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Texas Tech football: Breaking down 2019 early signings

By Matthew Conner

LUBBOCK, TX - OCTOBER 22: General view of fireworks during the National Anthem before the game between the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the Oklahoma Sooners on October 22, 2016 at AT
LUBBOCK, TX - OCTOBER 22: General view of fireworks during the National Anthem before the game between the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the Oklahoma Sooners on October 22, 2016 at AT /
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(Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
(Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /

Most popular – Tight end Travis Koontz

The early signee almost guaranteed to have the most immediate impact is the only player that the previous staff did land earlier in the cycle.  JUCO tight end Travis Koontz received an offer from the Red Raiders less than a month ago and visited last weekend when he committed to the good guys.

Because of his nickname “Iceman”, he has already become somewhat of a fascination to the Red Raider fan base making him the most popular player to sign thus far and a potential fan favorite.  Additionally, he is the signee most likely to play a significant role next year because he is the only true tight end on the roster.

New offensive coordinator David Yost is going to rely heavily on Koontz next year as Tech will replace one of the traditional slot receivers in the spread offense with the 6-foot-5, 250-pound all-purpose tight end.  Yost will run the ball with far more regularity than the Red Raiders have in the “Air Raid” era making the tight end essential for his ability to block as well as catch passes.

Koontz is likely excited to be a Red Raider because he will see the ball more than he did at Ventura College where he caught just 16 passes for 206 yards and three touchdowns this year.  But it is hard to envision what a player of his skill set will do for the Red Raiders because we have seen so few tight ends in Lubbock in the past two decades.

The best tight end in the modern age of Texas Tech football was former All-American Jace Amaro, who starred for the Red Raiders from 2011-2013. Koontz will not put up the type of receiving yards that Amaro did but he could become the latest tight end to fascinate Red Raider fans.

In the post Spike Dykes era, Tech fans (especially those that followed the program before the turn of the century) love to see throw-back type of players like big running backs and tight ends.  Therefore, it stands to reason that Travis Koontz will emerge as the most popular player out of the group of early 2019 signees because he will remind fans of a player from an earlier time when the game was far more physical that it is today.

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