Red Raider Sports Magazine-January 22 by Red Raider Club

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RedRaiderSports.com is a publication of TRI Productions Volume 27 Issue 3 Managing Editor Aaron Dickens

Cover Photo Artie Limmer

Photographers Elise Bressler

Brandon Brieger Elizabeth Hertel

Norvelle Kennedy Artie Limmer

Michaela Schumacher Michael Strong

Writers Wes Bloomquist

Terry Greenberg Randy Rosetta

Ben Gola Al Pickett

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. ©2022 TRI Productions. All Rights Reserved.

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FUTURE PLANS by TERRY GREENBERG

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When people look at Cody Campbell, some see a former Red Raider and NFL lineman, said Texas Tech President Lawrence Schovanec. Others may see a Texas Tech University System Regent. “But what I see is a National Merit Semifinalist. Cody was a superb student and you see where that can take you in life,” said Schovanec. It’s taken Campbell to an extremely successful career. He’s sharing that success with a record $25 million lead gift for the South End Zone project to include a new version of the iconic Double T scoreboard. The donation will be recognized on the turf Campbell played on from 2001 to 2004 – Cody Campbell Field at Jones AT&T Stadium. Campbell graduated with honors and three degrees – bachelor’s in finance and economics and a master’s in economics. “Coming here and the lessons I learned as I developed as a person – work ethic, toughness – has benefitted me tremendously in my personal life, my family and business life. I use those lessons every day. I want to give back because it was so big for me,” said Campbell at an event in the North End Zone building Dec. 2 announcing the gift. Along with former Red Raider teammate John Sellers, Campbell – who turned 40 in September – has done well in the energy industry. A few years ago, the pair sold 71,000 acres of Permian Basin mineral rights for $2.8 billion, making them two of the richest Texans under 40. Then they started another company and sold for it for $6.4 billion to Pioneer Natural Resources. Now they’re starting over again. “You run them as if you’ll run them forever, but people tend to want to buy them,” said Campbell. Director of Athletics Kirby Hocutt and new head football coach Joey McGuire also spoke at the event along with Schovanec. McGuire fired up the crowd with a few Raider Power chants before his remarks. Schovanec got a laugh following McGuire, saying, “Don’t ever make me follow

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Coach McGuire again. It’s hard.” Capped by Campbell’s gift, it’s been an exciting few months for the Red Raider football program. “The incredible energy and enthusiasm surrounding our football program ... has been exciting for all of us,” said Hocutt, adding its filtered through the community and university. McGuire’s hearing it beyond Lubbock. “Everywhere I’ve been going over the last two weeks, the Red Raider Nation is so fired up,” said McGuire, whose recruiting efforts have already improved Texas Tech’s rankings with media covering recruiting. Campbell’s lead gift reset the record for a single gift to Athletics. He acknowledged fellow Regent Womble at the event, saying he still hopes to catch up to Womble’s total giving. And more donors have stepped up to follow Womble’s gift with more than $35 million raised toward the Womble Center which has a total price of $45-50 million. “Our donors and fans keep stepping up in record ways across all our sports, not just football. But there is a lot of excitement around the football program,” said Andrea Tirey, Senior Associate Athletics Director/ Development. A Family History Campbell is a fourth-generation Red Raider who grew up in Canyon and now lives in Fort Worth. His dad Cliff was a Red Raider offensive lineman in the 1970s, his brother played baseball for Tech, his wife, mom and grandmother all went to Tech. Then there’s his great-grandfather, Boyd Vick, part of Tech’s first class in 1925 who also played football. Vick lived to 101 and one his grandsons, Paul Foster, donated $50 million in 2007 to help create the Paul L. Foster School of Medicine at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in El Paso. So – doing the math – a man from Tech’s first class had progeny who have now given $75 million to Texas Tech.

And Campbell’s son Carson wants to play football like his dad and granddad. Meaningful Contributions Campbell is honored to have his name on the field. “As a former player it’s really meaningful. I can’t play anymore; my eligibility is exhausted and so is my body. But the guys playing now are my brothers. There’s a special bond with folks who played Texas Tech football and I can be out there with them in a way,” he said. Campbell was asked if he felt it fitting an offensive lineman’s name would be on the field considering linemen do not get the recognition other positions receive. It certainly doesn’t fit the linemen mentality of not looking for recognition, he said. “But it does speak for the guys who don’t get spoken for. Linemen don’t get their number retired. But as much recognition as the big names get, games are won in the trenches,” he said. Campbell was part of an offensive line protecting Red Raider quarterback Kliff Kingsbury. He communicates with his former teammates – including Wes Welker – almost every day. And he’s “extremely happy” to see how successful Kingsbury’s been leading the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals. Campbell sees his donation as an investment. “When I first started making some money, a really smart guy sat me down and said, ‘when you’re thinking about charitable giving, you need to think about it like a business deal, like an investment,” he told the Dec. 2 audience. Make sure the gift yields a return, he was advised. “So I took a look at the Texas Tech football program. This is a pivotal time. I’m looking at the commitment the administration has made to this program,” he said, in terms of operational and facilities budgets. The South End Zone project will start once the Womble Center is done, which Tech plans to have ready for the 2023 season.

