Texas Tech Red Raiders 2018 Football Preview
Opening Statement: It's put up or shut up time for head coach Kliff Kingsbury in Lubbock, as he enters year 6 with an overall record of 30-33. Personally, I would have fired him after each of the past two seasons, and given that most outlets have them projected as finishing 8th in the Big 12 this fall, most folks do not believe that things are going to get much better moving forward. With just one skill player coming back on offense, and a defense that ranked 104th last season overall, there is just no real buzz around things changing, and it would be thought easily that Kingsbury could be dead man walking as head coach entering the 2018 campaign.
Breakdown Offense: Nic Shimonek is gone at QB, so it's time to move on to the next in line of plug and play QBs that populate the air raid system. Sophomore Jett Duffey and junior McLane Carter are in a battle for the QB spot heading into fall camp. Neither did much to establish themselves to this point however. Duffy is extremely raw, and Carter lacks overall arm strength and accuracy. This is bad news for a coach who desperately needs someone to step up.
De'Leon Ward and Tre King look to split carries this fall, as they did throughout spring camp. King rushed for 623 yards as the backup last fall, and averaged 4.76 yards per carry. He scored 5 times. Ward did not carry the football at all last fall. The issue is that everyone on the roster at RB is either extremely raw, or is not much of a threat to break out.
TJ Vasher is the lone returning starter at WR this fall. He caught just 29 passes last fall, and totaled 545 yards while averaging 18.79 yards per catch. He scored 6 times. Antoine Wesley, De'Quan Bowman, and Donta Thompson left spring ball holding the other 3 starting spots. They combined for 13 receptions last fall. There is virtually zero depth or experience after this group.
The line returns 4 starters in Travis Bruffy (LT), Paul Stawarz (C), Jack Anderson (RG), and Terence Steele (RT). Dawson Deaton is penciled in at LG as a freshman. Jacob Hines could push him for the job in fall camp, while Madison Akamnonu and Bailey Smith add some depth outside at the Tackle spots.
Breakdown Defense: Defense has never been a staple under Kingsbury, and that could be the case again in 2018, as the Red Raiders ranked 104th in total defense last fall, and 122nd nationally against the pass. Broderick Washington (DT) and Eli Howard (DE) are your returning starters on the line. Howard led the team last fall with 8.5 TFLs and 5.5 sacks. Washington finished last fall with a pair of sacks. Nick McCann is penciled in at NT, while Kolin Hill returns to start at DE. Hill totaled 6 TFLs last fall, while McCann played in 10 games as a freshman.
Dakota Allen and Jordyn Brooks both return to start at LB. Allen led the team with 102 tackles last fall, and totaled 6 TFLs. Brooks totaled 89 tackles, but made just 0.5 tackles behind the line last fall. Depth at LB may be an issue after the starting unit.
The secondary returns 4 of 5 starters in the 4-2-5 set. Vaughnte Dorsey, Jah'Shawn Johnson, and Justus Parker all return at Safety, while DaMarcus Fields is the returning starter at CB. Fields recorded 7 PBUs last fall. Dorsey totaled 3 PBUs and added 59 tackles. Johnson recorded 97 tackles, and added 5 PBUs. Parker led the team with 4 INTs, and added 3 QB hurries and 4 forced fumbles, and was good for 42 tackles. Octavious Morgan is the other starting CB, and he finished with 8 PBUs last fall.
Breakdown Special Teams: Clayton Hatfield returns at PK for the Red Raiders, but hit just 6/10 FG attempts last fall. He missed 7 games with injury.
Dominic Panazzalo managed to average 41.4 yards per punt last season despite some costly shanks. He will be expected to be more consistent this fall as a senior.
Both KR and PR jobs are wide open heading into fall camp, and likely will not be settled until the season opener against Ole Miss on 9/1 in Houston.
Final Analysis: It would seem that the power that be are finally awakened to the fact that they may not have the right guy running their program. It's win now or else for Kingsbury after 5 mostly wasted years of settling towards the Big 12 basement. This program does not have to be bad, but it has settled for that with Kingsbury for far too long. With all of the massive questions and holes on offense heading into the fall, it would seem next to impossible for this team to finish high enough in the conference standings to save Kingsbury now, short of a miracle. The first 6 weeks of the schedule alone could finish him off.
No comments:
Post a Comment