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Mitch Griffis' grandparents made a long trip to see the Texas Tech football spring game. So the Red Raiders' new quarterback who transferred from halfway across the country wasn't going to sit out because he was sick.
Good thing. He gave himself and the whole family something to remember.
Griffis threw two touchdown passes — both showing arm talent into tight windows — to highlight the annual spring game at Jones AT&T Stadium. The Red Raiders scored five touchdowns in the two-hour scrimmage, and the senior from Ashburn, Virginia, was the only player to have a hand in more than one.
"He's tough," Tech coach Joey McGuire said. "He probably threw up 20 times today before the game. We tested him today; didn't have the flu. His grandparents were here. He's like, 'Coach, I'm going. They're not going to drive all this way to not see me play.' "
Price Morgan, with two defenders shadowing him, caught Griffis' 14-yard throw into the end zone, outwrestling safety A.J. McCarty for the ball. Then Frenship graduate Leyton Stone caught a 24-yard TD, going up and making a juggling catch over safety Oliver Miles on a ball Griffis threw across his body.
Griffis threw for 1,957 yards and 19 touchdowns from 2020-23 at Wake Forest, nearly all of it in 2023. He transferred to Marshall, stepped away from football in June 2024 and then transferred to Tech in January. McGuire has portrayed him as fitting a specific need: a quarterback with some seasoning, content to be a backup but capable if pressed into duty.
"He's a gamer, man," McGuire said. "He moves well in the pocket. He runs better than what I thought he was going to when we first evaluated him. But he's played a lot of football. His last year at Wake Forest, I think he threw for almost 1,600 yards and won games in the ACC."
More: Texas Tech football QB Behren Morton details latest recovery timeline, summer plans
More: Texas Tech football spring game's at hand. What 'D' players are standing out?
Behren Morton is Tech's unquestioned No. 1 quarterback, but Morton missed spring practice recovering from shoulder surgery in December.
Much of the Red Raiders' spring game involved short-field and other situational drills. Tech didn't use a scoring system or keep statistics. The Red Raiders scrimmaged first units against first units, second units against second units and so on.
All five touchdowns came in red-zone periods, starting from the plus-25 or closer. Tight end Terrance Carter caught an 11-yard TD from Will Hammond. In the last two red-zone sequences, Quinten Joyner went 5 yards into the end zone, dragging tacklers, and Cameron Dickey scored on a 17-yard run.
The biggest concern: The kicking game. New kicker Upton Bellenfant made a 27-yard field goal. But Bellenfant missed a 30-yard attempt, returnee Stone Harrington missed from 54 and 53 yards, and each missed an extra point.
"I was making my notes," McGuire said, "because I knew we'd have press after. I said, 'Be ready for a kicking question.'
"It was really surprising, because they have been elite in every situation we've done. Our second scrimmage, they both kicked a 53- and a 54-yard field goal. ... I was a little surprised — I'm not going to lie — because they've been really good in situations. Upton's kicked in some big games. So I'm not going to say I'm not a little nervous, but I also want to give them the benefit of the doubt."
Bellenfant's a transfer from the University at Buffalo who made 18 of 21 field goals last year. He's viewed as the likely successor to Gino Garcia, who made 33 of his last 36 field goals dating to 2023.
The NCAA transfer portal is open from April 16-25, and McGuire said Tech will continue to look for a specialist who can both kick and punt.
Though the offense finally found the end zone multiple times, a defense fortified by 10 transfers had its moments. It allowed only a field goal through the first eight series. Three pass plays were whistled dead as sacks, and quarterbacks made several other throws while scrambling.
Not that McGuire was particularly bothered by seeing his quarterbacks feel the heat. Since last season, the Red Raiders added three defensive tackles and two edge rushers. The most highly rated is recent addition David Bailey, who last year for Stanford had 7 sacks, 8 quarterback hurries and 5 forced fumbles.
"I do think with the guys that we have and the depth that we have in the defensive line, we should be able to pressure the quarterback at a higher level," McGuire said. "Why we added David is we just kind of (asked), 'What would the (Super Bowl champion) Philadelphia Eagles do?' They've drafted defensive line after defensive line, and I don't think they blitzed one time in the playoffs.
"Some of that, too, is designed. We moved the pocket a couple of times."
