Expectation has been Texas Tech head football coach Joey McGuire’s favorite word.
The second-year football coach knows there’s going to be a lot of expectations in Lubbock this fall, which is fair considering the Red Raiders are coming off an 8-5 season that culminated in a Texas Bowl victory over Ole Miss.
But he knows there’s more that his team is capable of as Texas Tech sets it sights on a Big 12 Conference championship.
McGuire shared his thoughts and what those expectations will be for Year 2 as he made a stop in the Permian Basin Thursday as a part of this year’s Red Raider Club Wreck ‘Em Tour.
The tour made a stop in Odessa at the Marriott Hotel and Conference Center.
The tour also made a stop in Midland later in the afternoon at the Bush Convention Center.
“I’m really excited,” McGuire said. “It’s great for our fan base. It’s good for me to see everybody again. It was a good year last year. We want to win the Big 12. As soon as the bowl game was over, we started talking about it and we said ‘hey, we had a great year, but we didn’t reach our goal so how do we reach that goal?’ and part of it is coming to places like Odessa and Midland because this is such a great fan base. Jones AT&T Stadium is such a tough place to play and the reason why is because of the fans and we want to make sure that we get around them to fill up Jones AT&T Stadium here in a couple of months.”
The Wreck ‘Em tour featured not only McGuire but also Texas Tech Athletics Director Kirby Hocutt and new men’s head basketball coach Grant McCasland who also coached at Midland College from 2004-09.
The tour has been all over West Texas this week, making stops in Amarillo on Tuesday and Abilene on May 22.
The event gives the Texas Tech athletics department a chance to meet with Red Raider fans and alums.
“We just want to talk about how excited we are and the expectations,” McGuire said. “We’re asking them to show up and we have a deal where can someone show up and handle 60 minutes of us. I need them to understand that they’re a part of that ‘us’ when we line up against Oregon, Houston and TCU. We have to make it a hostile environment. I want them to understand how important they are.”
The college football landscape is constantly changing and this year will be no different. The Big 12 will see new members Central Florida, BYU and the University of Houston join the conference before Texas and Oklahoma depart for the SEC in 2024.
McGuire talked about the challenges the newly-expanded conference will present when it comes to recruiting.
“I think it helps because it puts us in different markets,” McGuire said. “We’re primarily going to recruit Texas and Louisiana, Oklahoma and the surrounding states. But there’s always a kid where you can connect. Whenever you’re in those different markets … it opens up places to go and recruit and bring the best players to Texas Tech.”
Not only are there changes happening around college football but also in the Red Raiders’ own backyard as Jones AT&T Stadium is currently undergoing renovations with its south end zone which includes the new Womble Football Center which will be located across from the stadium.
McGuire is excited for the new additions.
“It’ll be as good as anywhere in the country,” McGuire said. “I feel like I can say that because I have so many kids around the country who have played in different places and have seen so many college stadiums and facilities and when this project is finished, it’ll be as good as anywhere in the nation. It’s going to be beautiful and make the stadium that much tougher to play because of how loud it’ll be. It’s going to be fun to play there when that gets done.”
Construction is expected to continue into the 2023 season.
The Red Raiders open their 2023 campaign against Wyoming on Sept. 2 on the road. Their home opener will be the following week against an Oregon team led by second-year head coach Dan Lanning on Sept. 9.
Texas Tech will finish its nonconference slate against Tarleton State at home on Sept. 16.
McGuire is excited about the amount of returning players, especially on offense.
“The biggest difference is the experience we have coming back,” McGuire said. “I was listening to the radio station the other day and we have about 75 percent of our offense coming back. I feel like we have two NFL quarterbacks, not only that but two NFL quarterbacks who have won games in power five conferences. So I think that’s the biggest thing. I did learn firsthand that playing in Lubbock is very tough. You can see how tough it is on people. We need to keep creating that where it is tough to come in and play Texas Tech at home.”
>> Coming home: For Texas Tech’s newest men’s basketball coach, Thursday was a chance to come back home.
McCasland is no stranger to the Permian Basin, having coached at Midland College for five years.
But he’s also back in Lubbock where it all began for him. McCasland served as Texas Tech’s director of operations from 1999-2001.
“It is home,” McCasland said. “We have four kids and all of them were born in West Texas. They were born in this area. It is home to us. But I think home is a place that you believe in and we both got degrees from Texas Tech. We believe in the education and the athletic department and we believe in the community. It is unique and it’s awesome.”
He was named the Red Raiders’ head coach in April, coming from a successful stint at North Texas.
“I’m thrilled,” McCasland said. “It’s hard to imagine that when we (my wife and I) first started at Texas Tech back in ’99 that we would be where we are today. You can’t put in words the excitement and I’m looking forward to continuing the tradition of Texas Tech basketball I’m glad to be a part of a great athletic department at Texas Tech.”
McCasland inherits a Texas Tech team that went 16-16 and saw the departure of Mark Adams after the former coach made racially insensitive comments to a player.
McCasland is the third different head men’s basketball coach at Texas Tech in five years.
However, he’s coming off an NIT championship season with the Mean Green and is up for a new challenge.
He also knows there’s a lot to live up to, considering that Texas Tech was playing for a national championship just four years ago.
“I don’t think there’s any other pressure than what we hoped,” McCasland said. “I think it’s the right time. It’s definitely a very exciting time to be here because there are expectations. I wouldn’t be here if we weren’t in a position to win championships.”
Like with college football, college basketball is also undergoing a changing landscape and McCasland talked about the challenges it presents in recruiting.
“I think one thing you have to believe where you are at,” McCasland said. “People have to believe in what you’re doing and who you are. Some of it can be transactional in recruiting and we’re trying to make it relational. The key component to us recruiting in West Texas is we live here and we love it. That makes it easier for people to love it. The other thing is college basketball is changing but there’s a significant amount of support in this area. If you look at other programs, there’s not the same kind of support like Texas Tech gets. It’s unique. It’s about making sure the people we’re recruiting know that they will be loved here and that we believe in it with our whole heart.”
So far, McCasland has enjoyed getting to visit people on the tour.
“This is the fun part,” McCasland said. “Honestly, it is. It’s the interactions that you love. It’s the people that you get to know and the people that have poured their heart and money into a great place. It’s a chance you get to one, encourage them and tell them we’re on the right track and two, get to know them better. I think the relationship component is why we’re back, because we have so many great relationships and we’re excited about building new ones.”
