Texas Tech Football Scratch Pad: Injury and Kicking Situation Updates

Head Coach Matt Wells:

  • Kickers [Jonathan Garibay, Trey Wolff, and Gabriel Lozano] performed well, were 17 of 18, 9 of 9 live, much better day. The offensive line protected well, lot of explosives on offense. The defense stopped the run fairly well and had an excellent day in the red zone. Always give-and-take in training camp, defense did a great job on the goal line and the offense needs to punch those in.
  • A good amount of improvement since spring, it has been a big focus of individual drills, the tackling will be a key to the defensive success this year. The yards after contact is a huge stat for us defensively and it is a key part of playing great defense and a major challenge and interesting to see how we stack up in the Big 12.
  • Kicker battle still going.
  • Good with a lot of training camp injuries, Gilbert Ibeneme (shoulder) and Cameron Cantrell (collar bone). We’ve had guys that have sat out, but it will be a key week and will have to do some extra conditioning.
  • Terence Steele, to be determined, but he is practicing in a limited role.
  • A little bit, don’t want to put the entire onus on them, we missed some passes too. Has to be factored into.
  • Dawson Deaton and Jack Anderson didn’t have spring ball and only have 15 practices into this offense, so they have had their production increase. Communication factor taes reps and time. Weston Wright and Madison Akamnonu still battling [at left guard]. I like where those guys are at.
  • [Wells is smiling as he answers the question if Alan Bowman likes his offensive line] I don’t hang out with them on Friday night, I think he likes them, but yeah.
  • Start into Montana State this weekend, already game-planned them over the summer and will finalize over the next 4 or 5 days. At night we start working on it a whole lot more.
  • We have a lot of situational football to be practiced.
  • [Most improved position] Zech McPhearson and the progress he’s made, Demarcus Fields has practiced really good. Des Smith has kept up and John Davis has played really well. Seeing the play of our H’s, Rigdon, Mannix, Xavier White, they are in the conversation for playing time and gives us more than we thought coming out of the spring.
  • Punt returner: Adrian Frye, Zech McPhearson, Chux Nwabuko III. Kickoff returner: Doug Coleman, Tah’Zhawn, KeSean Carter, Dadrian Taylor.
  • Jackson Tyner is starting to earn trust with the staff, he’s not where he needs to be, but he has been deciently efficient and he got here days before camp started.

A-J Media’s Don Williams and RedRaiderSports’ Brandon Soliz have their respective notebooks from yesterday’s presser. See above. Williams’ article notes that the Red Raider Club kickoff luncheon is set for today and it should be a ton of fun:

Former Tech quarterbacks Joe Barnes, Billy Joe Tolliver and B.J. Symons will be part of a panel discussion at the Red Raider Club kickoff luncheon Tuesday at the Memorial Civic Center. Doors open at 11:15 a.m. and the annual event gets under way at noon.

Williams also notes that Donny Anderson will be the headliner for the Knights of Columbus Tech Night on Saturday so that’s terrific as well.

A-J Media’s Don Williams writes about the issues that the offensive line has had this spring and preseason camp:

The unit might not operate as smoothly as that implies right out of the gate this season. Terence Steele, Jack Anderson and new starting center candidate Dawson Deaton are trying to put significant physical issues behind them and Madison Akamnonu is trying to hold off one of the young pups.

Anderson and Deaton underwent off-season shoulder surgeries. They were back from the start of preseason practice. Steele, in early summer, suffered what Tech coach Matt Wells has described as an “upper-body injury,” and there’s no guarantee he’ll be ready for the Aug. 31 season opener against Montana State.

These are scrimmage highlights I think and how about that Tyler Carr catch to start things off?!?!

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