Campbell pointed out some things Tech hopes to include in the South End Zone project. “The game-day locker rooms are not in great shape. We’d like to have a space to host recruits,” he said, adding other schools have done that. More suites, gathering places for fans and students have been discussed. “It’ll be done in a first-class way. They have a great team working on it,” said Campbell. The board of the new Red Raider Facility Foundation will interview potential architects for the Womble Center and South End Zone. Former Tech Regent Chris Huckabee, CEO of Huckabee Architecture, Engineering and Program Management, a firm specializing in educational design, is chairing the board. He’s made it clear he’d only do so if the Double T remains part of the project. “It makes me feel really good about it,” said Campbell of Huckabee’s involvement. Campbell said recently joining the Texas Tech University System Board of Regents didn’t change his ideas of philanthropy, but it does allow him more access to the South End Zone process. “That encouraged me to lean in a little more,” he said.

warm up to him. But he’s endeared himself to the fan base. He’s charismatic and gets people behind him. I think he and his wife Debbie are a great fit in Lubbock. I couldn’t be happier,” he said. Momentum McGuire thanked Campbell and Womble at the Dec. 2 event. “I think today is going to help us keep that momentum going,” he said. Schovanec said gifts like these are transformational. “Throughout its 100 years, Texas Tech has followed a very steady path of progress. But there are singular events like what we celebrate today that dramatically accelerate the progress and the trajectory of the university. What distinguishes one great university from another institution are gifts from extraordinary people, people who provide more than finan-

cial support, but their wisdom, their passion and their leadership,” he said, pointing out the Edward E. Whitacre Jr. College of Engineering, the Rawls College of Business, the J.T. and Margaret Talkington College of Visual and Performing Arts. “And today, we celebrate in another way, a very significant gift that accelerates the reputation and brand of Texas Tech,” he said. Hocutt talked about sitting with Campbell and Womble at a lunch before the announcement. “We were talking about how things are going to change in the coming years. The Big 12 conference is going to evolve, the college football playoff is going to evolve. Our goal is to be a part of that evolving landscape and be at the top of the Big 12 conference, to be relevant nationally and be a participant in the college football playoff,” he said. “We’re not going to shy away from those expectations,” he said, thanking donors and fans for helping fund facilities in the Campaign for Fearless Champions.

It Factor Campbell also feels good about McGuire and was part of the committee who vetted candidates. McGuire had the qualifications and impressed decision makers on how he’d approach the job, said Campbell. “Texas Tech is a unique place. Our West Texas location provides challenges and strengths and he had that integrated into his plan. It was well thought out,” said Campbell. “He also has that ‘it’ factor,” he said, adding the Red Raider Nation is optimistic after being around McGuire’s passion and seeing the immediate improvement in recruiting. “But the thing that’s impressed me the most is how he’s done in the community. I thought it would take a while for people to

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Before a raucous early season crowd at the United Supermarkets Arena, a shorthanded 25th ranked Texas Tech basketball team led nearly wire to wire in a 75-67 win over then No. 6 Kansas. Tech led by eight at the half and by as many as 14 in the second half on the way to the program’s 26th win over a top-10 opponent in program history. The win propelled Tech to No. 19 in the AP poll.

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ERG by TERRY GREENB

Joey McGuire’s recruiting skills started years ago on an intramural field at the University of Texas at Arlington. He saw a beautiful woman with blonde hair and asked a friend who she was. “That’s Debbie Nied,” Joey was told. “She’s gorgeous,” said Joey. “She’s got a boyfriend and I think they’re pretty serious,” the friend advised. “Give me three weeks and she’s not going to have a boyfriend anymore,” said Joey. A few decades later, Joey’s moving to Lubbock with his wife Debbie. “I started recruiting back then. She’ll tell you I chased her. I was writing notes on her car,” he said. 14

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The couple sat down – Joey taking a short break from building his football staff and recruiting future Red Raiders – to chat about their family’s journey from that intramural field to high school state titles to Baylor and now Texas Tech’s 17th football Head Coach. They enjoy teasing each other as he continued the story of wooing Debbie. “She was dating a Pike and I was a Kappa Sig,” said Joey. “You’re going to go there?” said Debbie. “I am,” he responded. Joey successfully recruited Debbie, but it took a while before the verbal commitment. “I thought he was obnoxious. He was very loud,” she said. “I might have said ‘let’s gooooooo!’ a lot even back then,” said her husband. “He was very cocky,” said Debbie. “I would agree with that statement,” said Joey, smiling. Teddy Bear They got to know each other. “He was fun and happy all the time – even back then,” she added. Family built the bond. Joey asked Debbie to help babysit his twin nephews. “When I got there, he had a teddy bear and a card,” she said. “I still have that teddy bear.” “I could tell early on he was all about family,” said Debbie, adding Joey liked being around her siblings, even bringing them along to movies. “Her dad’s one of my best friends,” said Joey, saying they share a love of sports. Shortly after meeting Debbie, Joey asked his dad, “how did you know Mom was the one?” “You just feel it like you know,” his dad told him. “Well, I’ve already met her. I can’t wait for you to meet her. You’re going to love her,” Joey remembers saying. But when it was time to propose, it didn’t go exactly how Joey drew up the play. He asked Debbie to go for a walk in the park. She said no. He thought about waiting ‘til the next day but couldn’t. “I just got down on one knee and asked

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her to marry me,” said Joey. “I had my retainer in and he was in sweats,” said Debbie. “But it was very sweet and he was very, very excited. He can’t keep a secret when it comes to giving presents. He wants to give it right then.” “She’ll tell you on Christmas morning I tried to get the kids up early whenever they were little,” he said. “Who wakes the kids? Joey would start making noise. Who does that? They get up early enough,” said Debbie. Kids The McGuires have a Red Raider daughter, Raegan and a Baylor Bear son, Garrett. Raegan studied in Tech’s Apparel Design and Manufacturing program and is now a designer in New York. She learned to sew from her great-grandmother and started designing her own clothes, like her eighth-grade dance dress. She’d repair her dad’s ripped coaching clothes. Raegan joined Zeta Tau Alpha at Tech, her mom’s sorority at Arlington. And she’s had fun on Twitter since her dad was picked to lead her alma mater’s football team. Raegan posted a photo of her mom with two loaded carts outside a Lubbock Walmart. The text said: “Moving my parents into college from the same Walmart they moved me in back in 2014. They grow up so fast. WRECK ‘EM” Garrett played for his dad at Cedar Hill High School and then played at Baylor when Joey was on Matt Rhule’s and then Dave Aranda’s coaching staffs. Garrett – still in his early 20s – followed Rhule to the NFL’s Carolina Panthers where he’s a coaching assistant. Joey calls Garrett his best friend and it’s the first time they’ve been away from each other. “So that’s been hard, but we talk every day,” said Joey. Some of that talk is about coaching football. “I love to hear his ideas. I really value his opinion. He’s eaten up with it. It’s 24/7 with the kid. He’s gonna be a really good football coach,” said Garrett’s dad.

