A look at a Big 12 team from Texas
3 years 4 months ago - 3 years 4 months ago #172
by wvu4u2
A look at a Big 12 team from Texas was created by wvu4u2
Editor’s note: This is the fifth in a 12-part series previewing WVU’s opponents for the 2021 football season.
West Virginia football head coach Neal Brown is still winless against five Big 12 Conference teams in his two years at the helm, and while back-to-back losses to Oklahoma, Texas, Iowa State and Oklahoma State are nothing to be ashamed of, perhaps the Mountaineers’ 0-2 mark against Texas Tech is the most surprising.
The Red Raiders are just 8-14 the last two seasons under third-year coach Matt Wells, but they’ve gotten the better of the Mountaineers in 38-17 and 34-27 decisions.Past records aside, Tech will bring plenty of experienced talent — players from both Tech and elsewhere — into the 2021 season that is sure to be formidable again for WVU and the rest of the
Big 12.Tech has made significant headway through the transfer portal, so while several faces may be new, those players are not rookies at the Division I level.It starts on offense, where former Texas Tech quarterback Sonny Cumbie takes over as offensive coordinator. Henry Colombi, a senior who went 22 for 28 for 169 yards, a touchdown and no interceptions against WVU last season, is the only quarterback on the roster who has taken game snaps for the Red Raiders after Alan Bowman transferred to Michigan.
But Colombi may not be the favorite to get the starting nod this season.Enter Oregon transfer Tyler Shough, who threw for 13 touchdowns and six interceptions in seven games, leading the Ducks to a Pac-12 title last year.Whether it’s Shough, Colombi or someone else, whoever earns the job will operate behind an offensive line that returns four starters from last season and added T.J. Storment, a second-team All-Big 12 Conference selection last season at TCU.
Tech quarterbacks will have a fairly new set of receiving targets at their disposal after some significant losses. Wide receiver TJ Vasher departed for the NFL, eventually signing as an undrafted free agent with the Dallas Cowboys. Fellow receivers KeSean Carter (Houston) and Ja’Lynn Polk (Washington) departed through the portal. Among the three of them, the Red Raiders lost 77 catches, 781 yards and eight touchdowns of production from last season.Junior Erik Ezukanma will return after leading the team in catches (46), yards (748) and touchdowns (six) on his way to a first-team All-Big 12 selection, but suffered a broken arm in the spring.
While he is likely to play this season, a date for his return is unknown.The team’s leading returning receiver who’s healthy is sophomore Myles Price (28 receptions, 300 yards), and the receiving corps should be bolstered by the arrival of Kaylon Geiger from Troy. Geiger, a shifty, 5-foot-10, 170-pound speedster, piled up 141 catches, 1,625 yards and eight scores in two seasons with the Trojans, earning a first-team All-Sun Belt spot in 2019 and a second-team selection last year.It may be hard to believe that one of the Red Raiders’ strengths could be at linebacker, especially for a program that’s been traditionally defensively challenged, but that figures to be the case.
A trio of seasoned seniors will make the group and the defense go as Krishon Merriweather (75 tackles), Colin Schooler (63) and Riko Jeffers (58) finished first, second and fourth respectively among Red Raiders in tackles. In total, the Red Raiders return 11 of their top 13 tacklers from last season.Elsewhere, the team’s commitment to the transfer portal is evident, as 11 defensive players on Tech’s roster are coming in from other Power Five schools.Transfers figure to anchor the secondary, where first-team All-Big 12 defensive back Zech McPhearson was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles. Eric Monroe made 60 tackles in his first season after transferring in from LSU and returns while the Red Raiders added senior Marquis Waters from Duke.Up front,
Tech is led by juniors Jaylon Hutchings and Tony Bradford, who combined for 51 tackles with nine coming for loss last season.One of Tech’s best weapons may be junior punter Austin McNamara, who returns after setting the school record with a 46.3-yard average in 2020. That mark was good enough for fifth nationally.
