Eakin drives through adversity, coming on as reliable target

The first time Coy Eakin stepped onto the football field for Texas Tech was the culmination of months of hard work and years of his life dedicated to the sport. In a blowout victory over West Virginia in 2022, everything seemed to be going right for the Red Raiders and it was time for the freshman Eakin to take the field. That was until the referee pulled the flag from his pocket and whistled Eakin for a false start, an anticlimactic result to his first bit of action at Jones AT&T Stadium.

“Yeah, everytime we run “Purple”, they always give me crap for it, it’s just like an ongoing joke,” Eakin said of that moment following Tech’s practice Tuesday.

A Stephenville native, the expectations for the young receiver were seemingly through the roof from the time he stepped onto campus. At 6-foot-2, 210 pounds, Eakin brings a solid frame to the field at his position, and he has been commended for his ability to find space between defenders. The intangibles and physicality of Eakin’s game helped him become the nation’s leading receiver as a senior in high school, leading the Yellowjackets to an undefeated 16-0 season capped off by a 4A state title. It was in that state title game against Austin LBJ that Eakin truly burst onto the scene as a prospect.

“The Wednesday before the state game, I was actually going to sign to Tarleton State back in my hometown,” Eakin said. “Then I said, okay, let me wait until Monday after the state game, to see if anything happens. I knew my stats were not average, they’re pretty good, but I was like man, maybe this isn’t what God has for me… An hour after the game I started getting calls from bigger schools and it just kind of led on from there.”

TCU called Eakin, interested in bringing him on as an outside linebacker. North Texas rang him up, as did Washington State. The product of a nine reception, 187 yard and four total touchdown performance in the state championship however, was the opportunity to hop on the Tech train.

The journey in Lubbock for Eakin has not been an easy one. Eakin cracked the two-deep depth chart ahead of his freshman season in 2022, but his debut was delayed seven weeks as the result of a nagging hip injury suffered in fall camp. Eakin was able to keep his redshirt and the focus shifted to 2023.

The expectation was, once again, that Eakin would see it through spring ball and emerge as one of the team’s big names to watch heading into the season. The latter part stayed true, despite Eakin missing a large chunk of spring camp with a broken collarbone. Another road to recovery. Finally at 100 percent in fall camp and pushing for a chance to become a starter, Eakin broke his other collarbone.

“It’s a lot, I’ve never really been a patient guy my entire life,” Eakin said in regards to working through the gauntlet of injuries. “I get road rage, like anything little can make me mad. But I realized what God was testing me with and really showing me like, ‘Hey, if you have patience, trust in me, I’ll put you right back on your feet.’ I just had to really trust in Him.”

Like his first appearance in 2022, Eakin’s long awaited debut in 2023 came against the Mountaineers in Morgantown, and since then he has begun to prove himself as a worthy wide receiver.

The redshirt freshman’s second collegiate reception was the opening touchdown against Baylor, which proved to be the real culmination of his persistence. A week later against Kansas State, Eakin was one of the bright spots on the field for Tech, hauling in five receptions for 102 yards with 44 coming after the catch.

“Last week I thought it was really big that he caught that touchdown,” head coach Joey McGuire said in his press conference following the Kansas State game. “He’s a perfectionist, he puts a lot of pressure on himself. He’s really hard on himself. I think that one catch last week let him take a deep breath. The thing about Coy, he’s one of our hardest workers. He plays every snap with great energy and as much effort as he can give.”

In the midst of a season that has not gone exactly as many have hoped, Eakin's progression has been an intriguing story to pay attention to. The talent, the work ethic, all the tools for the Stephenville product to succeed have been made available to him. Staring at the face of adversity time and time again, Eakin stood tall and will take that with him throughout his time as a Red Raider.

“Anybody that plays a sport, really, you have to love it. Especially to play at the collegiate level, you have to love it,” Eakin said “All that work you’ve put in all summer to get back just for (an injury) to happen again is pretty discouraging, but you can’t get too down. It really helped, I got all my teammates behind me, everybody was cheering me, and helped me out throughout the course of my rehab. The coaches always checking up on me, like a really great family here that helped me get back on the field.”

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