Here is a scouting report on Texas Tech, who plays at NC State at 7 p.m. Saturday on ESPN2.
Five Texas Tech players to watch
Redshirt freshman wide receiver Jerand Bradley
The 6-foot-5, 215-pound Bradley is the quintessential basketball player playing wide receiver. He was a coveted Rivals.com three-star prospect with 27 scholarship offers in the class of 2021. He has 12 catches for 158 yards and two touchdowns this season. The bulk of those yards came in the opener during a 63-10 win over Murray State, when the DeSoto (Texas) High product had six catches for 108 yards and two scores Sept. 3.
Junior running back Tahj Brooks
The bruising 5-10, 230-pound Brooks had 22 scholarship offers and was a Rivals.com three-star prospect out of Manor (Texas) High. He has rushed 24 times for 130 yards and four touchdowns, and caught six passes for 35 yards this season. He has 953 career rushing yards and 15 touchdowns in three years with the Red Raiders, and is a load when running downhill.
Senior safety Dadrion Taylor-Demerson
The 5-11, 195-pounder from Oklahoma City, Okla., had a productive junior year for Houston last year. He finished with 62 tackles, three interceptions and 10 passes defended a year ago. Taylor-Demerson has nine tackles, a pass defended and a fumble recovery in two contests this season. Seven of the nine tackles happened against Houston last Saturday. The former Rivals.com two-star running back prospect has 87 career tackles in 26 games.
Senior middle linebacker Krishon Merriweather
The former junior college transfer is a “Super Senior” and he helps anchor the defense. The 6-0, 235-pounder has 15 tackles, half a sack and one forced fumble this season. Merriweather has 142 career tackles, 3.5 sacks and a forced fumble in 25 games (17 starts) at Texas Tech. The St. Louis, Mo., product was at Garden City (Kan.) Community College for three years, playing in two of them.
Sophomore quarterback Donovan Smith
The 6-5, 230-pound Smith played extensively in four games last year, but lost the quarterback battle to Tyler Shough. However, Shough broke his collarbone in the season opener against Murray State. Smith has gone 50-of-74 passing for 572 yards, six touchdowns and three interceptions in two games this season. He has also rushed 22 times for 37 yards and a score. Smith passed for 252 yards and a touchdown, and rushed for 30 yards and a score in a 34-7 win over Mississippi State in the Liberty Bowl on Dec. 28, 2021.
What to watch for from Texas Tech
1. Quarterback Donovan Smith will control action. The sophomore quarterback threw the ball 58 times and ran the ball 20 times against Houston last Saturday. He moves well for a 6-5, 230-pounder, throws the ball at different angles and has enough arm strength to take shots downfield.
With all that offensive freedom, he can also make mistakes and threw three interceptions. However, when Texas Tech needed him most, he needed just three completions to get the Red Raiders in field-goal position during the final 37 seconds of regulation. He also converted a big fourth down and 20 with a 21-yard pass to Jerand Bradley in the first overtime to set up a score.
2. Tahj Brooks is the top back: Texas Tech rotate running backs Tahj Brooks and SaRodorick Thompson, but Brooks appeared to be the main guy. Both are bigger backs with Brooks at 230 pounds and Thompson at 220, and both were solid last year. Thompson ran for 500 yards and 10 touchdowns, and Brooks rushed for 568 yards and seven scores.
Brooks was the clear guy against Houston and he responded with 18 carries for 80 yards and a touchdown in the double-overtime win. Thompson struggled with five carries for 11 yards against the Cougars. Where Thompson might have an edge is as a pass receiver, since he caught 39 passes in 2019.
3. Offensive line struggled in pass protection. Either Houston defensive end Derek Parish is that good, or Texas Tech’s offensive line struggled at times in pass protection. Maybe it is both, but Parish dominated with 10 tackles, six tackles for loss, one forced fumble and an outstanding four sacks Saturday. Texas Tech allowed five sacks in the win.
Parish and teammate Nathaniel Dell, a speedy wide receiver and punt returner for Houston, were the two best players on the field, and Texas Tech didn’t have an answer for either. To put it in perspective, Parish is 6-2 and 245 pounds and is built similar to NC State outside linebacker Payton Wilson, who is 6-4 and 240 pounds.
Three keys to the game for NC State football
1. NC State will need to rush for tough yards. Texas Tech is good-sized in the front seven and has two “Super Seniors” at linebacker with Krishon Merriweather and Kosi Eldridge, who both played well against Houston. The three-man line has two 300-plus pounders and a 6-6, 275-pound Tyree Wilson at defensive end. Texas Tech has 10 seniors and a junior starting on defense, including former NC State transfer Malik Dunlap at cornerback.
This will be a good test for the NC State run game, which struggled to punch it in on two trips inside the two-yard line against East Carolina in the season opener. Houston tallied 29 carries for 88 yards and a touchdown against Texas Tech last Saturday. Redshirt freshman running back Brandon Campbell, a USC transfer and Rivals.com four-star prospect, averaged 5.0 yards on 16 carries for Houston, so they did have success with him.
2. Keep the turnover magic going on defense. Houston quarterback Donovan Smith is going to make plays, but he also could force some turnovers too. NC State senior nickel Tyler Baker-Williams has showcased his hands from playing wide receiver at Southeast Raleigh High with two interceptions in the first two games. Baker-Williams also forced a fumble last Saturday, which backup defensive end Travali Price recovered.
NC State also welcomes back redshirt sophomore cornerback Shyheim Battle, who had an interception against East Carolina, but missed the Charleston Southern game. Battle and senior cornerback Derrek Pitts will get tested against Texas Tech receivers Jerand Bradley, Myles Price and Loic Fouonji. Both Bradley and Fouonji are taller, vertical receivers.
3. Continue to be sound on special teams. Houston would have won the game with better special teams play. The aforementioned speedy Nathaniel Dell had a punt return for a touchdown called back due to penalty for Houston, and kicker Bubba Baxa missed a 47-yarder. That proved to be the difference in a close game.
NC State has proven to be good on special teams, with a key block against East Carolina, punt returner Thayer Thomas has been impressive and Towson graduate transfer Shane McDonough has been solid. New kickoff specialist Collin Smith went 10 of 10 for touchbacks against Charleston Southern and senior kicker Christopher Dunn has made both of his field-goal attempts.
Three numbers of note
18 Ranking nationally by Rivals.com for Texas Tech's class of 2023, which has 25 commitments, including four four-star prospects.
51 Points NC State scored in a 51-48 overtime win over Texas Tech on Sept. 21, 2002. The Wolfpack, who were ranked No. 16 in the country at the time, were led by running back T.A. McLendon, who rushed for 150 yards and five touchdowns.
200,000,000 Millions that will be spent on a facilities project to construct a new south end zone building to Jones AT&T Stadium, which will connect to the new Dustin R. Womble Football Center.
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