Will Hammond excited for return, Castellanos adds experience to QB room

LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) -After an offseason marked by uncertainty at quarterback position, the No. 12 Texas Tech Red Raiders enter their season opener with considerably more stability at the position than they had just a few weeks ago.

For third-year QB Will Hammond, this will be his first game back after suffering an ACL tear last October vs. Oklahoma State. He says he’s finally ready to lead the team after a long 315 days.

“It feels great! It feels great to be 100 percent. It feels great to be back out there with the guys and not worried about any of the offseason things and just being able to go out there and play. We’re excited!,” he said. “This is a dream of mine, and I was thinking back last night to year one, week one, year two, week one, and just kind of the excitement leading up to each of those games and the excitement that we have this week leading up to this game, and it’s just a special opportunity to be the starting quarterback for Texas Tech University.”

Offensive coordinator Mack Leftwich believes Hammond is ready to play at a high level entering Saturday’s season opener against Abilene Christian.

“I think he’s ready to go, I think that was pretty clear through fall camp,” he said. “We saw him get more comfortable in the offense, we saw him get more comfortable moving around in the pocket, and I don’t think there’s any doubt in anybody’s mind that he’s ready to go out there week one and play at a high level.”

Last week, head coach Joey McGuire announced the addition of Thomas Castellanos, who has made stops at UCF, Boston College, and Florida State. McGuire believes his experience will be an asset for Tech’s offense.

“One thing with Tommy, he’s played a lot of football. He’s been in three different systems so he can pick up stuff really fast, he’s a football guy. He’s got a great personality, and so he spent a lot of time with Lindsey Scott (asst. QB coach) and Garrett McGuire (RB’s coach) and of course Mack of trying to get used to this offense and what we’re all about,” McGuire said.

During his four seasons, Castellanos has passed for 6,449 yards and 48 touchdowns. He’s also gained 1,984 yards on the ground. Hammond says his new teammate is already making an impression both on and off the field.

“We were just up in the walkthrough room actually, and he was getting prepped on some of the plays for practice today, and he’s a really cool guy. He’s a fiery guy, got a lot of energy, and we’re excited to have him in the room and bring him in and so we’re doing everything we can to get him up to speed and just bring him in as family,” he said, while also adding to the importance of having a fourth QB on the roster, who will work with Lloyd Jones III and Kirk Francis.

When asked if Castellanos would see the field during Tech’s season opener against Abilene Christian on Saturday, McGuire indicated Tech’s Sept. 12 matchup against Oregon State is a more likely possibility.

“I would think by the time we get to Oregon State, he’ll have full grasp of the offense. The guy’s played a lot of football. He’s extremely dynamic with the ball in his hand, and you don’t see a lot of quarterbacks that rush for 1,100 yards, and so the guy’s really dynamic with the ball in his hand, so we’ll have packages for him at different times to get him in the game and get him going.”

McGuire was referring to Castellanos’ 2023 season at Boston College when he ran for 1,113 yards and 13 touchdowns. At the end of the year, he guided the Eagles to a 23-14 win over SMU in the Fenway Bowl and was named the game’s MVP.

Coach Leftwich says he has faith in Tech’s newest QB, based on his work ethic that he’s witnessed just in the last few days.

“He’s doing a great job. I haven’t been around him long, but just the little time that I’ve been around him so far, man, that kid works!,” he said. “He was up here till 9:30, past a lot of the coaches last night trying to watch extra film and just learn as much as he can as fast as he can. It’ll be a work in progress, these first couple weeks, but I can say he’s definitely up for the challenge and willing to work at it.”

Texas Tech opens the season 6 p.m. Saturday at Galaxy Stadium. The Red Raiders are 42.5-point favorites.