Kingsbury adjusts to being center of attention

Kingsbury adjusts to being center of attention

Published Apr. 23, 2013 11:42 a.m. ET

Texas Tech head football coach Kliff Kingsbury hasn't even coached his first football game with the Red Raiders yet but he already has to adjust to a new normal.

The former Tech quarterback was a popular hire in Lubbock.

He just didn't realize how popular he'd be as he's already been featured in Sports Illustrated and his every step is being watched.

"It's been more embarrassing than surreal," Kingsbury said. "I'd like to actually do something on the field before all this other stuff comes into play. It's part of the position. It's part of the job. I'm just going to try and have fun with it."

If Kingsbury wants to know how to deal with extra attention, all he has to do is look to Johnny Manziel, who Kingsbury helped win the Heisman Trophy in his one year as offensive coordinator at Texas A&M.

While Kingsbury isn't at A&M anymore, he still keeps tabs on Manziel.

"It's been a wild ride for him, which I think we all anticipated," Kingsbury said. "But just talking to Johnny on a pretty regular basis he's still the same player, same kid he's always been. He just happens to have a lot of cool stuff happening around him."

Kingsbury said he watched Manziel play in the A&M spring game and thought he looked better than he did last year.

Kingsbury can now watch Manziel as a fan because A&M and Texas Tech no longer play each other. It may have made for an interesting matchup between Kingsbury and Manziel.

"We'd probably get in a fight at midfield before the game," Kingsbury joked. "It's probably a good thing we don't play him."

ADVERTISEMENT
share