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Texas Tech football: Five boom or bust players in 2020

By Matthew Conner

LUBBOCK, TX - SEPTEMBER 29: The Texas Tech Red Raiders take the field before the game against the Kansas Jayhawks on September 29, 2016 at AT&T Jones Stadium in Lubbock, Texas. Texas Tech won the game 55-19. (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images)
LUBBOCK, TX - SEPTEMBER 29: The Texas Tech Red Raiders take the field before the game against the Kansas Jayhawks on September 29, 2016 at AT&T Jones Stadium in Lubbock, Texas. Texas Tech won the game 55-19. (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images) /
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General view of the orange pylon used on the goal line prior to the game between the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs September 17, 2016 at AT&T Jones Stadium in Lubbock, Texas. Texas Tech won the game 59-45. (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images)
General view of the orange pylon used on the goal line prior to the game between the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs September 17, 2016 at AT&T Jones Stadium in Lubbock, Texas. Texas Tech won the game 59-45. (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images) /

Travis Koontz

Perhaps the biggest boom or bust player, not named Alan Bowman, on this year’s team is TE Travis Koontz.  That’s because there is virtually nothing in the way of proven depth behind him meaning that the senior must live up to the billing that surrounded him when he signed in the class of 2019.

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To say that last year’s 10-catch, 152-yard showing was a letdown for Texas Tech football fans would be a bit of an understatement.  Certainly, more was expected of the No. 2 JUCO TE in the nation who picked Tech over TCU.

Of course, he was also beaten out for the starting job by Donta Thompson, a converted WR with no experience at TE prior to last year.  Keep in mind that prior to 2019, Thompson had a total of three receptions for a whopping 41 yards.

This year, Koontz has to give his team some legitimate production.  If that position is going to be on the field 99% of the time as OC David Yost prefers, it has to be a position that the opponent fears.  That’ wasn’t the case last fall.

Imagine if Koontz doesn’t see the light come on this year.  His backup is likely to be another JUCO transfer, 2020 signee Jason Lloyd, who will be undergoing the same transition this season that Koontz went through last year.

Matt Wells and his staff are all-in on the TE position.  In fact, they’ve spent as much recruiting equity on that spot as any other position since they arrived and Koontz was the first player to commit to Tech following Wells’ arrival.

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But for that strategy to pay off, Travis Koontz has to be a productive and reliable option on a week-to-week basis in 2020.  If he doesn’t, it’s hard to fathom the Red Raider offense reaching the level it needs to.

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