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Texas Tech football: Why Matt Wells’ first staff is far better than Kliff Kingsbury’s

By Matthew Conner

STILLWATER, OK - SEPTEMBER 22: Running back Demarcus Felton #2 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders celebrates a touchdown on a 17-yard gain up the middle with his team against the Oklahoma State Cowboys in the fourth quarter on September 22, 2018 at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Oklahoma. (Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images)
STILLWATER, OK - SEPTEMBER 22: Running back Demarcus Felton #2 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders celebrates a touchdown on a 17-yard gain up the middle with his team against the Oklahoma State Cowboys in the fourth quarter on September 22, 2018 at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Oklahoma. (Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /

Running Backs: DeAndre Smith vs. Mike Jinks

When comparing the initial running backs coach for Wells and Kingsbury, there can be no debate about who has the better coaching resume.  While Wells’ choice, DeAndre Smith, has over 20 years experience as a college coach, Kingsbury’s pick, Mike Jinks, was brought to Tech not because of his coaching but because of his recruiting.

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Smith, who was with Wells at Utah State in 2018, has coached at North Carolina, Purdue, Illinois, and Syracuse among other schools.  He has coached four All-Americans and nine 1,000-yard rushers.

Meanwhile, in 2013 Kingsbury plucked Jinks out of Cibolo Steele High School to coach running backs but more so to be an ace recruiter.  He proved to be somewhat adept at both as he helped coach DeAndre Washington to back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in 2014-15.   That was the first time since 1998 that a Red Raider RB had surpassed the 1,000-yard mark in two-straight seasons.

When Jinks left to be the head coach at Bowling Green after the 2015 season, Tech’s running back productivity took a huge dip.  Since Washington graduated, the most a Red Raider RB has run for in a season was the 797 Justin Stockton amassed in 2017.  What’s more, in the other two years, Tech’s top running back put up no more than 428 yards.

In 2019, the Red Raiders need more out of their RBs than the 341 yards Ta’Zhawn Henry and Da’Leon Ward each put up last year, especially if David Yost wants to run the ball as often as he did at Utah State where he gave the ball to his running backs 100 times more than Kingsbury gave it to his in 2018.

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That’s why it is better to have an experienced college coach shepherding that position group rather than an ace recruiter.  But if Smith could also help the Red Raiders find the next DeAndre Washington, that might be just as helpful.

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