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Texas Tech football hands out numerous offers at positions of need

By Matthew Conner

LUBBOCK, TX - OCTOBER 20: Alan Bowman #10 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders calls signals at the line of scrimmage during the first half of the game against the Kansas Jayhawks on October 20, 2018 at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images)
LUBBOCK, TX - OCTOBER 20: Alan Bowman #10 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders calls signals at the line of scrimmage during the first half of the game against the Kansas Jayhawks on October 20, 2018 at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by John Weast/Getty Images)
(Photo by John Weast/Getty Images) /

Running backs – Willie Eldridge; Cypress, Texas and Frank Brown; Houston, Texas

Speaking of position groups that Tech has struggled to recruit in recent years, the running back position has been one of the more difficult for the Red Raiders to address with quality.   Maybe that’s why Wells has extended offers to two 2020 prospects Willie Eldridge and Frank Brown.

Eldridge is a 3-star prospect from Cypress, Texas.  The 5-foot-10, 189-pounder is the No. 182 player in Texas and the No. 80 running back in the nation.   He holds offers from Utah State, Vanderbilt, New Mexico, Army and Southern Miss. In addition, he has been in contact with Houston, Arizona, Texas, Texas A&M, TCU and Oklahoma State.

According to MaxPreps.com, he rushed for 736 yards and 12 touchdowns on 102 yards in eleven games last fall.  He put up 7.2 yards per carry with a long rush of 67 yards, showing that he is a home run threat.

https://twitter.com/weldridge005_/status/1126961100669554688

As for Brown, the 6-foot, 180-pound all-purpose back is rated a 3-star prospect and the No. 153 player in Texas.  He has offers from Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Colorado State, Houston, Missouri and others.

One of the more productive backs in the state, Brown has rushed for a combined 2,372 yards and 32 touchdowns while catching 31 passes for 671 yards and 11 more scores in the past two seasons. In each of those seasons, he topped the 1,000-yard mark.

https://twitter.com/iamFrankBrown1/status/1127043227578662915

The Red Raiders have suffered some hits at running back this offseason.  After losing Tre King and Demarcus Felton to graduation, the Red Raiders also saw Da’Leon Ward leave the program after being suspended from the team during spring practice.

And because Tech did not sign a true running back in the 2019 class, Wells has brought in grad transfer Armand Shyne from Utah to help supplement his running back depth.  Moving forward, it will be essential for Tech to start adding key contributors at running back on a consistent basis given new offensive coordinator David Yost’s proclivity for running the ball.

With sophomore Ta’Zhawn Henry and redshirt freshman Sarodorick Thompson set to be shouldering the load with Shyne this fall, Tech should be in nice shape for 2019.  But given the fact that running backs tend to get injured more often than other players and that Tech’s depth at the position is less than ideal, look for Wells to bring in more than one RB in 2020.

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