The Texas Tech football team had the FBS's third-ranked scoring defense last season and a top-10 unit at producing turnovers. After the Red Raiders' first practice in full pads this week, however, cornerback Brice Pollock reluctantly conceded the play of the day came from someone on the other side. "I would hate to say it's an offensive guy, but I would say Donte Lee," Pollock said. "He made a good catch on a fade route, a one-hand catch." Lee, who spent the past two years at Liberty, is one of four receivers who joined the Red Raiders in January via the NCAA transfer portal. The others: Kenny Johnson from Pittsburgh, Jalen Jones from Alabama State and Malcolm Simmons from Auburn. More: 5 Texas Tech football freshmen who you should expect to see this fall More: Behind the making of Texas Tech football DT Mateen Ibirogba
Though importing multiple upperclassmen at one position is routine anymore for Texas Tech, incorporating each one smoothly can't be taken for granted. "I think the thing we've done with our transfers here, we've hit on the guys not only from a football perspective, but I think culturally," said Justin Johnson, the Tech assistant head coach and wide receivers coach. "I think we've done a good job of figuring out and identifying guys that are going to fit into our culture, and those [four transfers] come in and fit into our culture. … And so, although I gained some new guys, quite honestly, I gained a few leaders." Lee, a 6-foot-3, 190-pound fifth-year senior from Baltimore, caught 32 passes for 589 yards and 5 touchdowns last year. He and Jones both say Tech's vertical pass-game usage attracted them. "Donte has exceptional vertical speed," Justin Johnson said. "He's a vertical threat. He's going to step on people really fast. He's going to demand vertical respect, and so I think he's going to flourish in our choice-game stuff, where he can really step on people. "If [defensive backs] are squatting, he can run by them. If they're bailing, he's going to be able to [come] back down the [route] stem." More: How Texas Tech football's Will Hammond, Quinten Joyner look one week in
Johnson has been the projected starter from day one at the wide receiver position Cardinals fifth-round draft pick Reggie Virgil manned last year. With the 6-1, 200-pound senior having racked up 46 catches for 537 yards two years ago and 48 catches for 695 yards last year, the Red Raiders have an idea what to expect. "Kenny brings it every day from an energy perspective and a leadership perspective," Justin Johnson said. "I can say he's made a play or two, three every camp practice that I've seen," tight end Terrance Carter Jr. said. At the other outside spot, the one Dolphins third-round pick Caleb Douglas played last season, returning junior Micah Hudson is the first-teamer with Lee and Simmons next. More: Is Micah Hudson set for breakout season with Texas Tech football?
Jones is the top backup at slot receiver to senior Coy Eakin, the unit's lone returning starter. Carter this week called Jones "the sleeper of the offense right now," as in, someone not getting as much publicity as some of his skill-position mates but just wait and see. A 5-8, 180-pound junior from Birmingham, Alabama, Jones earned second-team all-America recognition last season after catching 51 passes for 1,167 yards and 9 touchdowns. That was at the FCS level. The Big 12 is a big step up in competition. "I would say my mentality prepared me for the jump," Jones said. "Some people may say it was a big jump coming from FCS to the Big 12, but I'd say my mentality and my work ethic kind of adapted. I already had it, so it kind of adapted quickly for me, for that jump." Tech coaches plan to use running back J'Koby Williams and Jones in a variety of ways in a role Tech coach Joey McGuire has called the Joker position. "They've kind of flipflopped in some different roles," Justin Johnson said. "We'll have some new packaging items for a few of those guys. So you might see J'Koby lined up in the slot. You might see him lined up outside at [outside receiver], you might see J.J. in the backfield. The beautiful thing is we've got a lot of great personnel, so we've got a lot of personnel groupings we can get on the field." More: Texas Tech looks to play long game in growing jersey patch market More: After USC-Texas Tech football talks fizzle, here's Tech's thinking
Simmons, a 6-foot, 180-pound junior from Montgomery, Alabama, caught 40 passes for 451 yards and 3 touchdowns in 2024. His catch total dipped last year to 25 for 457 yards with 2 TDs, but the first two 100-yard games of his college career came in the last two games last year: 5 catches, 149 yards and a TD against Mercer and 3 catches, 143 yards and a TD against Alabama. Several months ago, Simmons, Tech coach Joey McGuire and Tech track and field coach Wes Kittley discussed the possibility of Simmons competing in a field event for the Red Raiders. He was an Alabama Class 6A state champion three times in the long jump and twice in the high jump with personal bests of 7 feet and 24-11 1/2, respectively. No surprise, then, what Simmons sees as his calling cards in football. "Electric, fast in and out of routes, a deep threat," he said. "Just an all-around receiver, really." This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech football looks to rev up offense with 4 new receivers