Legends Joey’s mom was from Hooks and his dad was from Tyler – towns famous for Texas running backs Billy Sims and Earl Campbell. “We went and watched them play,” said Joey, including every game during Sims’ senior year. “I wanted to be like Billy Sims, one of the greatest players of all time.” Sims went to Oklahoma and then played in the NFL until a knee injury ended his pro career. Joey started playing football for his dad in fifth grade and was a linebacker in an all-star game back then. “A big defensive lineman says, ‘I’m fixing to cause a fumble and you need to recover it.’ Sure enough he caused the fumble and I recovered it. I think I recovered it because I was more scared of him than anything,” he said. At Crowley High School, Joey won AllDistrict honors as a linebacker and offensive guard. He went to UT Arlington – which didn’t have a football program – majoring in exercise and sports studies. “Kinesiology,” he said. Joey felt he wanted to be a coach, but also considered a medical career before deciding to focus on coaching. Debbie’s degree was in marketing and communications and ended up working with her dad with his auto-related business. Linked Joey’s link to Texas Tech goes back to the 1990s when his best friend, Roger Corn – who’s since passed away – played tight end for Spike Dykes. “I would come out here and catch two or three games a year. In the spring and summer I’d come out here and hang out with him,” he said. Then Joey’s sister and two of his brothers-in-law attended Tech along with a nephew who played for the Red Raiders. “We’ve made the drive down I-20 out here a lot,” he said. When the McGuires moved Raegan to campus, Joey and son Garrett went over to watch football practice. “I knew Coach (Kliff) Kingsbury and Coach (Eric) Morris. After practice we went to

the office and introduced Garrett to Kliff. Garrett looks at him and said, ‘they call me the Kliff Kingsbury of my generation,’” said Joey. “Kliff is such a great offensive mind and I think Garrett is too,” said Joey. Joey also asked Morris if Raegan could have his contact information in case of emergencies. Morris said yes. Raegan got in a car wreck a few years later. She wasn’t seriously injured but shook up. Joey called Morris and Jack Richards, a Tech grad whose son played for Tech and lived in the area. “They said they’d take care of it,” said Joey, which deepened his respect for folks on the South Plains.

Charlie Dog Raegan was living in Tech Terrace during part of her time in Lubbock and somebody broke into her house. She asked her folks if she could have a dog. Debbie told Raegan to ask her dad. “Our only dog was 16 years old and dying of cancer. I passed the buck to dad,” said Debbie. “I’m gonna say yes to whatever my baby girl asks,” said Raegan’s dad. The McGuires got Charlie Dog from a breeder in Lubbock. He’s a Blue Lacy, a breed originating in Texas in the 1800s. Charlie Dog weighs about 80 pounds. “We’ve only ever had small, tiny dogs,”

said Debbie. “He’s an 80-pound lap dog,” said Joey. “He really does think he’s a lap dog – especially if we’re sitting next to each other he’ll get wrapped up in between us.” Debbie was not a Charlie fan in the beginning and Joey teased his wife about her conspiracy theory, saying Debbie wondered if Raegan had somebody knock down the door to help build her canine case. Debbie said Raegan had been asking for a dog long before the incident. Debbie was not a Charlie Dog fan at first. “But now I love that dog. I didn’t want a big dog, but I cannot wait to have that dog here. I cried when I left him last week,” she said.

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and linebackers then next two years – the last of those two was interrupted by Joey taking the job at Texas Tech. His former Baylor team went on to win the Big 12 Championship game.

The McGuires are house hunting in Lubbock but Charlie Dog is still in their Cedar Hill home. Mom and dad inherited Charlie Dog when Raegan moved to NYC. “Yeah, he can’t go to New York,” said Joey. When the McGuires went back home recently while Joey’s been around Texas recruiting, Raegan posted a video on social media of her dad getting on the floor with Charlie Dog. The accompanying text: “When you haven’t seen your bestie since you became a Red Raider! Petition to get Charlie Dog to the 806!” College Calling By the time Raegan was at Tech, Joey was well into his career leading Cedar Hill High School to three state titles. He still liked coming to Tech games when he could and it crossed his mind it would be a great place to coach. “I liked the passion of the fans and everything. This would be an incredible place to be,” he said. As Joey’s reputation grew, college head

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coaches started reaching out, asking him to join their staffs. He turned down Charlie Strong at Texas so he could coach Garrett at Cedar Hill. After Garrett’s senior year, he started setting up interviews with college programs. He connected with Baylor’s Matt Rhule and canceled the other interviews. “I fell in love with his vision. We’re different where we’ve grown up – him from New York and me from Texas, but as far as our philosophy of how you treat kids, develop programs and toughness,” Joey wanted to work for Rhule. Debbie still didn’t think he’d leave Cedar Hill. But Joey told her if Rhule offered him the job he was taking it. She asked why. “I said you’re just going to love him,” said Joey. “And he and his wife are some of our very best friends now,” said Debbie. “She has been very helpful to me through this process.” Joey coached tight ends his first season at Baylor, then became Assistant Head Coach in charge of the defensive line the next year

