Wreck'Em Red
Fansided

Texas Tech football: How 2015 signing class doomed Kliff Kingsbury

By Matthew Conner

ARLINGTON, TX - NOVEMBER 25: Quan Shorts #1 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders catches the pass and will score during the first half of the game against the Baylor Bears on November 25, 2016 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TX - NOVEMBER 25: Quan Shorts #1 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders catches the pass and will score during the first half of the game against the Baylor Bears on November 25, 2016 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 5
Next
(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

Four of the six receivers left the program

Texas Tech has long been a popular destination for some of the top high school wide receiver prospects in the nation.  Such was the case in 2015 when Tech signed six pass-catchers.

But unfortunately, four of those signees left the program before exhausting their eligibility and only one of the six were part of the 2018 team.  The most successful receiver in that class was Keke Coutee who parlayed a stellar junior season into an NFL career being picked in the 4th round of the 2018 NFL Draft by the Houston Texans.

That left 6-foot-5 Donta Thompson as the only 2015 receiver on the roster this year.  And he was merely a glorified blocking tight end catching only two passes in twelve games.

That’s not to say that all of the other 2015 receivers were busts.  Former 3-star signee Jonathan Giles was excellent in 2016 leading the team with 69 receptions for 1,158 yards and 13 touchdowns.

But after a slow finish to the season, Giles was surpassed on the depth chart by Coutee and instead of competing for playing time, he transferred to LSU.  Had he remained at Tech, he could have been a key weapon in the slot this year as a senior or he may have been able to do like Coutee and earn a shot in the NFL.  But instead, he caught only ten passes this year for LSU as his most productive days as a receiver look to be behind him.

Another receiver that transferred was Tony Brown who left for Colorado after the 2016 season.  He had 32 receptions for 333 yards and a touchdown for the Buffalos this year and  could have been a contributor in 2018 for a Red Raider team that had to replace four receivers that went to the NFL after last season.  Two 2015 receivers that did not leave the program on their own terms were 4-star signee J.F. Thomas who did not qualify academically and Quan Shorts who was kicked off the team for violating team rules this past summer.

The 2018 Texas Tech receiving corp was top-heavy with three receivers (Antoine Wesley, Ja’Deion High and T.J. Vasher) counting for 68.5% of the teams yards. There were opportunities for other players to be bigger factors but Tech had to rely on a transfer in Seth Collins and a freshman in Kesean Carter and neither was ready to play at a level that some of the 2015 signees could have if they had worked out.

Home/Texas Tech Football