive attitude and love he showed for all his players resonated throughout the building. I am forever grateful and lucky to have had Tommy come into my life. He will be missed but never forgotten!” McVay knew talent and knew football, something that was proven by a 100-36-2 record in 13 years as a high school head football coach in the state of Kansas. His football and track teams at Protection High School captured state runner-up honors in 1972. He led Derby High School to a similar state runner-up finish a few years later in 1975. Most of all, McVay was respected in Kansas football circles as he was also named the president of the Kansas Coaches Association and was tabbed to coach in the Kansas East-West Shrine Game. His success paved the way for his first opportunity at the college level from 1983-85 as an assistant coach on Jim Dickey’s staff at Kansas State. Prior to joining the coaching profession, McVay was a three-year basketball letterman at Southeastern Oklahoma State University where he was also a three-time conference champion in the 440-yard run. McVay finished among the top 16 at the NAIA national championships in 1967, the same year he earned his undergraduate degree from Southeastern Oklahoma State. An avid runner, McVay continued to compete on the track during his tenure at Texas Tech, participating in the Seniors Games well into his 60s. McVay, the son of a five-time Oklahoma state champion high school coach, added his master’s degree from Southeastern Oklahoma in 1968 before beginning his career as head basketball coach and assistant football coach in Waynoka, Oklahoma, from 1968-70. McVay was later inducted into the Southeastern Oklahoma State Hall of Fame in 2009. McVay was also honored for his work locally in 2017 when the Texas Tech chapter of the National Football Foundation presented him the award for outstanding contribution to amateur football at its annual banquet. McVay is survived by his wife, Chele, and their two daughters, Kelly and Heather, and four grandchildren.

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primed for

SUCCESS b y B RA N D O N S O L I Z

Tom Stone and his Texas Tech soccer program are the favorite to win the Big 12 Conference title according to a poll of the league’s coaches. The Red Raiders received 72 total points in the preseason poll. Oklahoma State, the reigning league champions, collected 70 points. “It’s an honor to be recognized by your peers,” Stone said. “We appreciate the respect, but what we’re focused on is losing the regular season title last year by two points, not a preseason poll. There’s a long way to go, and we know how vicious the Big 12 can be. We look forward to the challenge of living up to that expectation.” The season, however, will offer an additional challenge as college athletics tries to cope with

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the coronavirus pandemic. The NCAA canceled all fall championships in mid-August, meaning that the Red Raiders will not be able to compete for a national title this fall. Despite the setbacks, Stone’s program is poised to make the best of it. Texas Tech finished 15-4-3 with six Big 12 wins last season. The Red Raiders also return eight of their 11 starters from the 2019 campaign. “With good experiences comes a desire for more,” Stone said. “This group isn’t satisfied. As good as the team was, as fun as they were to watch and coach, we didn’t bring home any hardware. There’s a lot of unfinished business.” Stone said the key to keep his team ready to perform is to keep the pressure on. He said he’s

made it clear that the expectations are still high despite the external circumstances. The Red Raiders will always train and compete hard no matter the situation. “We really have to calm them down sometimes because they’re excited … It’s been interesting but credit the girls,” Stone said. “They’ve been an inspiration to the staff every day with how into it they are.” Stone said the team returned to Lubbock as they expected – fit and committed. The biggest thing for his unit now before the season starts is getting back to game shape. Texas Tech expects to play a conferenceonly season this fall, and games could start as early as mid-September.

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I believe deep down we all want change. I want to help lead it. Be the change.

