Transfer portal additions say Texas Tech football coaches have lived up to promises
At the same time as Johncarlos Miller II was taking finals at Elon, his phone was blowing up with coaches trying to gain his services for next season.
Schools such as Duke, Florida, Oklahoma State and many others were after the 6-foot-5 tight end in the transfer portal. Miller said when he put his name in to leave his FCS school for the FBS level, he had certain criteria that needed to be met.
"A new family, of course," Miller said of what he was looking for in the portal. "Just somebody that'll help me develop more as a football player and more as a man, and also a place that values me as me, me being myself, not having to change for a program. A program that's going to help me in every aspect, even off the field."
The Texas Tech football team checked all those boxes. Originally from Greensboro, North Carolina, Miller had to go nearly 1,500 miles away from home to join the Red Raiders, a move he says has helped achieve at least one of those goals.
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Miller said he's become more comfortable with being alone, a product of not being much of a social butterfly. Not that his teammates haven't tried to bring Miller out a bit more, inviting him out to eat, for a drive around campus or to just go over hand signals.
An old soul at heart, Miller said he's more likely to ask tight ends coach Josh Cochran for a second of his time than one of his teammates. He's also had plenty of heart-to-hearts with head coach Joey McGuire, the most recent coming before Wednesday's spring practice.
"I just talked to him for like 20 minutes before our team meeting," Miller said of McGuire. "Great guy. A lot of life lessons, a lot of lessons on the football field. He's a guy, a man that helps me on and off the field."
Vinny Sciury echoed Miller's sentiments. Entering the transfer portal after four years at Toldeo — including one redshirt year — Sciury said Texas Tech was the first school to call once his name hit the wire. He scheduled a visit in Lubbock for the first available weekend, even while other big-name schools such as Auburn and Ole MIss were knocking at his door.
Sciury kept his scheduled visit with the Red Raiders. He quickly canceled the rest. The choice was made.
"I would say the biggest thing that made me come here was, in recruiting, a lot of people are like used car salesmen," Sciury said. "And Joey McGuire and his staff, they didn't lie to me. They were upfront with me, told me how it was gonna be and to the point I've been down here, everything's been accurate that they said.
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"I could see through being a fifth-year senior, all these guys lied to me and it just felt like, man, this was just a real place. It's felt like football matters here. I knew I wanted to be here."
Like Miller, Sciury also appreciates the fact that McGuire is invested in all of them, not just the star players such Behren Morton and Tahj Brooks.
"He has personal relationships with all of us," Sciury said. "If anything's bothering me, I could go to his office, which that makes it on the field. He can coach hard without a guy getting in his feelings, you know? This guy really loves me and has my best interest at heart."
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Newcomers say Texas Tech football coaches have kept their word
