How Caleb Douglas, Josh Kelly connected with Texas Tech football

Josh Kelly and Caleb Douglas had their names entered into the NCAA transfer portal in December for different reasons.

Kelly said Washington State's place on the college football landscape concerned him with the collapse of the Pac-12. Douglas thought there was an offensive system somewhere that suited him better than Florida's.

"The SEC really isn't the biggest passing conference," Douglas said, "and I felt like I wanted to broadcast my talents more, and I didn't just want to be outside, go up and get the ball. I know if I came here, they'd let me do my inside and outside techniques."

The Texas Tech football program welcomed both wide receivers in January, and they're going through spring practice with the Red Raiders. Kelly is a 6-foot-1, 197-pound sixth-year senior who spent four years at Fresno State, his hometown school, and one year at Washington State, where he put up career highs last season: 61 receptions for 923 yard and eight touchdowns.

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Caleb Douglas tapped into previous acquaintance with Texas Tech football staff

Douglas is a 6-4, 206-pound junior who, in two years at Florida, caught 21 passes for 308 yards and three TDs. He earned a starting role last year, but suffered a broken fibula in the fifth game, ending his season.

When Douglas decided to transfer, there was an easy match. As a Texas top-100 recruit at Fort Bend Hightower, he once committed to Baylor when Tech coach Joey McGuire and several members of the Red Raiders' staff worked there. When they reconnected, Douglas said he didn't have to look much further.

"It was like, 'You know us. We know you. We've got a good spot for you'," Douglas said Thursday after the Red Raiders' practice.

Kelly wasn't disgruntled at Washington State, given he had a key role in the FBS's No. 4 passing offense and considering his background.

"Growing up as a kid on the west coast, playing in the Pac-12 was always a dream of mine," said Kelly, a childhood fan of UCLA. "The way it turned out and how it has turned out, it was a little bit sad. Me finally being able to play in the Pac-12 only for one year was a great experience, but what has happened with the Pac-12 is a little sad."

Pac-12's demise triggered Josh Kelly's transfer to Texas Tech football program

The west coast's dominant conference for generations was decimated by the departures of UCLA, Southern California, Oregon and Washington to the Big Ten, the exits of Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah to the Big 12 and the departures of California and Stanford to the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In December, Pac-12 leftovers Washington State and Oregon State reached a scheduling agreement with the Mountain West Conference for 2024. This coming season, Washington State will play eight games against Mountain West teams.

"Obviously, I went to the Pac-12 to play in the Pac-12," Kelly said. "Once I heard they were going down to a lower level, I know that's the league I came from, the Mountain West, and I didn't want to go back to the Mountain West. I see myself as a better player, just trying to find a bigger stage."

Kelly didn't have the Texas ties Douglas had. However, he said, "Everybody told me about Texas football, so why not come check it out?"

Kelly's transfer notwithstanding, another chapter to his Washington State experience remains. In a scheduling swap finalized in December, Texas Tech traded a road game to Oregon for a road game to Washington State. The Tech-WSU game will be Sept. 7 in Pullman, Washington.

Kelly talks frequently to former teammates there.

"When I was in Pullman, I had a lot of love," he said, "so the love there is never lost. I also graduated from there, so Pullman will always have a special spot in my heart. I'm definitely excited to get back there and play against those guys again."

The transfer portal was a turnstile for the Tech receivers room during the off-season. Jerand Bradley, Myles Price, Loic Fouonji and J.J. Sparkman transferred out. Tech receivers coach Justin Johnson likes what he's seen so far from the transfers in.

Sizing up Kelly, Johnson said, "Freaky catch radius, great feel for the game, super smart, super cerebral, silky smooth route runner. Anything in his radius that he puts his hand on, he's going to catch."

The Tech staff sees Douglas as a receiver who can go deep and use his length.

"He does a great job high-pointing balls," Johnson said. "Again, extreme catch radius. He's a guy who you might not think is fast, but is faster than you think he is. He can blow the top off of it. .... I think his best thing is he's going to give us a real deep threat vertically."

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: How Caleb Douglas, Josh Kelly connected with Texas Tech football