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Tony Bradford is

DETERMINED

b y A L P I C K ETT

While the coronavirus pandemic brought sports to a halt in March, it gave Texas Tech defensive lineman Tony Bradford an opportunity to get a glimpse of what he hopes to do in the future. When he’s done pursuing opposing quarterbacks at Texas Tech, Bradford wants to pursue a career in law enforcement. “I told (associate athletic director) Troy Kema on our football staff that I wanted to work in law enforcement one day,” Bradford explained. “Troy had no clue at the time and mentioned he spoke regularly with Chief (Kyle) Bonath of the Texas Tech Police Department. Sure enough, he made a call and, two or three days later, I had a meeting scheduled with Chief Bonath. I told him I would love to work here.” After a formal interview, Bradford was hired to work as a security officer during spring break. Then the coronavirus outbreak began about the same time, which canceled spring football, so Bradford had the opportunity to continue working as a security officer. “That was honestly the best experience I have ever had,” he enthused. “It was the first job I have had in my life.” Bradford, a sophomore from Galena Park, said he had never had a job before because he was always too busy playing football and taking care of his nine little brothers. That’s right, Bradford has nine younger brothers. So what was dinner like in his house growing up? “It’s not that bad, but it is a mess afterwards,” Bradford laughed. He said his job as a security officer was to make sure all buildings were secure, checking that each door on every building on campus was locked, as well as responding to calls as a backup for police officers. During his time working as a security officer, the death of George Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis police department occurred, sparking racial protests around the country. That didn’t derail Bradford’s goal to someday become a police chief, however. Just the opposite, it reinforced the idea that he wants to go into law enforcement as a career. “I tell my teammates all the time that if I don’t try to find a way for more people of color to join law enforcement, then nobody is going to do so,” he emphasized. “Then, the tragedies we have all seen on the news and on social media will just keep happening. I am committed to that if football doesn’t work out.” For the moment, however, Bradford, who is majoring in sociology with a minor in forensic science, is putting his future law

enforcement plans on hold and is concentrating on football. He is being counted on to play a key role on the defensive line for the Red Raiders this fall after an impressive debut as a true freshman last year. “I was surprised (at how much he played as a freshman),” Bradford admitted. “I was thinking if they redshirt me, I’d be happy with that. Then I was doing a decent job and made the traveling squad. So I told myself I had to make the most of my opportunity.” The 6-foot-1-inch, 270-pound Bradford appeared in 11 of 12 games with two starts on the defensive line a year ago, one of just four true freshmen on the defensive side of the ball at Texas Tech to appear in five or more games. He recorded 13 tackles, including a pair of sacks and two tackles for loss. He recorded a sack in his first collegiate game against UTEP. “That brought back memories of high school, only it happened on a much bigger stage,” said Bradford, who was named the Defensive Player of the Year at the Touchdown Club of Houston’s area high school awards banquet following his senior year. Galena Park North Shore won the Class 6A Division I state championship and was named the national champions by MaxPreps during his senior year. North Shore’s win in the state championship game came via a Hail Mary touchdown pass on the game’s final play. “I still get chills when I think about that game,” Bradford stated. It is a feeling that he hopes he can duplicate over the next three years with the Red Raiders. “My goal is to become first-team All-Big 12,” he said. “I would love to get it multiple times and have a chance to be drafted (by the NFL). I want to win the Big 12, too, before I leave here. There have been a lot of distractions this year, but we have been working hard, grinding it out during individual summer workouts. We look completely different.” In a first-person article about his time with the Texas Tech Police Department that he penned for Texas Tech Athletics, Bradford wrote, “I believe deep down we all want change. I want to help lead it. Be the change.” Bradford plans to apply that belief to both the Red Raiders on the football field this fall as well as his future career in law enforcement. RedRaiderSports.com

