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Texas Tech football: Erik Ezukanma out indefinitely with a broken arm

By Matthew Conner

LUBBOCK, TEXAS - OCTOBER 24: Receiver Erik Ezukanma #13 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders signals during the first half of the college football game against the West Virginia Mountaineers on October 24, 2020 at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images)
LUBBOCK, TEXAS - OCTOBER 24: Receiver Erik Ezukanma #13 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders signals during the first half of the college football game against the West Virginia Mountaineers on October 24, 2020 at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images) /
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Saturday, the Texas Tech football program held its annual Spring Game thus ending the program’s month-long spring practice period.  But the biggest news to come out of the football facility over the course of the past month pertains to something that happened on Thursday.

Head coach Matt Wells revealed Saturday that his team’s best receiver, Erik Ezukanma, sustained a severely broken arm during practice two days prior and is out indefinitely.  Wells also shared that the Fort Worth native had surgery to repair the injury on Friday and that there is hope he will be ready for the start of the 2021 season in September.

"“It’ll be a few months through the summer,” Wells said. “He’s got some hurdles to overcome. We’ll see how he heals. He’s maybe a quick healer. We’ll have a whole lot better idea come August. But he’ll play a lot of football for us in the fall. Biggest thing is how quickly he can heal.”"

A 6-foot-3, 220-pound outside receiver, Ezukanma is one of the best receivers in the Big 12.  Last year, he caught 46 passes for 748 yards (third-most in the conference).  What’s more, in each of the last two seasons, he’s been the program’s leading receiver in terms of yardage.

Those numbers earned him first-team All-Big 12 honors making him the first Red Raider receiver to do so since Michael Crabtree in 2008.

If Ezukanma is forced to miss any games this fall, that will leave the Red Raider receiving corps rather thin on the outside.  Already seeing the departure of T.J. Vasher and Ja’Lynn Polk from last year’s squad, Tech enters this fall with a group of outside receivers who are all unproven, except Ezukanma.

Midland’s Loic Fouonji appeared to be coming into his own as last year progressed.  But still, his true freshman season ended with only 5 catches for 68 yards and one TD.

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Trey Cleveland was Ezukanma’s primary backup last season.  But he caught just 8 passes for 81 yards and 1 TD in his redshirt freshman campaign.

J.J. Sparkman was a highly-regarded signee in the class of 2020 but he missed all of the season with an injury.  Meanwhile, Jerand Bradley was a 4-star signee in the class of 2021 and many expect him to play immediately this fall.  However, relying on a true freshman at WR is always a risky proposition (unless his name is Crabtree).

In other words, Tech needs Ezukanma to heal quickly.  And the news only magnifies the program’s injury concerns as spring comes to an end.

Already, we knew that top running back SaRodorick Thompson would miss all of the summer conditioning program due to a shoulder injury.  And like Ezukanma, his return in time for the season opener is questionable at best.

In other words, Wells and Co. may have to begin the upcoming season, one in which they likely must reach a bowl game to save the head coach’s job, without their two top non-QB skill position players.  That’s not the type of news that Red Raider fans wanted to hear at the end of spring football.

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