Texas Tech University

red raiders ready to roll under mcGuire

It might be tough to find any college football fans more anxious for the 2022 season than those of the Texas Tech Red Raiders. Why? For starters there’s the Red Raiders’ somewhat deceptive 7-6 record from a year ago. Deceptive because all six losses, and just three wins, came in Big 12 play, made worse because Tech dropped four of its final five regular-season contests, the first of those setbacks resulting in the mid-season dismissal of head coach Matt Wells. Despite a 34-7 win over Mississippi State in the Liberty Bowl, Red Raider loyalists are ready to forget 2021, encouraged immensely by the arrival of new head coach Joey McGuire. So far McGuire has been a hit in Lubbock, winning over fans with his high-energy “Raider Power” enthusiasm. Translating that approval from the off-season stage to the gridiron sideline won’t be easy for McGuire, at least not right away. But under their first-year coach Tech should still prove to be a fun-to-support program in 2022.

Among the players McGuire and company will be leaning on include junior tight end Baylor Cupp (6-7, 240,

Area Players On The Red Raiders Roster

Name Year Hometown/HS Donovan Smith Soph Frenship Jacob Rodriguez Soph Wichita Falls/Rider Xavier White Sr Lubbock/Monterey Loic Fouonji JR Midland/Lee Nehemiah Martinez I Soph Lubbock/Cooper Blake Bedwell Soph Amarillo/Amarillo high Joseph Plunk Soph Amarillo/Tascosa Jett Whifield Jr New Deal Charles Robinson RS/Fr Lubbock/Coronado Wesley Smith Fr Midland/Legacy Henry Teeter Sr San Angelo/Central Trent Low Soph Midland/Lee Jackson Baggett Jr Bushland Erik Gray Fr Amarillo/Amarillo High Landon Peterson Jr Odessa/Permian Drew Hocutt Soph Lubbock/Frenship Zack McCown Fr Amarillo/Amarillo High L.B. Moore Soph Amarillo/Tascosa E’Maurion Banks RS/Fr Wichita Falls/Rider

So far McGuire has been a hit in Lubbock, winning over fans with his high-energy “Raider Power” enthusiasm. Translating that approval from the off-season stage to the gridiron sideline won’t be easy for McGuire, at least not right away. But under their first-year coach Tech should still prove to be a fun-to-support program in 2022.

Among the players McGuire and company will be leaning on include junior tight end Baylor Cupp (6-7, 240,

Brock), named to the John Mackey Award preseason watch list after transferring from Texas A&M. Other key players on offense include junior running back Tahj Brooks (5-10, 220, Manor), who led Tech in rushing yards with 568 while scoring seven touchdowns last year, and junior wide receiver Myles Price (5-10, 180, The Colony), while super-senior Cole Spencer (Louisville, Ky.) and junior Caleb Rogers (6-5, 305, Mansfield Lake Ridge) will lead the effort up front.

Of course the biggest question over the off-season is who will assume the quarterback reins. The battle appears to be a two-man race between senior Tyler Shough (6-5, 225, Chandler, Ariz.) and sophomore Donovan Smith (6-5, 230, Frenship). Both Shough and Smith had four starts