just kic

Trey Wolff

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Austin McNamara and Trey Wolff took different paths to get to Texas Tech, but after their outstanding seasons a year ago, the pair has thrust themselves on to the national stage. McNamara is one of 19 candidates on the preseason watch list for the Ray Guy Award, awarded to the nation’s top punter. Wolff is among 30 preseason candidates for the Lou Groza Award, given to college football’s top kicker. McNamara parlayed his relationship with second-year head coach Matt Wells to lure him to Lubbock from Gilbert, Arizona. “Coach Wells recruited me at Utah State,” McNamara explained. “I had a relationship with his staff, and I had gone to his kicking camp. When he got the job at Texas Tech, he called me and offered me a scholarship. It was a week or so before National Signing Day, so the timing worked out perfectly.” McNamara stepped into the starting punter’s job immediately and turned in one of the best debuts in school history, earning first-team All-Big 12 honors. He averaged 45 yards per punt, which led all freshmen nationally and ranked 16th in the nation in that category. His average was highest all-time by a Tech freshman and was the fourth-best by any punter in program history. Wolff, meanwhile, was among the most accurate kickers in college football a year ago, connecting on 20-of-22 field goal attempts and 40-of-41 PAT tries. His transition to Lubbock, however, wasn’t quite as smooth as McNamara’s. “I reached out to some coaches, but I got no looks my senior year until after the season,” recalled Wolff, who was considered one of the state’s top punters as a senior at Spring Klein High School. “About a week after our last game, the former Tech special teams coach came to watch me kick and offered me a preferred walk-on spot. I had 10 more offers after that, including a couple of scholarship offers from out-of-state schools. But my older brother went to Tech, and this was all I wanted to do.” But Wolff had to earn his spot as the Red Raiders’ kicker. He redshirted as a freshman. “Redshirting was tough,” he admitted. “I had three seniors ahead of me. After they graduated, and coach Wells came in with a brand new program, it was a fresh start. But they brought in two guys in the spring and two more junior college kickers in the fall. There was a lot of competition. I had to beat out four different kickers. I thought if I want to earn a scholarship, I am going to have to do something.”

kin’ it And Wolff did. He was named honorable mention all-Big 12 as he ranked seventh in the FBS in field goal percentage (90.9) and 14th in field goals per game (1.67). He concluded the year ranked second in the Big 12 for total fields, third in field goal percentage and fourth for points per game (8.3). His 20 field goals rank second in single-season history in the Texas Tech record book. Wolff finally received his scholarship on Christmas Day. “Coach Wells had texted my mom,” he said. “That morning with all our family there, my mom walked in the room and handed me the phone. It was Coach Wells, who said, ‘What’s up, stud?’” What is the secret to being so successful kicking field goals? “I focus on technique in practice,” Wolff replied. “In games, I try to have fun. I just try to line up, square up and hit a good ball.” Wolff’s most memorable moment came in the second overtime against Baylor when he nailed a 35-yarder to give the Red Raiders a 30-27 lead. “It was a tough loss (when Baylor scored on the second possession of the second overtime),” he continued, “but it was great to silence the crowd at McLane Stadium when I made that field goal.” McNamara also has a couple of punts that he will always remember. “It was against Arizona and it was personal for me,” he stated. “I had family there are at the game, and their coaches had recruited me. I put a punt to one-yard line twice in the game.” McNamara said he takes as much pride in pinning opponents deep in their own end of the field as he does hitting the booming punt. “The big ball will come,” he said, “but that’s my job to try to punt the ball down around the five-yard line and help our defense. They appreciate that.” The Red Raiders ranked fourth in the FBS last season for net punting average (42.5). Opponents returned only nine of McNamara’s 59 punts, averaging just 5.2 yards per return. He downed 20 of his punts inside the 20-yard line as well. Texas Tech joined Arizona State, LSU, NC State, Ohio State, Virginia Tech and Washington State as the only schools to place both its punter and place-kicker on the two watch lists. None of the other seven schools feature a sophomore at both specialist positions.

b y A L P I C K ETT

Austin McNamara

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The future depends on what you do today. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Mahatma Ghandi 28

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On the last Saturday in August, the Texas Tech football team took a day off from practice to focus on community projects in East Lubbock. They spent the day doing cleanup, working on an improvement at the Parkway Sommerville Center and interacting with neighborhood children. The effort was a part of the teamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s response to social unrest stemming from the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin and a national conversation about racial injustice.