Contact Ryan Pritt at 304-348-7948 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow him on Twitter @RPritt
see more at WVgazette.com
West Virginia football head coach Neal Brown is still winless against five Big 12 Conference teams in his two years at the helm, and while back-to-back losses to Oklahoma, Texas, Iowa State and Oklahoma State are nothing to be ashamed of, perhaps the Mountaineers’ 0-2 mark against Texas Tech is the most surprising.
The Red Raiders are just 8-14 the last two seasons under third-year coach Matt Wells, but they’ve gotten the better of the Mountaineers in 38-17 and 34-27 decisions.Past records aside, Tech will bring plenty of experienced talent — players from both Tech and elsewhere — into the 2021 season that is sure to be formidable again for WVU and the rest of the
Big 12.Tech has made significant headway through the transfer portal, so while several faces may be new, those players are not rookies at the Division I level.It starts on offense, where former Texas Tech quarterback Sonny Cumbie takes over as offensive coordinator. Henry Colombi, a senior who went 22 for 28 for 169 yards, a touchdown and no interceptions against WVU last season, is the only quarterback on the roster who has taken game snaps for the Red Raiders after Alan Bowman transferred to Michigan.
But Colombi may not be the favorite to get the starting nod this season.Enter Oregon transfer Tyler Shough, who threw for 13 touchdowns and six interceptions in seven games, leading the Ducks to a Pac-12 title last year.Whether it’s Shough, Colombi or someone else, whoever earns the job will operate behind an offensive line that returns four starters from last season and added T.J. Storment, a second-team All-Big 12 Conference selection last season at TCU.
Tech quarterbacks will have a fairly new set of receiving targets at their disposal after some significant losses. Wide receiver TJ Vasher departed for the NFL, eventually signing as an undrafted free agent with the Dallas Cowboys. Fellow receivers KeSean Carter (Houston) and Ja’Lynn Polk (Washington) departed through the portal. Among the three of them, the Red Raiders lost 77 catches, 781 yards and eight touchdowns of production from last season.Junior Erik Ezukanma will return after leading the team in catches (46), yards (748) and touchdowns (six) on his way to a first-team All-Big 12 selection, but suffered a broken arm in the spring.
While he is likely to play this season, a date for his return is unknown.The team’s leading returning receiver who’s healthy is sophomore Myles Price (28 receptions, 300 yards), and the receiving corps should be bolstered by the arrival of Kaylon Geiger from Troy. Geiger, a shifty, 5-foot-10, 170-pound speedster, piled up 141 catches, 1,625 yards and eight scores in two seasons with the Trojans, earning a first-team All-Sun Belt spot in 2019 and a second-team selection last year.It may be hard to believe that one of the Red Raiders’ strengths could be at linebacker, especially for a program that’s been traditionally defensively challenged, but that figures to be the case.
A trio of seasoned seniors will make the group and the defense go as Krishon Merriweather (75 tackles), Colin Schooler (63) and Riko Jeffers (58) finished first, second and fourth respectively among Red Raiders in tackles. In total, the Red Raiders return 11 of their top 13 tacklers from last season.Elsewhere, the team’s commitment to the transfer portal is evident, as 11 defensive players on Tech’s roster are coming in from other Power Five schools.Transfers figure to anchor the secondary, where first-team All-Big 12 defensive back Zech McPhearson was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles. Eric Monroe made 60 tackles in his first season after transferring in from LSU and returns while the Red Raiders added senior Marquis Waters from Duke.Up front,
Tech is led by juniors Jaylon Hutchings and Tony Bradford, who combined for 51 tackles with nine coming for loss last season.One of Tech’s best weapons may be junior punter Austin McNamara, who returns after setting the school record with a 46.3-yard average in 2020. That mark was good enough for fifth nationally.
Contact Ryan Pritt at 304-348-7948 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow him on Twitter @RPritt
see more at WVgazette.com
Last edit: 3 years 4 months ago by wvu4u2.
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