Attention to detail takes Tech receiver room by storm
Air raid and throwing the ball has been a key fixture of the Texas Tech offense since as long as anybody can remember. The idea of big gains and making plays through the air has loomed large over Lubbock for decades. At the heart of these offenses have been stellar receivers such as Erik Ezukanma, Antoine Wesley, Jakeem Grant and the legendary Michael Crabtree.
Lofty names and even greater legacies to live up to on a year-to-year basis for any member of the Red Raider receiver room. Since coach Justin “Juice” Johnson assumed the title of receivers’ coach in January, expectations have risen.
The room remains largely the same, albeit minus Trey Cleveland, from what Emmett Jones left it as when he took the same job at Oklahoma. Jerand Bradley, coming off a noteworthy campaign last season, has seen his national attention take a leap after a Freshman All-American selection. Coaching a player with the talent that Bradley has, it could be easy to fall in love with looking to get him the ball. Johnson knows the kind of attention that defenses will likely throw at Bradley and that idea is not lost on him.
“There’s a lot of guys anxious to make plays out there,” Johnson said following Tech’s Wednesday evening practice. “I think that we have some depth. With what coach (Zach) Kittley does, we’re never gonna kind of let a team take a guy away from us. We got enough built into the system to where we can do some things. So I expect JB to be able to go out, and he’s prepared himself to be able to go out and have a year… If teams, you know, wanna try to do that and take him away, we have full confidence in our other guys that they’re gonna make plays, as well. JB knows there’s no pressure on him to have to carry everything.”
The other guys that Johnson mentioned are not hard to find either, and are well-established in their own rights. Myles Price is locked and loaded after nagging injuries kept him from having the kind of season that was expected in 2022. That aside, Price still had a solid year with 51 receptions (equal to Bradley) and 513 yards. A “twitchy guy” as described by coach Juice in the spring, the lessons from his new position coach are already resonating with Price.
“He’s huge on details,” Price said. “There’s no such thing as a small thing. The thing you think is the smallest thing could cost you a game. He really helps show us that. Like, say we do something wrong, like we’re supposed to shimmy and compress on an outside block, and I get up and have both feet off the ground, now (the defender) shoots the gap and that could have cost us the game. He’s really big on just looking at all the, what you could say is a small thing, but he makes it such a big thing so we don’t do it in the game.”
A group of experienced players, a lot of growing up has been done since they first got to Tech. J.J. Sparkman in particular, has seen his production increase since arriving in Lubbock in 2020. In Sparkman’s case, the learning and growing up came from seeing those around him living the game.
“I’ve grown tremendously since my freshman year since I got here,” Sparkman said. “Especially looking for guys like Erik Ezukanma and T.J Vasher and having all of those guys in the room. And Myles Price is in the room with us. Watching those guys play my true freshman year, I ended up getting hurt, but watching them a lot. Following their lead and watching them lead by example, I feel like I’ve grown a lot.”
Another face has stepped into the limelight during fall camp: Jordan Brown. Following the Red Raiders’ intrasquad scrimmage Saturday, head coach Joey McGuire filled the media in on the kind of day Brown had.
Expected to be a staple in the kick return game, Brown has taken the fall camp as a stepping stone into 2023 after arriving last season from Kansas. The scrimmage was the first step in that path for Brown.
“It just raised my confidence even more,” Brown said of his scrimmage performance. “Going into practice and everything, and going into this week, just keeping everything on top. Don’t be sailing anything you’re doing. And another thing coach Juice always tells us, he even told us today, stack days, keep stacking good days on top of good days and everything is gonna play out for the season.”
There is a long way to go for any of the receivers in this group to reach the heights and accolades those that came before them reached. It is the offseason, of course, and when the lights shine the brightest the playmakers will come out to play. For now though, Johnson and his group remain hungry and committed to the grind.
“I’m excited and happy about the whole group,” Johnson said. “They’re locking in, obsessed with the details. Just day in and day out falling in love with the process, loving to come to practice, bringing the proper energy. So if they continue to come do it the right way and come to work everyday, I’m excited about the whole group.”
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