Texas Tech opener in opposition to Houston no regular activity for Adrian Frye
Adrian Frye is hunting ahead to a few weeks from Saturday, when he’ll be participating in football again in the city the place he grew up.
The Texas Tech cornerback will get to see a ton of household and buddies when the Purple Raiders open up the time versus the University of Houston at NRG Stadium, but there is certainly only so a lot he can do.
“It truly is likely to be amazing I’m not likely to lie,” Frye said. “It is really attractive in Houston, but the matter is, I really feel like a visitor in my possess hometown. We go down there. We get off the airplane. We go to the lodge, and it can be like, dang, I know so substantially about the metropolis, but I are unable to leave the hotel.
“It just feels like I am a vacationer in my individual hometown.”
Regaining their foothold:Tech specialists aim to recover from tough 2020
Frye, who performed superior-school soccer for Aldine Eisenhower, is one of 12 Crimson Raiders, 9 on scholarship, from the Increased Houston area.
Tech and Houston sq. off at 6 p.m. Sept. 4 in an vital year opener for equally courses. Red Raiders coach Matt Wells and Cougars mentor Dana Holgorsen both of those are beginning yr 3 in their packages devoid of a profitable file to exhibit in their 1st two years. Tech has long gone 4-8 and 4-6 less than Wells, and Houston has been 4-8 and 3-5 below Holgorsen.
Both equally universities are swept up in the uncertainty of not being aware of how the up coming spherical of realignment will shake out, while how they fare head to head won’t matter in all that, and it is unlikely that possibly team’s ultimate record will mean substantially in that regard both.
Tech is an early 2 1/2-stage favourite on the road.
Including to the intrigue is an additional subplot: A few outstanding gamers have transferred from Tech to UH in excess of the earlier two off-seasons. Working back Ta’Zhawn Henry made the bounce right after the 2019 year, large receiver KeSean Carter and cornerback Alex Hogan due to the fact the 2020 year.
Mainly because of the NCAA’s passage of the just one-time transfer exception — athletes in soccer, as in all other sports activities, can now adjust educational institutions one time without the need of getting to sit out a year — even Carter and Hogan will be able to engage in towards their outdated teammates.
Though gamers leaving Tech have irritated Pink Raiders fans with ambiguous social-media posts, Frye says he has no tough feelings — anything at all but — against the Tech-turned-UH players.
“Honestly, it can be type of bittersweet,” he stated. “I am glad those guys uncovered a place that they are snug in and satisfied to be in, since all those are my teammates. I appreciate and care for those men.
“I don’t have any animosity or bad blood with all those guys, but bitter on the hand of now they are my enemy in a feeling. Now I have to go perform all those fellas. I am employed to enjoying them in follow — working towards in opposition to them, doing the job from them and things like that — and it is constantly been very good to see them.”
Henry was a two-time 300-yard rusher for the Purple Raiders who scored 11 touchdowns above the 2018 and 2019 seasons.
Carter caught 30 passes and scored four touchdowns very last time. Hogan manufactured a few begins and intercepted a move that set up a go-in advance touchdown versus Texas.
“They have large talent and they’re genuinely tough-working men,” Frye reported. “It is variety of like going through your family members users. We used two, 3 years collectively, so form of have that bond with them. I just hope that we all ball out, and of study course I want Tech to gain.”
New approach
Previous Tech offensive coordinator David Yost had the Crimson Raiders working just about solely out of 11 personnel — 1 functioning back, 1 tight end — about the earlier two a long time. He desired to give defenses no clue dependent on formation no matter if run or pass was coming.
Less than new offensive coordinator Sonny Cumbie, the Purple Raiders system to blend it up.
Two-back formations and even a functioning back shifting into the slot will be in the playbook, at least. The Purple Raiders return their top rated four running backs from 2020.
“You’re going to see a large amount,” running backs mentor DeAndre Smith explained. “We’re going to build some matchup troubles. Which is likely to be big for us to be in a position to do that, and we can do it in numerous ways.
“I’m fortuitous that I imagine it is heading to arrive from my area that we are going to be in a position to do that. That is actually a thing that we want to choose advantage of, and I you should not have just a single (functioning again). I have multiple fellas that can be equipped to do that.”
Scouting report
Running back again Kyron Cumby, who joined the staff this 7 days as a walk-on transfer from Illinois, took an formal visit to Tech and received a scholarship supply from the Purple Raiders when he was a higher-school standout at Plano. So the Tech staff members appreciates all about him.
Cumby is investing the initially week or additional of instruction camp performing with the energy and conditioning workers to get in form. He spent time at Illinois at the two operating back again and receiver, catching five passes for 47 yards and carrying two times for 11 yards.
He’s a 5-foot-8, 180-pound sophomore.
“He is a versatile kid,” operating backs mentor DeAndre Smith mentioned. “When we tried using to recruit him right here a several a long time ago, which is what we had been thinking: You have bought a man who could be a jogging back and a slot (receiver). Kind of like (Xavier) X-White. Sort of like Myles Selling price. People kind of bodies.
“I just hope down the street there is some depth there that he’ll be able to give. But I have got a gifted home. I have received a lot of men, and there is only a person soccer. So it can be likely to be a obstacle, but getting one more proficient man in the area is not going to harm us at all.”
Birthday shock
Tech mentor Matt Wells turned 48 on Tuesday, and it didn’t go unnoticed in the Tech soccer making.
Wells explained his wife ordered snowcones for everyone on the workforce.
“We experienced some snowcones,” Wells stated, “so Jen went and got Bahama Bucks for the whole software. Apparently, they gave them some snowballs in West Texas on August the 10th, and so I obtained pelted with snowballs.”
In temporary
Wells mentioned freshman TE Jed Castles experienced a small ankle injuries, but ought to be back again by late this 7 days or early up coming week. … Defensive backs mentor Derek Jones was asked to title the team’s quickest associates of the secondary. “Cam White can actually operate,” he explained. “Cam Watts can run. Marquis Waters can operate, so we’ve obtained a lot of speed in the secondary.” … The Purple Raiders will scrimmage for about 120 performs on Saturday. It is really closed to the community and the 1st of two preseason scrimmages allotted by NCAA rule.
