Texas Tech football: Surprises from the Red Raiders’ week one loss

The Texas Tech tight ends were not utilized as much as we thought they would be

Speaking of underutilized mismatches, where were the Texas Tech tight ends after Jayden York’s TD grab on the Red Raiders’ second position of the game?  It was a beautiful throw by Shough and a great grab by the junior from Austin but after that, no more jump balls were thrown to any of Tech’s massive tight ends.  In fact, not much of anything else was thrown their way.

For the game, York had two receptions for 22 yards while Mason Tharp managed just one grab for 10 yards.  That’s all the productivity the team got from the position.

Former 5-star recruit, Baylor Cupp didn’t even lay a finger on the football.  So why didn’t the Red Raiders try to get the tight ends involved as the offense stalled after the first quarter?

That would seem like a great strategy to help a QB who is struggling as much as Shough was in Laramie.  After all, throws to big targets over the middle of the field are usually some of the easiest to complete.

So it would have seemed to make sense to try to get the ball to Tharp, Cupp, or York to help move the chains.  Why that didn’t happen?  Only the coaches and players know for sure.

What we do know is that it is disappointing to see this talented group of players go through another game without being difference-makers, especially on a night when the offense struggled.  Last year, Tharp, Cupp, and Henry Teeter spent an inordinate amount of time as extra pass blockers to help a struggling offensive line leading to disappointing stats and little noticeable impact.

That wasn’t supposed to be the case this year thanks to an offseason overhaul of the line.  Therefore, much more is expected of the tight ends this season.

Granted, it has only been one game so that group might break out at some point this year.  But on a night when the offense was searching for answers, the tight ends were not even a consideration and that is telling.  It would be a shame for a group of players as physically gifted as Cupp, Tharp, and York to go underutilized again this season and it was disappointing to see them disappear from the offense in Laramie.