Though we are still over 100 days away from when the Texas Tech football season kicks off against Abilene Christian in Lubbock, fans around Raiderland are already dreaming about flying tortillas, tailgating, and touchdowns. Of course, hardcore fans are also thinking about what the 2024 Red Raiders might look like on the field.
This will be a fascinating season for the Red Raiders and Joey McGuire. Now in his third year on the job, McGuire's honeymoon should be over.
It is time for the Red Raiders to take a step forward under the current coaching staff, especially in a reconstituted Big 12 that doesn't have Texas and Oklahoma in it. Sure, back-to-back bowl wins are nice but McGuire is just four games over .500 overall and two games over .500 in Big 12 play. A program with as much financial and fan support as Texas Tech has should expect more and McGuire certainly does as well.
The good news is that McGuire has led the program to a winning record in Big 12 play in each of his seasons in Lubbock. Prior to his arrival, Tech had not had a winning Big 12 season since 2009 so for McGuire to accomplish that feat twice in two years is nothing for Red Raider fans to sneeze at.
Certainly, the program has stabilized under McGuire after the tailspin that was the Matt Wells era. Now, in year three, he needs to do more than simply get to a mid-tier bowl, though. McGuire needs to have his program in contention for a Big 12 title game appearance in late November.
To do that, McGuire and Co. will have to coax the most out of a roster full of turnover. This season, at least eight players who were not with the program last season are expected to start.
On top of that, 17 projected starters in 2024 were not starters for the Red Raiders in week one of last season. So with that in mind, let's look at what the starting lineup for McGuire's team might look like in August and we'll begin with the most important position on the field.
Behren Morton takes over as the QB1 for Texas Tech
Position | Player |
|---|---|
QB1 | Behren Morton |
QB2 | Cam Brown |
QB3 | Jake Strong / Will Hammond |
If the last few years have taught Texas Tech fans nothing else, they have taught us that depth at the QB position is a must. Tech hasn't had a QB start every game of a season since Pat Mahomes in 2016 so who is behind Morton is critical to know.
Cameran Brown, a transfer from West Georgia appears to have won the QB2 job in spring football. He started seven games and played in nine last season when he threw for 914 yards and 10 touchdowns while rushing for 478 yards and six scores as well.
Hopefully, the QB3 job will be one that Tech doesn't have to rely on for a start this season but that's no guarantee. Were there to be a need for the QB3 to start multiple games, it would be interesting to see if Strong would get the nod just so that the true freshman, Will Hammond, can maintain his redshirt.
It all comes back to Morton though. Now with a season's worth of starts under his belt, he goes through his first offseason as the team's starting QB and as one of the team leaders. How he handles that role will determine how 2024 unfolds.