The Texas Tech football team has emphasized physicality while also trying to stay healthy in preseason camp.
Coach Joey McGuire said Thursday the Red Raiders have avoided being too physical for their own good, but some injuries have occurred in the process. Such is life in the world of football.
The latest health update from McGuire included news that sophomore tight end Charles Robinson suffered an ankle injury in Saturday’s scrimmage. McGuire said they weren’t sure the extent of Robinson’s injury at the time, but the setback has required surgery.
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McGuire didn’t give specifics of the injury, or a timeframe of a potential return to the field for the former Coronado Mustang. He did, however, confirm that to fill the void at tight end, the Red Raiders have dipped into the deep linebacking corps.
In this case, it’s Matthew Young switching positions for Tech.
“He’s a big special teams player for us, Matt,” McGuire said, “so I was like, hey, I need another guy.”
Young, a 6-foot-1, 250-pound senior out of Las Cruces, New Mexico, has been working with the third- and fourth-string units at tight end. A preseason injury forced Young — who is the son former NFL All-Pro Fredd Young — to miss all of the 2022 season.
Robinson saw action in three games last season in what was his redshirt freshman campaign. Like Young, Robinson signed with Tech as a linebacker before switching to tight end a year ago.
McGuire said the team has avoided major injuries to this point. Receivers Coy Eakin (collarbone) and Nehemiah Martinez I (facial fractures) are expected to be out at least a few more weeks. Linebacker Steve Linton and running back Bryson Donnell each have thumb injuries that won’t require surgery.
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Linton, McGuire said, should be out of his cast after the first few games. Donnell will be switched to a smaller cast as Tech edges closer to the Sept. 2 game against Wyoming.
Offensive lineman Ty Buchanan and inside linebacker Tyrique Matthews both returned to practice this week but will be held out of the team’s seconds scrimmage on Saturday. Both players missed the first nine practices but have suited up this week.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Charles Robinson injury brings switch at tight end for Texas Tech football
