No. 8: Lyle Leong 2010
The most important accomplishment in football is getting into the endzone. So because Lyle Leong managed to do that 19 times in 2010, he checks in at No. 8 in our countdown despite the fact that he didn’t surpass the 1,000-yard mark.
He did come close though as he finished with 926 yards on 74 receptions. It was a breakout senior season for a guy who had previously never had more than 571 yards, 45 catches, and 9 TDs in a season.
Catching passes from his high school teammate, Taylor Potts, the Abilene native found the endzone in 10 of 13 games that year. His 19 TDs are tied for the second-most in a season in Texas Tech football history.
Three times that year, Leong had three TD receptions in a game (vs. SMU, Iowa State, and Texas A&M). He also had three more games with two scores.
Leong was also a high jumper for the Texas Tech track program and his ability to go up for the football made him a red zone threat. He had a game similar to that of current Red Raider T.J. Vasher and the hope is that Tech will utilize Vasher in a similar manner this season. If he comes anywhere close to Leong’s 19 TDs, it will be a rousing success.