Ranking the top 5 wide receivers in Texas Tech Red Raiders history

There was once a time when Texas Tech football was known for playing defense and running the football. However, since the start of the Mike Leach era in 2000, the Red Raiders have been associated with throwing the football all over the field.

Thus, it isn't hard to imagine that the wide receiver record books in Lubbock are littered with modern-era players. In fact, nine of the top ten players in career receiving yards in Texas Tech history played since the turn of the 21st century. What's more, of that group, seven played for Leach.

It was the Leach tenure in Lubbock that birthed the modern spread offense revolution in college football and throughout all levels of the game. Sure, other schools had majored in the forward pass over the ground game prior to 2000 but the success Leach had in turning Texas Tech into a national contender gave rise to hundreds of imitators. Now, the roots of the Leach coaching tree run as deep as any in the sport.

Though Leach has passed away and his "Air Raid" system is no longer deployed in Lubbock to the specifications that he preferred, Red Raider fans still pride themselves on rooting for a cutting-edge offensive program. As such, wide receivers are still some of the most popular players among the fan base.

For instance, every Red Raider is gleefully awaiting the 2024 debut of 5-star wide receiver signee, Micah Hudson, the first five-star high school player to ever ink with Texas Tech. It is fitting that the highest-rated recruit in Tech history is one who will catch passes given the prominence of the passing game in Lubbock over the past quarter century.

Perhaps one day, Hudson will be among the all-time Texas Tech wide receiver greats. But for now, he's just starting his journey. As we wait for that era to begin let's look back at some of the receivers that are already legends in Lubbock. Here's a look at the five best Red Raider wide receivers in program history.

During the peak of the Texas Tech ground game era, at the same time that a guy named "Bam" Morris was thundering through Southwest conference defenses as the nation's most bruising running back, the Red Raiders also had a star at the wide receiver position, Lloyd Hill.

For his career, the Odessa native caught 189 passes for 3,059 yards and 20 touchdowns. Each of those was a program record when Hill graduated in 1993.

His best season came in 1992 when he hauled in 76 passes for 1,261 yards and 12 scores. Those are numbers that would be considered excellent in today's game, much less in the 1990s when running the ball was still the preferred method of attack for programs across the nation. As a result, he was named a first-team All-American and the Southwest Conference Offensive Player of the Year.

After his Tech career, Hill was a sixth-round pick of the Chicago Bears. He never played for Chicago but he would spend four seasons playing in the Arena Football League. However, he's best remembered for what he did as a dynamic wide receiver in Lubbock.