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Texas Tech football receiver Coy Eakin enjoys 'more freedom' in his new position
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- Texas Tech football receiver Coy Eakin enjoys 'more freedom' in his new position
Coy Eakin , when healthy, has started nearly every game the past two seasons for the Texas Tech football team, catching 85 passes for more than 1,000 yards. He did all that during his redshirt freshman and sophomore seasons, so spring practice should be a matter of sharpening his skills and trying to take his game up a notch.
Oh, one other thing: He's learning a new position.
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The Tech coaching staff, trying to make all their best pieces fit, has moved Eakin to inside receiver after the junior from Stephenville spent the past two years on the outside.
The biggest adjustment?
"More freedom, I guess," Eakin said. "It's awesome. Outside especially, no matter what offense you're in, you've kind of got inside/outside release, and that's about it. In the slot, you can mess with anything, so I'm pretty excited. You can turn a 5-yard hitch into a touchdown any play of the game."
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Reggie Virgil, a 6-foot-3, 190-pound senior, is lining up at Eakin's old spot, the X outside receiver. Virgil joined the team in January from Miami ( Ohio ), where he was second-team all-Mid-American Conference last year after a breakout season with 41 catches for 816 yards and nine touchdowns.
"He can flat-out fly," Tech coach Joey McGuire said. "He's one of the fastest guys we've had on the team since I've been here."
At the other outside receiver position, Tech returns Caleb Douglas, who caught 60 passes for 877 yards and six touchdowns. Eakin caught 49 passes for 652 yards and seven TDs.
Coy Eakin of Texas Tech is tackled by Channing Canada of TCU after a catch during the third quarter of at Jones AT&T Stadium on November 02, 2023 in Lubbock, Texas.
The numbers Virgil, Douglas and Eakin put up last season were career highs across the board for all three. No one else on the team has come close to having a comparable season. It made sense to get all three onto the first unit, so someone had to switch spots.
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Eakin was that someone. He said there had been some discussion of his switching positions before Zach Kittley left the staff and new offensive coordinator Mack Leftwich arrived.
"(When) they got Reggie," Eakin said, "I was like, it was a no-brainer. Let's do it."
Eakin also has traded in jersey No. 8 for No. 3, a number that symbolizes something extra among the Red Raiders . It's supposed to represent the spirit of the late Luke Siegel , who wore No. 3 in youth sports. In turn, that's supposed to represent "The Brand," McGuire's concept of tough, hard-working, competitive team.
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This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech football's Coy Eakin enjoys 'more freedom' in new position
