Good morning. I don’t know that I’ll post tomorrow as Fits and I are running in our local Turkey Trot (I am expecting this year to be the first year he will absolutely whip my rear as I hope to run a sub 23 minute and he’ll run much faster than that), but you can expect Friday to be a post-cornucopia as football and basketball will have previews for their respective games (basketball plays on Friday at 7 and of course football plays on Saturday at 11).
On the Court (Volleyball)
Texas Tech volleyball hosts Houston tonight at 5:00 p.m. and then hosts Arizona on Friday at 1:00 p.m.:
The Red Raiders (13-15, 5-11) will host Houston (11-15, 6-10) and Arizona (18-9, 7-9) in the United Supermarkets Arena for their last matches of the 2024 season. The Cougars will come to town on Wednesday at 5 p.m. as the Wildcats will follow shortly after on Friday at 1 p.m. following Thanksgiving Day.
Tech took down Houston 3-0 early in the month but have not played new Big 12 member Arizona since 2008. The Wildcats are a perfect 6-0-2 against Tech and are one of the hotter teams in the conference, riding a five-game winning streak.
On the Pitch
Proud of this group ❤️🖤
Introducing our four December graduates:
⚽️@sobillovich
⚽️@BlackburnMacy
⚽️@jillianlm10
⚽️@Ashleighw_15#WreckEm | @TexasTech pic.twitter.com/aMuM2pbGiy— Texas Tech Soccer (@TexasTechSoccer) November 26, 2024
On the Court (Basketball)
Grind don’t stop in paradise 🏖️ #WreckEm pic.twitter.com/gVn0rsLzQ9
— Lady Raider Basketball (@LadyRaiderWBB) November 27, 2024
On the Gridiron
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal’s Don Williams on the upcoming 105-player roster situation:
There are 98 players on the current Tech roster with eligibility remaining beyond this season. Additionally, the Red Raiders have commitments from 16 players to sign next Wednesday — they’d take one or two more with a yes from the right guy — and McGuire said Monday he plans to add 10 to 12 players via the transfer portal.
Three current seniors also are eligible for a medical hardship waiver that would restore a year of eligibility lost to injury: linebacker Bryce Ramirez for the 2022 season, linebacker Trent Low for the 2023 season and offensive guard Vinny Sciury for the 2024 season. Rulings on such waivers usually come shortly after the season.
That adds up to 127 to 129, depending on portal adds. It’s way beyond next year’s anticipated 105, but not quite as cumbersome as it sounds. From Tech’s 2023 roster, 20 players with eligibility remaining weren’t back in 2024, most departing via the portal. Expect a similar turnover rate this winter, players either leaving of their own volition for more playing time elsewhere or being nudged out with the promise of help finding a new school.
I wrote about the incoming transfers in yesterday’s Morning Stake as McGuire broke down what he expects in transfers:
1 older running back.
Not looking at receiver, but are open to adding if a game changer.
1 tight end.
2 to 3 offensive linemen.
2 to 3 defensive linemen or edge guys.
2 cornerbacks (possibly).
1 safety.
1 kicker (possibly).
Red Raider Sports’ Ben Golan talked to newest offensive line commit Danilo Guberinich:
“Yeah, I am coming out there on an official this weekend. I really want to see the coaches in person but I also wanna get to know the players. That’s one of the biggest things for me is the culture of the team and if I can really connect with those guys so I can sorta get my foot in the door. That’s really what I wanna do.”
Inside the Red Raiders’ Joe Yeager has his Yeager Shots from the Oklahoma State game:
But doggone it, there is absolutely something to that “gamer” tag that is sometimes affixed to Morton. When it comes down to crunch time, Morton elevates his game and flat out makes winning plays. He did it repeatedly on that final drive to beat Iowa State in Ames, and he did it again to douse the Cowboys’ hopes of stealing this game late in Stillwater. The main play I have in mind is the quarterback draw on 3rd-and-11 from Texas Tech’s nine with 1:39 remaining in the game. Given Texas Tech’s utter inability to stop Oklahoma State’s offense in the second half, I truly believe that if the Red Raiders failed to convert that third down, the Cowboys would have marched down and scored a potentially game-tying touchdown. (They then would have had to record a two-point conversion to send the game into overtime.) But Morton, relying exclusively on grit and toughness rather than talent and athleticism, weaved and plowed his way for 12 yards and a fresh set of downs. That’s the sort of play that only a gamer, a winner, can make.