Kingsbury discusses UH win; previews OK State on radio show

Texas Tech football head coach Kliff Kingsbury took to the airwaves Thursday night for his weekly radio show where he discussed the win over Houston and the start of Big 12 play at Oklahoma State.

Ahead of this week’s Big 12 opener, Texas Tech football head coach Kliff Kingsbury participated in his weekly radio show.  After a record-setting performance from his true freshman quarterback Alan Bowman, Kingsbury naturally had plenty of compliments to hand out.

"“He loves to play.  He has a great aura about himself when he’s out there; doesn’t get too high or too low.” Kingsbury said.  ” He can come back to the sideline and give you great information about what he saw, why he did something, which, the good ones I’ve been around can do that.  [They] can tell you exactly what they saw and be right on.  As the reps keep coming, he keeps getting more and more comfortable and hopefully he can keep progressing every week.”"

But there is one aspect of Bowman’s game that does drive his head coach crazy.  During the Houston game, many noticed that the freshman does not tie his cleats as he prefers to let his laces dangle even when he is on the field.

That is something that Kingsbury certainly has never seen before.  But while he finds it odd, he can’t argue with Bowman’s success in untied shoes.

“I said, ‘As long you keep playing good, you can keep ’em unlaced.'”  Kingsbury said.  “But that’s what he’s done his whole life and he’s a big shoe guy and that has something to do with his superstition so we’ll let him roll with it.”

More from Wreck'Em Red

• Texas Tech football: Red Raider fans need to know about these Mountaineers
• Texas Tech football: Red Raiders land first commit for class of 2025
• Texas Tech football: Why have the Red Raiders struggled on the road under McGuire?
• Texas Tech football: Why the Red Raiders can compete for a Big 12 title
• Texas Tech football: Plenty of questions remain as conference play arrives

But Bowman was not the only true freshman to star in the win over Houston.  In fact, running back Ta’Zhawn Henry’s 111-yard, 4-touchdown performance might have been even more surprising than Bowman’s 605 passing yards.

Kingsbury spoke about the Houston product and said that he likes Henry’s mental makeup.

"“He’s not big in stature but he thinks he’s 6-foot-10 and bullet proof.  That’s how he walks out on to that field.”  Kingsbury said.  “He thinks he’s the best player out there.  Very tough mentally, physically and very quick and shifty and can do some different things in our offense.“I was proud of the way he stepped up.  It’s not easy to do that as a young player at that position, to know the protections, to know the pass schemes.  He’s progressed nicely.”"

While the performances of Bowman and Henry and wide receiver Antoine Wesley (school record 261 receiving yards) told the story of the Houston game, fans will always remember this game for the odd double forward pass play that Houston got away with.

In the third quarter, the Cougars completed two forward passes on the same play, which should have been cause for a penalty.  However, the American Athletic Conference officiating crew let the play stand, much to the bewilderment of almost everyone else who saw the play unfold.

"“I didn’t see it.  I was from a different angle talking to our offense so I thought it was a lateral; the first one.” Kingsbury said. “So I was siting there thinking that was the greatest play design I’ve ever seen in my life to be able to pull off that chaos and still complete it down field.  There’s nothing you could really say.  You just take a tough “L” on that play”"

Kingsbury said that they did turn the play in to the AAC but nothing other than an admittance of the mistake can come from such a situation.  Kingsbury’s explanation that he was not at an angle to be able to see the two forward passes in real time may help calm the irritation of some fans that wanted him to raise hell with the officials for the blown call.

"“Had I known [about the missed call], yeah, I would have freaked out because we needed a stop…That would have been a huge play, that would have been third-and-thirty and for them to get that and go down and score, it just wasn’t fair to our defense or our players.” Kingsbury said."

A large section of the fan base wants Kingsbury to be more demonstrative on the sidelines with both officials and players but that simply is not his personality.  This type of blown call is not reviewable meaning there was nothing Kingsbury could have done anyway so we should all just be thankful that this play did not cost the Red Raiders the win.

Turning his attention to Oklahoma State, Kingsbury reiterated the challenges his team will face on Saturday.

"“They’re a complete football team,” he said.  “They reload there and Coach [Mike] Gundy has done a tremendous job recruiting.  They lost some dynamic playmakers on offense, an NFL quarterback and they’re rolling right along.“Defensively, the new defensive coordinator has done a nice job.  They’re playing really hard.  He’s changed some things up schematically…Hopefully we can exploit something when we get up there but it’s going to be a heck of a challenge.”"

Red Raider football with Kliff Kingsbury airs weekly on Thursday nights on Lubbock’s Double-T, 97.3 FM.  It can also be streamed on the station’s app and website.