Today is a great day to be a Red Raider,
Kirby Hocutt stated as Texas Tech held a press conference for the 15th
head coach in program history, Kliff Kingsbury.
At the ripe age of
just 33 years old, Kingsbury is the youngest man to be in charge of a BCS
program as well as second youngest in the entire FBS behind Toledo head coach
Matt Campbell.
The crowd was energetic as the charismatic
Kingsbury came strolling on through the tunnel and onto the stage as there
seems to be a sense of trust that just has not been felt in Lubbock for a few
years.
Kliff noted his main goal was to bring
swagger back to the university and continue to bring that intensity back to the
sideline as coach of Texas Tech.
Interestingly enough, Kingsbury started off
the day on a sarcastic note by referencing Tommy Tuberville’s
complaints about the west Texas wind and how difficult it is to practice in
that element.
But don’t worry, Kliff added a bit of a different
sentiment.
“Well, it's good to be home. Let me tell you.
It's good to be home. I find it a little poetic today that it's a classic,
windy, West Texas day, and I'm going on record that I actually enjoy the wind.
You'll never hear me complain about it.”
Kliff then continued on by talking about the
great people of West Texas and how he can’t wait to get started in his tenure
as head coach of his alma mater, Tech.
“The people of West Texas in general, you
know, I've played football in three countries, nine different cities, and have
found no finer people than that of West Texas. It's a different type of person,
friendly, warm, caring, and makes you feel at home. And I'm so thankful to be
back amongst y'all, so thank you.
Kingsbury has also started to assemble his
coaching staff as well as reach out to a few star recruits who seem very
excited at the prospect of playing at Texas Tech for the young coach.
“I'm going to bring in a young, energetic
staff. There will be some former Red Raiders joining me. Some guys that care
about this place and love this place like I do. And we can't wait to hit the
ground running and get this thing rolling again. We're going to recruit hard.
I'm a guy that's always believed it's about players, not plays, and we have to
hit the state hard, and we're going to do that. That's a big part of my mission
here is to get that recruiting going and get some of the best players of the
state out to the Texas plains,” Kingsbury said.
Two of those former Red Raiders he is referring
to have already been reported to have taken assistant coaching jobs here at
Texas Tech. Both of which are local boys, former defensive back Kevin Curtis
and Shallowater product Eric Morris.
There’s more to come on the coaching front,
but as of right now, Kliff is still in the process of looking for the perfect
fit for his staff.
All in all, Kliff displayed a certain swagger
that seems to have been missing for quite some time.
It’s very apparent that the new head coach
will bring the intensity needed to compete in the Big 12 Conference on a yearly
basis.
“One last request I have with Kirby,”
Kingsbury said. “I was going to see if there's any way possible we can get
Cincinnati on the schedule next year?”