Today marked spring practice number eight for the Red Raiders, bringing us to just over two weeks until the official Spring Game at Jones AT&T Stadium. After practice, I got the chance to talk to wide receivers Jerand Bradley, Brady Boyd, and Nehemiah Martinez about the state of the offense, spring ball, and the upcoming season.

Head Coach Joey McGuire and wide receivers coach Emmett Jones have had plenty of praise for red-shirt freshman Jerand Bradley, and rightfully so. Despite appearing in only four games during the 2021 campaign, Bradley showed flashes of a future #1 receiver, highlighted by his two catches for 64 yards in the Red Raider's 34-7 victory over Mississippi State in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl.

Bradley, at a massive 6 foot 5 and 220 pounds, has been physically dominant in spring ball, often jumping over coverage to haul in impressive catches. Today, he caught a perfect sideline ball from quarterback Tyler Shough, just keeping his feet in bounds for a touchdown.

"I feel like I'll be huge for this offense this year because I feel like Jones and Kittley are starting to believe in me. I'm starting to step up in my role. Since Erik and KG are gone, I believe that they believe in me to step up. I feel like I'll be able to play in all phases of offense from X, Y, Z, and H. They want me to be able to be versatile and be able to know all positions. I believe I will fit in well, and we're gonna be crazy good."

You could tell Bradley is excited about this season. His eyes lit up when offensive coordinator Zach Kittley's name was mentioned. He loves the way the staff coaches the players..."they teach us to be dogs every day. I feel like they are great leaders."

Brady Boyd, like Jerand Bradley, has emerged as a go-to target for the QB room this spring. The former Southlake Carrol star and Minnesota transfer chose Texas Tech this offseason over a handful of schools fighting for his talents. Boyd enjoyed a 1,000-yard season as a senior at Southlake Carrol, bringing in a whopping 17 touchdowns. Despite this, he only appeared in two games last season for Minnesota.

Boyd had one of the most impressive touchdowns I have ever seen last practice, hauling in a contested, one-handed catch over DB Cameron Watts for a toe-tap score. Expect Boyd to be a leading contributor this season in the wide receiver group alongside Bradley.

"So far it's just been getting used to everything. It's been a real good, easy transition, and I really like Coach Jones. Coach McGuire is the culture, he's been great. I've known him for as long as I can remember, he's basically like an uncle to me."

Boyd's charisma on and off the football field is second to none. He loves the game of football and is one of the vocal leaders in the locker room. "Whatever the team needs, that's what I'm looking to do."

Sophomore WR/special teams standout Nehemiah Martinez has been one of the hardest workers on the team, according to Coach McGuire. Martinez played at the inside receiver position and various special teams assignments last year and excelled at both. He also appeared in 34 snaps as a kickoff returner. This spring, Martinez has been primarily lining up as a slot receiver, showcasing both his speed and lateral quickness, and as a special team "swiss army knife" of sorts.

Towards the end of practice, Martinez caught a ball from Tyler Shough, darted to the sideline, and accelerated down the sideline untouched for a touchdown.

"I'm really excited to do special teams In the NFL, that's one way to get to the next level is being able to be used working for special teams, kickoff, kickoff return, punt, or wherever they can use you on top of offense and defense. That's probably the biggest thing for me is just being able to be used and being versatile."

The Red Raiders are back in action on Saturday for practice #9 of spring.