Something Special When Joey was named the new Tech coach, he heard congratulations from many people. But his heart was touched hearing from best friend Roger Corn’s wife, son, sister, brother and mom. “They said he would be really proud you’re here now and that means the world to me,” said Joey, getting emotional. The McGuire’s love of family drives Joey’s approach to building a team. “I’m talking to different people staff wise and whenever they’ve talking about their family and their kids being around that’s what I want. I want your kids up here. I want our players to see those relationships,” he said. Many players have great families – but not all, he said. “I want them to see what a healthy relationship looks like when it comes to husbands and wives, kids and their dads, kids and their moms,” he said. The players become part of that family. He tells parents during recruiting to call up any Cedar Hill or Baylor roster and pick a random player. “We will get that kid on the phone. You ask them anything you want to ask about me. It’s not set up. You just pick anybody ... we’ll get them on the phone. We’ll get their parents on the phone. You can ask who I am and how much I’m going to care about your son,” he said. When Joey took over at Cedar Hill an article was written about McGuire’s emphasis on love and if could work. “This is this 31-year-old guy and it’s the world of football and toughness and all he talks about is loving each other,” McGuire quoted the article saying. Love can be kindness but it can also be tough love, he tells parents. “I love you so much I’m not gonna let you do that,” he said. Love brought a team closer, he believed

and state titles were the validation. “No matter what you did offensively, defensively and special teams, you were just going to be better. You were just going to be playing harder for the guy next to you, playing harder for that coach and the coach was coaching harder for their players,” he said. When Joey was interviewed for the Tech job he asked the committee to think about the one person they didn’t want to disappoint in their life. “That’s the magic you’re trying to create. Everybody in the building feels that way,” he said. Debbie saw it at Cedar Hill. “He was a father figure to so many of those kids in high school and they wanted to win for him. He does genuinely love the kids,” she said. Part of the reason Debbie never thought he’d leave Cedar Hill is Joey had the culture the way he wanted it. Which is what he’s already starting at Tech. “We’re here to build something special,” said Joey. “I get somewhere and I want to be there, make it the best place in the world for everybody involved.” “We’ll have a very close staff. This will be a family and they’ll all be in one mindset as far as how we treat the kids. I’ve had young coaches who look at me like I’m crazy because they’ve never been part of something like it and it doesn’t take them very long for them to see how fast you need to get part of it because it’s that magic,” he said.

they got a town house. “It’s not that we didn’t want to be there, it was close and I didn’t want to sell my house because I knew Joey was going to get his shot at a head coaching job,” said Debbie. Debbie’s looking forward to getting through the move and have things slow down. “I want to get settled, get plugged in. Get to know the (coaching staff) wives,” she said. Many have young families. “I want them to know I get it. I’ve been there with the baby on the hip and holding onto the other,” she said. “I’m also excited to see Joey on the sidelines,” said Debbie. “Those poor referees.

And somebody needs to tell Kirby he needs to get bubble wrap around the headset.” “I’ve not done that in a while,” Joey said. “Well, you haven’t been at the helm,” his wife answered. “The last one was in 2016, but it was like ten years before that breaking a headset,” he said. “Maybe they have heavy duty headsets here,” said Debbie. Then she reiterated something Joey said at his introductory press conference. “I do hope, like Joey said at the press conference, we die here,” she said. “No time soon,” shot back her husband.

Excited Debbie is pleasantly surprised at the excitement she’s found in Lubbock. “I have been shocked at how excited everyone is in this town,” she said. “It seems like such a big, big city but once you get here it’s such a tight community.” She’s leaving what’s been her tight community. “We’re going to sell our house. We’ve been in the same house for 21 years and my parents live right down the street,” said Debbie. When Joey took the job at Baylor, they were only an hour and a half from Waco, so RedRaiderSports.com

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Q & A

New Texas Tech head football coach Joey McGuire sat down with Red Raider Sports Magazine’s Chris Level and recapped his time in Lubbock and looked ahead to what the next few months will have in store.

RRS

At what point in your life did becoming a head coach of a high school or college team become the goal for you?

COACH MCGUIRE

You know, it was really early during my first year of coaching. This is going to sound crazy, but I was the head freshman baseball coach in Crowley, Texas. Having my own team and being able to control practice and how we practiced, everything like that. I just fell in love with it. Really after that first year, everything I did was to become a head high school coach. I was able to do that but in 2016 it was time for a change. I wanted to take a shot at being a college coach and I had opportunities from 2006 to 2016 to do so, but I wanted to finish with my son and daughter and their career and thought that was really important In 2016, when I made to move, I really felt like it was a great partnership with Matt Rhule because he recognized really fast that I wanted to be a head coach at this level. Having a mentor like him recognize that and pour into me for the three years we were together the differences between a high school coach and a college coach. He was able to bridge the gap and help me get into the position I’m in today.

I talk to him every single day. Sometimes it’s just talking to him about life because we’re good friends, but I promise you, he’s asking me as many questions as I’m asking him. We talk about what’s going on there and what’s going on here and how we’re both building our programs.

RRS

Were you surprised when Matt Rhule decided to go to the NFL?

COACH MCGUIRE

I wasn’t surprised at all and it kind of directed my path a little differently. I felt like that what his goal was and that’s what he wanted to do. He had the opportunity in 2017, ’18 and ’19 to do it and 2019 just worked out as the perfect situation, so it didn’t surprise me at all. I think that was his goal and what he really wanted to do.

RRS

What did you learn from your meetings with all the players on the roster when you arrived?

COACH MCGUIRE

Now that this is your show as a head coach, is Matt Rhule the one person that you’ll glean from the most or is it a combination of people?

Well, I knew a lot of them just from being in college the last three years. Myles Price, had a great relationship with him, and Caleb Rogers, another great relationship. I tell every kid, ‘I’m not asking for a chance, I’m just asking for you to be open-minded and let me show you who I am and what we’re going to do.’ If you do that, I think at the end of the day we’ll all be in a really good spot, so that’s kind of been the message. They’ve been really great. We’ve got a healthy team, we’ve got a good team, and I think they really care about each other. You can see that in the conversations, and I think there’s going to be some things we can do that are going to be special in the next coming years.

