Following the end of the Kliff Kingsbury era at Texas Tech, things changed a bit for the Red Raiders and they didn’t really get any better in really any significant ways. One thing that definitely didn’t get better was Texas Tech’s ability to produce receivers who can rack up 1000 yards in a single season. The pretty brief Matt Wells era didn’t have any of those.
And to be fair, the first couple of seasons with Joey McGuire leading things in Lubbock didn’t produce a receiver who had at least 1000 receiving yards. But, in the third season with McGuire in charge, the Texas Tech football team finally, once again, had a 1000 yard receiving season.
Josh Kelly, by the skin of his teeth, made it happen. And for the 20th time in the history of Texas Tech football (and the first time since 2018), the Red Raiders had a 1000 yard receiving season in 2024.
Texas Tech football history: Josh Kelly became the first wide receiver under Joey McGuire to have at least 1000 yards in a single season
Kelly managed to catch 89 passes during the 2024 season and he turned those into 1023 yards (averaging 11.5 yards per reception in the process) and scored five touchdowns on the season. It isn’t the single most impressive receiving season in Texas Tech history, but it sure felt like a drought ended as Kelly put this season together.
The season was full of a few highs and lows for Kelly, but he really shined when the Red Raiders needed some big performances from him.
Against Abilene Christian, Kelly had 10 catches for 156 yards and a touchdown. In a narrow win against Cincinnati, Kelly caught eight passes for 111 yards. Later down the line, Kelly caught eight passes for 127 yards and two touchdowns in a one point win over Iowa State. Kelly also had 106 receiving yards against Colorado and then wrapped up the year with 150 yards vs. West Virginia.