Texas Tech football: Signees that will make or break 2020 recruiting class

RB Tahj Brooks has to help solve this program’s woes at his position

It’s been quite a long time since the Texas Tech football program produced a star running back.  In fact, 2015 was the last time that the Red Raiders had a RB surpass 1,000 yards rushing in a season, which Deandre Washington did in each of his final two seasons in Lubbock.

Making matters worse is the fact that during the last few recruiting cycles of the Kingsbury era and the first of Matt Wells’ classes, RB was a position that Tech did not properly address.  Perhaps that will change with the addition of 2020 RB Tahj Brooks.

At 5-foot-11, 215-pounds, he is already more than big enough to play college football.  That’s important because he is the one true freshman that is guaranteed to see significant playing time this fall (provided he is healthy).  Brooks will be just the third healthy running back on the roster joining SaRodorick Thompson and Ta’Zhawn Henry and he will have to shoulder some of the load to help keep Thompson fresh as the season wears on.

Brooks was rated a 3-star signee by 247Sports and the No. 82 overall player in Texas.  Out of Manor, Texas, he picked Tech over Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa State, Kansas State, Minnesota, Missouri, TCU, Utah, and others.

Because of how poorly Tech has recruited at this position in recent years, Brooks is the most important signee in the class of 2020.  In 2017, the only RB that the program added to the mix was JUCO transfer Desmond Nisby, who spent only one season in Lubbock.  Compounding the problem was the fact that in 2019, Tech did not sign one player at the position (signee Alante Brown was expected to play RB after being a high school QB; of course, it never mattered because he didn’t qualify academically).

In the end, Brooks has to prove to be a long-term piece of the puzzle at RB.  This offense just doesn’t function properly without solid play at the position and offensive coordinator David Yost wants to run the ball more consistently any play-caller in the last two decades of the program.

Therefore, Brooks will be one of the defining players of this class.  If he becomes the type of RB that can help carry the offense by being a workhorse and three-down back, we may look at this class with much more regard because it will be one that helped sure up one of this program’s longest-running deficiencies.