Wreck'Em Red
Fansided

Texas Tech football: Red Raiders with opportunities to shine in 2020

By Matthew Conner

TUCSON, ARIZONA - SEPTEMBER 14: Defensive back Adam Beck #24 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders leads teammates onto the field before the start of the NCAAF game against the Arizona Wildcats at Arizona Stadium on September 14, 2019 in Tucson, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
TUCSON, ARIZONA - SEPTEMBER 14: Defensive back Adam Beck #24 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders leads teammates onto the field before the start of the NCAAF game against the Arizona Wildcats at Arizona Stadium on September 14, 2019 in Tucson, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
6 of 6
Next
A Texas Tech Red Raiders cheerleader (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images)
A Texas Tech Red Raiders cheerleader (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images) /

TE Travis Koontz

They say that junior college players often take a year to adjust to life at the FBS level. Texas Tech football fans hope that rings true for senior tight end Travis Koontz in 2020.

Rated as the No. 1 JUCO tight end in the nation in the class of 2019, much was expected of Koontz when he signed with the Red Raiders.  However, he failed to deliver the type of productivity that his recruiting rankings suggested he should have.

More from Wreck'Em Red

Catching only 10 passes for 159 yards, he was a non-factor in the Red Raider offense.  What’s more, he was beaten out for the starting job by Donta Thompson, a senior who was playing TE for the first time in his career after being a wide receiver for the previous four years on campus.

But this year, Koontz heads into fall camp as the presumed starter and there will be an opportunity for him to have a nice bounceback season.  That’s because there don’t seem to be any real threats to take that starting job from him.

Redshirt freshman TE Simon Gonzalez was suspended from the team in the spring and his status is uncertain at this time.  Additionally, the two other TEs in the program right now are both yet to arrive on campus.

JUCO tight end Jason Lloyd is expected to be Koontz’ backup while true freshman John Holcomb, a 3-star 2020 signee, will likely need a year to develop physically.  And neither has arrived on campus yet.

Thus, Koontz is conceivably one of the most important players on the offensive side of the ball for Tech.  The only player on the roster at his position to have taken a snap in the college game, he simply has to be more of a factor this fall than he was a season ago.

dark. Next. The all-time out of state Texas Tech football team

The good news for Koontz is that the opportunities will be there for him to succeed.  And if Alan Bowman can stay healthy, the offense might look more like what Yost envisions meaning that Koontz will get more opportunities to make the type of impact that we all thought he might make last year.

Home/Texas Tech Football