McNeill’s return to Lubbock is nine years in the making
Ruffin McNeill arrived on the Texas Tech campus after the 1999 season, newly hired onto Mike Leach’s first Red Raider staff. Then as now, McNeill connected with the young men playing football for Tech. Even the offensive players. “Just an incredible man, incredible leader,” said the quarterback who had just finished his freshman year at Tech and was destined to become a Red Raider icon. “Kind of a father figure to all of us. Always made you feel like you were 10 feet tall and bullet proof.” That Red Raider icon was Kliff Kingsbury, now the Tech head coach whose offense on Saturday night will duel against Oklahoma’s interim defensive coordinator. Fellow by the name of Ruffin. This is McNeill’s first game back in Lubbock since 2009, his last season before becoming head coach at East Carolina and hiring a whippersnapper offensive coordinator named Lincoln Riley, who earned his stripes on Leach’s staff. McNeill spent 10 years as a Tech assistant coach, the last three as defensive coordinator. Longest stretch of his career at one place.
“I enjoyed coaching with Mike,” McNeill said. “We had some really positive things go on there.”
That was perhaps Tech’s greatest decade. Ten years of Leach as head coach and McNeill as an assistant; Riley was on the roster for one year and on the staff for seven. Tech won 85 games in those years.
Leach was OU’s offensive coordinator in 1999, then was hired by Tech. Leach brought in Robert Anae as offensive line coach. Anae had worked with McNeill at Nevada-Las Vegas and recommended him to Leach.
“Very enthusiastic guy,” Leach said of McNeill. “Very passionate about football. I think he elevated the play of the players with his own enthusiasm.”
Kingsbury had won the Tech quarterback job by the end of 1999 and was a team leader by 2000. Still, quarterbacks and defensive line coaches rarely cross paths. But McNeill was different.
“Always had time for you,” Kingsbury said. “Always remembered your story. Who you were and what you were about. One of my favorite people in this world. Always been a huge fan of Coach Ruff.
“He just has that aura, that persona, that he attracts people, young people. You want to be around him, you want to talk to him, you want to get to know him. And when he does need to get mean, get mad, the whole room straightens up and listens. He has that magic about him.”
Four weeks ago, Riley fired defensive coordinator Mike Stoops and handed the reins to McNeill. The Sooner defense has responded well, but against relatively meek offenses. That changes with Tech.
Now it’s McNeill’s defense against Kingsbury’s offense.
“You better have your big-boy pants on and your big-boy clothes,” McNeill said. “The crowd will be very exciting and electric. That’s just how it is there.”
McNeill should know. He’s part of Leach’s Lubbock gang, which brought high times to Texas Tech football.
Berry Tramel: Berry can be reached at (405) 760-8080 or at btramel@oklahoman.com. He can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including FM-98.1. You can also view his personality page at newsok.com/berrytramel.