Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire addressed his teams upcoming matchup against West Virginia this weekend. McGuire briefly discussed his quarterback situation and detailed what he sees in the Mountaineers.
Texas Tech could deploy three quarterbacks this weekend against West Virginia. The Red Raiders started the season with Tyler Though at quarterback, but he suffered a collarbone injury in week one against Murray State. McGuire said Shough has been practicing and if he is good enough to go they will play him along with their two other quarterbacks.
“It was good to see Tyler throw. He was back in shoulder pads today,” McGuire said. “He’ll practice tomorrow then we’ll see if he’s going to be released. If he’s released then you’ll see all three quarterbacks. If not you’ll see both quarterbacks on Saturday.”
Those other two quarterbacks are Donovan Smith and Behren Morton. Both have seen action since the beginning of Shough’s absence, with Smith getting more of an opportunity. Smith, has played in all six games, passing for 11 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He has passed for 1,475 yards, but did not start in Texas Tech’s most recent game against Oklahoma State due to injury.
“Yesterday I thought Donovan was healthy as he’s been,” McGuire said Monday. “I think for all three of them the bye week was good, but for Donovan watching him yesterday was probably the best having no contact whatsoever for five days.”
Morton has seen limited game action, with the biggest chunk of his game action coming against Oklahoma State. The redshirt-freshman was 39 for 62 passing against Oklahoma State, with 379 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.
“It will really be as the week goes, who has the best week,” McGuire said on who will start against the Mountaineers. “I think with where we’re at, I think you’re definitely going to see both of them more in this game than what you’ve seen of late.”
As for how Texas Tech is preparing for the Mountaineers, McGuire said West Virginia has momentum after their win against Baylor and they have firepower on both sides of the ball.
“They won a huge game Thursday. Their guys played really well,” McGuire said. “I thought their two big receivers played well and they’re really dangerous… their running backs — they’ve got some tough running backs and their quarterback threw the ball well on Thursday against a really good defense.”
McGuire said West Virginia’s defense stood out to him against Baylor as they were able to force multiple turnovers against the Bears.
“The thing that stood out the most for them, causing four turnovers that really changed the game,” McGuire said. “Defensively I think they have one of the best defensive lineman not only in the Big 12 but in the country in (Dante) Stills.”
McGuire said Stills’ versatility is what makes him great.
“The thing with him is he can play every position on the defensive line,” McGuire said. “He can play interior, he can play nose. They’re starting to play him more at end this year so he’s a really good pass rusher, he’s got a lot of power, and he’s played a lot of snaps.”
McGuire said West Virginia quarterback JT Daniels’ pocket presence impresses him and paired with his arm talent, that is why he has been good for the Mountaineers this season.
“What he does is he moves in the pocket well and then he’s got a really good arm,” McGuire said. “He’s got a good idea of what he needs to do with the ball and then he’s got two receivers that can really go get the ball.”
