K-State coordinator Matt Wells reflects on his time as Texas Tech’s head coach
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Matt Wells will face Texas Tech as K-State coordinator.
- Wells credits recruiting, player development and discipline for Texas Tech gains.
- K-State offense averages 31 points and 367.1 yards as Wells now calls plays.
Kansas State’s next football game against Texas Tech figures to be an emotional one for offensive coordinator Matt Wells.
And he isn’t afraid to admit it.
“Yeah, there are emotions,” Wells said earlier this week, “because you lived there, and you have got friends there. I am still in stinking group texts with neighborhood guys and golfing buddies (that I met in Lubbock, Texas). To say that there is not a human element, no, you’re not living, man.”
This game is a strange reunion of sorts for Wells.
For the past two seasons, Wells has served as an assistant coach for the Wildcats under Chris Klieman. Last year, he coached Avery Johnson and every other K-State quarterback on the roster. Now, he calls the plays.
Before that, though, he was the head coach at Texas Tech for three seasons until he was fired in 2021.
Texas Tech hired Wells away from Utah State, where he guided the Aggies to 44 wins and five bowl games over the span of six seasons. But he never duplicated that success with the Red Raiders. His Texas Tech teams went 4-8, 4-6 and 5-3. He didn’t finish out his third season. Texas Tech coincidentally fired him immediately after he suffered a 25-24 home loss to K-State.
“That was a chapter in our life that was good, unless you live by the scoreboard,” Wells said. “I’m not going to live by the scoreboard or a final result.”
Still, Wells is proud of what he accomplished at Texas Tech.
“Were there good times? Yeah, there really was,” Wells said. “There are great people there. I know the state of the program when we walked in there, where it was and where it wasn’t. I also know when we walked out where it was, and we are proud of that from recruiting to development and discipline and other things that were instilled there.”
Texas Tech starting quarterback Behren Morton also signed with the Red Raiders when Wells was in charge.
Wells helped the Wildcats win nine games last season. This year, they are off to a 4-4 start. But they have won three of their past four games and enter Saturday’s matchup against Texas Tech with much to play for.
The K-State offense is averaging 31 points and 367.1 yards per game.
Joey McGuire replaced Wells at Texas Tech. He has guided the Red Raiders to records of 8-5, 7-6 and 8-5. This has been a breakthrough season for him, as Texas Tech is off to a 7-1 start and ranked No. 13.
“They have put in a tremendous investment,” Wells said. “Multiple people have done that. You saw it coming. At least I did on the way out. It’s awesome. The stadium is awesome. The investment that they’ve done there and the team that they’ve put together, they’ve done a really good job.”