Hungry to lead: McGuire can't wait for first game as college head coach

A month into the 2021 football season, Baylor coach Dave Aranda wanted some more experienced coaches to be his in-game eyes in the press box. Though it's not his nature to not have a ringside seat, Joey McGuire volunteered.

"Being in the press box for about three or four games, man, it wasn't very fun," McGuire said. "I was like a caged animal up there. I actually threw my headset and (quarterbacks coach) Shawn Bell goes, 'I don't know if I've ever seen anybody throw their headset in the press box.' Something like that, it was tough."

Texas Tech opens the season and the McGuire head-coaching era Saturday against Murray State at Jones AT&T Stadium. McGuire will be back in the spot he cherishes — on the sideline and, even better, in charge of the whole group.

"I haven't been a head coach in front of a team going out on game day in the last five years," said McGuire, who left a successful Texas high-school coaching career to be a Baylor assistant from 2017 to 2021. "I really do believe God put me on this earth to do that, and so I'm really excited to give that pre-game speech and lead those guys down the tunnel. It's going to be incredible."

Tech finished 7-6 last season, ending a streak of five consecutive losing seasons. Two of the Red Raiders' biggest wins came in their last four games — upsets that interim head coach Sonny Cumbie directed against Iowa State and Mississippi State.

McGuire wants to keep steering the Red Raiders in the right direction, though he'll be challenged right away. The second and third games of the season are against No. 24 Houston and at No. 13 North Carolina State. Assuming the Cougars and the Wolfpack remain in The Associated Press Top 25, it will be Tech's first time since 2002 to play two ranked non-conference opponents in the regular season.

But that's looking ahead, and the Red Raiders first need to take care of business against Murray State.

The Racers finished 6-5 last season and 3-3 in the Ohio Valley Conference. OVC teams compete in the FCS, where the scholarship limit is 63 compared to FBS teams' 85.

If McGuire wants to get the Red Raiders' attention, he can point out Murray State played Cincinnati to a 7-7 tie at halftime last season, and the Bearcats finished the year in the College Football Playoff and had nine players drafted. Oh, and they beat Murray State 42-7, but the Racers matched them for a couple of quarters — and missed a short field goal at the end of the half for the lead.

"They're not going to come in here and be intimidated by us," McGuire said, "so we're going to have to do a great job of being the best team at 7 p.m. in that stadium."

Quarterback talk

Tech last week named Tyler Shough the starting quarterback in a three-man competition against Liberty Bowl MVP Donovan Smith and former blue-chip recruit Behren Morton.

Offensive coordinator Zach Kittley said all three played well in spring practice and again in August, but Shough's grasp of the offense set him apart. His understanding of defensive tactics, fronts, coverages and blitzes was "probably just a little bit more than the others."

"I think if you were in this building, no matter what position you were, from the head coach to the offensive coordinator to the GA (graduate assistant) to the student managers that work with us every day, I think it was pretty apparent that Tyler Shough should be the QB1 around here," Kittley said. "It was never really a discussion that coach McGuire and I had. It was just kind of apparent that that's where we needed to go with it."

McGuire maintains all three are going to have pathways to play. He said on Monday there's a "really distinct way we're going to use them" — and, in the backups' case, not just in garbage time near the end of a game.

"You're going to see Donovan in certain red-zone situations," McGuire said, consistent with his desire to use Smith's running ability. "Shough said the other day, 'Coach, you know I can run the football.' I said, 'I know you can.' And he's going to, but I think you'll see Donovan come in in some red-zone situations."

McGuire pictures Morton being used as a change of pace on plays designed to move the pocket.

"One thing that Behren does well — all three of them do — but he's one of the best throwing on the move," McGuire said. "He's got a really live arm, and so there's going to be some stuff like that, where we can move the pocket with him.

"One thing that will just keep evolving is their package and how we're going to use them at different times. We've got some surprises for a lot of people whenever it comes to those three quarterbacks."

Depth chart released

Tech's depth chart for the season opener released Monday contained few surprises. To the extent there were any, it was mostly young players cracking the two-deep. True freshman Coy Eakin is listed No. 2 at Z wide receiver behind starter Loic Fouonji and as a co-No. 2 punt return option behind Adrian Frye.

Former walk-on Joseph Plunk is listed No. 2 at free safety behind Dadrion Taylor-Demerson, and true freshman Joseph Adedire is the top backup to Tyree Wilson at field-side defensive end. The latter is not unexpected, given that McGuire has raved about Adedire's ability.

Plunk is a 5-10, 180-pound sophomore. As a senior at Amarillo Tascosa, he rushed for 2,546 yards and 33 touchdowns and passed for 513 yards and five TDs, helping the Rebels go 10-4.

"He's a tackling machine, man," McGuire said. "He's a coach's kid. He's going to be a coach whenever this is all said and done. (He has) a really high IQ, and one thing about those positions at safety, we do a lot of stuff, and so they've got to be able to get us lined up and be vocal and be sure of themselves, and that's one thing Plunk is."

Veteran offensive lineman Ethan Carde is listed as co-backup with Michael Shanahan at right guard behind starter Landon Peterson. Third guard Jacoby Jackson is listed as backup to left guard Weston Wright, though McGuire has talked as if Jackson is the real-time backup on both sides.

Injury updates

Backup running back Cam'Ron Valdez is out with a knee strain, not severe enough to require surgery. The redshirt freshman from Rockdale could be back by the Sept. 17 game at North Carolina State or the Sept. 24 Big 12 opener against Texas, McGuire said.

"He's running," McGuire said, "but we're not ready to put him in a game yet."

Valdez being unavailable helped true freshman Bryson Donnell earn the third spot on the first-week depth chart behind SaRodorick Thompson and Tahj Brooks.

McGuire said he's hopeful backup linebacker Derrick Lewis can return the week of the NC State game. Lewis has been out since Aug. 9 with an injury in the knee and hamstring area.

"We're in a really good spot when it comes to health, because we had a really physical camp," McGuire said, noting a lack of major injuries in August.

He said running back Tahj Brooks (knee), tight end Mason Tharp (concussion) and boundary end Jesiah Pierre (calf) all are looking good to play after dealing with injuries in camp. Kittley noted coaches and medical staff are being careful with Brooks, but McGuire said Brooks looked good running Sunday under an athletic trainer's watch.

College football

Who: Murray State at Texas Tech

When: 7 p.m. Saturday

Where: Jones AT&T Stadium

Records in 2021: Murray State 6-5, Texas Tech 7-6

Rankings: Murray State receiving votes in FCS coaches poll; Texas Tech unranked.

Online streaming: Big 12 Now on ESPN+

Fast fact: Texas Tech has sold 28,004 season tickets as of Monday.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Hungry to lead: Joey McGuire can't wait for first game as college head coach