Texas Tech football: Red Raiders that can help salvage 2023 season

Dennis Wilburn is back to starting at center for Texas Tech

When Morton takes his next snap, he’ll be doing so from a new starting center.  McGuire shared this week that the team has moved the previous starting center, Rusty Staats, to right guard allowing Dennis Wilburn to move from right guard to center.

This is a move necessitated by the fact that Staats has struggled nearly all season with low and off-target shotgun snaps.  In fact, McGuire said that 26% of Staats’ snaps against BYU were off-target.

Of course, that’s an awful way to begin any play.  All offenses are predicated on timing.  Regardless of whether the called play is a run or a pass, a snap that forces the QB out of rhythm is almost a surefire way to kill a play.

What’s more, poor snaps are especially impactful when the QB is a true freshman, which was what Tech was dealing with in Provo.  McGuire did say that Staats is playing with an injured shoulder and that could be impacting his ability to snap the ball but Tech fans have noticed poor snaps from the Western Kentucky transfer since week one.

Wilburn could be an upgrade at center.  Last year, he was an honorable-mention All-Big 12 performer at that spot after walking onto the roster as a JUCO transfer.  He started every game at center in 2022 but moved to right guard this offseason where the coaching staff thought he might be even better given his physicality and athleticism.

Staats has not been as good as the coaching staff had hoped he would be, though.  Thus, it is fair to wonder if he will perform any better at guard.  Maybe the relief of not having to worry about snapping the ball will help him be the type of player that he was thought to be in the offseason.

Wilburn could make a big difference at center as well.  It goes beyond snapping the football though.  He’s going to be tasked with making the offensive line calls before the snap and he’s got to be able to open running lanes for Tahj Brooks and the other running backs.

Against TCU, keep an eye on the middle of the Tech O-line.  That’s where a change has been made as Wilburn is returning to where he started his Red Raider career.  Let’s see if it makes a noticeable difference.