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Texas Tech Football: T.J. Vasher makes the catch of the year

By Phil Poling

BIRMINGHAM, AL - DECEMBER 23: T.J. Vasher #9 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders makes a touchdown reception to give his team the lead against the South Florida Bulls in the second half of the Birmingham Bowl at Legion Field on December 23, 2017 in Birmingham, Alabama. South Florida won 38-34. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
BIRMINGHAM, AL - DECEMBER 23: T.J. Vasher #9 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders makes a touchdown reception to give his team the lead against the South Florida Bulls in the second half of the Birmingham Bowl at Legion Field on December 23, 2017 in Birmingham, Alabama. South Florida won 38-34. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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Week 1 of college football is finally here and we’ve already got a nominee for catch of the year – Texas Tech football star T.J. Vasher.

Texas Tech star wide receiver, sophomore T.J. Vasher, made what is the early front-runner for “Catch of the Year,” albeit only a few hours into the season.

On the Red Raiders’ opening possession of the 2018 season, Vasher made a one-handed sideline catch that Odell Beckham Jr. would be jealous of – even though he just secured the bag.

Vasher’s heroics have to be seen to be believed… and even then its still hard to grasp:

At 6-foot-6, all quarterback McLane Carter needs to do is put the ball within 10 yards of Vasher and he’ll likely come down with it. Catches like this are the reason we ranked him as a top wide receiver in the Big 12 Conference. Tech wound up scoring two plays later, evening things up between the Ole Miss Rebels at 7.

Vasher only caught 29 passes a year ago, but in Kingsbury’s offense, those numbers will be pumped up with a larger role – one-handed catches will only improve his chances of targets, too. He scored six touchdowns as a freshman and could be the Red Raiders’ biggest mismatch at wide receiver since Michael Crabtree.

Next. Ranking the Big 12's best wide receivers. dark

Regardless of what you heard during the offseason about Texas Tech, though, their defense isn’t much improved, at least that improvement hasn’t been on display against Ole Miss early. They trailed the Rebels by a score of 24-7 at the end of the first quarter. One thing is for sure, this offense is going to be a lot of fun to watch in 2018.\n

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