Texas Tech football: Early 2020 signee superlatives

Most likely to succeed: RB Tahj Brooks

Though he isn’t the highest-rated player in the class, Manor, Texas RB Tahj Brooks is my pick for Most likely to succeed.  That’s partially because of the position he plays and partially because of the caliber of player he is.

Running backs often seem to make the quickest transition to the college game because there are fewer nuances to that position.  It is easiest to get the ball in their hands and once they have it, their instincts often take over.  After all, running through openings in space is essentially the same in high school and college, it’s just that the lanes are smaller and close faster in the Big 12 than in the prep ranks.

Brooks will not have time to acclimate to the college game though.  He needs to play right away because he is only the third scholarship RB on the roster and as we saw this fall, that’s not always enough to make it through a season.

Tech may try to appeal the NCAA to grant Armand Shyne a medical redshirt but regardless if the 2019 grad transfer is able to return, Brooks will be counted on to spell SaRodorcik Thompson in 2020 and he has the size to do so.

Already checking in at 5-foot-11, 215-pounds, the powerful runner is already 23 pounds heavier than Thompson was when he signed in 2018 and five pounds heavier than Tech’s leading rusher was this fall. In other words, this is already a grown man.

Brooks runs like a bull between the tackles, something that fits perfectly into what Tech wants to do on the ground and that’s why it feels like he’s the most likely member of this class to turn into a starter for the Red Raiders.  He put up three 1,000-yard seasons in high school and it wouldn’t surprise me to see him have at least one before his career at Tech is over.