Texas Tech's Joey McGuire feels the pressure after cash-driven roster overhaul
The former Texas high school coach might need more than another winning season to see a fifth year with the Red Raiders, whose No. 23 ranking is their first in The Associated Press preseason poll since 2008.
Expectations are as high as ever on the South Plains of Lubbock, Texas, with apparently one of the most expensive rosters in college football joining a program without a Big 12 championship in the conference's first 29 seasons.
'I know there's pressure, man,' McGuire said. 'I would rather be here than be at a place where you're hoping like crazy everything goes right just to maybe win four or five games. My job that I'm going to really try to do is keep the pressure on me and the coaches. (The players) shouldn't feel the pressure. Let us have the pressure and see if we can't go out and beat those expectations.'
Led by megadonor Cody Campbell's funding of an aggressive haul from the transfer portal, the Red Raiders are the talk of the league with their spending spree, just a couple of months after the first $1 million player in softball — NiJaree Canady — carried Texas Tech to the championship round of the Women's College World Series.
Quarterback Behren Morton is a holdover on offense, while linebacker Jacob Rodriguez returns from a defense that was among the worst in the country and underwent a portal makeover at defensive line and in the secondary.
The Red Raiders also have a new defensive coordinator in Shiel Wood, while the offensive play-caller is changing as well after Zach Kittley took over at Florida Atlantic.
'It's a challenge to try get those guys to buy in to what we're talking about,' Rodriguez said. 'But everybody who's supposed to be in the building is here. And so we love every single one of them. They jumped in head-first, and they're all in for us. They're believing in what we're talking about.'
Morton had shoulder surgery in June, and the Red Raiders are hoping for a full season of health at the most important position for the first time in years.
'I haven't gotten to play a healthy season since my redshirt freshman year,' said Morton, a senior. 'It's going to be a lot different playing with a healthy shoulder. I'm really excited about it.'
Keeping the pace
Morton directed the No. 4 scoring offense in the country a year ago, and there's a big void behind him with the departure of Tahj Brooks, the school's all-time leading rusher. Southern California transfer Quinten Joyner and J'Koby Williams are among the candidates to replace him.
Receivers Caleb Douglas and Coy Eakin scored 13 touchdowns between them last year, while the most intriguing pass-catcher is sophomore Micah Hudson. The highest-rated recruit in program history transferred to Texas A&M after a frustrating freshman season, but changed his mind and returned.
Shoring things up
There are so many new faces on defenses, it's hard to pinpoint who the producers might be beyond Rodriguez, who finished in the top 10 nationally in tackles last year.
Stopping the run is a big focus, and 300-pound defensive tackle Anthony Holmes Jr. followed Wood from Houston. Edge rushers Romello Height (Georgia Tech) and David Bailey (Stanford) were among the leaders in pressure stats at their previous schools.
The schedule
The first intriguing test is Sept. 20 at Utah, which is coming off just its third losing season in 20 years under Kyle Whittingham. A big test comes Oct. 18 at defending Big 12 champion Arizona State followed two weeks later by a visit to Kansas State.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NBC News
an hour ago
- NBC News
There's a $1 million prize and big names for 2025 US Open mixed doubles. Why are some people upset?
Grand Slam singles champions such as Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Iga Swiatek and Madison Keys will be playing for a little extra money — OK, a lot of extra money, by any standard: $1 million to the winning duo — and trying to get their hands on a trophy in the U.S. Open's overhauled mixed doubles tournament. The best of the best at doubles, meanwhile, are not so excited about what one of last year's mixed champions in New York, Sara Errani, labeled 'sad' and 'nonsense' in an interview with The Associated Press. She and Andrea Vavassori, who'll be defending their title, are the only true doubles team competing Tuesday and Wednesday at Flushing Meadows. A year ago, only two highly ranked singles players participated. 'It would be like if, at the Olympics, they didn't let the actual high jumpers participate, and instead had basketball players compete in the high jump because it's more 'interesting.' If you want to do that, I guess you can, but you can't award them medals,' Errani said. 'You can't have a Grand Slam doubles (trophy) and not let doubles players take part. ... You're excluding them from their sport. It's dishonest.' Who is playing in the 2025 U.S. Open mixed doubles tournament? The top seeds, based on their combined singles rankings, are Jessica Pegula, the 2024 U.S. Open runner-up, and Jack Draper, a semifinalist a year ago. He's onto his third partner after Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen and former No. 2 Paula Badosa withdrew with injuries. Their initial opponents might be the most-anticipated pairing: five-time Slam champ Alcaraz and 2021 U.S. Open winner Emma Raducanu. Other teams include Sinner and 10-time major doubles champion Katerina Siniakova, Swiatek and Casper Ruud, Keys and Frances Tiafoe, Venus Williams and Reilly Opelka, Taylor Fritz and Elena Rybakina, Naomi Osaka and Gael Monfils, Novak Djokovic and Olga Danilovic, and Daniil Medvedev and Mirra Andreeva. 