Texas Tech football: All-time West Texas Red Raider team
WR: Tyrone Thurman, Lloyd Hill, Dave Parks, Donnie Hart
The receivers on the West Texas roster would be rather underrated by modern-day fans because all four played prior to the “Air Raid” era. But Dave Parks, Lloyd Hill, Tyrone Thurman, and Donnie Hart were all fantastic players who would excel in today’s spread offenses.
Abilene native Parks caught 80 passes for 1,107 yards and six touchdowns from 1961-63 in an era when the forward pass was considered a risky proposition at best and a nuisance to most coaches. The first Red Raider to be named a first-team All-American, Parks was part of the initial class inducted into the Texas Tech Ring of Honor and he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2009 because he was a pioneer of the wide receiver revolution in the sport.
The other wide receiver on this roster is Lloyd Hill from Odessa. Playing from 1990-93, he amassed 3,059 receiving yards (4th in program history) and 20 touchdowns. His 12 touchdowns in 1992 are the seventh-most ever by a Red Raider in one season.
In the slot would be two of the most beloved players in Tech history. Tyrone Thurman, who at 5-foot-3 would make Jakeem Grant seem like a giant, would be a blast two watch in the “Air Raid”. The Midland Lee product finished his career (1985-88) with 1,270 career receiving yards and five touchdowns but it was as a kick returner where he was most dangerous. He returned four punts for touchdowns, including a school-record 96-yarder against Texas in 1986, and was named first-team All-American kick returner in 1988.
In the other slot would be Donnie Hart who just missed out on the “Air Raid” era playing from 1985-88. Still, he put up 2,211 career yards and 17 touchdowns on 125 receptions. The Wolfforth native was a second-team All-Big 12 selection as a senior.
It would be tough to leave Midland’s Bradley Marquez off this team as well. From 2011-14 he had 1,866 yards and 17 touchdowns on 155 receptions. Interestingly, both his first and his final career receptions as a Red Raider went for touchdowns.
West Texas wide receivers on the current roster include McLane Mannix from Midland, Dalton Rigdon from Perryton, Myllar Royals from Abilene, and Xavier White from Lubbock.
This West Texas crop of receivers might not garner the type of respect that it should given that the collective stats are pedestrian by today’s standards. But had Parks, Hill, Thuman, and Hart played in Mike Leach or Kliff Kingsbury’s offenses, there’s no doubt they would have put up numbers that would rival what we’ve seen from the top pass catchers of the last 20 years.