The Best Recruit From Each of Kliff Kingsbury’s Classes At Texas Tech

Keke Coutee

One trait that has become synonymous with Texas Tech football is the ability to turn under-rated players into stars.  Such was certainly the case with 2015’s best signee, Keke Coutee.

The Lufkin, Texas native was far from a blue-chip prospect when he arrived on campus.  And it took time for the three-star prospect to make his mark.

As a freshman, Coutee had just 11 catches in five games as he was behind Jakeem Grant and Jonathan Giles on the depth chart.  But a strong finish to his sophomore campaign set Coutee up for a stellar junior season.

Last season, the dynamic inside receiver led Texas Tech with 1,429 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns.  For his efforts he earned multiple all-conference honors and was named a semifinalist for the prestigious Biletnkioff Award given to the nation’s top receiver.

Now, Coutee is preparing to hear his name called in this week’s NFL Draft, potentially as early as the fourth round.  When that happens, Coutee will be the first member of his signing class to reach the NFL (because he left school a season early), which was not expected when the class was put to paper three years ago.

The star of the 2015 signing class was supposed to be 4-star defensive tackle Breiden Fehoko from Hawaii.  He was by far the most highly regarded defensive player to sign with Texas Tech in a generation and many fans immediately pondered whether he would stay at Texas Tech four years.

In the end, Fehoko did not stay four years.  He transferred to LSU following his sophomore season having put up just 38 tackles in two seasons.

In true Texas Tech fashion, the star of the 2015 class came from almost nowhere.  A seemingly run-of-the-mill three-star receiver from east Texas became a future NFL star and the pride of his class, outshining a blue-chip can’t miss prospect.