Joey McGuire didn’t need long Monday to make clear where his attention is headed for Saturday night in Stillwater.
Texas Tech’s coach spent his weekly availability talking about Oklahoma State, Eric Morris, and the Red Raiders’ own quarterback situation as the teams prepare to meet at 8:30 p.m. Saturday in Boone Pickens Stadium. With the Big 12 title race still very much alive, there’s plenty wrapped into this one - and McGuire made it clear he’s locked in on the people driving it.
One of the biggest names in the matchup, at least from McGuire’s perspective, is Morris. The Oklahoma State coach has deep Texas Tech roots, having played under Mike Leach from 2005 through 2008. During that stretch, Morris caught 184 passes for 1,965 yards and 19 touchdowns, while also adding three rushing touchdowns and a punt return score.
McGuire said he’s long had a close relationship with Morris and has kept in touch with him regularly.
“Man, I have a lot of respect for Eric Morris,” McGuire said. “He is one of my favorite people.
He’s a guy that I speak to a lot - I have since I got in this. He was one of the first people to call me when I got the job.
I talked to him yesterday. I told him that it’s gonna be a great environment, but we’re not gonna like the 8:30 (p.m.) kick.
He agreed. He was, ‘Man, it was hard staying up watching you guys, it being that late.’
But, I know it’s gonna be a great environment.
“Man, he has created a great culture. If you look at the way they’ve responded off losses, they’ve played some of their best games.
Beaten Oregon off a loss. This last week, they just totally dominated K-State off a loss.
That says a lot about his culture because I don’t know if there are very few teams in the country that had more new players that he had to bring together in one year and, you know, what they’re doing.”
McGuire also spent part of his time on Oklahoma State quarterback Drew Mestemaker, and he didn’t hold back. He called Mestemaker “the best quarterback in the nation.”
The numbers back up why that kind of praise keeps coming from opposing coaches. Mestemaker is second nationally with 2,962 passing yards, leads the country with 29 passing touchdowns, ranks 12th in yards per completion at 14.38, first in points responsible for with 204 and eighth in passing efficiency at 172.98.
McGuire also pointed to the attention Mestemaker is getting from the NFL, noting that the Jets were in Manhattan, Kansas, last weekend to watch him up close.
“I think we’re facing the best quarterback in the nation,” McGuire said. “I don’t know who’s gonna get the first pick, but I know the Jets have like three first round picks.
I would definitely be taking him in the first round. It would surprise me if he doesn’t go No. 1 overall.
Big arm, has got great football IQ, is a big guy. One of the most exciting plays of the year is against Oregon and, man, he hurdles a guy to score a touchdown.
That says how much he cares about the game and how much he cares about his team.”
On the Texas Tech side, McGuire turned his attention to Thomas Castellanos, who has taken over the offense after joining the program late in August following the fallout of the Brendan Sorsby drama.
Castellanos’ path has been a little different, but he’s already built a substantial college résumé. He began at UCF in 2022, later played at Boston College and then Florida State, and has appeared in 45 college games. In that time, he has thrown for 7,000 yards and 57 touchdowns while adding 2,268 rushing yards and 27 scores.
After seeing spot duty behind Will Hammond earlier in the season, Castellanos has started the last two games and produced big numbers in that stretch: 506 passing yards, 219 rushing yards and eight total touchdowns.
McGuire said the quarterback’s impact has gone beyond what he’s done with the ball.
“One, he’s a really special person, man,” McGuire said. “He’s a great leader.
The guys really like him. I think I said it a couple weeks ago, he wasn’t a guy that came in and forced himself.
I think Preslee (Quisenberry, Tech’s director of ops) said that we got him here Aug. 30, something like that. So, it’s pretty awesome to see how he’s really fit in with everybody and then really become a leader.
“I’m really proud of him. He sent me a text at like 5:11 a.m.
(Sunday), and I’m like, ‘Gah, you’re up early.’ Then once I read the text, he said, ‘Man, I haven’t slept, coach, I’m just so thankful and so excited to be a part of this.’
That’s just the kind of person he is.”
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