Texas Tech O.C. Zach Kittley talks Micah Hudson and playing time

Just when it looked like the calls from Texas Tech fans to see more of freshman wide receiver Micah Hudson had started to decrease, the former five-star recruit reignited that conversation on Saturday against Baylor. Late in the 59-35 loss, Hudson hauled in a one-handed grab along the sidelines for 26 yards to set up Tech's final garbage-time touchdown of the day.

On the play, the 2023 high school All-American went up over a Baylor defensive back to snag a pass that looked like it was going to be thrown over his head. It was Hudson's most impressive play thus far in 2024 and it highlighted his massive potential. The catch also caused many Texas Tech fans to take to social media to call for Hudson to get more playing time.

So naturally, when offensive coordinator Zach Kittley met with the media on Monday, he was asked what Hudson has to do during the week to earn more snaps. His answer probably wasn't what most Texas Tech fans wanted to hear.

"He's doing a really good job," Kittley said. "Again, I think we've really seen the emergence of Caleb Douglas the last couple of games, you know. And right now, he's kinda battling in that same position with him. I've said it a lot, those three main guys are going to be our main guys and we're going to have the packages and some of those things for Micah.

"And again, he's progressing how he should progress. Again, he's doing a good job so we're going to keep having some things for him here and there. Just keep practicing with him, and getting him confident in what we're doing. And again, I've seen the confidence rise and you can see the big-play ability with him and hopefully we can still see some of that happen as we go."

Hudson's problem right now is that he is learning only one position on the field and at that position, he is blocked by Douglas, the transfer from Florida who is second on the roster in catches (30), receiving yards (419), and touchdown receptions (4). Thus, to get Hudson on the field more often would mean taking one of Tech's best receivers out of the game and that's not something the coaching staff is eager to do.

Remember, Hudson missed all of spring football as he worked his way back from knee surgery. That limited his ability to learn the entire offense and potentially play multiple positions. Therefore, he isn't ready to play in the slot or at another wide receiver position yet.

So far this year, Hudson has caught eight passes for 123 yards. That's far below where Texas Tech fans thought his numbers would be at this point in the season given the hype that surrounded his arrival, hype that was only increased by head coach Joey McGuire who this offseason referred to Hudson as a "generational talent".

Hudson may still eventually prove those words from his head coach to be true. However, despite the fact that he's making some plays that have Red Raider fans salivating, it seems that we aren't going to see a full dose of him in the offense anytime soon.