Texas Tech football: The most underrated players of the Tommy Tuberville era

WR Alex Torres

Deceptively quick, wide receiver Alex Torres made some big plays for the Red Raiders from 2009-12.  Yet, only the most hardcore fans are likely to remember the El Paso native’s contributions.

He concluded his career with 178 catches for 2,131 yards and 16 TDs.  He topped out at 806 yards in a season in 2009, his freshman year which was spent in the Mike Leach “Air Raid” and though he had only 228 yards as a senior as his productivity declined as his career progressed, he had some notable games as a Red Raider.

In 2010, he had 6 catches for 133 yards and a TD as Tech was able to win at Colorado 27-24 in the last meeting between the schools before the Buffalos left for the PAC 12.  In 2011, he put up 111 yards and a TD against Texas A&M.

But the most memorable performance of his career came a few weeks later when he had the game of his life against Oklahoma.  Though he had only four catches for 94 yards in Tech’s 41-38 upset of the No. 3 Sooners in Norman, three of those went for TDs with two of those scores being over 30 yards in length.

Torres was never his team’s top target but he was a capable second or third option in the passing game.  And from time to time, he would use his speed to burn opposing defenses as he did in Norman nine years ago.  That’s the type of player than any offense can use.