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Texas Tech football: The top Red Raider from each season of the Big 12 era

By Matthew Conner

ARLINGTON, TX - NOVEMBER 25: Patrick Mahomes II #5 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders warming up before the game against the Baylor Bears on November 25, 2016 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Texas Tech defeated Baylor 54-35. (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TX - NOVEMBER 25: Patrick Mahomes II #5 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders warming up before the game against the Baylor Bears on November 25, 2016 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Texas Tech defeated Baylor 54-35. (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images) /
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Keke Coutee #20 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders gets past Orion Stewart #28 of the Baylor Bears. (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images)
Keke Coutee #20 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders gets past Orion Stewart #28 of the Baylor Bears. (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images) /

2017: Keke Coutee

It’s been a while since we had a wide receiver on this list but we have arrived at a pair of seasons in which pass-catchers were Tech’s best players.  The first is Keke Coutee in 2017.

After emerging as a starter in the final half of 2016, the slot receiver was electric in 2017.  With 1,429 yards, he put up the second-most yards of any Red Raider in program history.  He also caught 93 passes and found the endzone 10 times.  Somehow, those numbers were only good enough for second-team All-Big 12 recognition.

Amazingly, Coutee had five games of over 160  yards that season.  He also had four more showings with at least 86 yards.

In a loss to Kansas State, he put up a season-best 189 yards and two scores.  He nearly matched that against South Florida in the Birmingham Bowl with 187 yards and another TD.

Prior to 2017, Coutee had never had a 1,000-yard season.  But over the final six games of 2016, he replaced Jonathan Giles as the starter at one of the inside receiver spots.  And when he put up a career-best 221 yards on only eight catches against Baylor in the 2016 season finale, he let everyone know he was primed for a breakout 2017.

However, the term “breaking out” doesn’t really do justice to the type of season Coutee put up as a junior.  He parlayed that sensational campaign into an early entry into the NFL Draft where he was taken in the fourth round by the Houston Texans.  It was a dominant season that almost no one saw coming.

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