 "Photo: Karl Anderson")
With only two nonconference games against lesser foes under their belts, it was obvious the Longhorns and Red Raiders would learn plenty about their respective teams Saturday night.
But even in a 34-24 loss, Texas Tech coaches and players may have found out much more than they expected.
That’s partly because Mike Leach’s pirate ship was sinking before the battle even started.
With defensive linemen Ra’Jon Henley, Brandon Sharpe, Ryan Haliburton and starting safety Franklin Mitchem out for the game, an all-hands-on-deck approach was in order. On the defensive line, Tech only had one scholarship player ready to go at defensive end.
And aside from pulling out a win, it probably couldn’t have worked out any better.
“I’ve never been a part of a game like that,” said cornerback Brent Nickerson, who saw action at safety. “But what that shows me is we have a lot of soldiers and warriors on our defense. Guys that are willing to do anything for a win.”
Those guys were strong-side linebacker Bront Bird, defensive tackle Richard Jones, walk-on safety Brett Dewhurst and defensive end Daniel Howard, to name a few.
Bird, who finished with a pass deflection, eight tackles and three tackles for loss, helped Jones fill the void at end. Dewhurst took over for Mitchem in the secondary.
Freshmen D.J. Johnson, who had one of two interceptions thrown by quarterback Colt McCoy, and Will Ford saw time in certain packages.
“You had a lot of other guys playing roles in different positions than what they had,” Nickerson said. “But if you were watching it, you wouldn’t even be able to tell. That’s how in tune our defense is.”
Howard, a regular starter, may have only come away with one tackle, but he disrupted Texas’ offensive line for the entire game.
“He flies to the ball,” Jones said of Howard. “He does it all. There’s not one bad thing I can say about DH, except he talks a lot of trash though. That’s it. Other than that, he’s a great player. I love having him next to me.”
Jones went on to say he wouldn’t have sacked McCoy in the first quarter had it not been for Howard, whose outstretched arms bought Jones some time to beat left tackle Adam Ulatoski and bring McCoy to the ground.
“It felt good to sack Colt McCoy especially — maybe a future Heisman winner, future NFL player,” said Jones, who didn’t know he’d play end until Friday. “It was just amazing, like I was in shock. I couldn’t believe that I actually just beat a tackle on a speed rush, I’m more like a powerful man.”
Perhaps no one showed more versatility than Bird, who thrived while jumping back and forth between linebacker and defensive end. Moving around is nothing new for Bird, who starred at wide receiver and safety for Permian High School in Odessa during his senior year.
“Very versatile, very smart,” Leach said. “I think really inspirational to all sides of the ball. I’ll be honest with you, I don’t think there was a guy between both teams that played any harder than Bront Bird.”
Dewhurst gave Bird a run for his money. The junior walk-on from Klein High School in Spring finished with five tackles, delivering several powerful blows.
Dewhurst showed poise, not getting rattled by the circumstances. He was getting his first start in a nationally-televised game against in-state rival Texas in front of 101,297 screaming fans.
“I didn’t think of it as the No. 2 team,” he said. “I just think of it as another game. I have confidence in myself. I practice the way I play. It happened to be Texas, conference game and everything, but I didn’t think of it like that.”
Neither did defensive back D.J. Johnson, a St. Stephen’s graduate from Austin who had family at the game. Early in the fourth quarter he picked off McCoy after a high throw was tipped by receiver Malcolm Williams.
“I was elated for him,” Nickerson said. “He was kind of put in a tough position, being a freshman out there playing corner against Texas. He did a really great job out there holding the corner spot down.”
After the game, Tech defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill used an analogy to sum up how proud he was that his players didn’t point to being shorthanded as an excuse.
“Any time you have adversity or somebody goes down — I’m an army brat as well as a coach’s kid — you pick up the flag,” he said. “When somebody goes down in front of you in war, the next guy picks the flag up. I was proud of the way the guys picked the flags up.”
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