Though the Mike Leach era of Texas Tech football was full of star players, these underrated Red Raiders helped lay the foundation for the best decade in program history.
Never has Texas Tech football been more nationally relevant than it was in the decade of the 2000s. That’s when an unorthodox head coach with a rogue personality and an innovative offensive scheme took the program to heights most fans could have theretofore only dreamt of.
But while Mike Leach was the face of the Red Raiders during the 2000s and the architect of that improbable run as well as being the most recognizable face in Lubbock since Buddy Holly, he had some legendary players who carried the load. In fact, some of the greatest players to ever don the Double T came through the Hub City during Leach’s tenure.
Let’s begin with the All-Americans. Of course, that list has to have WR Michael Crabtree at the top. The two-time Biletnikoff Award winner as the best receiver in America was a first-team All-American in both 2007 and 2008, his only seasons as a Red Raider.
His QB, Graham Harrell, was also a first-team All-American in 2008. Also joining the All-American parade that season were offensive linemen Rylan Reed and Brandon Carter. (Keep in mind that not all of these players were consensus All-Americans, but each did appear on one of the All-American lists of at least one major publication or organization.) Is it any wonder that the 2008 team is considered the best in Red Raider history?
Three years earlier, safety Dwayne Slay was a first-team All-American after also picking up 2005 Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year honors. That gave Tech five first-team All-Americans from 2005-08. In the eleven years since, the program has produced just two, Jace Amaro in 2013 and Antoine Wesley in 2018.
During the Leach era, Tech had two players earn second-team AA honors. Safety Kevin Curtis was named such in both 2000 and 2001 while Brandon Carter picked up second-team AA recognition in 2009.
Meanwhile, the Texas Tech record book is also filled to the brim with players that served under Captain Leach. That’s especially true on the offensive side of the football.
Four of the top 10 passers in Red Raider history, Graham Harrell, Kliff Kingsbury, Taylor Potts, and B.J. Symons played during the 2000s. Technically, a fifth did as well but given that Seth Doege didn’t become the full-time starter until 2011, two years after Leach’s firing, it’s hard to put him on the list of Leach QBs, even though he was recruited to Tech by the Pirate.
Likewise, four of the top ten players on the Texas Tech all-time rushing TD list were Leach disciples. Taurean Henderson leads that list with 50 while Ricky Williams (who played under Leach for two seasons) sits at No. 4 with 36. Right behind him is Shannon Woods with 33 TDs and tied for 9th is Baron Batch, who wound up with 27 TDs while playing three years for Leach and one year for his successor, who isn’t worth naming.
At receiver, Leach’s fingerprints are all over the Tech record book. Seven of the program’s top 10 players in terms of all-time receiving yards played in Leach’s “Air Raid”. They are Michael Crabtree, Wes Welker, Carlos Francis, Jarrett Hicks, Detron Lewis, Nehemiah Glover, and Joel Filani.
Meanwhile, there were some all-time greats on the defensive side of the ball in that era as well. Lawrence Flugence, Kevin Curtis, and Ryan Aycock rank first, third, and tenth in Tech history in tackles. In career sacks, Aaron Hunt is first in program history while Adell Ducket is second, Brandon Williams is fourth, Key Dawson is sixth, and Brandon Sharpe is tenth.
To say that the decade of the 2000s was a star-studded period in Tech history is no shocking revelation. But the success that the program enjoyed during that time wouldn’t have been possible without the supporting players.
The last game Mike Leach coached for Tech was the 2009 regular-season finale against Baylor in Arlington, Texas. That uninspiring 20-13 win put his final win total as Red Raider head coach at 84, two ahead of his predecessor, Spike Dykes. But had it not been for the work of the following underrated players, his tenure with Tech would never have been as successful or as fun as it proved to be.