As part of Mike Leach’s Air Raid on the recipient of a number of passes from Texas Tech Red Raider quarterback Kliff Kingsbury in the midst of a thrilling season from Kingsbury, Wes Welker absolutely thrived back in 2002.
And in the process, Welker became Leach’s first Texas Tech receiver to rack up 1000 receiving yards in a single season (and Texas Tech’s second ever to accomplish the feat after Lloyd Hill did this 10 years prior).
Welker was fascinating to watch because he was definitely on the smaller side, but he was still a dominant receiving threat and he was terrifying for opposing defenses who simply found themselves unable to consistently slow Texas Tech’s remarkable slot receiver down.
Let’s take a glance at some of the impressive performances that Welker had back in 2002.
Texas Tech football history: Wes Welker thrived in Mike Leach’s Air Raid, becoming 2nd TTU receiver with 1000 yards in a single season in 2002
Welker’s incredible season started out with five receptions against Ohio State in Columbus that he turned into 117 receiving yards and a couple of touchdowns. Against the SMU Mustangs, Welker caught nine passes for 153 yards in Dallas.
After a handful of games without remarkable performances, Welker terrorized folks at Texas A&M as he caught 10 passes for 120 yards and a touchdown at Kyle Field. Later in the season, Welker managed to catch an absurd 14 passes for 169 yards and two touchdowns against the Texas Longhorns.
It truly was great to have Welker in that system. There were a few games throughout the year that he didn’t have incredible performances in (such as against Ole Miss, Colorado, Oklahoma, and Clemson), but Welker was still really good for much of the year. Those down performances don’t really define this season.
Games like his nine catches and 84 yards against Iowa State do. Or the time he caught 63 yards off of a half dozen passes against the Baylor Bears. Welker was someone Kingsbury could often turn to and solid plays happened as a result.