In the Texas Tech football team’s six losses last season, the Red Raiders seldom looked more helpless than they did in trying to defend Avery Johnson. Kansas State’s freshman quarterback ran for 90 yards and five touchdowns in a 38-21 victory in mid-October at Jones AT&T Stadium.
Tech coach Joey McGuire says newcomer Cameran Brown ended spring football as the Red Raiders’ No. 2 quarterback, and the threat he poses running the ball is the reason why.
“I hate to bring this up, because it’s a nightmare for me,” McGuire said, “but I think you would see a lot of what K-State, the packages they did in that game against us whenever that was really the first extended (playing time by) their freshman quarterback. I think you would see a lot of that style football whenever Cam is in the game.”
Brown and first-semester freshman Will Hammond threw two touchdown passes each in the Red Raiders’ spring game Saturday in the Sports Performance Center. Team Tahj, captained by running back Tahj Brooks, defeated Team Behren, captained by starting quarterback Behren Morton, 27-24 in overtime.
With Morton sidelined the past three weeks, Brown, redshirt freshman Jake Strong and Hammond have gotten the work at quarterback. Brown transferred to Tech in January from Division II West Georgia. The 6-foot-2, 230-pound sophomore passed for 914 yards and 10 touchdowns last season and ran for 478 yards and 10 TDs.
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Given his stature and his wearing No. 7, Brown is somewhat reminiscent of Donovan Smith in what he offers. Improving the 54% completion rate he had last season is a priority.
“He can put it on a rope. He does that really well,” McGuire said. “He’s got to continue to work on his touch on the deep ball.”
Reese Burkhardt made a tying 54-yard field goal in the final minute of regulation, then a 43-yard field goal in overtime to win the game in walk-off fashion.
There were five touchdown passes in the first half: Hammond throws of 23 yards to tight end Johncarlos Miller and 45 yards to Coy Eakin; Brown shots of 34 yards to Caleb Douglas and 18 yards to Jordan Brown; and a Strong toss for 3 yards to tight end Jason Llewellyn.
Douglas, a lanky transfer from Florida, had game highs of four catches for 109 yards. Hammond’s scoring strikes to Miller and Eakin, and Brown’s pass to Douglas all were deep throws on vertical routes.
“The guys that needed early touches,” McGuire said, “got the early touches: Caleb, Josh Kelly, Coy. Those guys got early touches and really got the offense going.”
Safety Chief Collins intercepted Hammond. McGuire said it was the fourth interception the freshman from Hutto has thrown all spring, counting all segments of practice.
“I thought early in the game, Will was really on the mark,” McGuire said. “Counting the interception, I don’t know if the ball hit the ground when he was out there in the first half.
“The one touchdown to Coy, Will would’ve gotten hit. It wouldn’t have been a sack, but he would’ve gotten hit. He stepped up into the pressure, and so I thought that was really good.”
Even with Hammond’s progression and his status as a top-50 recruit in Texas over the past year, McGuire said he wants to keep Hammond in the four-game redshirt window.
Brooks and Morton were non-playing captains for their sides. The Tech staff has purposely taken it easy this spring on Brooks, who last year had the second-most carries of any running back at any level of college football. Morton has spent the past three weeks rehabbing the sprained AC joint in his right shoulder.
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Second-semester freshman running back Anquan Willis has his name in the NCAA transfer portal, but carried eight times for a game-high 70 yards, including a 42-yard touchdown.
McGuire said Willis isn’t reconsidering his decision to leave the program. He compared Willis’ showing in the spring game to Loic Fouonji, with his name in the portal, catching a touchdown pass for the Red Raiders in the Independence Bowl.
“If they decide to move on and they want to finish off with their brothers and play in the game, then it’s good for them and good for us,” McGuire said.
The spring game, originally scheduled for Astound Broadband Stadium in Midland, was canceled two days in advance because of a forecast for bad weather. Tech officials decided Friday to play it in the Red Raiders’ indoor facility, closing the affair to the general public.
“I hated not going to Midland,” McGuire said. “I’ve been trying to get to Midland for the last three years.”
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