Texas Tech football: Dorsey, Ward, Wesley earn game balls vs. OU

Running back Da’Leon Ward

On a night when Texas Tech honored former running back Ricky Williams, sophomore running back Da’Leon Ward did his best impression of the former all-Big12 performer.  Much like Williams, who was a threat on the ground and in the passing game as the first primary back featured in Mike Leach’s “Air Raid” offense, Ward was a dual-threat weapon against the Sooners.

In his best game of the year, Ward accounted for 127 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns.  On the ground, he led the team in rushing with 53 yards and a score.  And in the first half, the Dallas native was more explosive than he has ever been as a Red Raider.

On Tech’s fourth drive, Ward took a screen pass 45 yards for a touchdown to put the Red Raiders up 24-14.  Then, on the final drive of the first half, he would break off a 37-yard run on a drive that he would cap with a rushing TD to put Tech up 31-28.

Since his return to full health, Texas Tech has begun to feature Ward as a receiver out of the backfield.  With five catches for 74 yards, he was the second-leading receiver on the team a week after catching seven passes for 33 yards against Iowa State.

After sitting out last season to work on off-field concerns, Ward has had a frustrating 2018 campaign missing four games because of a nagging groin injury suffered in the season opener.

He has run for just 191 yards on 44 carries this season but when healthy, he is clearly this team’s best all-around running back.  And if starting QB Alan Bowman is forced to miss time following his second collapsed lung of the season, Ward may be even more crucial to the offense, especially in the passing game where screens and check-downs will be critical with backup QB Jett Duffey’s limited ability as a passer.

It is finally nice to get to see what this promising young back can do.  Here’s hoping we see more of the Da’Leon Ward we saw Saturday night throughout the remainder of the season.