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Mitch Griffis throws 2 TDs in Texas Tech football spring game
Continue reading...
Good thing. He gave himself and the whole family something to remember.
Griffis threw two touchdown passes — both showing arm talent into tight windows — to highlight the annual spring game at Jones AT&T Stadium. The Red Raiders scored five touchdowns in the two-hour scrimmage, and the senior from Ashburn, Virginia, was the only player to have a hand in more than one.
"He's tough," Tech coach Joey McGuire said. "He probably threw up 20 times today before the game. We tested him today; didn't have the flu. His grandparents were here. He's like, 'Coach, I'm going. They're not going to drive all this way to not see me play.' "
Price Morgan, with two defenders shadowing him, caught Griffis' 14-yard throw into the end zone, outwrestling safety A.J. McCarty for the ball. Then Frenship graduate Leyton Stone caught a 24-yard TD, going up and making a juggling catch over safety Oliver Miles on a ball Griffis threw across his body.
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Griffis threw for 1,957 yards and 19 touchdowns from 2020-23 at Wake Forest, nearly all of it in 2023. He transferred to Marshall, stepped away from football in June 2024 and then transferred to Tech in January. McGuire has portrayed him as fitting a specific need: a quarterback with some seasoning, content to be a backup but capable if pressed into duty.
"He's a gamer, man," McGuire said. "He moves well in the pocket. He runs better than what I thought he was going to when we first evaluated him. But he's played a lot of football. His last year at Wake Forest, I think he threw for almost 1,600 yards and won games in the ACC."
More: Texas Tech football QB Behren Morton details latest recovery timeline, summer plans
More: Texas Tech football spring game's at hand. What 'D' players are standing out?
Behren Morton is Tech's unquestioned No. 1 quarterback, but Morton missed spring practice recovering from shoulder surgery in December.
Much of the Red Raiders' spring game involved short-field and other situational drills. Tech didn't use a scoring system or keep statistics. The Red Raiders scrimmaged first units against first units, second units against second units and so on.
All five touchdowns came in red-zone periods, starting from the plus-25 or closer. Tight end Terrance Carter caught an 11-yard TD from Will Hammond. In the last two red-zone sequences, Quinten Joyner went 5 yards into the end zone, dragging tacklers, and Cameron Dickey scored on a 17-yard run.
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Texas Tech football kickers have rough day
The biggest concern: The kicking game. New kicker Upton Bellenfant made a 27-yard field goal. But Bellenfant missed a 30-yard attempt, returnee Stone Harrington missed from 54 and 53 yards, and each missed an extra point.
"I was making my notes," McGuire said, "because I knew we'd have press after. I said, 'Be ready for a kicking question.'
"It was really surprising, because they have been elite in every situation we've done. Our second scrimmage, they both kicked a 53- and a 54-yard field goal. ... I was a little surprised — I'm not going to lie — because they've been really good in situations. Upton's kicked in some big games. So I'm not going to say I'm not a little nervous, but I also want to give them the benefit of the doubt."
Bellenfant's a transfer from the University at Buffalo who made 18 of 21 field goals last year. He's viewed as the likely successor to Gino Garcia, who made 33 of his last 36 field goals dating to 2023.
The NCAA transfer portal is open from April 16-25, and McGuire said Tech will continue to look for a specialist who can both kick and punt.
Though the offense finally found the end zone multiple times, a defense fortified by 10 transfers had its moments. It allowed only a field goal through the first eight series. Three pass plays were whistled dead as sacks, and quarterbacks made several other throws while scrambling.
Not that McGuire was particularly bothered by seeing his quarterbacks feel the heat. Since last season, the Red Raiders added three defensive tackles and two edge rushers. The most highly rated is recent addition David Bailey, who last year for Stanford had 7 sacks, 8 quarterback hurries and 5 forced fumbles.
"I do think with the guys that we have and the depth that we have in the defensive line, we should be able to pressure the quarterback at a higher level," McGuire said. "Why we added David is we just kind of (asked), 'What would the (Super Bowl champion) Philadelphia Eagles do?' They've drafted defensive line after defensive line, and I don't think they blitzed one time in the playoffs.
"Some of that, too, is designed. We moved the pocket a couple of times."
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Mitch Griffis throws 2 TDs in Texas Tech football spring game
Continue reading...
