Texas Tech football: Freshmen impress in week one

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The pom squad for the Texas Tech Red Raiders performs before the college football game against the Houston Baptist Huskies on September 12, 2020 at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images) /

WR Ja’Lynn Polk

Another true freshman to turn some heads on Saturday was WR Ja’Lynn Polk from Lufkin, Texas. Seeing his first action at the college level, he caught five passes for 56 yards.

The 6-foot-2, 190-pounder was impressive because of his explosiveness, which was evident on his first career reception. Taking a short pass from Bowman near the sidelines, Polk turned upfield and gained 26 yards with about 20 of those coming after the catch.

On the evening, Polk came down with the catch on each of the five times that he was targeted. That’s an impressive start for a first-year player who was working with Bowman for the first time in his career.

It’s a testament to the trust that Bowman already has in the true freshman. It also showed how well Polk ran his routes as on a pair of his catches, he found a hole in the middle of the defense where there was plenty of traffic to navigate.

In the 2020 signing class, most Texas Tech fans were focused on the addition of 4-star WR Loic Fouonji from Midland, the highest-rated player in the class. But not many were as excited about Polk, who was the No. 2 player in the class.

But though there was not as much hype about his signing, Polk was an excellent recruit in his own right. Ranked the 80 WR in the nation and the No. 65 player in Texas, he was one of the highest-rated recruits to ever come out of the talent-laden Lufkin area, and on Saturday night, it was obvious why.

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