What Texas Tech Head Coach Joey McGuire had to say about NC State this Week

Texas Tech Head Football Coach Joey McGuire spoke with the media at his weekly press conference earlier this week, and he had a lot to say about the Wolfpack, the Red Raiders opponent tomorrow night in Carter-Finley Stadium. You can watch the video above, but a breakdown of what McGuire had to say is below.

“This is a team that plays with incredible passion. They play really fast. It’s a veteran team.”

“He’s [Devin Leary] is a pro. He’s going to play in the NFL. He’s the real deal. He has a big arm. He can extend the play. He’s played a lot of snaps. When we were recruiting him [when McGuire was at Baylor], we thought he was legit, and he definitely is.

“They’ve got two really, really good running backs, 3 and 0 [Jordan Houston and Demie Sumo]. They’re physical. They finish runs. Zero [Sumo] gave them a Spark in their win against East Carolina. Going to be important how we tackle.”

“They’ve got a veteran offensive line. They bring 4 of their 5 back, and the one they didn’t bring back was a 1st round draft pick [Ikem Ekwonu].”

“Defensively, extremely aggressive. We have history with their Defensive Coordinator [Tony Gibson], who was at West Virginia. A lot of pressure. They are an odd stack team. He’s really one of the originators of that kind of defense. He does a great job with it.”

“It [the 3-3-5 defensive scheme] is going to close the middle of the field, taking a lot of it away from you. They are going to pressure you. They do such a great job showing you one thing, disguise it, and then bring pressure from everywhere.

“I think they return 10 starters on defense. The guys that really standout when you watch film are 32 and 1 [Drake Thomas and Isaiah Moore], and #10 [Tanner Ingle]…he’s one of the best players in the country. Hey plays that hybrid safety in that odd stack…man…he’s deep when the balls being thrown, but when the ball is run, he’s around the football. We’ve got to do a good job accounting for him.”

“Everything I hear from people that have played there is that it is an electric environment. It’s going to be a great road test. They’re a ranked team.”

“They kind of have a chip on their shoulder. Last year, what happened to them in the bowl game was ridiculous. That should not happen. That was bad on the other teams part that it even got to that. They had an opportunity to have a 10 win season, and that means a lot, that would mean a lot around here. Not only do they have a chip on their shoulder, but they have a lot of people back that have a chip on their shoulder.”

“He [Doeren] has a lot of leadership. He has a lot of NFL guys. There’s a lot of guys on that team that are going to be playing on Sundays.”

“I just think he’s done a good job. He’s established his culture. He’s got a good coaching staff. They have one of the longest home winning streaks.

“Excited for him [Malik Dunlap who transferred from NC State to Texas Tech]. He’s going to see a lot of his family. He’s excited. I was excited that he played the way he did Saturday, so he could carry some confidence into the game. It’s going to be a lot of fun for him.”