'It's going to count as a real Grand Slam. The prize money is great,' said Fritz, the runner-up to Sinner in singles at Flushing Meadows a year ago. 'We are 100% there to try to win it.' Said Tiafoe: 'Seeing the prize money, everyone was like, 'We're going, no matter what.'' What is different about mixed doubles at the U.S. Open? What's different? Put plainly: everything. That includes the top prize of $1 million a year after Errani and Vavassori split $200,000. Even the rules are changing, with sets played to four games instead of six until Wednesday's final, no-Ad scoring, and match tiebreakers instead of a third set. There are 16 teams instead of 32. The matches were shifted from the latter stages of the U.S. Open, overlapping with singles, to before next Sunday's start of the main singles brackets. Half the field is based on singles rankings, and the other half was simply chosen by the U.S. Tennis Association. That's how the singles stars got involved. It's also why some say the whole thing is a bit silly. Gaby Dabrowski, a Canadian who owns two major championships in mixed doubles and earned the women's doubles trophy at the 2023 U.S. Open, tried to get into the field with Felix Auger-Aliassime, but they were not among the USTA's wild-card selections. 'Do I think it's a true mixed doubles championship? No. Do I think it could help the sport of doubles in the end? It could,' Dabrowski said, 'but not if you can't have any doubles players play in it.' Why are some players upset about the U.S. Open mixed doubles changes? Like Errani or Dabrowski, doubles players aren't thrilled about being excluded and losing out on a payday. They also think it's generally demeaning to doubles specialists — even if the USTA thinks this can help boost the popularity of doubles. 'When you get the biggest names playing doubles, it does bring a bit more attention to it,' said Joe Salisbury, a British player who's won two Grand Slam titles in mixed doubles and four in men's doubles, 'but I'm not sure it's good for the doubles event, because it's not really a proper event. It's just a two-day exhibition.' Tournament director Stacey Allaster objects to that sort of characterization. 'Let's be absolutely crystal clear: This is a Grand Slam championship. It is not an exhibition,' Allaster said. 'We're sympathetic to the doubles specialists who don't like this change. ... (But) we know that when fans see top players competing ... this is going to inspire more fans to not only attend but to play tennis, and it's ultimately going to grow the sport.'
NBC Sports
2 hours ago
- NBC Sports
There's a $1 million prize and big names for 2025 U.S. Open mixed doubles. Why are some people upset?
Grand Slam singles champions such as Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Iga Swiatek and Madison Keys will be playing for a little extra money — OK, a lot of extra money, by any standard: $1 million to the winning duo — and trying to get their hands on a trophy in the U.S. Open's overhauled mixed doubles tournament. The best of the best at doubles, meanwhile, are not so excited about what one of last year's mixed champions in New York, Sara Errani, labeled 'sad' and 'nonsense' in an interview with The Associated Press. She and Andrea Vavassori, who'll be defending their title, are the only true doubles team competing at Flushing Meadows. A year ago, only two highly ranked singles players participated. 'It would be like if, at the Olympics, they didn't let the actual high jumpers participate, and instead had basketball players compete in the high jump because it's more 'interesting.' If you want to do that, I guess you can, but you can't award them medals,' Errani said. 'You can't have a Grand Slam doubles (trophy) and not let doubles players take part. ... You're excluding them from their sport. It's dishonest.' Who is playing in the 2025 U.S. Open mixed doubles tournament? The top seeds, based on their combined singles rankings, are Jessica Pegula, the 2024 U.S. Open runner-up, and Jack Draper, a semifinalist a year ago. He's onto his third partner after Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen and former No. 2 Paula Badosa withdrew with injuries. Their initial opponents might be the most-anticipated pairing: five-time Slam champ Alcaraz and 2021 U.S. Open winner Emma Raducanu. Other teams include Sinner and 10-time major doubles champion Katerina Siniakova, Swiatek and Casper Ruud, Keys and Frances Tiafoe, Venus Williams and Reilly Opelka, Taylor Fritz and Elena Rybakina, Naomi Osaka and Gael Monfils, Novak Djokovic and Olga Danilovic, and Daniil Medvedev and Mirra Andreeva. 'It's going to count as a real Grand Slam. The prize money is great,' said Fritz, the runner-up to Sinner in singles at Flushing Meadows a year ago. 'We are 100% there to try to win it.' Said Tiafoe: 'Seeing the prize money, everyone was like, 'We're going, no matter what.'' What is different about mixed doubles at the U.S. Open? What's different? Put plainly: everything. That includes the top prize of $1 million a year after Errani and Vavassori split $200,000. Even the rules are changing, with sets played to four games instead of six until the final, no-Ad scoring, and match tiebreakers instead of a third set. There are 16 teams instead of 32. The matches were shifted from the latter stages of the U.S. Open, overlapping with singles, to before the start of the main singles brackets. Half the field is based on singles rankings, and the other half was simply chosen by the U.S. Tennis Association. That's how the singles stars got involved. It's also why some say the whole thing is a bit silly. Gaby Dabrowski, a Canadian who owns two major championships in mixed doubles and earned the women's doubles trophy at the 2023 U.S. Open, tried to get into the field with Felix Auger-Aliassime, but they were not among the USTA's wild-card selections. 