COACH MCGUIRE

RRS

It’s a combination of people. I worked for a great man in Robert Woods who’s in the Texas High School Hall of Fame and won a state championship as a head coach at Wilmer Hutchins. The guy called the offense and the defense, it was pretty incredible. Sam Harrell is one of my mentors. Mike Copeland, who was the head coach at Stephenville after coach (Art) Briles. Kiff Hardin, who is the head coach at Rowlett, but again, the guy who helped me bridge the gap between high school and college was coach Rhule and

What are you looking for and what have you seen from watching the team practice?

COACH MCGUIRE

Body language when things are going good and things are going bad. The tempo of practice is really big to me. There’re some things I’ve done in practice as a head coach that I’ve changed and being with coach Rhule and coach (Dave) Aranda and watching them practice there are some things I would change.

There’s going to be some give and take there, but I always want to make sure that there’s a lot of energy in practice and how we decide to get to that moment will be a collective effort. I want the players to have a say, but one they’ll hear is, ‘When we go, we go.’ As much as you want to have fun, football is a very physical, grinding game, so there are times to strain and grind and that’s not the time to dance and all that stuff. It’s a time to get serious, and we’ve got the figure out that balance. There’s going to be some things they’re probably not used to and there’s going to be some things that I’ll explain why we do it this way. Then there’s going to be some things because I’ve done it other ways, that I’ll be able to modify and adjust for them so we can come to a really good balance but when we go, we go. When it’s time to work and put in the work, then we’ve got to be willing to do that. That will be the single-minded effort for what we have going on.

RRS

What was the dynamic and thought process behind the hiring of your offensive and defensive coordinators?

COACH MCGUIRE

Putting a staff together at Cedar Hill was a lot like putting a staff together here from the standpoint of that we had a young staff, but I always made sure we had some guys with experience. It didn’t necessarily have to be coordinators or anything like that. I had a head coach that was on that staff with me at Cedar Hill, Calvin Ruzicka. He was a couple of years older than me, but he had been a head coach and I wanted that experience. That’s the great thing about coach (Tim) DeRuyter, he’s been a head coach, so that’s going to help me tremendously. I’ve known him for a long time and had so much respect for him and everywhere he’s been they’ve played good defense, so that was important. Then Zach (Harrell) is one of the brightest young coaches in football today. Getting to know him and during the interview we sat down and talked, and I had a bunch of questions for him. The one thing I wanted to do, really on both sides of the ball was to be able to establish what our identity is going to be when we put all these pieces together. Having both of them explain me what they wanted to do and how we can do it together RedRaiderSports.com

made it really easy. Knowing Tim, that was a little easier from the standpoint of having a lot of history and game film to verify exactly who he is. With Zach, he was able to do it at two different places and did it a little bit different both times.

RRS

Do both coaches plan on adapting their schemes to players currently on the roster?

COACH MCGUIRE

No doubt and the number one thing about Zach in his interview that made me just fall in love with we are going to be able to do was that right there. He comes out right off the bat and goes, ‘Coach, I know I have this label on me about who I am, but who I am as an offensive coordinator is someone who wants to get the best personnel on the field. I don’t believe if I have the best tight end in the country that he should standing next to me so we can put in a fourth or fifth receiver. He showed me what they did at Houston Baptist when they had two good running backs and they ran 20 personnel a lot. Then he showed me the beginning of this season when Western Kentucky ran 11 and 12 personnel a lot but when both tight ends got hurt, he wouldn’t put in the third tight end just to stay in certain personnel. I take this as a badge of honor because that’s what high school coaches have to do every single year. They have to adapt and adjust, so whenever he was saying that it fell right into my wheelhouse because that’s what you have to do in high school. If you want to win, you have to get your best players on the field. If it’s a year where you have two really good tailbacks, then that’s who you run with. Him showing me he could do that was a big reason why he’s here. You go back and look, and I was watching a bunch of Oregon film as I was going through and getting ready to talk to (DeRuyter), and he’s primarily been in a lot of odd fronts. You watch the Oregon stuff and he’s basically been four down with two edge rushers. They were more outside linebacker/defensive end type of guys, but he had more of a traditional fourdown approach with two big guys and a lot of fast guys. I think that’s what’s great about both coordinators, is their ability to adapt to their personnel early but then we’re going to recruit our tails off to get the right personnel in here to really fit what we’re trying to do. 22

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RRS

What did you see as kind of an outside observer of this program since being named the head coach?

COACH MCGUIRE

Going back to somebody I just respect, and I’m so proud for him to be the new head coach at Louisiana Tech, but what I saw was a guy that inspired a football team. Everybody I talked to said when Sonny Cumbie became that guy, it automatically flipped the energy in the program. I named Sonny my OC after spending two weeks watching him interact with the players and it inspired me. I think that’s what you have to do. You have to come in and breathe life into a program and I think that’s what he did. Seeing him do that really fired me up. I saw a passionate team that really played hard for each other. I thought the Iowa State game was just incredible how hard they played. I knew the next game would be tough because we had already played Oklahoma State, and I knew how good they were on defense. This team never gave up though and defensively that was probably one of our better games of the entire year. We have a really good core group to work with and they want to be good. We’re a team that has a lot to work with.

RRS

What is your philosophy on the transfer portal?

