Texas Tech football in the mix for 3-star RB Kendal Taylor

Now that 3-star RB Kendal Taylor from has Houston narrowed his list of teams to five, there’s reason to believe that the Texas Tech football program could be in great shape in this race.

Now that new offensive coordinator David Yost and his balanced offense is in Lubbock, the running back position is going to take on even greater importance for the Texas Tech football program. That’s why the Red Raiders are expected to bring in at least two running backs in the 2020 signing class.

One option could be 3-star RB Kendal Taylor from Houston. Monday, he narrowed his list of schools to five and Texas Tech made the cut along with SMU, UTSA, Texas St., and Texas Tech head coach Matt Wells’ former employer, Utah State.

Rated the No. 23 all-purpose running back in the class by the 247Sports composite rankings, Taylor is the No. 239 player in Texas. He also holds offers from Houston, Arizona, Memphis, and Tulsa. In fact, he committed to Houston last August but reopened his recruitment in February.

In 10 games last season for Klein Oak High School in Spring, the 5-foot-9, 172-pounder racked up 992 yards and eleven touchdowns. He averaged 8.1 yards per carry and had four 100-yard games.

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Now, he has transferred to Westridge H.S. in Houston, a powerful program that reached the fourth round of the playoffs a year ago. Playing on a team with several other players that hold major college offers, Taylor could see his stock rise this fall but he seems to be nearing a decision.

Taylor is smaller than the other running backs Tech has landed or is in the hunt for in the 2020 class. The only RB committed to the Red Raiders at this point, 3-star Manor, TX RB Tahj Brooks, is also 5-foot-9 but weighs 212 pounds. Another top target, Frank Brown from Houston, is 6-feet and 180-pounds.

Brown has already put Tech in his list of seven schools that he’s still considering and it would be interesting to see what Wells and his coaching staff would do if both Taylor and Brown decide to commit to the Red Raiders. Though Tech needs to add depth at RB, with sophomore Ta’Zhawn Henry and redshirt freshman Sarodorick Thompson set to man the Red Raider backfield for the foreseeable future, it does not seem likely that Tech would add three RBs in the class of 2020.

Brown might seem like the better fit in Yost’s offense because his frame would likely allow him to add more weight. And given that Tech’s new head coach is determined to run the ball between the tackles, bigger backs may become a priority for the Red Raiders.

Henry is already in place to fulfill the speed back role that smaller RBs bring to the college game. What’s more, the Red Raiders signed 5-foot-10, 181-pound Alante Brown, a high school QB from Chicago, in the 2019 class and he will be utilized as a RB who will factor heavily into the passing game out of the backfield, something that Taylor might also bring to the roster.

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With twelve 2020 recruits currently committed, Tech’s class ranks 55th in the nation and just 9th in the Big 12. Obviously, there’s plenty more work for Wells and his assistants to do on the recruiting trail and given that Tech is Kendal Taylor’s only Power 5 offer, the Red Raiders may have a leg up in this battle.

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