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Texas Tech football: Concerning trends regarding Matt Wells’ career

By Matthew Conner

Jul 15, 2019; Arlington, TX, USA; Texas Tech Red Raiders head coach Matt Wells speaks to the media during Big 12 media days at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 15, 2019; Arlington, TX, USA; Texas Tech Red Raiders head coach Matt Wells speaks to the media during Big 12 media days at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports /
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LUBBOCK, TEXAS – SEPTEMBER 26: Head coach Matt Wells of the Texas Tech Red Raiders looks on during a timeout during the first half of the college football game against the Texas Longhorns on September 26, 2020 at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images)
LUBBOCK, TEXAS – SEPTEMBER 26: Head coach Matt Wells of the Texas Tech Red Raiders looks on during a timeout during the first half of the college football game against the Texas Longhorns on September 26, 2020 at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images) /

Individual players aren’t showing progress under his tutelage

Quick, name a Texas Tech football player who has taken a significant step forward this season as compared to where he was last season.  I’ll wait.

It isn’t easy to think of any.  In fact, I honestly can’t.  And that’s a problem for Matt Wells and an indictment of his coaching staff’s ability to develop players.

For decades, player development has been at the heart of Texas Tech football.  Never going to land the type of blue-chip talent that other schools do, the Red Raiders have to build their program around taking 3-star talent and coaching it into all-conference performers.

But I’m not seeing any players under Wells make significant strides in year two.  In fact, some of the most important players on the roster have taken steps in the wrong direction.

Of course, Alan Bowman is example No. 1 and we’ve spent enough time discussing his regression so we won’t belabor that point.  However, think about some other players that aren’t improving.

SaRodorick Thompson has suddenly fallen into a rut.  Over the last two games, he’s averaged just three yards per carry and he’s failed to rush for more than 46 yards in either game.  What’s more, outside of his 75-yard TD run against Texas, he’s averaged just 3.7 yards per rush, which is almost exactly what he averaged last year.

Erik Ezukanma has yet to make the type of jump that many (myself included) predicted that he would after a nice redshirt freshman season.  In fact, his yards per reception has fallen by 1.8 while the rest of his stats are up only moderately.

We could go on and on with stats but the fact that there simply doesn’t seem to be serious improvement from players like T.J. Vasher, Travis Koontz, Dadrion Taylor, Dalton Rigdon, Adam Beck, Thomas Leggett, or others who were being counted on to be more significant contributors this year than they have been is concerning.  After all, if you aren’t going to recruit at a high level, if you are Matt Wells, you’d better develop your players better than we’ve seen in 2020.

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