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Joey McGuire discusses Texas Tech football portal plans
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- Joey McGuire discusses Texas Tech football portal plans
The NCAA transfer portal for college football reopens on Tuesday for 15 days, and whereas traffic in and out is expected to be brisk, Texas Tech football coach Joey McGuire might be less prominent a player than usual.
McGuire said Saturday he hopes to be "not active at all" in the portal this time around.
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"I'd really love to take this team into camp and get ready to go play the season," McGuire said. "We feel that we've created a lot of depth."
It's McGuire's nature to be in non-stop team-building mode, using his outgoing personality. He could probably win over some portal players over the next couple of weeks, but where to put them is a question. Texas Tech brought in 29 players in January — 15 from four-year schools, 13 from high schools, one from a junior college, nearly all on scholarship.
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Nine more signees will show up when they graduate from high school. That has the Red Raiders bumping up against the 85-player scholarship limit. Backup defensive back Cameron Watts announced Friday he'll have his name entered into the portal, but the Red Raiders would need more scholarship players to leave to have meaningful room.
That could happen.
McGuire, however, doesn't sound like a coach who sees himself with a lot of needs.
"We feel like we've got a really deep team," he said, "so I'm hoping we don't have to be active at all, but the world we live in right now, there were teams that got beat in the Sweet 16 (of the NCAA Tournament) and (had) guys on those teams that were in the portal the next day.
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"It's going to be interesting what's going to happen April 16."
The Red Raiders seemed to fill numerous needs in the winter period. Of the 15 arrivals from other four-year colleges, two-thirds or more figure to start or be in the two-deep.
McGuire reiterated what he told the Avalanche-Journal last May, that if players leave, "is there somebody on the roster that has earned a scholarship before I (recruit the portal) — unless it's just we're in dire straits that we've got to.
"It's different in December when you're trying to create a brand-new roster. So we're right there (at the scholarship limit). I think we're, with (Cameron Watts' leaving), at maybe 84 or 86."
Offensive guard Vinny Sciury (71) was one of Texas Tech's prized catches in the NCAA transfer portal at the end of last season. Sciury started 33 games and was a first-team all-conference honoree for Toledo. He's one of 29 new players Tech added in January.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Joey McGuire discusses Texas Tech football's transfer portal plans
