Five Most Disappointing Players of the Kingsbury Era
Summer is a time for arbitrary countdowns as the news cycle slows making the three months until football season feel like an unending prison sentence. So as the Texas Tech coaches continue to grind away on the recruiting trail, lets take a look back at some of the biggest misses Kingsbury and his staff have had at Texas Tech.
Now that the open contact period has been extended until the end of May, the Texas Tech football coaches are busy trying to put together the 2019 signing class. And no matter which players eventually land with the Red Raiders, the staff will tout the virtues of every player they ink in this class.
However, it is inevitable that a number of players in every signing class will fail to live up to expectations. Sometimes, even the most highly-touted recruits fail to pan out at the collegiate level. Here’s a look at the most disappointing players to sign with Texas Tech under Kliff Kingsbury.
No. 5 – Nigel Bethel II
Anytime a four-star defensive recruit signs with a team as desperate for help on that side of ball as Texas Tech has been, expectations are certain to be high. Such was the case in 2014 when Nigel Bethel II inked with the Red Raiders.
The Miami, Florida native was one of the more highly recruited prospects in the nation in 2014 and was the only 4-star signee Texas Tech landed in Kingsbury’s second signing class. He was the No. 44 overall recruit in Florida and the 24th rated corner in the nation. In addition to Texas Tech, Bethel had offers from the likes of Florida State, Miami, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Tennessee, Utah, Washington State and West Virginia.
But after Bethel arrived in Lubbock, his career quickly started to unravel.
In the summer prior to his freshman season, Bethel punched a Texas Tech women’s basketball player during a pick-up game at the student recreation center. The incident made national news and resulted in a three-game suspension.
When he returned, he was an effective player recording 40 tackles with six pass breakups in nine games. The next season, he missed three games due to an injury registering 43 more tackles and 12 passes defended.
But following that season, Bethel left the program on what appeared to be good terms as he thanked many Texas Tech staff members, including Kingsbury for being there for him. But after one season at Eastern Kentucky, Bethel once again found himself in legal trouble.
After a traffic stop, Bethel was arrested and charged with third-degree drug trafficking when marijuana and a large amount of prescription pills were found in his vehicle. The incident signaled the end to what was once a promising football career.
Bethel’s flame out at Texas Tech was disappointing and tough to watch. He simply never figured out how to handle his business off the field and as a result, the Texas Tech defense was left to scramble at the defensive back position.
Bethel departed in May of 2016 and the next class Kingsbury brought in (February 2017) included seven defensive back signees in what was an attempt to address the team’s shortcomings at the position. Bethel was one of the first, and by far the most notable, players to learn the hard way that Kingsbury is a no-nosense coach when it comes to player discipline.