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FOOTBALL

NOTEBOOK

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b y B RA N D O N S O L I Z

Henry Colombi

Josh Burger

Jacob Morgenstern

Chadarius Townsend

Cameron Watts

Recruiting doesn’t stop. While Zoom meetings had to replace face-to-face conversations and campus visits were scrapped in favor of virtual tours, the Texas Tech football program remained active on the recruiting front over the offseason. The Red Raiders, looking to rebound from last year’s 4-8 mark, put a special emphasis on transfers in order to supplement the team’s roster with instant-impact additions. Quarterback Henry Colombi, one of the newest additions to the program, chose to transfer to Texas Tech from Utah State in July. He backed up Jordan Love with the Aggies and will be reuniting with former coaches Matt Wells and David Yost in Lubbock. Colombi was a three-star prospect coming out of high school in Hollywood, Fla. Wells said that Colombi brings knowledge and experience in Yost’s system to the team’s quarterback room. Josh Burger started 25 games at right tackle for FCS Wofford before choosing to transfer to the South Plains. Wells expects Burger to compete for the starting position at either left or right tackle. During his time in the transfer portal, Burger chose Texas Tech over Indiana and South Florida. Chadarius Townsend turned heads when he chose to transfer to Texas Tech from powerhouse Alabama. Townsend was highly-ranked as a high school recruit but never found a true position with the Crimson Tide; he spent time with the running backs, wide receivers and defensive backs in Tuscaloosa. The Red Raiders plan to exclusively play him at running back.

Cam White

Jason Lloyd

Brandon Bouyer-Randle

Kyan Brumfield

SaRodorick Thompson is expected to be the team’s No. 1 tailback option but Townsend could be his primary backup. Townsend brings speed to an already high-tempo offense and will be a change of pace when Thompson exits the field. Jason Lloyd joins the Red Raider offense as a tight end after playing for the College of San Mateo in San Mateo, Calif. A three-star recruit, Lloyd selected Texas Tech over Toledo, UNLV and UCF. Lloyd is a big-bodied, physical receiving option for the passing attack but can also block in the run game. He could be a Swiss Army Knife-like player for Yost and the Red Raiders. Brandon Bouyer-Randle will be an impact player for the Red Raiders as they look to replace leading tackler Jordyn Brooks. Bouyer-Randle comes in from Michigan State where he was limited by injuries as a junior. Defensive coordinator Keith Patterson (pictured, left) had high praise for Bouyer-Randle saying he moves as good as Brooks on the field. Patterson likes Bouyer-Randle’s ability to affect opposing quarterbacks as well. Linebacker Krishon Merriweather, like Bouyer-Randle, was added to help the second level of the Texas Tech defense. Merriweather led junior college football in tackles last season at Garden City Community College. Jacob Morgenstern will also supplement Texas Tech’s linebacker depth chart, but his greatest impact may be on special teams as the former Duke Blue Devil was one of the top-rated special teams players in the country last year. Morgen-

Krishon Merriweather

Eric Monroe

stern initially committed as a transfer to Kent State before ultimately flipping to Texas Tech, where he will reunite with co-defensive coordinator, and former Duke coach, Derek Jones. Unlike most of his fellow newcomers, Cameron Watts was able to visit Texas Tech before making his decision. He attended one of the Red Raiders’ spring practice sessions in early March, before the coronavirus pandemic hit. Watts, a cornerback, was frequently used as a blitzer at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M, and he fits well into Patterson’s aggressive defensive scheme. Cam White, an addition from Northwest Mississippi Community College, excels at stopping the run from the safety position. He had offers from Ole Miss and Alabama coming out of high school, and chose Texas Tech over TCU and Memphis during his junior college recruitment. Defensive back Kyan Brumfield, a walk-on transfer with two years of eligibility remaining, transferred to Texas Tech from Colgate where he was a key member of the Raiders’ special teams units. Brumfield has a unique connection to Wells as his father, Ricky, played at Utah State at the same time as Wells. Safety Eric Monroe joins the Red Raiders after helping LSU win a national championship. The former four-star safety from North Shore High School, Monroe will have one year of eligibility in Lubbock. “He’s coming from LSU so he brings a swagger and a confidence, which is what we need in the back end,” Patterson said.

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