Texas Tech football: What went wrong for the Red Raiders in 2023
The Texas Tech wide receivers disappointed massively
The wide receiver position is a tough one to evaluate because a receiver is so dependent upon his teammates doing their jobs in order for him to get the ball. The blocking has to hold up and the QB must read the defense correctly before delivering the football accurately and on time just for a receiver to have a chance to make a play.
That's why some people may give the 2023 Red Raider receivers a bit of a pass for their modest numbers. After all, having to play with three different starting QBs is no way to develop chemistry. What's more, Morton's shoulder injury prevented the offense from utilizing the entire passing game.
Still, no one who watched Tech this season could have seen any Red Raider pass catcher who proved to be a difference-maker. In fact, just about all of the receivers came up short of preseason expectations.
Jerand Bradley had only 431 yards and 4 TDs on 36 catches after being named a preseason All-Big 12 honoree. That was over 300 yards below his 2022 yardage total.
Myles Price put up only 410 yards and five TDs. In 2022, he had 513 yards and averaged over a half a yard more per catch than he did in 2023.
Loic Fouonji was essentially a non-factor with only six catches for 85 yards and two TDs. That's not what you expect from an upperclassman who was once a 4-star signee according to some recruiting services.
Jordan Brown was one of the stars of spring football and fall camp as he received constant praise from the coaching staff. However, he managed only 22 catches for 256 yards and a TD.
If there was one Tech receiver who surpassed expectations, it would have been Coy Eakin who caught 36 passes for 416 yards and two TDs despite not playing in two games. Perhaps the season of Xavier White, who led Tech with 556 yards (to go along with one TD) was also a pleasant surprise but that's not good enough from a team's leading receiver.
Since the 2018 season when Antoine Wesley came from out of nowhere to catch 88 passes for 1,410 yards and 9 TDs despite playing with three different starting QBs, it's been hard to believe the excuse that QB chaos means that receivers aren't able to be productive. If Wesley can go from an afterthought to a Biletnkioff Award semifinalist under those circumstances, then other Red Raiders could theoretically do the same.
There's a reason that Tech has completely overhauled its receiving corps via the transfer portal this offseason. That's because the outside weapons Tech had to rely on in 2023 simply weren't good enough and that was one reason why the Red Raider offense didn't measure up this fall.