Texas Tech football: Areas of disappointment thus far in 2019

The receivers not named T.J. Vasher

We began this year with more questions about the receiving corps than we’ve had in recent memory.  We all felt comfortable in junior T.J. Vasher’s ability to be a solid contributor and most thought he was on the verge of a huge breakout season and to this point, the Wichita Falls native has not let us down.

He leads the team in receptions (18), yards (246), and is tied for the team lead in touchdown catches (2) with McLane Mannix.  But the problem is that he’s been Tech’s only consistent target.

On the other side of the formation at the “X” receiver spot, Tech has received only 13 combined catches and 106 yards with no touchdowns from redshirt freshman Erik Ezukanma and grad transfer R.J. Turner.  That’s a position where the offense has been struggling to find any consistency.   Until the “X” receivers figure out how to become more productive on a weekly basis, this offense is going to struggle.

At inside receiver, Tech has three players with over 100 yards on the season, which is nice.  McLane Mannix, Dalton Rigdon, and Xavier White have all flashed and have taken turns staring.

In week one, it was White who stole the show with 107 yards and a TD.  A week later, Rigdon led the team in receiving with 86 yards and a TD against UTEP.  And in Tucson, Mannix had his most impactful performance of the year with four catches for 78 yards and TD.  But we are still waiting for one of these players to put together consecutive impactful showings.

But it because of how the receivers played against Arizona that is the basis for our disappointment in the group as a whole.  Facing a team that was supposed to have one of the worst secondaries in the nation, Tech could not beat man coverage with any regularity as the receivers struggled to get open.

No Tech receiver topped 100 yards against the same Wildcat defense that allowed Hawaii’s Cedric Byrd II to have 224 yards and four touchdowns in week one.  What’s more, Tech had 70 fewer yards in the passing game against Arizona than Norther Arizona had in week two.

If the receivers are not going to be able to do any better than that against a secondary that has been picked on all year, how can we have confidence in their ability to perform well against defenses like Iowa State, TCU, or Oklahoma?  And if someone other than Vasher doesn’t begin to emerge as a consistent and reliable weapon, this is an area where we will continue to be frustrated with the Red Raiders.