Texas Tech loses RB transfer, but has players to fill in

Iowa graduate transfer Derrick Mitchell Jr. has officially announced that he will not be attending Texas Tech this fall.

Texas Tech is down a running back, but statistically, it’s not as bad as it sounds, even though depth is still a concern.

In a Tweet on Thursday, Derrick Mitchell Jr. announced that he won’t be attending Texas Tech in the fall, due to personal reasons.

The announcement came after months of speculation about Mitchell’s status with the Red Raiders, to which he announced his transfer intentions to back in May.

On a Red Raider Sports message board last month, some clarity on the situation began to show when threads read: “Mitchell had some issues upon his arrival and was sent home.”

It’s not clear exactly what those issues were, or if Mitchell being sent home was in relation to the issue(s). What we do know, is that Texas Tech head coach Kliff Kingsbury has a zero tolerance policy when it comes to behaviors or personalities that don’t align with the Tech culture, so if Mitchell was off to a questionable start when he arrived in Lubbock, his announcement is probably for the best, and for both parties.

Mitchell’s official Tweet announcing his decision says that due to personal things, he needs to be closer to home:

Again, we can only speculate, however, Mitchell only had 27 carries for 174 yards, and three touchdowns in his career at Iowa. That’s not to say anything bad about him, and we certainly hope everything is okay;  it’s just to offer insight to attrition hawks, that his stats are easily replaceable.

Texas Tech has a stable of young players that will be expected to transition into the rushing statistic void left by Patrick Mahomes.

Mahomes had 12 total rushing touchdowns in 2016. Next was freshman RB Da’Leon Ward, with 103 carries, for 428 yards, and 3 touchdowns; Sophomore Demarcus Felton at 64 carries for 354 yards, and 3 touchdowns; Junior Justin Stockton who had 53 carries, for 154 yards, and 1 touchdown; and Senior Caleb Woodward.

Tech’s rushing statistics last season were nothing to write home about, so this season, the Red Raiders need to learn to run the ball with a sense of urgency, and hopefully the size and speed players are picking up this offseason will help in that area.

If Tech can control the clock this season with the ground game, and minimize two-minute scoring drills so the defense can breathe, it will be a game-changer.