COACH MCGUIRE

I know you can go around the nation and find people succeeding in different ways, but I want to build this team to where we are building it with high school football players. If we have to go outside of that it’s because we have a need. I know we all want to win right now, but if you really want to win and want to sustain winning, which is one of the harder things to do, then you have to build a culture. It’s harder to build a culture when your team is predominantly made up of one-year transfers or guys that are bouncing around for whatever reason, so we want to build with guys at the high school level. Grad transfers to me are totally different because they are grown men. They have finished their degree, whether it’s been three or four years, they have finished their degree, so

they have a totally different mindset for why they are coming to Texas Tech. Maybe they’ve come to play a different brand of football or a different level for football. For a grad transfer, I don’t care where they’re from because they are grown men. A true transfer, we had one grad transfer of the three but the other two are Texas guys. One went up North and wants to come back home to Texas and the other one it didn’t exactly work out where he was at, but they’re Texas guys, so they kind of understand the culture. Football in Texas is a little different, and I want guys that come from programs who understand that in Texas, football is a way of life. Getting those guys in here is really important. If it’s a kid that’s not from Texas, we may look for guys we’ve had previous relationships with through recruiting or maybe a coach recruited a kid at a different place. Maybe he’s from somewhere else, but if he can come in and fit into our culture then those are guys that we want to be a part of this team.

RRS

Do you concern yourself with college football playoff expansion at all and how closely have you followed realignment?

COACH MCGUIRE

I do and I’m really excited that Cincinnati gets to play in that game. It’s funny how different coaches have bounced back and forth on what it takes to get in that game. Whether you win your conference or if you didn’t win your conference but try to make the statement that you’re in a really tough conference, so you deserve to be in that game. My deal with expansion is and whatever we end doing with the conferences, I do think the conference champion should be in that game, so you’re probably going to have to expand it. I think it’s important that if you win your conference, you should be in that game and then you have to factor in the at-large bids and everything like that. I’m really excited Cincinnati is in that game, and they deserve to be in that game. “I can’t wait for Cincinnati to join the Big 12. That’s a great program and they do an incredible job. It’s going to be really exciting football and a lot of fun with the new Big 12. You talk about traveling now, BYU when we played them at Baylor earlier this year had just as many fans present as UT did in McLane Stadium.

CONGRATULATIONS

TEXAS TECH STUDENT-ATHLETES!

consecutive terms of

3.0+ term gpa

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Riding the coaching

CAROUSEL by RANDY ROSETTA

The key thing about a carousel that isn’t slowing down any time soon is knowing when the best time is to jump off. Consider Texas Tech’s search committee for a new football coach a trendsetter in that department in this latest merry-go-round of movement in the coaching ranks. Kudos to a few off-the-radar schools for knowing the right time to jump on when things seem to be slowing down and reportedly getting their coach just like the Red Raiders did. Sometime soon, the national networks/ web sites will start churning out their analyses of who “won” the recent coaching carousel – always thought that was a silly exercise, this time of year is sort of like recruiting because every program considers its coaching search as successful. Is anybody ever going to come out and seem tepidly lukewarm about the man they just tabbed to take over their program? There promises to be plenty of “Team X hit a home run,” or “Team Y really beat the pack,” etc. What is likely to happen with Texas Tech’s hiring of Joey McGuire is that it won’t move the needle much in the national media because, fairly or not, the Red Raiders aren’t a sexy name nationally. McGuire and the Red Raiders will be an afterthought because they will be too busy gushing about Lincoln Riley to USC and Brian Kelly to LSU and there aren’t a lot of places where it makes perfect sense to hire a man whose most extensive experience is at the high school level. That may be exactly what McGuire and Texas Tech could use right now as the new

coach and his staff work behind the scenes to build a head of steam at the same time they re-establish the attitude the best Red Raiders teams have been known for. Pump-jack mentality, anyone? It’s already begun with the way McGuire has redirected recruiting, especially at the local grassroots level. Names like Isaiah Crawford, Kaden Carr and John Curry might get not cause much of a stir on recruiting radars for some of the bigger programs, but those are massive additions for Texas Tech as McGuire and Co. look to refortify a fence around West Texas that was showing some wear-and-tear. Playing with an edge – that perpetual chip-onthe-shoulder approach – has always seemed to be what works best for Texas Tech, so the thought of being brushed aside or glossed over quickly as national pundits ooze with excitement about the happenings in L.A., Baton Rouge, Gainesville, South Bend and Norman should be welcome fodder. More importantly, what all the dismissive attention verifies is that Kirby Hocutt and the committee found the exact right man to take over a program that flashes potential but has floundered for a while. Let McGuire and his crew lay in the weeds for a while until they jump up and bite the bigger names a few times. It’s easy to understand Riley bolting Oklahoma for USC and Kelly leaving Notre Dame for LSU. First, the money involved is completely impossible to ignore. More than that, most coaches crave the next big challenge

and there aren’t any bigger reclamation proj-

ects in the country right now than USC and LSU, with Florida a close third. Both guys had gotten their programs about as far as they could go, and many coaches who didn’t strike while the iron was hot – stayed in a job because they had been successful, then lost it a few years later when things went south. What Tech landed in McGuire is the opposite: The Red Raiders snared a passionate man hungry to prove that he belongs at the big table and has the right personality to breathe new life into a program with untapped potential, at least of late. The fit is much better with McGuire and Texas Tech than it is with Muleshoe-born Riley and the bright lights of L.A. or the sometimes prickly Kelly and the laissez le bon temps rouler crowd in Baton Rouge. Fans and media there will embrace a new coach, but it he or she isn’t warm-and-fuzzy at some level, the relationship gets contentious very quickly. Not to say Riley and Kelly won’t have success. Their track records are impeccable, so it won’t surprise at all. But it just seems like McGuire, with his enthusiasm, ties to Texas high schools and perfect-for-West Texas personality has an immediate leg up on those guys as they make their transitions. Which won’t get looked at it quite the same way at the national level. But here, where it matters to Texas Tech fans most, the hire represents a perfect spin on the carousel whether it gets much national publicity or not. RedRaiderSports.com

