Texas Tech University Athletics
Seniors Rise To The Occasion
November 04, 2004 | Football
Nov. 4, 2004
By Jenna Sampson, Texas Tech Media Relations
The Red Raiders wasted no time in putting seven points on the board last Saturday in the opening drive against Kansas State. They kept the lead to give the defending Big 12 champions their first Homecoming loss in 14 years, 35-25.
"That's just the way we like to start. We finally got rolling early and hopefully we can continue to do that the rest of the season," said quarterback Sonny Cumbie.
Cumbie connected with nine different receivers, completing 27 of 39 passes for 327 yards and two touchdowns. The offense yielded no turnovers.
The Red Raider defense also played a big part in Saturday's win, limiting Kansas State preseason All-American Darren Sproles to 83 yards on 18 carries.
"I thought we played a lot better than we did the week before. Kansas State's a good football team, and I knew it was going to be a hard fought game going on the road to a Big 12 school like that. That was a big win and our defense did well. We kept Sproles to under 100 yards and we were just glad to win the game," said senior linebacker Mike Smith.
Smith dominated Sproles throughout the game, leaving quite an impression on the Big 12 leader in all-purpose yards. Smith had nine tackles and two pass breakups during Saturday's win for a team-high season total 59 tackles. His average of 7.4 tackles per game ranks seventh in the conference.
"He played very well, he's played very well all year. He made four or five key plays. He got us out of third-down situations three or four times. He brings a physical presence that a lot of kids don't have," said Coach Setencich.
"There's a mentality that he has, a physicalness that he has, and a spirit that he has that you really can't coach. Some guys have it, some guys don't. He's got a little bit of Pat Tillman in him, some spirit- passion for the game of football that a lot of guys don't have," he added.
The comparison to Setencich's former player at ASU is an honorable one. Tillman went on to have a successful NFL career with the Arizona Cardinals for four seasons before enlisting as an Army Ranger following the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. He was killed in action in April while on a mission in Afghanistan and died a national hero.
"You have to enjoy the game, love the game of football. I take pride in how physical I am and how hard I play the game, and I don't think it's anything special. I think that's how the game should be played. If you play the game of football, you should be physical. If you're not, you're kind of disrespecting the game I guess," Smith summed up.
Smith isn't the only player on defense known for being physical. Senior rush end Adell Duckett had several big plays Saturday, including a sack, a pass breakup, and a one-handed interception with 5:30 remaining in the fourth quarter, capped by an eventful return.
"That interception was big. It was a screen play, and I got the screen. I killed the receiver that was going to catch the screen and Adell intercepted it. I didn't know what happened. I thought they threw it to (the receiver) and he missed it because I hit him. When I looked up and saw Adell running, I was like, what? That was a big turning point of the game and Adell, he's made big plays since he's been here. He's a big playmaker and we're fortunate to have him on our team," said Smith.
Defensive end coach Charlie Sadler noted the importance of those three big plays, the interception in particular.
"Coach Leach talked to our team about players stepping up and when they have a chance to make a play, to make it. The very next play Taurean (Henderson) did take it for a touchdown, so it was a big play and probably a real turning point as far as any momentum that they had," he said.
"Obviously his experience that he has is something that the younger players see- how he operates in certain situations, seeing how he handles those big play situations that did arise. I think that his awareness on the field of not only getting himself in the right position, but from time to time getting other players where they need to be is another asset," added Sadler.
On the offensive side of the ball, another senior has continued to excel this season. Inside receiver Trey Haverty has become the reliable go-to guy for quarterback Sonny Cumbie in his last seven games. He had his fourth game of eight receptions on Saturday, and racked up 98 yards and a touchdown. Three of those receptions were consecutive first downs in the second quarter for gains of 11, 12 and 13 yards.
"He was doing a good job of getting open. In some of those plays he wasn't the primary guy, we were making the reads across the field and Haverty was open and I think Saturday night was definitely 'Heezy Time!' " Cumbie added with a laugh.
Like Cumbie, Haverty is a fifth-year senior who waited patiently in the wings before getting his chance to hit the field this year. He currently ranks third in the conference with 5.8 receptions per game, and his 79.2 yards per game rank second.
"He played probably 95 percent of the reps in the game on Saturday, and that's hard for receivers to do in our offense. He's tough and he's conditioned, and those are things we look for in receivers. Guys who are tough, guys that are reliable and do what their job is, and he does that better than any of them," said inside receiver coach Dana Holgorsen.
Haverty was forced to play more downs when senior receiver Nehemiah Glover left the game with an injury in the first quarter. Glover was on a roll with three receptions in the opening drive before going down.
"He was on his way to what he used to call, a buck fifty (150 yards). He was having a great game and we had just gotten started, too. It's tough because Nehemiah means a lot to this team and he means a lot to me, and I think it's just one of those things that happen with football," said Cumbie.
Inside receiver Joey Hawkins had his first reception of the season on Saturday, a 19-yard catch in the first quarter. The 6' 9 senior wasn't easy to bring down.
"Probably when the ninth guy got on him he should have gone down, but he's bigger and stronger than a bunch of those guys so he decided to stand up," said Head Coach Mike Leach.
"He's a tough guy that goes in there and gets the job done. Clay McGuire is the same way. He's a role player that brings some toughness to what we're doing on offense," added Holgorsen.
Senior running back Clay McGuire came to Texas Tech as a Class 3-A all-state player of the year his senior year of high school as a quarterback.
"Clay McGuire, he's the guy when you ask yourself what kind of a teammate would you want, Clay is it. He has accepted his role from day one, he's never complained about anything. He really exemplifies what a Texas Tech football player should be. I think he is the best teammate a player could have. He is overlooked a lot, but not by us on the team," said Cumbie.
The offensive linemen are also commonly overlooked. The unit of veterans includes seniors Daniel Loper, Dylan Gandy and Cody Campbell and has been a solid front this season.
"I think across the board up front, those seniors on the offensive line, they've really stepped up and taken more of a leadership role and those are three guys that we needed to do that. They really played well," said Cumbie.
The Red Raider seniors have set an impressive tone this season, setting an example for the younger players in terms of work ethic and performance.
"Something I always try to tell the younger guys is, don't wait till your senior year. As soon as you step on campus, do everything you can to be the best player you can every year. That will make this team and this program so much stronger. I think the younger guys have really bought into it and really work hard," said Cumbie.
"It's a shame we're going out, we were talking about it today, me and Haverty and Clay McGuire. We're leaving and these young pups are going to be able to win those Big 12 Championships that we coveted to win and tried to win so hard, and those are going to be the guys who are going to be winning it and we'll be happy and proud for them," he added.
We haven't seen the last of these seniors, though. The Red Raiders have three games remaining and a possible bowl bid. Texas Tech hosts the Baylor Bears on Saturday at 1 p.m. in Jones SBC Stadium.
