Cumbie breaks down WR class
There's just no other way to put it. Texas Tech reloaded at receiver with five athletes signing Letters of Intent on Wednesday.
Advertisement
Houston (Texas) Bellaire receiver Devin Lauderdale is Tech's highest ranking signee, Gary Moore is built in a similar fashion to Calvin Johnson, Dylan Cantrell provides a big target in the middle of the field while D.J. Polite-Bray and Carlos Thompson add pure speed.
We caught up with outside receivers coach and co-offensive coordinator Sonny Cumbie to talk about the new weapons in the passing game.
"Carlos Thompson is a kid where you watch his film and you just watch his highlights over and over and over and over," Cumbie said. "You ask yourself, 'why shouldn't we take this kid?' He plays in a great district against tough people in a fast league. He never gets caught from behind, he's able to put his foot in the ground, he's very dynamic. Production wise, it's a slam dunk. He got 70 balls, 20 touchdowns.
"I think he's a guy that's going to find his way onto the field He's a tough kid, too, if you watch some of his film in terms of blocking and catching the ball in the middle of the field. I think he'll be an inside receiver at H."
Polite-Bray is someone both Cumbie and head coach Kliff Kingsbury say possesses world-class speed.
"He's a kid that's going to come in here who's smooth," Cumbie said. "He's about 6-foot, 6-foot-1 and 185 pounds. Very confident kid. He's got great ball skills Very smooth runner. State champion in the 200 meters. You've got a guy that can fly on the outside."
Then there's Moore, a 6-foot-5, potentially 227-pound prospect, whom Cumbie said is the best looking player in the State of Texas.
"He's a grown man," Cumbie said. "It was funny because I was recruiting him a little bit here and Trey Haverty was on him at TCU and I knew he was at our game when we went there. Once Trey got on board here, he had such a great relationship with the kid that he was able to get him out there.
"We kept telling the guys in the office, 'wait till you see Gary Moore.' Then they see him and they're like, 'oh my goodness. This guy is a grown man.' He's the best looking kid in the state. I mean he really is. I think he's going to come here and have the chance to play immediately. He's excited to be here and we're glad to have him."
Cantrell is a player both Tommy Tuberville's former staff and the new Tech staff both loved. There's speculation he can come in and be in the rotation from day one at Y receiver.
"I think Dylan will fit in at Y," Cumbie said. "That's where we'll start him. He reminds me a little of Mickey Peters. He's a bit of a bigger bodied, strong kid who runs well and has great ball skills. He's a kid that works extremely hard at it and he's another kid in our signing class that during the coaching change said, 'Coach, I'm fine with it. I love Texas Tech. I just want to be comfortable with the new coach.'
"The Coach Kingsbury hiring was a slam dunk."
Last, but certainly not least, is the Rivals250 prospect -- Lauderdale.
"Devin Lauderdale is a kid who can blow the top off the coverage," Cumbie said. "Extremely fast. He was an extremely big get when we got him to re-commit to us. He's really a big time speed threat that we need.
"I think with the coaching change he was comfortable with some of the guys who were here but are no longer here. Then Eric Morris went down there and built a great relationship with the kid and got him to visit campus. Once he got on campus he felt comfortable with what was going on. Obviously the offense and the success Coach Kingsbury had at Texas A&M helped."