Keeping Sonny Cumbie would’ve been a boon for new Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire. He would have represented a bridge to the current players, maintained relationships with the quarterbacks – at least three who seem likely to return – and kept a West Texas face to represent the program. Losing Cumbie to a head-coaching job is obviously big for him but can also turn out to be a positive for the Red Raiders, with new offensive coordinator Zach Kittley – fresh off of coordinating one of the most statistically impressive offenses in recent memory – coming in hungry to prove himself at the Power Five level. First things, first, there seems to be a genuinely strong bond between Cumbie and McGuire. Compare this exit to when Art Briles left the Red Raider fold for Houston, his never seemed like a comfortable marriage with Mike Leach – it seemed more like Briles was foisted on the Pirate more than the head coach wanting to hire a popular Texas high school coach. Something similar unfolded at LSU when Les Miles was more-or-less ordered to keep Jimbo Fisher as his offensive coordinator. That worked for a while, but Fisher jumped at a chance to leave for a similar post at Florida State. That uneasiness just doesn’t seem to be at the core of this move at all. First of all, there seems to be a bond between McGuire and Cumbie. And as a defensive-minded coach most of his career, it made a lot of sense for McGuire to count on the existing OC – not to mention the guy that Kirby Hocutt trusted to guide the program through some choppy waters as the interim coach – as he got comfortable in the shoes of being a college head coach for the first time. This is all about Cumbie getting a chance he has dreamed of and prepared for, which included a long apprenticeship at TCU. Not all coaches strive to be a head coach. Not all coaches are meant to be head coaches. There are tons of examples of that. What the

last month of Texas Tech’s season proved is that leading a program is something that Cumbie wants to do and is ready for. You can point to the dips of the last five games if you prefer but getting a team to bounce back after losses the way Cumbie did – that’s what head coaches have to be able to do. And he did so first with the word “interim” hovering like a bad hangover. Then, after McGuire was hired, he had to transition from uncertainty to auditioning for a job in the blink of an eye and he did it well. Folks at Louisiana Tech noticed – and former Bulldogs’ coach Sonny Dykes likely put in a good word for his former player and friend – and when Skip Holtz pulled the plug on his tenure, it’s hard to fathom that Cumbie wasn’t high on the athletic director’s call list. The same was likely true at Louisiana-Lafayette and would have been at North Texas, Texas State and UTSA if those jobs had opened up. Because Cumbie showed the college football world something by keeping the Red Raiders from completely unravelling in his role as the interim head coach. And with the glaring exception of the struggle against Oklahoma State, he also coordinated an offense that navigated a quarterback switch to a redshirt freshman who grew into the role quite nicely. Cumbie had to juggle those roles, as well as the emotions of an emotionally wounded team – players, assistant coaches, support personnel and all – and found a way to get Texas Tech to a bowl game for the first time since 2017. Consider as well that Cumbie is 40 year old, so waiting a whole lot longer to become a head coach could have been risky. McGuire is a bit of a unicorn – landing a Power Five head-coaching position without a stop at a lower rung on the career ladder. But most coaches have to find a place for an intermediate step and Louisiana Tech is a perfect place for Cumbie to do so. Cumbie saw his chance and jumped at it – and good for him and Louisiana Tech for seeing a connection that made perfect sense.

OPPORTUN RedRaiderSports.com

NITY

by RANDY ROSETTA RedRaiderSports.com

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It was a made for television matchup as the Texas Tech football team faced off against former coach Mike Leach’s Mississippi State Bulldogs in the Liberty Bowl in late December. But any potential drama was negated by a dominant offensive and defensive performance by the Red Raider’s in a 34-7 dismantling of their SEC opponent. Tech led 13-7 at the half and never looked back to finish the season 7-6 and giving interim head coach Sonny Cumbie a going away present. Freshman quarterback Donovan Smith threw for 252 yards and was responsible for a couple of touchdowns earning the game MVP award. The Red Raiders now turn their attention towards 2022 under new coach Joey McGuire.

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RECRUITING

NOTEBOOK HUT GRAHAM

KADEN WEATHERBY

BRYSON DONNELL

TYLER KING

SHERIDAN WILSON

MAURION HORN

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Joey McGuire was introduced as Texas Tech’s head football coach back on Nov. 8, 2021, leaving him with exactly 37 days to add to his recruiting class before the start of the Early Signing Period. For most new coaches, that isn’t a lot of time. For McGuire, it was just business as usual. The Early Signing Period came and went and, once the dust settled, the Red Raiders came away with 19 additions: 16 from the high school ranks and three from the transfer portal. Rivals.com ranks Texas Tech’s class among the top 40 in the country, which is an impressive result for what is usually considered a “bridge class” following a coaching change. To put things into perspective, up until this December, Texas Tech hadn’t signed a top 40 class since 2015. Seven of the 19 signees were verbally committed to Texas Tech under Matt Wells, but McGuire still had to keep those prospects committed to the Red Raiders. Those original seven were defensive back Hut Graham, offensive lineman Kaden Weatherby, running back Bryson Donnell, wide receiver Tyler King, offensive lineman Sheridan Wilson, defensive back Maurion Horn and linebacker Ben Roberts. Graham was the first commit of the class. The 6-foot-1, 185-pound standout from Gunter plays quarterback for his high school program but will transition over to the defensive side of the ball in Lubbock. Graham helped lead Gunter all the way to the state championship game. Weatherby, Texas Tech’s first scholarship signee from Colorado in the Rivals.com era, checks in at 6-foot-6, 280 pounds. He chose Texas Tech over Arizona State, Kansas State, Michigan and Michigan State. Donnell had a big senior season to wrap up a very impressive high school career at Tyler Legacy. In three seasons on varsity, Donnell totaled more than 4,000 allpurpose yards and scored 43 touchdowns. He chose Texas Tech over Arkansas, Colorado, Houston, Kansas and Purdue. King, a speedy wideout from Alief Taylor, is ranked as a four-star prospect by ESPN and chose Texas Tech over

