Joey McGuire Epitomizes Perfect Coaching Fit at Texas Tech

Best in Class  

Joey McGuire was hired to be a recruiting machine in the state of Texas. McGuire is as Texan as they get. He was born in Texarkana and attended UT Arlington.

After making his name in the high school ranks with a career head coaching record of 141-42 and three state championships, he was hired by Matt Rhule, who was taking over the Baylor Bears in 2017. At that time, Baylor was a nuclear waste site that was suffering through the fallout of head coach Art Briles’ departure and a hideous sexual abuse scandal—the aftermath had the worst possible ramifications on the Baylor brand and its appeal to prospects.

Rhule, a northeasterner with no Texas ties, relied on McGuire to help the program re-establish strong Texas ties with the high school coaches for recruiting.

McGuire was promoted to associate head coach within two years as Baylor went from ashes to glory and a Sugar Bowl bid. After Rhule left for the NFL, McGuire stayed on with Rhule’s replacement, Dave Aranda, helping him build an eventual 2021 Big 12 champion. McGuire left Baylor for the Texas Tech job on November 8, 2021.

McGuire has shown immediate recruiting prowess. In his 2022 transition class, McGuire’s haul ranked 43^rd in the nation and 8^th in the Big 12. But in 2023, McGuire improved that standing with a class that ranked 28^th in the nation and 4^th in the Big 12. And then, in 2024, McGuire’s contacts and the credibility of two bowl campaigns improved Texas Tech to rankings of 23^rd in the country and 1^st in the Big 12.

But that is not all. McGuire made further gains on the transfer portal to rank 3^rd best among the 2024 Big 12 portal classes.

Texas Tech is a preseason favorite to be in the mix for the Big 12 title with the Utah Utes, Kansas State Wildcats, Kansas Jayhawks, and Arizona Wildcats. 

Will Morton Bring the Salt in 2024

The key to the 2024 Texas Tech Red Raiders is redshirt junior QB Behren Morton. He is the highest-ranked signal caller (4-star) in Texas Tech history. Morton saw serious action in three games during the 2022 season.

Last year, Morton won five of his final seven regular season starts in place of the injured Tyler Shough to lead Texas Tech to bowl eligibility. It was a clutch effort in the meat of the Big 12 schedule that included impressive wins over Kansas and TCU.

In the 2023 Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl, Morton was 27-43 for 256 yards, a 3/1 TD/INT ratio, and 131.2 QBR as the Red Raiders defeated Cal 34-14.

Now, 2024 will be the first spring camp that Morton will enter as the starter, getting most of the reps.

Two WRs to keep an eye on are true freshman Micah Hudson, the highest-ranked recruit (5-star) in Texas Tech history, and Florida transfer Caleb Douglas, who started five games before a season-ending injury. Douglas was a 4-star out of Missouri City, Texas, in the 2022 class and was offered by McGuire at that time.

Of great concern is a defense that was adequate for 2023 but will be missing several key contributors from that unit.

But if the defense reforms quickly and Morton grows into his role as starting QB, Texas Tech might contend for its first league championship since winning the Southwest Conference title in 1994.

Joey McGuire epitomizes the term “coaching fit” to perfection. Texas Tech could not have done better finding the right man at the right time. If not in 2024, championships are not far off in the future for the Red Raiders.