As we continue our preview of the 2026 Texas Tech football team, we arrive at a position group that has the most questions. If the Texas Tech offensive line is a picture of stability, the wide receiver room is close to the opposite. The Red Raiders enter 2026 having lost the bulk of last season’s production. Head coach Joey McGuire and their staff turned to the transfer portal to rebuild on the fly.
Coy Eakin, the lone returning starter
The good news for the wide receiver corps is that the quarterback position appears to be settled. “Cowboy” Coy Eakin enters 2026 as the room’s undisputed centerpiece. He was named Big 12 Championship Offensive Player of the Game in 2025 and earned All-Big 12 Honorable Mention recognition. Coaches expect the senior wide receiver to be lined up all over the formation rather than being tied to one spot. With Caleb Douglas and Reggie Virgil both gone, Eakin is the proven, go-to option this offense will lean on early.
Micah Hudson’s breakout year loading?
No storyline dealing with the wide receivers on this Red Raider roster is bigger than Micah Hudson finally getting his shot. Once the highest-rated recruit in Texas Tech history, a five-star out of Belton who picked the Red Raiders over Texas, Texas A&M, and Alabama, Hudson caught only eight passes in 2024, transferred to Texas A&M in the spring of 2025, and then transferred back to Lubbock.
He only had eight receptions in 2025 as well. But this spring, coaches have raved about the difference in his approach, suggesting he’s finally turned a corner and put whatever maturity issues held him back in the past. If the talent that made him a national top-25 recruit finally shows up on Saturdays, he could be the team’s biggest difference-maker.
Necessary portal reload
To make up for the production lost to Douglas and Virgil, Texas Tech mined the transfer portal for four new receivers. Kenny Johnson arrives from Pittsburgh after catching 48 passes for 695 yards and five touchdowns last year. Early buzz coming out of spring practice has tabbed him as a potential breakout piece. Auburn transfer Malcolm Simmons joins the wide receiver room after playing two years for the Tigers.
Donte Lee Jr. transfers in from Liberty and brings in big-play potential after racking up 32 catches for 589 yards and five scores in 2025. And Jalen Jones, arriving from FCS Alabama State, put up eye-popping numbers there. He totaled 51 catches for 1,167 yards and nine touchdowns, a ridiculous 23 yards per catch. If Jones can translate that explosiveness at the FBS level, he could be a real change-of-pace weapon working out of the slot.
Building depth
Because there is only one returning starter, just about everyone is competing for rotational snaps. Some other names that haven’t been mentioned yet include sophomore Tristian Gentry, freshman Imari Jehiel, and local Lubbock product Chase Campbell. McGuire has been clear about wanting to rotate more bodies to get game snaps in 2026. Last year’s title run saw Douglas, Virgil, and Eakin taking up almost all the snaps.
What does it mean for 2026?
Texas Tech’s receiver room in 2026 has plenty of proven talent, but most of it has occurred at other places. Eakin gives the offense a steady, versatile starting point. The portal additions in Johnson, Simmons, Lee, and Jones bring legitimate production from their previous stops.
Hudson is the ultimate wild card. He represents the kind of ceiling-raising talent that could turn this group from serviceable into special. How quickly this receiving corps gels could go a long way toward determining whether Texas Tech’s passing attack can keep pace with the high bar set during last year’s Big 12 championship run.
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This article originally appeared on Red Raiders Wire: Breaking down Texas Tech’s wide receivers for 2026 football season
Reporting by Andrew McCleary, Red Raiders Wire / Red Raiders Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Andrew McCleary, Red Raiders Wire | USA TODAY Network