by BEN GOLAN

Houston, Memphis and others. Expect him to play in the slot for offensive coordinator Zach Kittley. Wilson is the next Argyle Eagle offensive lineman to become a Red Raider, following Jack Tucker and Blake Spence in the 2021 class. Wilson, whose older brother Preston Wilson is a starting lineman for Oklahoma State, was also named an Under Armour All-American. He chose Texas Tech over Arizona State, Colorado, TCU and Washington State. Horn is a true athlete who is capable of playing running back, wide receiver or in the secondary. Ranked as a fourstar prospect by Rivals, the Broken Arrow, Okla. product was the highest-ranked signee for Texas Tech. He chose the Red Raiders over Arkansas, Baylor, Iowa State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas and USC. Roberts played safety for V.R. Eaton but projects as a linebacker at the next level. Roberts is listed at 6-foot-3, 210 pounds and chose Texas Tech over SMU, Tulsa, Utah State and Wyoming. When McGuire first got the Texas Tech job he set out to make a splash, and did he ever deliver. In his first 24 hours on the job, McGuire landed his first three verbal commitments, in a trio of defensive prospects from his former high school. Cornerback Jalon Peoples, defensive end Harvey Dyson and defensive tackle Syncere Massey all pledged to the Red Raiders and they held strong in their commitments by signing on the first day of the Early Signing Period. Peoples held over 30 offers and is one of the most decorated defensive back prospects in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. A few of his notable other opportunities included Baylor, Iowa, Kansas State, Ole Miss, Nebraska, Oklahoma State, Tennessee and Washington. Dyson, at 6-foot-4, 265 pounds, can play either on the perimeter or be moved inside to rush during passing downs. He chose Texas Tech over Arizona, Kansas State and SMU. Massey was a huge flip for the Red Raiders, both literally and figuratively. At the time of McGuire’s hire, Massey was verbally committed to Arizona State, but he decided

BEN ROBERTS

JALON PEOPLES

HARVEY DYSON

to stay in-state and will now head to Lubbock. Listed at 6-foot-5, 280 pounds, Massey can play multiple spots on the interior of the defensive line. He also held offers from LSU, Missouri, UCF and USC. Linebacker Ty Kana was another big addition for the Red Raiders. Coming from a very successful Katy program, Kana was a former USC commit who decided on Texas Tech following his official visit in late November. Kana is ranked by Rivals as the 84th-best prospect in the state of Texas, and fills a big need following the losses of Colin Schooler and Riko Jeffers at linebacker. Another new member of the linebacker room comes from an unfamiliar place to Texas Tech recruiting efforts. Gulf Shores, Ala. linebacker Tavares Elston Jr. was a complete unknown in recruiting circles when new Director of Player Personnel James Blanchard sent him his first scholarship offer to Texas Tech. Elston Jr. would later commit and, despite late interest from UCF and Georgia Tech, ended up signing with the Red Raiders. A big part of filling out a coaching staff can sometimes be about who the prospective coach knows, and who the prospective coach would be able to bring in with him. In Texas Tech’s case, they were able to hire a few coaches who had connections to some top recruits in the 2022 class. Defensive coach Zarnell Fitch comes over from TCU, where he had spent the previous eight seasons. Before the Horned Frogs went through their own coaching transition, they had a pair of pretty good defensive lineman verbally committed in Mansfield Summit’s Joseph Adedire and Sarland, Ala. standout Trevon McAlpine. Both prospects would eventually open things up and sign on the dotted line with Texas Tech during the first day of the Early Signing Period. Adedire, a four-star prospect according to Rivals.com, finished with 74 tackles and 23 tackles-for-loss as a senior. He helped lead his Summit Jaguars to the state semi-finals for the second consecutive season. In addition to Texas Tech and TCU, Adedire also held offers from Baylor, LSU, Michigan, Oklahoma State and Oregon. He is a versatile prospect who can play anywhere on the line but will likely start of rushing off the edge.

SYNCERE MASSEY

TY KANA

TAVARES ELSTON JR.

McAlpine signing with Texas Tech really came down to the relationship he had previously built with Fitch. Out of all the high school signees, he was the only one who had never visited Lubbock prior to signing. The 6-foot-3, 290 pounder held 25+ offers, and his decision came down to a final three of Texas Tech, Oklahoma State and West Virginia. McAlpine also joins the previously mentioned Elston Jr. in giving the Red Raiders two (2) signees from the state of Alabama in the class. Another signee whose interest in the Red Raiders was greatly impact by the incoming coaches was Mansfield Timberview defensive back Landon Hullaby, a former Oregon commit. Two members of Texas Tech’s new staff are coming over from Oregon, defensive coordinator Tim DeRuyter and secondary coach Marcel Yates. Hullaby visited Lubbock the weekend before the Early Signing Period began and those relationships, combined with what he saw on his visit, was enough to convince him to sign with Texas Tech. Everman offensive lineman Seth Martin rounds up the group of high school signees for Texas Tech during the Early Signing Period. The former TCU commit is listed at 6-foot-4, 295 pounds, and chose Texas Tech over the Horned Frogs, North Texas and Texas State. Martin can play anywhere on the offensive line and gives McGuire another versatile prospect up front. Finally, the three transfer portal additions all have Texas ties, which is something McGuire stressed heavily in his introductory press conference. Linebacker Dimitri Moore played his high school ball for McGuire at Cedar Hill and will arrive after three seasons at Vanderbilt and one at Missouri State. Safety Tyler Owens was a Rivals100 prospect coming out of high school, and one of the fastest players in the country being timed at a personal best 10.29 seconds in the 100 meter dash. He comes over after three seasons in Austin playing for the Longhorns. Wide receiver Brady Boyd actually held a Texas Tech offer coming out of Southlake Carroll High School but ended up choosing Minnesota. He played 170 snaps as a true freshman and will arrive in Lubbock with three seasons of eligibility left.

JOSEPH ADEDIRE

TREVON MCALPINE

LANDON HULLABY

SETH MARTIN

DIMITRI MOORE

TYLER OWENS

BRADY BOYD

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