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Someday soon, the high point of spring practice for Texas Tech football fans might be one or more scrimmages against another FBS school. Colorado coach Deion Sanders has led the charge to change an NCAA rule that disallows it, and Tech coach Joey McGuire has amplified the call.
For now, the usual intra-squad spring game, if one can even call it that, will have to do.
Tech will wrap up more than a month of spring football at 2 p.m. Saturday at Jones AT&T Stadium, though McGuire says the Red Raiders' showcase will be more a series of situational drills than an actual game. He'd like to see a good turnout just the same.
"It's a really good group of guys," McGuire said this week. "It's been a lot of fun this spring. I think we've got a lot of work to do, but we've also come a long ways when you're talking about putting in a brand-new offense and a brand-new defense. Just the operation ... You kind of take some of that for granted when you've been in a system for three years and all of a sudden you change your system — not just coaches, but players, too."
More: Texas Tech football QB Behren Morton details latest recovery timeline, summer plans
More: Texas Tech football transfer portal tracker: Isaac Smith first big name out
New offensive coordinator Mack Leftwich, hired from Texas State, and new defensive coordinator Shiel Wood, who came from the University of Houston, are working with the Red Raiders for the first time. So are 28 players who joined the team this semester — 19 from the NCAA transfer portal and nine as freshmen early enrollees.
"The best development is guys are just grasping the offense," Leftwich said this week. "We're getting better and we're getting where we want to go on the offensive line. I think going against our D-line every day in practice is definitely a challenge. That work that we're getting against those guys is going to pay dividends, I think."
Leftwich said this week he has about 60% of his offense installed, whereas Wood said he has about 90% of the defense in.
"They've been bought in as far as wanting to get better," Wood said, "and being very focused and intentional about what you're doing every day."
Tech starting quarterback Behren Morton (shoulder surgery) and first-team receivers Caleb Douglas (knee), Coy Eakin (back) and Reggie Virgil (toe) are out for the time being, one of the reasons the Red Raiders aren't splitting into teams and playing a game. Cornerback Macho Stevenson (shoulder) and defensive end Terrell Tilmon (foot) also have been out.
More than that, McGuire said he thinks the Red Raiders will benefit more from the various situational work.
In the not-too-distant future, McGuire hopes for a spring game that has broader appeal. He said FBS football is an outlier among college sports teams that can't scrimmage other schools outside the regular season.
"What I would love to happen is either last weekend or this weekend, we're going to Dallas and scrimmaging SMU," he said. "Maybe practice on Thursday and have a controlled scrimmage on Saturday or it be a home-and-home. They come out here the next year. Or we go to Texas or we go to A&M or whoever. That's what I would love to have."
The NCAA recently denied Colorado's request to play Syracuse in a spring game after the Division I FBS oversight committee opposed it. According to reporting by USA TODAY Sports, the NCAA cited the late timing of the request — after other teams had already scheduled and started spring practice — adding that allowing Colorado and Syracuse to square off would be a "competitive and recruiting advantage."
But it also left the door open for future consideration, the USA TODAY Sports report said.
"Hopefully with (Syracuse coach) Fran Brown and Deion kind of pushing it, that starts people talking about it," McGuire said, "and hopefully by this time next year, we have something like that."
If you want to watch the spring game, you'll have to show up at the stadium. There is no television coverage or online streaming.
Fans attending Saturday's event are directed to part in the west lot of Jones AT&T Stadium, enter through Gate 1 at the southwest corner and sit on the west side. Fans with tickets to the Gary Petersen Field Club are able to enter through Gate 9 at the south end of the stadium.
Concession items will be available for purchase only on the west side of the stadium. Whataburger and Two Docs Brewery will also have stands available on the west concourse near the main entrance.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech football spring game on tap Saturday: What to know
Continue reading...
For now, the usual intra-squad spring game, if one can even call it that, will have to do.
Tech will wrap up more than a month of spring football at 2 p.m. Saturday at Jones AT&T Stadium, though McGuire says the Red Raiders' showcase will be more a series of situational drills than an actual game. He'd like to see a good turnout just the same.
"It's a really good group of guys," McGuire said this week. "It's been a lot of fun this spring. I think we've got a lot of work to do, but we've also come a long ways when you're talking about putting in a brand-new offense and a brand-new defense. Just the operation ... You kind of take some of that for granted when you've been in a system for three years and all of a sudden you change your system — not just coaches, but players, too."
More: Texas Tech football QB Behren Morton details latest recovery timeline, summer plans
More: Texas Tech football transfer portal tracker: Isaac Smith first big name out
Texas Tech football's new coordinators Mack Leftwich, Shiel Wood begin to set foundation
New offensive coordinator Mack Leftwich, hired from Texas State, and new defensive coordinator Shiel Wood, who came from the University of Houston, are working with the Red Raiders for the first time. So are 28 players who joined the team this semester — 19 from the NCAA transfer portal and nine as freshmen early enrollees.
"The best development is guys are just grasping the offense," Leftwich said this week. "We're getting better and we're getting where we want to go on the offensive line. I think going against our D-line every day in practice is definitely a challenge. That work that we're getting against those guys is going to pay dividends, I think."
Leftwich said this week he has about 60% of his offense installed, whereas Wood said he has about 90% of the defense in.
"They've been bought in as far as wanting to get better," Wood said, "and being very focused and intentional about what you're doing every day."
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Texas Tech football top offensive skill players sidelined
Tech starting quarterback Behren Morton (shoulder surgery) and first-team receivers Caleb Douglas (knee), Coy Eakin (back) and Reggie Virgil (toe) are out for the time being, one of the reasons the Red Raiders aren't splitting into teams and playing a game. Cornerback Macho Stevenson (shoulder) and defensive end Terrell Tilmon (foot) also have been out.
More than that, McGuire said he thinks the Red Raiders will benefit more from the various situational work.
In the not-too-distant future, McGuire hopes for a spring game that has broader appeal. He said FBS football is an outlier among college sports teams that can't scrimmage other schools outside the regular season.
"What I would love to happen is either last weekend or this weekend, we're going to Dallas and scrimmaging SMU," he said. "Maybe practice on Thursday and have a controlled scrimmage on Saturday or it be a home-and-home. They come out here the next year. Or we go to Texas or we go to A&M or whoever. That's what I would love to have."
The NCAA recently denied Colorado's request to play Syracuse in a spring game after the Division I FBS oversight committee opposed it. According to reporting by USA TODAY Sports, the NCAA cited the late timing of the request — after other teams had already scheduled and started spring practice — adding that allowing Colorado and Syracuse to square off would be a "competitive and recruiting advantage."
But it also left the door open for future consideration, the USA TODAY Sports report said.
"Hopefully with (Syracuse coach) Fran Brown and Deion kind of pushing it, that starts people talking about it," McGuire said, "and hopefully by this time next year, we have something like that."
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Spring game logistics for Texas Tech football fans
If you want to watch the spring game, you'll have to show up at the stadium. There is no television coverage or online streaming.
Fans attending Saturday's event are directed to part in the west lot of Jones AT&T Stadium, enter through Gate 1 at the southwest corner and sit on the west side. Fans with tickets to the Gary Petersen Field Club are able to enter through Gate 9 at the south end of the stadium.
Concession items will be available for purchase only on the west side of the stadium. Whataburger and Two Docs Brewery will also have stands available on the west concourse near the main entrance.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech football spring game on tap Saturday: What to know
Continue reading...
