Texas Tech football has a lot of receiver options with a mix of new and old

Justin “Juice” Johnson said Thursday he doesn’t like comparing one receiving group on one Texas Tech football team to another. While there are things to learn in each season, the passing game coordinator and receivers coach said the focus is always on who he has at his disposal each season, in each practice and in each game.

On the surface, Johnson had plenty of firepower available for the 2024 season. Looking to replace three of the team’s top four receivers a year ago, the Red Raiders brought in several outside weapons. So many, in fact, that it’s difficult for Johnson to separate anyone in particular through seven practices.

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“I think we have some guys that don’t really matter,” Johnson said. “We can flip a coin to whoever’s going to start here, flip a coin to whoever’s going to start here… whoever’s playing the best that day, that week. We’ve got many, many guys who have now kind of played some football. We’ve been sprinkled with some older guys.

Johnson’s group has a mix of young and old to choose from. Coach Joey McGuire said Tuesday that Washington State transfer Josh Kelly, Florida transfer Caleb Douglas and returnee Coy Eakin stood out among the group. That’s before considering five-star recruit Micah Hudson, who missed spring practice recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery in January to repair an injury he suffered while still in high school.

Missing those practices means Hudson has entered preseason camp to try and catch up, something that was a little difficult at times in the early days. Since then, the Temple native started to become more comfortable and put himself in the battle for playing time.

Competition for reps is fierce, but Johnson said his group understands it’s not about an individual mindset. Instead, receivers must make the most of their time on the field when the opportunity arises.

“It brings out the best in all of us,” Brady Boyd said. “Juice always says we’re all brothers back there. Same thing with everyone else.”

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Boyd said it was decided he would redshirt last year after seeing the limited game reps he would get with Tech’s array of veteran options. This year, Boyd is back looking to carve out his own spot on the deep unit. The same goes for Jordan Brown, who said he would be comfortable playing any receiver position this season.

While Johnson doesn’t like to compare one year group to another, Brown can see this team has no shortage of options.

“Last year we were explosive,” Brown said. “This year we’re explosive, but it’s like we have more weapons now… We’re a lot more explosive and I can’t wait until the season so everyone can see this entire receiver room.”

This article originally appeared in the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Newcomers and returners provide Texas Tech football depth at receiver