The Daily Texan spoke with Ty Kaplan of The Daily Toreador to get his insights on Friday’s matchup against the Texas Tech Red Raiders.
Daily Texan: What are the strengths of this Texas Tech team?
Ty Kaplan: The rushing offense and rushing defense both have been unbelievable the past few weeks. Tahj Brooks, our running back, has been a top-five running back in the nation. He has had so much success, in the last eight of nine games he’s at 100 yards rushing. He’s starting to find the end zone a little bit more, starting to break away on the bigger runs recently. Then, on the other side of the ball, our rush defense has had back-to-back weeks now of holding a top player to one of their lower games.
DT: What makes Brooks so special?
TK: Tahj just is a bulldozer. You watch him run and he’ll have five, six guys on him and he’s still moving. There’s never a one-yard, two-yard play. It’s scripted to be a one-yard, two-yard play, and it turns into a seven or 10-yard play. This guy runs with people on his back and it’s unbelievable to watch. And he’s just very intelligent, too. He’s a senior, and he’s one of the smartest football players I’ve ever seen play the game.
DT: How has quarterback Behren Morton been, and what’s the confidence level going forward?
TK: With Morten, I don’t think the confidence can be higher. When he plays the full 60 minutes, he’s 5–0, he has not lost a game where he’s played all 60 minutes. He has such a good repertoire with the receivers, especially the younger ones. Behren has stepped into this role so well, and I think it’s because he knows this offense so well. The guy’s got an arm, when we recruited him we called him Gunslinger, he’s the closest comparison to Patrick Mahomes that we can think of. He’s finally getting to sling the ball now, we’re seeing that, and he looks really good.
DT: How do you feel about Coach McGuire as a coach?
TK: Coach McGuire, in my opinion, is one of the most passionate coaches for his players in the entire college football realm. McGuire cares so much about being a family and winning together. Truly McGuire is one of those coaches that you trust to run the program. Even if you start 1–3, like Tech did, you trust that he will turn you around and get you to a bowl game. And he has. Another thing to note about McGuire is he’s a November coach. We went 4–0 last November, and we’re 3–0 this November. He knows how to win in the final stretch.
DT: How do the team and the fans feel about playing UT in their final game as rivals?
TK: On the coaching side, I would say it’s a little less about UT this year. It’s a matter of ‘We want to finish the season 7–5, we don’t want to finish 6–6.’ It doesn’t matter who we’re playing this weekend, we want to have a winning record to close out this year. Winning that last game in Lubbock, and then having the chance to go to UT, with them ranked No. 7, and us doing so well right now, to win that game would mean the world to Lubbock as a whole and a city.
DT: What are the keys to victory for Texas Tech on Friday?
TK: It’s winning the trenches. Texas possesses such a strong offensive line, and Tech has a strong defensive line but hasn’t had the best pass-rushing ability this year. Great run defense and it’s helpful that Texas is without a starter, but getting to the quarterback (is important). Ewers is so dynamic as a passer, and it’s so important that they get to him. On the other side, Texas has one of the best-run defenses in the nation. It’s all about ‘Can our guys open up a hole?’ and ‘Can our guys protect (Morton)?’
