Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire discusses Texas' "huge culture wins" and more
Previous Texas teams have too often embraced the hype surrounding the program. The 2023 team has embraced the hate and used Texas’ final season in the Big 12 as motivation to leave the conference while on top.
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‘Embrace the hate’ became a common offseason mantra for Texas, with Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark and deputy commissioner Tim Weiser helping to fuel the fire.
While speaking in Lubbock a week before the season began, Yormark told a room full of Red Raiders, “Candidly, we were able to get Texas and Oklahoma out of here early. That was a big deal for us and I think all of you. And Coach [McGuire], I’m not going to put any pressure on you, but I’m gonna be in Austin for Thanksgiving, okay? And you’d better take care of business like you did right here in Lubbock last year.”
Those comments were in good fun, simply playing to the crowd like Vince McMahon, but they were certainly questionable in light of Weiser’s comments the month before.
At Big 12 Media Days, Weiser said, “I continue to maintain that the choice Texas made wasn’t a financial one, because we all know what Texas’ resources are like. I think theirs was more about affiliating with a group of schools that on a given Saturday, they would rather get beat by Alabama than they would Kansas State or (lose to) Florida than Iowa State. That, I think, was really what was driving the way they looked out down the road.”
Those remarks are even more foolish now after Texas has defeated three of those teams and would easily beat the fourth if they were on the schedule. But I digress.
Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire had his own comments some Texas fans found annoying last year after Tech’s improbable victory over Texas. An adrenaline-charged McGuire told his locker room, “I told you they (Texas) were going to fold and they did!”
McGuire’s comments to media outlets on Monday revealed a genuine appreciation for the job Steve Sarkisian is doing in Austin. There were no signs of hate.
“After the Bama game, the win, I sent Sark a text and said congratulations. I think it was really big for the state. I sent him a text after the K-State win and congratulated him. The reason I did on both of those is I think they were huge culture wins. When you can go into Alabama and beat them and you can turn around and go into overtime against a K-State team that I have a lot of respect for, that’s extremely tough, and beat them then you can definitely see that he’s doing something that some guys before him weren’t able to do. Nothing against them but he’s doing a great job culturally. Hats off to him.”
Texas’ improved culture was also a topic Sark covered on Monday before Friday’s game against Tech.
McGuire’s own team has shown quite a bit of resilience this season. After a 1-3 start and significant injuries at quarterback, Tech is 5-2 in its last seven games and riding a three game winning streak.
One of the big storylines this week is the strength on strength matchup of Tech’s running game and Texas’ run defense. Tech running back, Manor native Tajh Brooks, has run for 1,348 yards and 9 touchdowns. He’s both powerful and elusive.
Despite Tech’s success this year on the ground, McGuire knows running on Texas will be a tall order thanks to the two rocks in the middle of UT’s defense.
“I know (Byron) Murphy really well. I recruited him. He’s from DeSoto, so I watched him grow up being at Cedar Hill. He’s turned himself into such a great player. I knew he was going to be a good player but he’s turned himself into a great player. (T’Vondre) Sweat, I don’t know who’s blocked him. He’s such a big human, 360 pounds, very physical. As a football guy of watching guys progress if you turn on the tape two years ago I don’t know if he was trending in that direction. As far as the way they’ve been able to develop him and how hard he plays.”
After discussing those two on defense McGuire switched his focus to offense where he sees NFL talent all over the field.
“Offensively they’re as good as anybody we’ve played. They’ve got an NFL tight end. They’ve got two to three NFL receivers. They’ve got a quarterback that will play in the NFL. They’ve got an offensive line that’s huge. If you go through anything and say ‘what has Texas done?’ They’ve hit home runs in their offensive line. I mean home runs. You’ve got young guys that are playing that are sophomores. If one of their tackles came out this year, which he can’t, he’d be a No. 1 draft pick as a sophomore in college. Coach Flood and Coach Sark have done a great job recruiting and developing those guys.”
One thing you can be sure about McGuire, he’s going to use Texas’ resume and talent level to his advantage when it comes to motivating his players. Those players will already have the confidence that accompanies last year’s overtime win over UT.
But Texas has the ultimate motivation of playing for the conference championship and playoff consideration. If the program embraces that there’s no need for hate.
