Texas Tech football: Chadarius Townsend a breakout candidate in 2021

Anytime a player comes into a program from the Alabama football program, there will be lofty expectations placed upon him regardless of what he did or didn’t do while with the Crimson Tide. Such was the case for running back Chadarius Townsend last season, who joined the Texas Tech football program as a transfer.

Upon his commitment to the Red Raiders, fans all across Raiderland began to wonder what the former 4-star high school prospect would be able to bring to the table in 2020. After all, he plays a position that had been woefully undermanned in the years before his arrival, and his pedigree suggested that he would make an immediate impact on an offense lacking explosive playmakers.

He didn’t. In fact, as the season progressed, he became more and more of an afterthought.

Finishing the year with just 18 carries for 99 yards and one TD in seven appearances, Townsend fell to fourth on the running back depth chart. But that shouldn’t have come as a surprise to those who had studied his time in Tuscaloosa.

While with the Tide, Townsend bounced from receiver to defensive back to running back never truly finding a home. And when he was made a full-time RB by the Red Raiders, he had just two career carries for eight total yards to his name.

Thus, logic should have suggested that it might take time for Townsend to pick up the position’s nuances. But logic doesn’t have much of a place in the world of sports fandom and many quickly labeled him a bust.

However, an opportunity presented itself this spring and it appears that Townsend made the most of it. With both SaRodorick Thomspon and Xavier White missing most or all of spring practice, there were plenty of reps for Townsend to take and according to his position coach, DeAndre Smith, he seized the opportunity.

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"“Chad Townsend has had an unbelievable camp,” Smith said last week. “You see his speed, his knowledge of the offense. He’s done a really good job of being locked in that way. He’s going to be a guy that we are going to find touches for him because he’s going to be one of our playmakers.”"

Getting touches was something that Townsend never managed to accomplish last year. It was largely because he was not reliable in all aspects of playing the position.

When he carried the ball, it was evident that he possesses immense physical tools. But a running back has to do more than simply tote the rock. He must also be a reliable pass blocker as well as knowing how to operate as a receiver in the passing game.

Perhaps an increased workload this spring was just what Townsend needed. After all, he’s been asked to learn three different positions in his time as a collegiate and that makes it hard (or nearly impossible) to master any.

"“With the offense we were running last year,” Smith said, “sometimes you can’t just get them and plug them in on certain plays. And [Townsend’s] deal was getting comfortable with what we’re doing so that he can play every single down…That was the thing we had to work on and, I tell you what, from the offseason, meeting individually with me, taking great notes, that that young man has really put himself in a position and he’s earned the right to be able to help us next fall and he’s done a great job with that.”"

Townsend’s development could be critical early in the 2021 season with Thompson potentially missing the first three games of the year should his shoulder surgery take longer than expected to heal. Thus, don’t be surprised to see the former Crimson Tide signee receive some important reps this fall. And from the way his position coach is talking about him, he could be poised to make the most of those opportunities.

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