Texas Tech football: Antoine Wesley a Biletnikoff semifinalist

Monday, the Texas Tech football team’s leading receiver, Antoine Wesley, was named a finalist for the prestigious Biletnikoff Award given to the country’s best wide receiver.

When the 2018 season began, most Texas Tech football fans believed that they had a future star wide receiver in the making on their team.  But most thought it would be sophomore T.J. Vasher rather than the little-known Antoine Wesley.

But after ten games, Wesley has taken college football by storm catching 78 passes for 1,347 yards and nine touchdowns.  And Monday, he was named one of 11 semifinalists for the Biletnikoff Award given to the nation’s top receiver.

Wesley is one of four Big 12 receivers still in the running for what is one of the nation’s most prestigious awards.  The others are Marquise Brown of Oklahoma, David Sills V of West Virginia and Tylan Wallace of Oklahoma State.   Additionally, another player that Texas Tech faced this year, Ole Miss’ A.J. Brown is also on the list of semifinalists.

Wesley’s stats certainly make him a no-brainer for inclusion on this list.  He leads the country in yards per game with 134.7 and is second to UMASS receiver Andy Isabella in total receiving yards.

What’s more, he ranks third in receptions per game with 7.8 and is tied for 9th overall in touchdown receptions.  He is coming off of an 8-reception, 171-yard, two-touchdown performance against Texas, his fourth-consecutive 100-yard game.

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It has been quite the breakout year for a player who entered the season with just 10 receptions for 137 yards an no touchdowns in two seasons.  But after finally receiving his opportunity thanks to the graduation of Dylan Cantrell after last season, Wesley has become arguably the best receiver in the nation.

Coming out of high school, Wesley was largely overlooked.  He was a three-star recruit with offers from only Texas Tech, UTSA and Texas State and ranked just the No. 178 receiver in the nation.

Playing sparingly as a true freshman, Wesley did not register a catch until his sophomore season.  Last year, he was primarily a special teams player appearing in all 13 games but rarely factoring into the offense.

But after a strong spring, he earned a starting job for a Texas Tech football team looking to replace three starting receivers.  This came after the coaching staff worked him at both inside and outside receiver to find the right fit.

Now, he is putting together one of the greatest seasons in program history.  With two games to go (potentially three if Tech makes it to a bowl game), Wesley has already put up the fourth-most yards in the storied history of Red Raider receivers.

If he is able to reach his season averages, he will pass Keke Coutee’s 1,429-yard 2017 season for second all-time.  Michael Crabtree’s 2007 redshirt freshman season seems out of reach at 1,962 yards however.

Speaking of Crabtree, he is the only Red Raider to win the Biletnikoff Award capturing it in 2007 and 2008.  He was the first player to ever win the award in back-to-back seasons, something that Oklahoma State’s Justin Blackmon also accomplished in 2010 and 2011.

Fans can cast their vote for Wesley and help him become a finalist as he so rightly deserves.  The winner will be announced December 6th on the Home Depot College Football Awards Show on ESPN.