2013 Texas Tech Spring Football Analysis

2012 Texas Tech Red Raiders ... Head Coach: Kliff Kingsbury

Texas Tech Red Raiders

2013 Schedule
8/31 at SMU
9/7 Stephen F. Austin
9/12 TCU
9/21 Texas State
9/28 OPEN DATE
10/5 at Kansas
10/12 Iowa State
10/19 at West Virginia
10/26 at Oklahoma
11/2 Oklahoma State
11/9 Kansas State
11/16 Baylor
11/23 OPEN DATE
11/28 at Texas

Why To Be Excited Kliff. The Red Raider faithful never took to Tommy Tuberville and many are still ticked off that Mike Leach is doing his thing in Washington State. Now the program has one of its guys at the helm and ready to show what he can do. Kliff Kingsbury knows Red Raider football, and while the passing game was just fine last year finishing second in the nation, it wasn’t the devastating attack that made defenses quake. Kingsbury will get a grace period, but the hope is there that the astronomical numbers and the fun will all return. However, with eight starters back on defense, the league’s second best defense in yards allowed will likely shine early on. However …

Why To Be Grouchy The Spinal Tap drummer situation at defensive coordinator continues with Matt Wallerstedt the fifth coach to give the gig a shot in the last five years. The front seven might return intact, but all-star safety Cody Davis is gone along with fellow safety D.J. Johnson and corner Eugene Neboh. There might be an adjustment period for an offense that loses three starters including LaAdrian Waddle and Terry McDaniel on the outside and Deveric Gallington in the middle. While several of the top targets are back, leading receiver Darrin Moore is gone along with Tyson Williams and quarterback Seth Doege. Michael Brewer has a little bit of experience, but he’s only 6-1 and around 185 pounds; he’s not quite the big bomber the Red Raider offense is used to.

What Needs Working On Wallerstedt’s first job is to generate a pass rush and to get his defense to come up with more big plays. There weren’t enough hits on the quarterback, and it proved costly time and again in key spots. Overall the pass defense was fantastic, allowing a mere 192 yards per game, but the better passing teams other than West Virginia had few problems moving the ball. In the eight wins, Tech generated 15 sacks. In the five losses it came up with a grand total of three. That went hand-in-hand with the turnover issue, recovering a mere three fumbles with none over the final six games of the year. The secondary picked off just eight passes, and overall the D came up with just one takeaway – a key interception against Minnesota – in the last six games.

Non-Conference Games: at SMU, Stephen F. Austin, Texas State
Realistic Best Case Record: 9-3
Worst Case Record: 4-8
Likely Finish: 7-5

Pre-Preseason Projected Wins: at SMU, Stephen F. Austin, Texas State, TCU, Iowa State, Kansas State, Baylor

Pre-Preseason Projected Losses: at Kansas, at West Virginia, at Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, at Texas

Schedule Analysis: Kliff Kingsbury’s first season should start off with a big of a bang going to Dallas to face a good-looking SMU, but it has to be a good warm-up game along with the home opener against Stephen F. Austin before dealing with TCU at home. If all goes well and according to plan, the Red Raiders should be 4-0 with Texas State up next and a bye week to prepare for a road trip to Kansas. With Iowa State to follow, if Tech can beat TCU, a 6-0 start isn’t out of the question before the fun really begins.

The Kansas game kicks off a run of three road games in four weeks with West Virginia and Oklahoma coming after the home date against ISU. On the plus side, Tech goes almost all of November without playing a true road game, hosing Oklahoma State and Kansas State before playing Baylor in Jerry World in Arlington. The regular season closes out with a week off before going to Texas.

Team Concerns For 2013: Kliff Kingsbury has to get his defense to start coming up with more big plays. There were big improvements after some rocky years, but the Red Raiders still came up with a pathetic three recovered fumbles - with none in the last six games - while finishing last in the league in turnover margin. It'll start with the pass rush that wasn't effective enough on a regular basis. The offense is always going to bomb away, and it'll be a stunner if it doesn't lead the league in passing, but getting more from the Big 12-worst ground attack would make things easier.

The 2013 Class Is Heavy On ... Receivers. Kliff Kingsbury needs receivers for his high-powered offense to work with, and he got them led by Dylan Cantrell, a big, fast playmaker. Devin Lauderdale and tight end Gary Moore are just a few of the good pass catchers with a high ceiling. is quarterback Davis Webb the right guy to run the attack in a few years? He has the tools and the talent to be a statistical star. The secondary got the biggest boost for the defense with corners Maurice Chandler and Dee Paul leading the way.

2012 CFN Recruiting Ranking: 26. That Class Was Heavy On ... Instant help for the defense. Will Texas Tech be patient enough to let last year’s terrific recruiting class mature? Tommy Tuberville is on the hot seat after the 2011 collapse, but he came up with a whopper of a recruiting season and is doing another good job this year. However, he needs the defense to improve in a big hurry, and that means the 2009 and 2010 classes of good defenders have to start producing, and this year’s group of prospects must fill in the gaps. 

2011 CFN Recruiting Ranking: 15. That Class Was Heavy On ... Running backs. This class might be the one that allows Tommy Tuberville to balance out the attack a bit more, but the running backs have to be as good as advertised. This is a huge, HUGE class with plenty of options for just about every position. The defensive line got a major influx of talent with JUCO transfers Dennell Wesley and Leon Mackey brought in to play aright away, and linebacker Branden Jackson was a big-time Signing Day pickup. Most importantly, though, this might be the best class of running backs in decades with Kenny Williams, Bradley Marquez, Deandre Washington and Ronnie Daniels all more than just pass catchers; they can run the rock.

2010 CFN Recruiting Ranking: 41. That Class Was Heavy On ... Defensive line. Tommy Tuberville's first class made the most noise keeping QB Scotty Young, but he loaded up the defense with eight linemen including 288-pound JUCO transfer Donald Langley at one tackle spot and fellow JUCOers Lawrence Rumph and Scott Smith on the ends. Overshadowed but still important were key offensive tackles Aleon Calhoun and Beau Carpenter, two big bodies who fit the system. Tuberville also beefed up the secondary with eight recruits including safety Russell Polk and corner Tre'Vante Porter.

2009 CFN Recruiting Ranking: 30. That Class Was Heavy On ... defensive backs. Tech can’t beat Texas or Oklahoma without being able to slow down the pass, and it made sure the defense got plenty of attention to try to upgrade the secondary. D.J. Johnson and Yahshua Williams are very big corners who’ll get time to develop. Adding more size are safeties Will Ford and Terrence Bullitt, while Daniel Cobb will be in the starting mix in a few years.