How Shiel Wood is ‘Unlocking’ Austin Romaine at Texas Tech
Of all the shoes to fill on the Texas Tech defense, Austin Romaine may have the biggest to do so. The former Kansas State linebacker made quick work in the portal when he decided to leave Manhattan.
The Red Raiders sold him with a warm welcome just days after their season ended at the Orange Bowl.
“Something when I entered the portal is I wanted to go somewhere that had a really good culture and that wins ball games,” Romaine told the media Thursday. “When I went on my visit here, the culture was just unbelievable. Everybody was in the building a few days after their game introducing theirselves, talking to me. It’s really cool to be a part of it already.”
Shiel Wood unlocking Texas Tech’s newest linebacker
Romaine finds himself in a different setting under Shiel Wood, second-year defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. Romaine sat at the podium Thursday, fielding questions after his head coach Joey McGuire said Wood is going to “unlock” Romaine’s brain.
After seeing the meteoric rise Jacob Rodriguez had in 2025, there’s mutual excitement around the pairing of Romaine and Wood in the linebacker room.
“I think it’s really cool that my position coach is the defensive coordinator,” Romaine said. “I didn’t have that. That’s something that comes straight from the source. I meet with coach Wood everyday and kind of, learning the knowledge, not just of linebacker, but of everyone around me. The guys up front, the safeties, corners, what everyone is doing. He knows it all and he teaches it all. He teaches it in a way that helps us understand it, helps us learn it to be able to play our position better.”
Romaine being embraced into linebacker room
Romaine is plug-and-play entering a room returning Big 12 Championship Most Outstanding Player Ben Roberts and standout junior John Curry. He doesn’t plan on joining the mustache crew like Roberts and Curry. Still, Romaine is already spending ample time around them. Being at practices, getting treatment and being in the film room, Romaine has gained new perspectives that he will capitalize on heading into spring ball.
“We’ve gone back and watched a lot of the games from last year because we’re on a couple of installs and some of the stuff I haven’t seen yet,” Romaine said. “We came across the K-State game and it was pretty cool to watch that and see it from the other side. I was always watching and gameplanning for Tech. It was cool to see that, see how we attacked our offense and comparison.”
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