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Texas Tech football: Red Raiders offer JUCO player at critical position of need

By Matthew Conner

LUBBOCK, TX - SEPTEMBER 17: The Texas Tech Red Raider cheerleaders celebrate a touchdown during the game between the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs on September 17, 2016 at AT&T Jones Stadium in Lubbock, Texas. Texas Tech won the game 59-45. (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images)
LUBBOCK, TX - SEPTEMBER 17: The Texas Tech Red Raider cheerleaders celebrate a touchdown during the game between the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs on September 17, 2016 at AT&T Jones Stadium in Lubbock, Texas. Texas Tech won the game 59-45. (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images) /
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The Texas Tech football program has extended a scholarship offer to JUCO TE Jason Lloyd, who would add depth at a position where the 2020 team is rather thin.

In case you haven’t noticed over the past year-plus, Matt Wells and David Yost love tight ends.  As you get your mind out of the gutter and stop giggling like Bevis and Butthead, think about the fact that no position on the roster has seen more attention from the Texas Tech football program since Wells’ arrival than the TEs.

After all, the number of offers and signings during the Wells era for a position group that almost exclusively has just one player on the field at a time has been higher than expected.  That only continued in recent days as Tech offered a scholarship to JUCO TE  Jason Lloyd.  The Belmont, California native also holds offers from UNLV, Toldeo, and UCF.

A 6-foot-4, 245-pounder, Lloyd still has three years of eligibility remaining after playing at The College of San Mateo last season.  He caught 13 passes for 200 yards and a TD while earning first-team all-conference recognition.

https://twitter.com/Jason_Lloyd13/status/1261112357448605696?s=20

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While those numbers are far from staggering, keep in mind just how important it will be for the Red Raiders to add another TE with some college experience this offseason, even if that experience is at the JUCO level.  After all, just about any player that has the size to play the position is going to be needed because Tech currently has only one tight end on the roster

A 2019 JUCO signee, senior Travis Koontz is set to head into 2020 as the presumed starter after catching 10 passes for 152 yards as the No. 2 TE behind Donta Thompson last fall.  Behind him, the only other TE that is technically in the program is redshirt freshman Simon Gonzalez, who is serving an indefinite suspension for a violation of team rules.

There’s no question that Tech has been prioritizing the position under Wells and it isn’t just because his brother Luke is the position coach.  Rather, it’s because the position was non-existent in Lubbock for the previous five seasons.

Yost believes that his offense functions better with a TE on the field to be the sixth blocker on run plays as well as create size mismatches in the passing game. Thus, from the moment the new regime took over, restocking that position has been an ongoing project.

In fact, Koontz was Wells’ first commitment as Texas Tech football head coach.  He and Gonzalez both signed in 2019 with Gonzalez being a holdover commit from the Kingsbury era.

The 2020 recruiting class already includes Wellington, TX prospect John Holcomb, a 3-star prospect who was the No. 51 TE in the country.  But that didn’t stop Tech from aggressively pursuing McKinney, TX product Brandon Frazier, a 4-star TE who eventually signed with Auburn.

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Now, Tech is continuing to try to bring the fourth TE into the program since Wells’ arrival.  That is a sign that the position remains one of significance to this coaching staff and for that reason, the name of Jason Lloyd is one that we should keep an eye on.

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