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Texas Tech Football Lands 2018 RB Ta’Zhawn Henry

By Matthew Conner

LUBBOCK, TX - NOVEMBER 4: Head coach Kliff Kingsbury of the Texas Tech Red Raiders calls time out late in the game against the Kansas State Wildcats on November 4, 2017 at Jones AT
LUBBOCK, TX - NOVEMBER 4: Head coach Kliff Kingsbury of the Texas Tech Red Raiders calls time out late in the game against the Kansas State Wildcats on November 4, 2017 at Jones AT /
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Ta’Zhawn Henry, a 2018 RB, has verbally committed to Texas Tech.

As national signing day nears, the Texas Tech football program added a key piece to the 2018 class on Saturday.  Houston, Texas running back Ta’Zhawn Henry verbally committed to Texas Tech Saturday night.

Henry picked the Red Raiders over Oregon State.  He was also once committed to TCU and had offers from Arizona, Baylor, Cal, Colorado, Iowa State, Kansas State, Nebraska, Utah and numerous other schools.

Henry was in Lubbock for an official visit on January 27th that seemed to seal the deal for the Red Raiders.  Following that visit, Henry cancelled his final official visit, scheduled for this past weekend at Nebraska, and he announced Tech and Oregon State as his two finalists.

The 5-8, 170-pound three-star prospect is ranked as the 129th best player in Texas by 247sports.com.  He is the second running back to join the 2018 recruiting class following the commitment of two-star prospect SaRodorick Thompson.

Henry is an electric player and looks to be a natural fit in the Air Raid offense.  He has the type of wiggle in his hips that makes him hard to tackle in space, something that every great Texas Tech running back in the last two decades has had.

He has breakaway speed and is a big play threat every time he touches the ball.  He appears to have nice vision and looks comfortable running between the tackles (though the size of the running lanes he had in high school will not be there in the Big 12).

The one question about Henry is his diminutive size.  If he is going to be an every down back for Texas Tech, he will have to add quite a bit of weight to his frame.

He is significantly smaller than the running backs Kliff Kingsbury has been recruiting in the past three classes.  Additionally, he is smaller than many of the most successful running backs in the Air Raid era.

DeAndre Washington was 5-foot-9, 183-pounds when he signed in 2011.  Eric Stephens was 5-foot-8, 177-pounds coming out of high school in 2009, Baron Batch was 5-foot-10, 190-pounds and Shannon Woods was 5-foot-11, 195-pounds.

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Still, Henry will have the opportunity to earn playing time right away.  The Texas Tech running back position is in flux.  2017 leading rusher Justin Stockton is out of eligibility leaving Tre King as the presumptive starter.

Behind King is Desmond Nisby, who spent quite a bit of time in Kingsbury’s dog house due to fumble problems.  The other two running backs on the roster, De’Marcus Felton and Da’Leon Ward are both facing uncertainty.

After having a decent 2016 season, Felton fell to fourth on the depth chart last year seeing only sparse action.  Ward was forced to sit out last season because of academic concerns.  His position on the team is tenuous at best and one gets the feeling that he is one mistake away from losing his scholarship.

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So there is an opportunity for Henry to earn a role on the field in 2018.  He believes he will be an immediate part of the Texas Tech offense so this is a recruit Texas Tech fans need to keep a close eye on.

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