Texas Tech football: 5 questions as the Red Raiders gear up for spring practice

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Texas Tech football: 5 questions as the Red Raiders gear up for spring practice

Don Williams, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal · Lubbock Avalanche-Journal

Sat, Mar 16, 2024 ·

4 min read

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It's unfortunate that Texas Tech football spring practices are mostly closed to the general public and the media. Oh, the media gets to see the first 30 minutes on some days, but most of the meaningful stuff happens afterward.

The Red Raiders, coming off a bowl victory for the third consecutive season, have all sorts of personnel to sort through and position battles to resolve between now and the Aug. 31 season opener against Abilene Christian . Part of the process begins Tuesday with the first of their 15 spring sessions.

There are numerous questions to answer, but here are five:

Who benefits most by the staff easing up on Tahj Brooks in March and April?

The Doak Walker Award semifinalist ran for 1,538 yards last season on 290 attempts, the second-most carries by any player at any level of college football last season. Because of that, Tech coach Joey McGuire says Brooks won't be asked to do much during scrimmages and live contact periods in practice.

That means game-on in the competition to be the No. 2 running back with fourth-year man Cam'Ron Valdez trying to hold off Bryson Donnell, Anquan Willis and JMaury Davis. Valdez tried the NCAA transfer portal after his 52-carry, 286-yard season, but withdrew his name.

Who's going to replace defensive tackles Tony Bradford and Jaylon Hutchings ?

Hutchings started 57 games in his career, Bradford 38. Tech coaches often said they were going to use their depth because Hutchings and Bradford couldn't be expected to play so much, but come game time, No. 97 and No. 95 were usually on the field. According to Pro Football Focus, Bradford led Big 12 interior defenders in snaps played last season, and Hutchings was seventh in that category.

Now, the Red Raiders have no choice but to use other defensive tackles. That list starts with Quincy Ledet, Dooda Banks and Trevon McAlpine, all in the rotation last year.

The Red Raiders added super-senior transfers De'Braylon Carroll from Rice and James Hansen from Nevada . Carroll played even more snaps than Bradford last season and got higher grades from PFF than either Bradford or Hutchings.

There's also a large pool of redshirt freshmen to draw upon: Tre'Darius Brown, Jayden Cofield, Braylon Rigsby and Amier Washington , though Washington moved to end and gave a smashing three-sack performance in Tech's Independence Bowl win over California .

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How does an overhauled receiving corps come together?

Xavier White finished his eligibility, and exiting via the transfer portal were Jerand Bradley ( Boston College ), Myles Price (Indiana), Loic Fouonji (Vanderbilt) and J.J. Sparkman (North Texas).

Tech coaches fished a pair of power-five wide receivers from the portal, most notably Josh Kelly, who posted five-year career highs of 61 catches for 923 yards and eight touchdowns last year for Washington State. Also coming aboard is former Texas top-100 recruit Caleb Douglas, who started Florida 's first five games last season before a season-ending injury.

Now's the time for returning starter Coy Eakin, Brady Boyd , Jordan Brown and Drae McCray to stake their claims to spots. They have a leg up by knowing the system and have all played.

Redshirt freshman Kelby Valsin, D.J. Crest and T.J. West will try to make a move, and the competition heats up more come summer when blue-chip signee Micah Hudson returns from knee surgery .

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How long will it take an offensive line to jell?

Gone are five offensive linemen who combined for 51 starts last season. Rusty Staats (13 starts), Dennis Wilburn (12) and Cole Spencer (six) completed their eligibility. Monroe Mills (12) and Jacoby Jackson (eight) transferred to Louisville and Mississippi State, respectively.

Caleb Rogers is the most experienced hand with 42 consecutive starts at tackle, and coaches are moving him inside, most likely to center .

Tackle Ty Buchanan, center Sheridan Wilson and guard Kaden Carr appear most advanced among the young holdovers, but Tech coaches went hard into the transfer portal and came away with guards Vinny Sciury from Toledo and Davion Carter from Memphis and tackle Sterling Porcher from Middle Tennessee State. All three were multi-year starters, and Pro Football Focus gave Sciury and Carter glowing grades. They enrolled in January.

So did junior-college offensive tackle Maurice Rodriques, whose 6-7, 320-pound frame captivates.

Behind the move: Position switch coming for Texas Tech football lineman Caleb Rogers

Can Texas Tech avoid a dropoff in the punting game?

No one talks much about punters and deep snappers until capable ones are gone. Well, Austin McNamara's five-year career is over, and deep snapper Jackson Knotts is out at least for spring after reconstructive knee surgery.

McNamara set Tech records for single-season punting average (48.2 yards) and career punting average (45.9). His departure leaves a major void. The Red Raiders will try to fill it with Prokick Australia product Jack Burgess, a transfer from Weber State whose 47.2-yard average last year ranked second in the FCS.

Texas Tech defensive tackle Quincy Ledet has a lot of responsibility this spring. He's one of the returnees tasked with replacing longtime starters Jaylon Hutchings and Tony Bradford.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech football: 5 questions as the Red Raiders start spring ball

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