NFL
By: Brock Vierra
Despite a promising off-season and pre-season ranking, Texas Tech struggled to find success in 2023. Joey McGuire and his team stumbled to a 6-6 regular season record but a 34-14 trashing of Cal in the Independence Bowl and the 1500+ yard rushing campaign from Tahj Brooks has given Red Raider fans some hope as we enter 2024.
To discuss the state of the program, the 2023 season and the future for Texas Tech football, I spoke to Texas Tech insider Albie Shore (@Mr_AlbieShore). Albie runs the Tortillas & Takes Podcast, covering all things Texas Tech.
Let’s talk Texas Tech
Vierra: Hello Albie, thanks for joining me. On a scale of 1-10, rate Texas Tech’s season.
Shore: I would give Tech’s season a 5.
Vierra: What is the reasoning behind your evaluation?
Shore: Many fans have left the season with a feeling of disappointment considering the hype that was billed prior to the season, but at the end of the day, Tech had a winning record in conference for the 2nd season in a row which hasn’t been accomplished since Leach was walking the sidelines. Though it wasn’t as good as I expected, the season was salvaged by having a winning season both overall and in conference.
Vierra: Texas Tech came into 2023 with lofty expectations and a preseason ranking but a rough start derailed those dreams. What happened?
Shore: A combination of questionable offensive coaching & play calling mixed with skill position players not living up to expectations mixed with a myriad of injuries. At this rate, Texas Tech having a wealth of injuries is common so this year was no different, however the offensive stagnation from the passing game cause a serious amount of issues.
Vierra: Despite the start, Texas Tech won 3 of their last 4 games, including a surprise win over Kansas to become bowl eligible. Talk about those wins and what it means to the program.
Shore: The final stretch is what salvaged the season and got fans to see what life with Behren Morton as the starter truly looks like. There’s no doubt that he still played these games hobbled but did a decent job controlling the game, limiting mistakes, and leading the team to Ws (we won’t talk about the Texas game). This stretch gave fans a chance to see what the team’s potential actually looked like.
Vierra: No more Tyler Shough, what went wrong with him at Tech?
Shore: Injuries, injuries, injuries. I’m still a big believer in Tyler Shough’s ability and he’s shown that he’s a very accurate passer and game manager at times during his Tech career, but he spent so much of it either injured or trying to play hurt which hampered him severely. I think he’ll do well at Louisville.
Vierra: Is Behren Morton QB1 for Tech in 2024? If not him, who?
Shore: No doubt Morton is QB1 going forward. The bigger question is what the QB depth behind him will be. True freshman Jake Strong came in as the 3rd string after the injury bug hit and was……um…… not good. Will Hammond, a 4 star Elite 11 QB prospect, is coming on campus but that is two very young QBs backing up a starter who’s had back to back years missing games due to injuries, so there’s definitely concern when it comes to depth.
Vierra: What are your thoughts on the Texas Tech defense?
Shore: Tim DeRuyter, the defensive coordinator, is the best DC we’ve had since Ruffin McNeil back at the end of the Leach days. DeRuyter has been incredible, and has done a great job coaching the defense up and scheming. The injury bug did hit our linebackers this year turning a questionable position group into an even bigger question mark but true freshman Ben Roberts was absolutely incredible and looks to be a star going forward.
DT Jaylon Hutchins and Safety Dadrion Taylor-Demerson are both future Sunday players that had great careers and led the defense this year. Defense definitely could’ve been better at points, especially when it came to creating turnovers and limiting big plays, however this group had many more positives than negatives (we won’t talk about the Texas game).
Vierra: How hot is Joey McGuire’s seat and will he coach Tech in 2025?
Shore: McGuire is a wildly popular coach and will be at Tech for a while, however there’s no doubt that the honeymoon phase is over. Last year he could do no wrong, but the second Tech lost to Wyoming, he came under some heat and fans questioned his decision making. He’s still very popular and will have plenty of opportunities to be Tech’s coach. Now offensive coordinator Zach Kittley on the other hand, will need to have an improvement on offense because that seat is on fire.
Vierra: Talking about him, what are your thoughts on Zach Kittley?
Shore: Like I mentioned before, Kittley’s seat is on fire, his play calling the last two years have been questionable at best, and there’s at least two games this year that I can point to where his play calling may have cost Tech the game. McGuire has stuck by his OC and defended him however another year of this will be ZK’s undoing.
Vierra: Are there any current portal acquisitions that you like and who should Tech continue to target?
Shore: With how bad the WR core was last year and with half of our receivers transferring, I am pretty excited about the group we have coming in, most of all being Josh Kelly from Washington State. Kelly likely comes in as WR1 next year and makes an impact for Morton from the beginning. Jalin Conyers, the TE from Arizona State, is another big target who should get many opportunities.
As far as who Tech should continue to target, I would like to see some more commitments at OT. Tech lost Monroe Mills and has struggled with OL depth overall, we do have some young guns in the bullpen but some veteran experience at that position would be welcome though the staff has done a good job backfilling on the interior.
Vierra: What are your expectations for Texas Tech in 2024?
Shore: In the new Big 12, Tech is positioning themselves as a potential football leader. Tech has the #1 HS recruiting class in the conference and #3 transfer portal recruiting class as well as one of the highest NIL collectives. Everything is building in Lubbock for good times ahead with a good foundation from the first two years of McGuire.
This team will have a bit of a youth infusion next year with WR Micah Hudson, LB Ben Roberts, DL Joseph Adedire, LB Ty Kana, etc so I think there will be some growing pains but I do expect another winning season and one where we’re competitive in every game and make that first punch in the new Big 12 as we get ready for what should be a BIG 2025
I’d like to thank Albie for his time and insight. His coverage of Texas Tech continues into basketball season as Tortillas and Takes remains the best spot to catch in-depth analysis of the Texas Tech men’s and women’s Red Raider basketball team.
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