RUSTON – The 2022 Louisiana Tech football season and
Sonny Cumbie era officially kicks off on Thursday as the Bulldogs take on the Missouri Tigers in Columbia, Mo., at 7 p.m. CT at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium in Columbia, Mo.
ABOUT LA TECH (0-0)
Louisiana Tech returns 50 letterwinners, including 17 starters, and added 34 newcomers to its 2022 roster. Tech brings back 8 of its 11 defensive starters from the 2021 season, headlined by two-time All-Conference USA linebacker
Tyler Grubbs and 2021 All-C-USA honorable mention defensive back
BeeJay Williamson. The Bulldogs return three of their five leading tacklers from the 2021 campaign, in Grubbs (97), Williamson (52) and
Jaiden Cole (48). LA Tech also added depth in the secondary with the addition of defensive backs
Myles Brooks and
Willie Roberts who transferred from Stephen F. Austin, where they played under defensive coordinator
Scott Power.
Tech returns six starters on the offensive side of the ball in offensive linemen
Abraham Delfin,
Joshua Mote and Biron Russell, in addition to wide receivers
Smoke Harris,
Tre Harris and tight end
Griffin Hebert. The Bulldogs return 59.6 percent of their receiving yards, 65.3% of their receptions and 59% of their receiving touchdowns from last season. TCU transfer
Matthew Downing won the starting quarterback position after battling out Texas Tech transfer
Parker McNeil in fall camp. Downing played under Cumbie from 2019-20 with the Horned Frogs.
Head coach
Sonny Cumbie enters his inaugural season at the helm of the LA Tech football program. LA Tech is one of 29 FBS programs with a new coach at the helm this season.
ABOUT MISSOURI (0-0)
Eliah Drinkwitz enters his third season as the Tigers' head football coach. Mizzou returns 18 starters from last season, including six on offense, eight on defense and four on special teams. On Aug. 9, Drinkwitz named Brady Cook the starting quarterback for the season opener. Cook will be making his second career start in the opener. Cook completed 46 of his 58 passing attempts for 345 yards and two touchdowns a year ago. Trajan Jeffcoat and Isaiah McGuire highlight a strong defensive front for Mizzou. Jeffcoat tallied 34 tackles, 10 of which went for loss a year ago, while McGuire recorded 55 stops, 14 tackles for loss, and a team-best six sacks.
Mizzou finished the 2021 campaign with a 6-7 overall record, ending with a 24-22 loss to Army in the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl.
GAMEDAY INFORMATION
Date: Thursday, Sept. 1
Time: 7 p.m. (CT)
Location: Columbia, Mo.
Venue: Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium
Surface: FieldTurf
SERIES HISTORY
Series: First Meeting, 0-0
In Ruston: N/A
In Columbia: N/A
HOW TO FOLLOW
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Live Audio: LA Tech Sports Network (KXKZ 107.5 FM)
Twitter Updates: @LATechFB
Instagram Updates: @latechfb
TV/RADIO COVERAGE
TV: ESPNU
PxP: Mike Monaco
Analyst: Dave Steckel
Radio: LA Tech Sports Network (KXKZ 107.5 FM)
PxP: Malcolm Butler
Analyst: Teddy Allen
