Cowboys stadium visit renews McGuire's thirst for title-level football

For Joey McGuire, the idea that he was a college head coach, the realization of a dream, hit home this spring at the conclusion of a youth football camp.

They did it up right for the kids, bringing out the Masked Rider, Fearless Champion and the Texas Tech cheerleaders. Then they let the kids run down the tunnel at Jones AT&T Stadium onto the field.

"I'm standing at the 50-yard line, at the logo," McGuire said. "I'm not running out, but just seeing those young kids and the smiles on their faces, that probably is the closest moment up until now, until game one. ... I cannot wait. I can't wait to come out in front of those fans. I'm glad that we're opening at home."

McGuire basked in another moment Thursday, when he returned to AT&T Stadium for his first Big 12 media days as a college head coach. He knows what it's like to play here for all the marbles, having won UIL state championships at the Dallas Cowboys' palace as the Cedar Hill head coach in 2013 and 2014 and having coached in a Big 12 championship game with Baylor in 2019.

No one expects Tech to come anywhere close to playing for all the marbles this season, but don't tell McGuire that.

"The expectation is to play in this building," he told a group of reporters. "This is where the Big 12 championship is awarded, and our plan is to play in it. People have said, 'How long is that going to take?' Well, it's my job to accelerate the process. I want it to happen this year. I know the team does, too. How are we going to build to that?"

How indeed.

Even though the Red Raiders finished 7-6 last year with a bowl victory, media who cover the Big 12 forecast Tech to finish next to last in the conference in McGuire's first season.

"Well, the conference champion was (picked) number eight last year," McGuire said, "so that should tell you something. The rankings are awesome. It's great for a start, but Baylor won the conference and they were picked eight last year. ... This conference, you better tee it up every single week, and it's wide open."

His new players are convinced.

"He knows what it takes to win," receiver Myles Price said. "He understands what it takes to win. He's been there multiple times, so this is not his first rodeo. Yeah, first rodeo in college, but he's still been coaching college football for a while. He's been a head coach before, so he knows exactly what it takes."

McGuire knows it matters, not just to him and the players. The Red Raiders snapped a string of five consecutive losing seasons last year, but they still haven't finished better than .500 in the conference since 2009.

"It's really important to this fan base to get this team right and to win games, and man, I'm just glad to be a part of it," McGuire said.

What will be their look?

New Tech offensive coordinator Zach Kittley was at the controls of the FBS' most prolific passing offense last season at Western Kentucky, but upon returning to his alma mater, Kittley inherited two running backs who cracked the 500-yard mark last season and three tall, talented tight ends.

How they put it all together is the source of some conjecture.

"In the interview, he said, 'Coach, I'm going to find our best 11 players,' " McGuire said. " 'I'm going to get them on the field, and we're going to score a lot of points.' He said, 'Whenever I was at Western Kentucky, (in) our best 11, we had four really good receivers. At Texas Tech, we have three really good tight ends,' and so it's going to look a little bit different.

"One thing about me, I'm a defensive coach, so we're going to play complementary football."

Expectations grow for Wilson

If Tyree Wilson plays the way he's capable this season, McGuire said, he can be an early entry for the NFL draft — and not as a fringe prospect. The 6-foot-6, 273-pound defensive end finished last season with 13 1/2 tackles for loss and seven sacks, including two in the Liberty Bowl.

"There's been two very reputable NFL scouting groups that have shown ... if he can duplicate and add to it, then he is a mid-round first-round draft pick," McGuire said. "I think that in (Tim) DeRuyter's defense, you're going to see him really shine."

Wilson will play field defensive end, McGuire said, meaning he'll generally line up to the wide side of the field. He'll also be deployed as a standup edge player part of the time.

As Wilson walked under the bright lights at AT&T Stadium, he was asked how he'd like to make it his professional home.

"It would be good to play for the Cowboys, in Dallas, not too far from Lubbock, not too far from where I'm from," the West Rusk graduate said. "It would be a great location."

But Wilson said that thought can wait until later.

"The biggest focus is the team," he said, "because if the team does good, it'll bring the spotlight not only to me, but the other players on the team. The main focus is playing here in December for the Big 12 championship."

If you build it

Tech's appearance at Big 12 media days came two days after its athletics department announced plans for a $200 million investment into football facilities. The biggest components of the project are a four-level south end zone building at Jones AT&T Stadium and the two-level Womble Football Center.

The project is scheduled to begin immediately after the 2022 regular season and be completed in time for the 2024 season. It'll be linked by a skybridge running from the south end zone building to the areas of the Womble Football Center and the already-present Sports Performance Center. That gives players and staff easy access to the stadium, the team's two grass practice fields and its indoor facility.

"I think it's going to be the best in the country," McGuire said. "It's going to tie four fields together. So it's a really big deal for us, and I think it's a game changer."

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Cowboys stadium visit renews McGuire's thirst for title-level football