Texas Tech football: 5 greats we wish we could add to 2019 offense

26 Oct 1996: Running back Byron Hanspard of the Texas Tech Red Raiders moves the ball during a game against the Texas A&M Aggies at Lyons Field in College Station, Texas. Texas Tech won the game, 13-10. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Dunn /Allsport
26 Oct 1996: Running back Byron Hanspard of the Texas Tech Red Raiders moves the ball during a game against the Texas A&M Aggies at Lyons Field in College Station, Texas. Texas Tech won the game, 13-10. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Dunn /Allsport /
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(Photo by Brett Deering/Getty Images)
(Photo by Brett Deering/Getty Images) /

TE Jace Amaro

David Yost is bringing the tight end position back to Lubbock this year and he plans to make the position that was utterly ignored for most of the “Air Raid” era an integral part of the offense.  That’s why adding Jace Amaro would take this offense to another level.

In three years at Tech (2011-13), the San Antonio native caught 1,818 yards and 13 touchdowns as the most unique tight end in school history. Standing 6-foot-5 and weighing 265 pounds, he also had the speed to be a deep threat and was a focal point of the offense.

His 1,352 receiving yards in 2013 rank 4th most for a single season in Tech history.  What’s more, his 15-reception game that year against Oklahoma State ranks tied for second-most in a game by any Red Raider.

His signature game was the day he put up 156 yards on just five catches (an average of 31.2) and a touchdown in the Red Raiders 49-14 upset of No. 4 West Virginia in 2013.  That day, we saw first-hand how a tight end of his caliber could dominate a game.

Yost does not plan to utilize his tight ends in a traditional sense.  He has said that he wants to spread them out all over the formation and use them to do everything from running deep routes to blocking on bubble screens to even functioning as a lead blocker on running plays so it would be fascinating to see what he would do with Amaro.

Though the Red Raiders are bringing JUCO tight end Travis Koontz into the mix along with 3-star true freshman TE signee Simon Gonzalez, neither are the caliber of player that Jace Amaro was at Tech.  Putting him in the 2019 offense would give Yost a tremendous strategic advantage and be rather fun to watch.