New York Jets coach Rex Ryan visits Texas Tech

LUBBOCK, TX (KCBD) - The Head Coach of the New York Jets was in town over the weekend to visit Texas Tech and his former linebacker coach, Mike Smith.

"My son is looking at different colleges to go to, so we came down for this weekend and quite honestly had a great time. Mike Smith is the linebacker coach here and I actually coached him at Baltimore. Like anything as a parent you want to be sure to send your kid to a university that you feel good about and will take care of them. I feel that way about Texas Tech," Ryan said.

Mike Smith was a former linebacker at Texas Tech and worked with Ryan as the linebacker coach for the New York Jets. Smith has returned to the Red Raiders as the new linebacker coach, but says having Rex Ryan back in town was a real treat.

"It was awesome! It was tough not seeing those guys and him for a while - got a little homesick from them, but I am excited about being home and him coming here to visit. I was telling Rex this is where I am from and raised. He got a sense of what West Texas is like and how close everyone is, coming up and hugging him. It just a family atmosphere. It is great," Smith said.

Ryan is no stranger to the Lone Star State. He went to school in Weatherford at Southwestern Oklahoma State University and coached as the defensive coordinator with the Oklahoma Sooners back in 1998. He says there are many similarities between his home state of Oklahoma and Lubbock, Texas.

"I am actually from Ardmore, Oklahoma and went to school at Southwestern Oklahoma State, so very similar type people and everything else. Lubbock is much bigger, but it is great here. I used to coach at Oklahoma, so I used to play against Texas Tech, so I know quite a bit about the school," Ryan said.

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