Mike Leach and the Texas Tech Red Raiders had a couple of strong seasons where they were able to get 1000 yards receiving (in a specific season) from multiple different players. In 2003, the Red Raiders had Wes Welker, Nehemiah Glover, and Carlos Francis. In 2004, Texas Tech had Jarrett Hicks and Trey Haverty.
But in 2005, the Red Raiders only had one receiving threat break that 1000 yard mark. In 2005, Joel Filani was the only Texas Tech player to reach this benchmark. It’s not like there weren’t other talented receivers in Lubbock at the time, but Filani was the only one to catch enough passes to make this happen.
And he certainly was a reliable pass catcher for Cody Hodges and the Red Raiders. While Filani managed to breakthrough with a couple of truly huge games, it’s the fact that he was consistent is what got him over 1000 yards receiving in 2005.
Texas Tech football: After multiple years of multiple 1000 yard receivers, Joel Filani was the only WR with that many yards in 2005
In total, Filani only had a couple of games where he broke the 100 yard mark. On the road against the Nebraska Cornhuskers, Filani caught 11 passes for 163 yards and three touchdowns. One week later, back home in Lubbock, Texas Tech saw Filani catch 10 passes for 255 yards and a touchdown against the Kansas State Wildcats.
Those were his big performances, and they certainly are noteworthy and will likely be the focal point of every discussion surrounding his career, but Filani was also reliable and had four games where he recorded at least 60 receiving yards. Time and time again, the Red Raiders were able to turn to Filani and get him the ball.
And that paid off in a big way for Texas Tech and Filani as he was even more dangerous as a receiving threat during the 2006 season.