Highly praised freshman wide receiver Micah Hudson is progressively intensifying his training routine in preparation for the commencement of Texas Tech football preseason practice on July 31, as stated by coach Joey McGuire on Tuesday.
Hudson underwent arthroscopic knee surgery in January to address an injury sustained during his time at Temple Lake Belton High School.
“Micah did everything yesterday, just in half volume,” McGuire said. “So anything the players did yesterday — running, lifting, routes, anything like that — he did. Just, he’s doing half the volume.
“We’ll increase him to three-quarters of the volume going into next week, and then next week he’ll be past six months (from the surgery). So we’ll start increasing him as we go so he’s good to go during camp. … He’ll be on the field the first day of camp.”
McGuire made these remarks during the two-day Big 12 football media days at Allegiant Stadium.
Hudson, who stands at 6 feet and weighs 195 pounds, is ranked as the No. 16 recruit in the nation and the No. 4 in Texas according to the 247Sports composite index for incoming freshmen. Throughout his four varsity seasons, Hudson amassed 202 receptions for 3,885 yards and 47 touchdowns. He also accumulated 1,243 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns.
Breaking with previous policy, McGuire has allowed Hudson to wear jersey No. 1 for the Red Raiders, despite stating two years ago that a “stud high-school kid” would not be given a coveted single-digit jersey over players who “are already taking snaps in red and black.”
McGuire reversed his decision in May, expressing that Micah Hudson outshines previous players such as Dezmon Briscoe, DaMarkus Lodge, Quincy Adeboyejo, and Charleston Rambo, whom he coached at Cedar Hill and who all went on to have successful college careers and professional football experience. On Tuesday, McGuire described Hudson as a “generational” talent.
Among the players returning from injury, tight end Jalin Conyers (recovering from a broken foot) and defensive tackle James Hansen (dealing with a calf strain) have been given medical clearance after missing spring practice. Additionally, deep snapper Jackson Knotts is on track for a potential early-season comeback.
“Jackson is in excellent condition,” McGuire stated. “While he’s not fully cleared yet, according to our head athletic trainer Mike Ramirez, he’s expected to be fully released by week one, possibly in time for the Abilene Christian game on Aug. 31. He’ll have some practice before then. He’s snapping, but we are avoiding activities that involve cutting and similar movements.”
Knotts underwent surgery for three torn knee ligaments sustained during the 2023 regular-season finale. As a senior, he has been the first-choice deep snapper for the Red Raiders since his debut as a true freshman.
Linebacker Mike Dingle, who has been out of action since midseason, had a recent checkup. Although McGuire hadn’t received the results from Ramirez, he stated, “Dingle sent me a text yesterday. He was really happy with how it went. Dingle would tell me if he wasn’t happy. … I expect him to be cleared.”
The redshirt freshman has been withheld from contact since October due to what McGuire has characterized as a shoulder issue and “continuous stingers.”
Tech coaches have made the decision to position Dingle at inside linebacker and redshirt freshman Marcus Ramon-Edwards at star, which serves as the field safety or outside linebacker. During spring practice, Dingle trained at star, and Ramon-Edwards was at boundary safety. The depth chart at the latter position includes Julien (C.J.) Baskerville and TCU transfer Javeon Wilcox.
Ramon-Edwards will now be added to the mix at star, alongside A.J. McCarty and Brenden Jordan.
In reference to the choice to utilize Ramon-Edwards, McGuire explained, “We believed that Javeon Wilcox had a very strong spring and looks set to be the second-choice boundary safety. We don’t want to have an excess of players in one position; we want to provide opportunities for players to see game time. This may mean a few additional reps at star.”
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