Right alongside Wes Welker and Nehemiah Glover was another dynamic and explosive receiving threat back in 2003. We’ve already discussed a bit about how Welker and Glover both put up over 1000 yards receiving during that thrilling 2003 season.
What we haven’t discussed just yet is how Carlos Francis was actually the most productive receiver for the Red Raiders in an offense that helped revolutionize the way people play football.
While Wes Welker caught 97 passes for 1099 yards and nine touchdowns and Nehemiah Glover had 77 receptions for 1081 yards and nine touchdowns, Carlos Francis was able to turn 75 receptions into 1177 yards and nine more touchdowns. It’s not a drastic difference, but it is a notable one that is worth discussing a bit.
Texas Tech football history: Carlos Francis joined Nehemiah Glover and Wes Welker in having 1000 yard receiving seasons in 2003
As the third member of this trio in a season where Texas Tech (for the first time ever) had three receivers with over 1000 yards receiving at the same time, Francis put together some remarkable showcases of how to thrive in Mike Leach’s Air Raid offense.
Against the Ole Miss Rebels, Francis had 184 yards and two touchdowns on nine receptions. A week later against the Texas A&M Aggies, Francis put up 110 receiving yards on six catches. Then against Iowa State, Francis recorded seven receptions for 118 yards and another touchdown.
When facing the Missouri Tigers later in the season, Francis managed to catch eight passes for 126 yards and two scores. A couple weeks after that, Francis managed to catch seven passes for 112 yards and two more touchdowns against the Baylor Bears in Waco.
Francis really helped round out this trio that was so dangerous for the Red Raiders. It can’t be said enough about how well this passing attack worked for Texas Tech as B.J. Symons was able to routinely turn to three receivers who could all produce at a very high level (and then very clearly did) all season long.