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Texas Tech football: The most disappointing JUCO signees in Tech history

By Matthew Conner

LAWRENCE, KS - OCTOBER 7: A Texas Tech Red Raiders helmet rest on the field during a game against the Kansas Jayhawks at Memorial Stadium on October 7, 2017 in Lawrence, Kansas. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images) *** Local Caption ***
LAWRENCE, KS - OCTOBER 7: A Texas Tech Red Raiders helmet rest on the field during a game against the Kansas Jayhawks at Memorial Stadium on October 7, 2017 in Lawrence, Kansas. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** /
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Derrick Willies #11 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders. (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images)
Derrick Willies #11 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders. (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images) /

WR Derrick Willies

It feels strange to say that a player who eventually made his way onto an NFL roster was a disappointment but that has to be the case with former Red Raider WR Derrick Willies.  That’s because he left the program of his own volition in the middle of his senior year.

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Initially an Iowa Hawkeye signee out of high school in 2013, he eventually landed a Trinity Valley C.C. in 2015.  And by the time he signed with Tech in the class of 2016, he was the No. 1 JUCO WR in the country.

Much of that decision was due to the presence of Pat Mahomes, who Willies expected to play two seasons with.  It didn’t happen and one has to wonder if Willies’ discontent in 2017 had to do with the fact that Mahomes was not his QB after the future NFL MVP headed to the professional ranks a year early.

Whatever the reason for his discontent, it prevented him from being the type of player he was expected to be.  For his Red Raider career, he amassed just 36 receptions for 592 yards and 5 TDs.  That’s not nearly as much as the No. 1 JUCO WR should give a program.

Willies had his junior season shortened to eight games because of an injury and he saw action in just seven games in 2017 before falling out of favor with the coaching staff.  But yet he was able to make it onto the Cleveland Browns’ roster in 2018.

Yet, he was so disillusioned with Texas Tech that in the NFL he listed Iowa as his college.  That’s ok though because Red Raider fans weren’t really all that proud of his work in Lubbock either.

Related Story. The all-decade Texas Tech WRs. light

So as we move forward in the 2020 season, as we monitor Texas Tech’s efforts with JUCO players on the recruiting trail, and as we enjoy another season of Last Chance U, just remember these cautionary JUCO tales.  That’s because the world of JUCO football is one that produces more disappointments than success stories.

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