Texas Tech football: Key member of the offense to return this week
Ahead of this week’s conference opener, Texas Tech football fans got some good news on Monday when it comes to the injury front. That’s because head coach Joey McGuire revealed that guard Weston Wright has returned to practice and will be able to play against the Longhorns on Saturday.
"“Excited to get him back,” McGuire said on Monday. “He’s definitely a leader for us and brings a presence in that offensive line.”"
This is a tremendous development for an offensive line that has a number of question marks. After all, Wright is arguably the team’s best lineman.
The 6-foot-6, 320-pound senior has made 33 starts in his Red Raider career. Along the way, he’s earned honorable-mention All-Big 12 recognition (2020) while helping to solidify the Texas Tech offensive front.
Wright went down with a sprained ankle in the Houston game and missed this past weekend’s loss at NC State. And without him, Tech has struggled to run the football averaging just 2.7 yards per carry against the Cougars and 2.1 yards per carry against the Wolfpack. Also, in the past two games, Tech has given up 10 sacks, a number that is obviously far too high.
Wright’s return will have a trickle-down effect on the line as well. In the Houston game, prior to Wright’s injury, redshirt freshman Jacoby Jackson had replaced starter Landon Peterson at right guard after Peterson struggled early in the game.
However, Wright’s sprained ankle meant that Jackson had to slide over to left guard putting Peterson back into the fray at right guard. The results were not good that day for the entire line as Tech would give up six sacks and 13.5 tackles for loss.
Now, with Wright back and ready to start, Jackson and Peterson can rotate at right guard giving offensive line coach Stephen Hamby options when it comes to playing the player who seems to be performing best during the game.
What’s more, Wright’s return comes at a perfect time as the Red Raiders are set to face off against a stout Texas defense this week. The Horns are giving up on average just 16.7 points per game.
On the other hand, Texas has mustered just three sacks total in the last two games. What’s more, the Horns have allowed an average of 130.7 yards per game on the ground, second-most in the Big 12 thus far in 2022.
The question is whether or not this Red Raider offensive line is capable of winning that battle up front. Tech is coming off of back-to-back games in which the line has been less than dominant.
Against Houston, the Red Raiders were absolutely abused along the line of scrimmage when they had the ball. The Cougars lived in the Tech backfield that day, especially defensive end Derek Parish, who was credited with 4.5 sacks and 6.5 tackles for loss.
This past week, Tech was better in the pass protection department. Giving up four sacks is never good but at least one of those was the fault of QB Donovan Smith for holding the ball for way too long in the pocket and another fell at the feet of running back SaRodorick Thompson who blew an assignment on a blitz pickup.
Still, the line couldn’t open any holes in the running game against a tough Wolfpack defense as Tech would manage to amass just 54 total yards on the ground. That’s an area where improvement must come quickly if Tech is to have the type of season we all hope to see, especially with a sophomore playing QB for the foreseeable future.
Wright’s return will only help the offensive line’s improvement. He is this team’s most experienced lineman and he was missed the last two games. Hopefully, his return will signal a turning point for a position group that has yet to hit its stride this season.