Texas Tech spent much of the spring in the national spotlight, but not because of what was happening on the football field.
While outside attention centered on the program, head coach Joey McGuire said the atmosphere inside the Womble Football Center never changed. Thanks to a veteran leadership group led by senior captains Sheridan Wilson and Ben Roberts, the Red Raiders stayed focused on preparing for the season instead of the headlines.
"I do believe if you walked in our building every single day and you walked into the weight room and the workouts or football school, you wouldn't know that anything was going on," McGuire said. "... At no point did I feel over the last few months that anything's taken away from the football as far as in the building."
That leadership was put to the test after former quarterback Brendan Sorsby's gambling addiction and subsequent mutual parting of ways with the program became public. But according to Wilson, the team's culture was already strong enough to handle the adversity.
"It was actually pretty easy because this team's a family," Wilson said. "A lot of the guys we don't really worry about what the media is saying. All we're really worried about is what's happening inside of the building. All it's really done is make this family and this team closer."
Wilson and Roberts aren't new to Texas Tech. Both have been in the program since they signed out of high school, and Roberts has been a fixture on the Red Raiders' defense since his freshman year. The linebacker enters his senior season with 279 career tackles and the 2025 Big 12 Championship Defensive MVP award after helping Tech win its first conference title.
That experience matters for a team returning 12 starters from last season's Big 12 championship squad, especially after ending the year with a scoreless loss to Oregon in the College Football Playoff Orange Bowl.
For Roberts, that defeat has become motivation instead of a setback.
"Twelve guys on this team have a bitter taste in their mouth," Roberts said. "Twelve guys on this team know what it takes to win a Big 12 Championship game. 12 guys on this team know what it feels like to lose in a playoff game and not score any points. We have a goal, we're going to accomplish that goal, and we're the guys that have relayed that message to these transfers."
Stepping into a leadership role wasn't something Roberts said happened overnight. Instead, he learned by watching the players who came before him.
"It's definitely something that I've had to learn," Roberts said. "But it hasn't been hard because I've gotten to watch great guys go for it like J-Rod, Bryce Ramirez, Behren Morton, Caleb Rogers, so it wasn't a difficult thing to be able to step up and say 'hey, we need to get to what's next in this situation.'"
Wilson believes leadership starts with relationships. Spending time together away from football, he said, helped last year's team develop the chemistry that led to its success, and it's something this year's captains are continuing to emphasize.
"We're really just trying to bring the team together," Wilson said. "I think we had great leaders last year. I think one thing that really helps is just really getting to know the guys, hanging out with them and stuff like that. I think that's what really made our team good last year is really buying into each other."
After months of offseason storylines, McGuire is ready for the conversation to shift back to football. If anything, he believes the challenges of the spring only strengthened his team.
"I do think through the Sorsby deal, it has brought this team closer together," McGuire said. "We'll be ready to go. Our guys are really excited. We're ready for the talking season to be over, and we're ready to tee it up, spot the ball and get after it."
