Throughout the offseason, Pro Football Focus has been comparing talent throughout the college landscape. And in terms of returning wide receivers, Texas Tech Football shouldn’t skip a beat.
Texas Tech Football was put in a precarious position at the end of last season, when after another disappointing 5-7 season, junior quarterback Patrick Mahomes decided to declare for the NFL Draft. That decision wasn’t surprising, especially given the talent available in the 2018 Draft, and it turned out to be a solid business move for Mahomes, but Tech was left with a little uncertainty at that point.
Players could have elected to transfer (and some did), but the majority of them stayed–especially at the receiver position–because they felt a chemistry with Nic Shimonek already developed when Mahomes was injured last season.
During the ESPN Car Wash last week, Kingsbury mentioned how Shimonek was a tough guy, who was willing to fight just about anyone. With one of the highest rated receiving corps in all of college football, you’d expect the secondary to mirror that, and perhaps Shimonek’s intensity could just be the Hail Mary pass that ignites the DB unit’s productivity.
PFF’s recent player comparisons are among the highest graded returning players by school. And it’s no surprise to see that Texas Tech Football is being led by some of Mahomes’ go-to targets in 2016.
Texas Tech's top three highest graded returning players are all wide receivers.
— PFF College (@PFF_College) July 25, 2017
Any surprises there? pic.twitter.com/enCEd1AFmQ
Keke Coutee returns with a score of 85, followed by Cameron Batson (82.6), and Ja’Deion High (82).
More from Texas Tech Football
- Texas Tech football: Red Raider fans need to know about these Mountaineers
- Texas Tech football: Red Raiders land first commit for class of 2025
- Texas Tech football: Why have the Red Raiders struggled on the road under McGuire?
- Texas Tech football: Why the Red Raiders can compete for a Big 12 title
- Texas Tech football: Plenty of questions remain as conference play arrives
Coutee had 55 receptions for 890 yards, and seven touchdowns last season, with Batson at 61 for 650, and eight touchdowns. In three games last season, High had six catches for 54 yards, and a touchdown, but one of his catches was 81 yards, which was a team high.
With Jonathan Giles at LSU now, and Ian Sadler retiring due to medical issues, that leaves Texas Tech with Quan Shorts, Keke Coutee, Xavier Bowman, DeQuan Bowman, T.J. Vasher, Derrick Willies, Cameron Batson, Dylan Cantrell, Zach Austin, Antoine Wesley, Jake Levrier, Brandt Schilling, Hunter Isom, Ja’ Deion High, and Donta Thompson–who doubles as a tight end.
All things considered, I’d say that’s Texas Tech’s strongest position. With Shimonek finishing two games against Kansas and West Virginia with a 93 percent raw quarterback rating, expect Tech’s offense to be as lethal.
The biggest issue Texas Tech faces this season, offensively, is making sure it learns from Patrick Mahomes’ mistakes from 2016. While Mahomes was, arguably, one of the best players to come out of the program in history, he was also careless in situations where he tried doing too much, instead of going through his reads and check downs, to make sure drives stayed alive. This is where turnovers happen, and ultimately, where games are lost.
Shimonek played in a pro-style offense at Iowa, so that background could come in handy, in terms of staying in the pocket, going through the reads, and making sure the receiving yards pile on.