Three 2013 WR recruits are key to success, but only one on offense

The 2013 recruiting class is widely known as Kliff Kingsbury’s first recruiting class at Texas Tech. However, most of the class committed to Tommy Tuberville before he dined and dashed. Kingsbury simply came in and tried to hold most of the class together, grabbing a couple of his own players at the end.

What most fans that don’t follow the program closely fail to realize is that Kliff and his staff have dealt with an unbelievable depth problem over the last three years. Tuberville had the two highest ranked classes in Texas Tech history, but only a select few actually made any impact in a Red Raider uniform. While the majority of the 2016 roster will be made up of Kliff’s recruits post-2013, there are three wide receiver recruits from the 2013 class that should make an impact in their senior or redshirt junior season. However, only one will play on offense.

Dylan Cantrell – three-star from Whitehouse, Texas; ranked the 64th best WR in the country and 66th best player in the state of Texas. Cantrell was listed as the starter at the outside WR-Z position following spring practice. After missing the 2015 season due to an injury, Cantrell should factor heavily into the offense as a big-bodied outside receiver, something Tech didn’t have much of last year.

Gary Moore – three-star from Clarksville, Texas; ranked the 59th best WR in the country and 55th best player in the state of Texas. Moore, recruited as a wide receiver, quickly switched to the defensive line and has had a few great moments in a Red Raider uniform. Moore is listed was the top DE on the team following spring practice. If Tech has a successful season on defense, Moore will likely be one of the reasons because of his ability to put pressure on the opposing quarterback.

D.J. Polite-Bray – three-star from Lithonia, Ga.; ranked the 232nd best WR in the country and 148th best player in the state of Georgia. Polite-Bray played sparingly on offense his freshman year before making the transition to defense. He has not seen the field much over the past couple years, but heading into the 2016 season he is listed as one of the two starting cornerbacks. One of the thinnest positions with the transfer of Nigel Bethel, Polite-Bray will need to play well in the secondary for the Texas Tech Red Raiders to continue to improve on defense.

Here are the rest of the players from the 2013 recruiting class:

Projected starters for the Red Raiders: Baylen Brown, Justis Nelson, Malik Jenkins

Others that should see the field: Ja’Deion High, Devin Lauderdale (in the 2013 recruiting class but did not qualify; went to Juco and came back in 2014 class), Talor Nunez, Zach Austin

Projected starters on other teams: Davis Webb (Cal), Baker Mayfield (OU – walk-on)

The rest: Andre Ross, Josh Outlaw, Dee Paul, Jacarthy Mack, Kahlee Woods, Cody Hayes, Poet Thomas, Zach Barnes, Jalen Barnes, Caleb Woodward, Tyler Middleton, Dorian Crawford, Demetrius Alston, Carlos Thompson, Martin Hill, Collin Bowen, Kyle Heffron, Aaron Bennett, Demetrius Campbell