'Do I think it's a true mixed doubles championship? No. Do I think it could help the sport of doubles in the end? It could,' Dabrowski said, 'but not if you can't have any doubles players play in it.' Why are some players upset about the U.S. Open mixed doubles changes? Like Errani or Dabrowski, doubles players aren't thrilled about being excluded and losing out on a payday. They also think it's generally demeaning to doubles specialists — even if the USTA thinks this can help boost the popularity of doubles. 'When you get the biggest names playing doubles, it does bring a bit more attention to it,' said Joe Salisbury, a British player who's won two Grand Slam titles in mixed doubles and four in men's doubles, 'but I'm not sure it's good for the doubles event, because it's not really a proper event. It's just a two-day exhibition.' Tournament director Stacey Allaster objects to that sort of characterization. 'Let's be absolutely crystal clear: This is a Grand Slam championship. It is not an exhibition,' Allaster said. 'We're sympathetic to the doubles specialists who don't like this change. ... (But) we know that when fans see top players competing ... this is going to inspire more fans to not only attend but to play tennis, and it's ultimately going to grow the sport.'
NBC Sports
3 hours ago
- NBC Sports
Texas Tech's Joey McGuire feels the pressure after cash-driven roster overhaul
Joey McGuire is the first Texas Tech coach since the late Mike Leach two-plus decades ago to get through his first three seasons without a losing record. The former Texas high school coach might need more than another winning season to see a fifth year with the Red Raiders, whose No. 23 ranking is their first in The Associated Press preseason poll since 2008. Expectations are as high as ever on the South Plains of Lubbock, Texas, with apparently one of the most expensive rosters in college football joining a program without a Big 12 championship in the conference's first 29 seasons. 'I know there's pressure, man,' McGuire said. 'I would rather be here than be at a place where you're hoping like crazy everything goes right just to maybe win four or five games. My job that I'm going to really try to do is keep the pressure on me and the coaches. (The players) shouldn't feel the pressure. Let us have the pressure and see if we can't go out and beat those expectations.' Led by megadonor Cody Campbell's funding of an aggressive haul from the transfer portal, the Red Raiders are the talk of the league with their spending spree, just a couple of months after the first $1 million player in softball — NiJaree Canady — carried Texas Tech to the championship round of the Women's College World Series. Quarterback Behren Morton is a holdover on offense, while linebacker Jacob Rodriguez returns from a defense that was among the worst in the country and underwent a portal makeover at defensive line and in the secondary. The Red Raiders also have a new defensive coordinator in Shiel Wood, while the offensive play-caller is changing as well after Zach Kittley took over at Florida Atlantic. 'It's a challenge to try get those guys to buy in to what we're talking about,' Rodriguez said. 'But everybody who's supposed to be in the building is here. And so we love every single one of them. They jumped in head-first, and they're all in for us. They're believing in what we're talking about.' Morton had shoulder surgery in June, and the Red Raiders are hoping for a full season of health at the most important position for the first time in years. 'I haven't gotten to play a healthy season since my redshirt freshman year,' said Morton, a senior. 'It's going to be a lot different playing with a healthy shoulder. I'm really excited about it.' Keeping the pace Morton directed the No. 4 scoring offense in the country a year ago, and there's a big void behind him with the departure of Tahj Brooks, the school's all-time leading rusher. Southern California transfer Quinten Joyner and J'Koby Williams are among the candidates to replace him. Receivers Caleb Douglas and Coy Eakin scored 13 touchdowns between them last year, while the most intriguing pass-catcher is sophomore Micah Hudson. The highest-rated recruit in program history transferred to Texas A&M after a frustrating freshman season, but changed his mind and returned. Shoring things up There are so many new faces on defenses, it's hard to pinpoint who the producers might be beyond Rodriguez, who finished in the top 10 nationally in tackles last year. Stopping the run is a big focus, and 300-pound defensive tackle Anthony Holmes Jr. followed Wood from Houston. Edge rushers Romello Height (Georgia Tech) and David Bailey (Stanford) were among the leaders in pressure stats at their previous schools. The schedule The first intriguing test is Sept. 20 at Utah, which is coming off just its third losing season in 20 years under Kyle Whittingham. A big test comes Oct. 18 at defending Big 12 champion Arizona State followed two weeks later by a visit to Kansas State.
