Texas Tech’s “Choice” scheme has WR room juiced

Two staples have been at the forefront of discussions surrounding Mack Leftwich’s incoming passing game at Texas Tech: verticality and the “choice” route. 

From current players to recruits alike, the idea of the choice route has become a calling around the first-year offensive coordinator’s plans for the Red Raider regime. But that begs the question– what exactly goes into the choice route?

“There’s always a gray area anytime you got a little bit of what we call ‘choice,’ right, decision making,” wide receivers coach Justin “Juice” Johnson told the media Monday. “The biggest thing for us is to be on the same page with the quarterback. And obviously, anytime you have ‘choice’ and decisions that you can make within a route, it’s very important that you throw those a bunch and get on the same page as the quarterback. Obviously there’s going to be a learning curve there, timing wise. Like ‘I was thinking this, you were thinking that,’ but we throw and catch it so much to where those are starting to become second nature to us.”

The choice route has brought the juice… too much, at times?

Johnson has a wealth of receivers to utilize in Leftwich’s scheme this season. Most prominently featured will likely be Caleb Douglas and Reggie Virgil. That tandem will occupy the outside spots, primarily. Inside will be a combination of Coy Eakin and Incarnate Word transfer Roy Alexander.

It’s an imperfect process to perfect the choice route, but Johnson has been pleased with the returns since spring.

“I think that all of the guys have done a great job adjusting,” he added. “There’s been some times you have to pull the reins back. Like ‘Alright, he was bailing there, let’s shut it down.’ You can’t take everything deep and vice versa. Or ‘Hey, he’s squat-aligned, go ahead and run by him.’ I think it’s just part of the process. And just throwing and catching those as much as you can to make sure that the timing is on point with the quarterback.

“At the end of the day, if we’re on the same page as the quarterback, even if we’re making the wrong decision and not confusing him, we got a shot at it. You give him the opportunity to move on to the next guy and come tell us ‘Hey, I was thinking you were going to do this.’ So the biggest thing within the decision making is not confusing the quarterback, right. Just tell those guys to play fast and be very decisive.”

Johnson has own choices with arsenal of pass-catching machines

“Coach Juice” has been hard at work mentoring the ins-and-outs of the choice route. He’s also got plenty of choices himself.

The big names of Douglas, Virgil and Eakin will undoubtedly receive the lion’s share of the spotlight heading into the season. That, however, has not stopped their potential successors from impressing the third-year receivers coach.

A rejuvenated Micah Hudson has been “working his tail off” and is well in the mix. TJ West and Kelby Valsin are nearing their time, as is Tyson Turner. Even the bevy of 2025 recruits have made a lasting first impression since arriving on campus.

“A lot of those guys are flashing in their own regard,” Johnson said. “You look over and you see TG (Tristan Gentry) making a play in the slot. You see in the scrimmage, Leyton (Stone) catching a slant, wins the one-on-one battle. (Michael) Dever making a splash play, from a super young guy perspective. TJ West goes out and makes a contested catch, Kelby makes a 60-yard catch on a slot fade that’s contested. All of those guys are really stepping up and competing. The depth and the competition in the room is elevating the level of play for those guys.”