Texas Tech Red Raiders Preview: McGuire is Building a Monster in Lubbock
TLDR: Joey McGuire had a successful first season in Lubbock, and he’s built upon that success by recruiting at a high level. The Red Raiders have a lot of talent coming back on offense, and they bring back enough on the defensive line to make most people think this will be a good team. While there are some concerns at certain positions, I believe McGuire and his staff will develop the talent they have. The schedule is not easy by any means, but if the Red Raiders get past Oregon early in the season they’ll be a Big 12 title contender.
Get Victory Formation’s stories in your inbox
Join Medium for free to get updates from this writer.
Floor: 7–5, Ceiling: 11–1, Projection 9–3
Last year Texas Tech had 3 different quarterbacks play in at least 7 games. Donovan Smith transferred out, but the other 2 stayed put. McGuire named Tyler Shough the starter during spring, and he’ll hope that Shough can build with a loaded receiving corps over the summer. The top 5 receivers from last year all return in an offense that was 12th in the country in passing. Jerand Bradley led the way last season with 744 yards on 51 catches. The 6–5 receiver also caught 6 touchdowns, and he will surely improve upon those numbers in the fall. Texas Tech loses their #2 running back, but Tahj Brooks returns with 695 yards and 7 touchdowns. In addition, the offensive line returns 4 of their 5 starters from last season, and they add Western Kentucky transfer Rusty Staats. This offense has all the pieces in place to be the best in the Big 12, and there is no doubt that the Red Raiders will put up points this year.
As has often been the case in Lubbock over the years, the defense in 2022 was not good enough. The Raiders allowed 426 yards per game (108th) and 29.2 points per game (93rd). The strength of this defense will be the defensive line which returns 6 of its top 7 from last year. However, Tyree Wilson is the one who left and he was the #7 pick in the NFL draft. Despite the loss of Wilson, the returners played 2,837 combined snaps, and interior lineman Jaylon Hutchings was one of the best in the country last year. The Red Raiders also lost their top 2 linebackers from last year, so Jacob Rodriguez and Isaac Smith will have to step up and have a good year. Tech had 8 different players with at least 100 snaps in the secondary last year and 4 of them return. Dadrion Taylor-Demerson led the defense in snap count last year, and he also contributed 81 tackles and 2 interceptions. Top cornerback Rayshad Williams also returns.
Texas Tech brought in its best recruiting class since 2011 this past year, ranking 27th in the country. Given their 4 year recruiting average of 45, this is a huge win. The top recruit of the 2023 class is Edge Isaiah Crawford. The 4-star recruit from Post, TX actually missed his entire senior season with a knee injury, so hopefully he’s able to get in at Tech and pick up where he left off. The Raiders also brought in edge defender Steve Linton from Syracuse who will be able to contribute immediately. In addition, McGuire is off to a hot start in the 2024 recruiting class. Tech currently ranks first among Big 12 schools for 2024.
Tech fans have high expectations for this season, and they should. With so much returning from a great offense it’ll be hard for anyone to stop Texas Tech this year. If the defense can just get to average the Red Raiders immediately turn into a Big 12 title contender. All that said, even if this year doesn’t go as fans hope, they should reserve their judgment for another few years down the road. With Texas and Oklahoma leaving the Big 12, and Texas Tech recruiting the way they are, it’s possible that McGuire gets this thing rolling. Only time will tell, but I think Tech is in the best position to take over the Big 12 when the blue-bloods leave.
