What we’re hearing after first Texas Tech football scrimmage

Few, if any, outside the Texas Tech football team’s inner circle were allowed to see the Red Raiders’ first preseason scrimmage on Saturday. Anyone near Jones AT&T Stadium heard it, though.

Subjecting his players to game-like pressure was one of Tech coach Joey McGuire’s takeaways from his trip to see Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell. McGuire said last month he wants his offensive players to feel the heat as much as possible, from having them enter via the visitors’ tunnel, occupy the opposing sideline and have to deal with crowd noise.

“We really cranked it up,” McGuire said of the piped-in sound. “I think the sound system has even more. Gio (senior associate athletics director Robert Giovannetti) was trying to be, I guess, sweet to all the neighbors around the stadium, but it was great for us.”

Related: Texas Tech football’s Dylan Spencer to miss season with knee injury

Related: What stood out to Joey McGuire in Texas Tech football’s first scrimmage

The NCAA approved experimental use of in-helmet communication devices last season for bowls, including the Independence Bowl in which Tech beat California. In-helmet communication is approved for full use this season with one player on each side of the ball allowed to wear a device.

“We piped in crowd noise whenever we were on that big Jumbotron end,” McGuire said, “and all our quarterbacks had to cover their ears because it was hard for those guys to hear (the in-helmet communication).”

Here are other developments McGuire discussed in a post-scrimmage session with reporters:

Wide-receiver screen game shows signs

Tech coaches put an offseason emphasis on improving a wide-receiver screen game that was lacking in 2023. They studied teams that did it well, especially Washington and Florida.

Drae McCray took advantage of some opportunities in the scrimmage, and McGuire said new…


Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/were-hearing-first-texas-tech-090930429.html

Author : Lubbock Avalanche-Journal

Publish date : 2024-08-11 09:09:30

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