McGuire promises Texas Tech fans will be proud of team
To an audience filled with attendees wearing Texas Tech University red, new head football coach Joey McGuire made them one guarantee.
“If you’re watching on TV or in the stadium, you’ll be extremely proud,” he said. “There will never be a time where you question how hard we’re playing.”
McGuire made that comment as the featured speaker of the Rudy Davalos Horseshoe Bay Sports Club May 26. During the presentation, the coach outlined his vision for the program and how he and the coaches are implementing it.
“Our purpose is to build the best program in college football,” he said.
That means building the person, the relationship and the player. McGuire made it clear he wants his staff to know their position players beyond a jersey and the head coach better not know something about a player before the position coach knows.
That also means comprehending each player’s reason for wanting to play, attend class and their goals, McGuire said. Knowing their why helps coaches better understand each athlete and build that personal relationship. It also helps in consistency, another trait important to McGuire, which he calls the “pumpjack mentality.”
“I’m the same way every day,” he said. “I believe when it’s hard, you have to really set the chart for them. They have to go to class, they have to be on time for tutorials. We set the schedule, and we expect them to follow it. We hold ourselves to a high standard.”
When McGuire met with the Red Raiders, he broke down each game result by seven categories: don’t beat yourself, dominate up front, win the turnover battle, be special on special teams, create big plays and no lost yardage, win the middle 8, and attack the situations.
He noted that if the Red Raiders can win four or more of those categories, they’ll win games. During McGuire’s career, his teams won every game when they recovered at least three turnovers in a contest.
When the team meets on Sundays in the fall, he’ll break the previous contest down according to those seven categories and believes the players will see the reasons for the outcome.
“It wasn’t some miracle or something crazy,” he said. “When you put it in black and white, it’s easier to see. It’s a plan to win. My job is to make sure we’re practicing this.”
Winning those categories comes down to one important acceptance.
“Do your job,” he said of the players. “If you know and do your job, there’s no pressure on you. All the pressure is on me and the coaches.”
McGuire noted the 34-7 win against Mississippi State in the Liberty Bowl last season was big, and the program celebrated it for a short time. But McGuire made it clear he has bigger plans for the Red Raiders.
“We’re going to be in a bowl game, so get that out of your mind,” he said. “If we go and be our best, I believe we’ll win a national title at Texas Tech. It starts with winning the Big 12. If you can do it in Waco, you can do it in Lubbock. If you can play in a Big 12 championship from Ames, Iowa, you can do it in Lubbock. I truly believe that.”
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