Texas Tech football: Not retaining WR coach Emmett Jones is a mistake

The Texas Tech football program may come to regret the decision not to retain wide receivers coach Emmett Jones who has been the team’s top recruitier since 2016 and has deep ties to the Dallas / Ft. Worth area.

Recruiting is the lifeblood of any college football program.  It does not matter what scheme a team runs nor how skilled a coach may be if he has inferior talent.  That’s why the Texas Tech football program’s decision not to retain its best recruiter, wide receivers coach Emmett Jones, was a mistake especially given the tenuous state of the 2019 recruiting class.

In the five days since Matt Wells was hired to replace Kliff Kingsbury, five 2019 recruits have decomitted from the program including its top recruit, 4-star defensive end Steven Parker.  Texas Tech’s class has dropped from No. 42 in the nation to No. 59 as it has lost 3-star quarterback Maverick McIvor and three defensive backs.

Many believe that Parker’s decomittment was a direct result of Jones leaving the Texas Tech football program because Jones was his primary recruiter, as was the case with so many of the top Dallas area players the Red Raiders have landed in recent years.   And Jones’ deep ties to the immensely fertile DFW recruiting grounds will be hard to replace.

Prior to coming to Texas Tech in 2015 as recruiting coordinator (a position that helps the program come up with a recruiting strategy and make connections but that does not entail directly visiting recruits), Jones was one of the most successful high school coaches in the Dallas area.  After 13 years as an assistant coach at Seagoville, Dallas Lincoln and Dallas Skyline, Jones spent three years as head coach at South Oak Cliff High School leading the Golden Bears to a 30-8 record.

And since 2016, when he was named Texas Tech receivers coach, he has been the program’s best recruiter.  Some of the players that Jones has brought to Lubbock include running backs Da’Leon Ward, Taz’Hawn Henry and Sarodorick Thompson, defensive tackles Joseph Wallace and Mych Thomas, wide receivers Myllar Royals and Erik Ezukanma (a 4-star signee in 2018 and the highest rated recruit Jones landed at Tech) and linebacker Riko Jeffers.

And in the 2019 class, Jones was again making a tremendous impact.  In addition to Parker, the highest-rated defensive end recruit Tech had received a verbal commitment from in recent memory, he had recruited 3-star wide receivers La’Vontae Shenault and Trey Cleveland, 3-star running back Velton Gardner and 3-star linebacker Bryce Robinson.

Therefore, it seems odd that a program bringing on a head coach with no direct ties to Texas would have no interest in keeping one of the state’s best recruiters.  Certainly, there has been plenty of discussion about Matt Wells’ ability to recruit in the Lone Star State since his hiring and he has been quick to point out that he has been recruiting Texas throughout his career.

In fact, he was heavily involved in recruiting former Texas Tech quarterback Davis Webb when Webb was a senior in the Dallas suburb of Prosper in 2012.  What’s more, Wells has brought with him both of his coordinators, David Yost and Keith Patterson, who both claim to have strong connections in the state.

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But it is still safe to say that no one Texas Tech could hire would have stronger or deeper connections with Dallas / Ft. Worth high schools than Emmett Jones.  Thus, it would have been wise for the Red Raiders to hang on to this recruiting ace, especially with the early signing period for recruits just over two weeks away.

After all, relying on former high school coaches with strong Texas ties is a strategy that has paid dividends for another Big 12 team that recently hired a head coach with no in-state connections.  When the Art Briles scandal left Baylor’s program in shambles after the 2016 season, new head coach Matt Rhule turned to some well-known Texas high school coaches to fill out his staff.

As a result, Baylor was able to land the No. 5 2017 class in the Big 12 (one spot ahead of Texas Tech) and the No. 40 class in the nation despite spending most of that recruiting cycle under the guidance of an interim head coach in Jim Grobe. And the Bears’ success has continued.  Their 2018 class was ranked No. 29 overall and their 2019 class sits at No. 5 in the Big 12.

There are likely to be some members of the Matt Wells staff that have strong Texas high school ties.  But even if Texas Tech brings them aboard in the next few days, it is unlikely that they will have time to make the type of impact on the current class that Emmett Jones had already made.

What’s more, Jones proved to be a quality coach on the field.  Under his guidance, two Red Raiders posted the second and third-best individual receiving seasons in program history.  In 2017, Keke Coutee had 1,429 receiving yards, second-most of any Red Raider in history and this year, Antoine Wesley’s 1,410 yards were good for third-most.

What’s more, all four of the receivers to start the 2017 season opener for the Red Raiders, (Coutee, Cam Batson, Dylan Cantrell and Derrick Willies) found their way into NFL training camps with three making it onto their respective 53-man rosters.

I don’t know if Emmett Jones was interested in remaining at Texas Tech.   Perhaps he did not see himself as a fit with Matt Wells. But regardless, his absence, especially on the recruiting trail, will most certainly be missed and is already being felt, especially as the Red Raiders continue to lose commits at an alarming rate.