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Texas Tech football: 5 questions Red Raider offense must answer in 2023

By Matthew Conner

LUBBOCK, TEXAS - OCTOBER 22: Offensive coordinator Zach Kittley of the Texas Tech Red Raiders claps during the second half of the game against the West Virginia Mountaineers at Jones AT&T Stadium on October 22, 2022 in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images)
LUBBOCK, TEXAS - OCTOBER 22: Offensive coordinator Zach Kittley of the Texas Tech Red Raiders claps during the second half of the game against the West Virginia Mountaineers at Jones AT&T Stadium on October 22, 2022 in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images) /
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Texas Tech’s tight end Baylor Cupp (88) runs with the ball against Texas, Saturday, Sept. 24, 2022, at Jones AT&T Stadium. Texas Tech won, 37-34 in overtime.
Texas Tech’s tight end Baylor Cupp (88) runs with the ball against Texas, Saturday, Sept. 24, 2022, at Jones AT&T Stadium. Texas Tech won, 37-34 in overtime. /

Will the physically gifted tight ends finally realize their full potential?

For so many years, teams like Oklahoma, Texas, and Iowa State have terrorized the Texas Tech football team’s defense by using huge, athletic tight ends to dominate the middle of the field.  Now, Tech brings into 2023 a tight-end group that features three huge players, Baylor Cupp, Henry Teeter, and Mason Tharpe but so far, none have shown they can dominate a game.  Will this be the season when one of them steps up to perform at an all-conference level as their talent suggest they should?

Cupp and Tharpe are the players carrying the most expectations.  The former was a 5-star high school signee with Texas A&M before transferring to Tech prior to 2021.  At 6-foot-6 and 260 pounds, he’s got all the physical tools to be a matchup nightmare but injuries derailed his career in College Station.

Last season, he flashed as a first-year Red Raider, including a critical TD catch late against Texas and the game-winner at Iowa State.  But still, he managed only 12 catches for 132 yards all year.  Certainly, he is capable of more.

Tharpe is even larger at 6-foot-9, 270 pounds.  Yet, he too has failed to make a huge impact with just 26 catches for 298 yards and 3 TDs in two years as a collegiate.

Teeter is the runt of the group at “just” 6-foot-4, 255 pounds.  He is the best blocker though and often does the dirty work in the run game.  He’s got only 8 catches for 75 yards and a TD in his career.

All season in 2022, Tech fans wanted to see these tight ends play a larger role in the offense. While all three were important pieces of the run game, they need to be impactful when the ball is put in the air.  Perhaps that will happen this year.  Can at least one of them bring more of a threat to the passing game than the Red Raiders had at TE in 2022?  If so, this offense could be scary.

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