Expectations high for Loic Fouonji in 2022

This offseason, there has been quite a bit of focus on the wide receiver position and for good reason given how unproven that group of players is.  But one name that has been a bit lost in the shuffle, Loic Fouonji (who missed spring practice due to injury), has come back into prominence after the Midland product received glowing praise from head coach Joey McGuire at the Texas Tech football program’s reporting day press conference on August 4th.

When asked about Fouonji, McGuire smiled and said, “Man, I’m fired up.  I’m really excited…you gotta almost think of him like a transfer ’cause you didn’t see him in the spring and all of a sudden, you see him in the summer…and man, he’s a monster.”

Certainly, Fouonji has always been a physical specimen.  Now at 6-foot-4 and 210 pounds, he’s actually trimmed down a bit from last year being 10 pounds lighter than he was listed on last season’s official roster.

He is just one of a group of Texas Tech wide receivers who should be able to manhandle defensive backs.  Along with Fouonji, J.J. Sparkman, Trey Cleveland, and Jerand Bradley are all at least 6-foot-4 and 210 pounds.  That should help offensive coordinator Zach Kittley create some serious mismatches on the outside.

But the question remains whether anyone in that group is going to step up and be a star this year.  By the way McGuire spoke of Fouonji though, it sure sounds like he expects big things from the junior.

“We need him to be really good,” McGuire said, “because he is one of the guys who can really take the top off of [the defense] with the deep ball.”

Can Fouonji be a big-play threat for Texas Tech this fall?  For his career, he’s averaged 18.2 yards per catch.  That includes an average of 21.0 per reception last fall.

The problem though is that the sample size is extremely small.  With only 13 career grabs for 237 yards and two scores, he’s yet to prove that he’s a consistent option in the Red Raider offense.  Of course, that has been in part because he’s been playing behind Erik Ezukanma, who is now impressing at Miami Dolphins training camp.

Now, though, it appears that Fouonji will get a shot at being a starter for the Red Raiders.  And McGuire seems confident that Fouonji has what it takes to be a difference-maker.

“I was really impressed with his ball skills,” McGuire said going on to note that the wide receivers were challenged to catch 25,000 balls this offseason, something that Fouonji did.  “He’ll line up there when the first offense goes out there tomorrow for the first snap of practice.  He’s going to be lined up on that right side with the starters at outside receiver and we need him to have a really good camp.”

It is time for a breakout from Fouonji.  In the class of 2020, he was a 4-star prospect and the No. 47 wide receiver in the nation.  He held offers from the likes of Oklahoma State, Texas, Arizona, Arkansas, Baylor, Colorado, Texas A&M, and Southern California and he was the top recruit in that class for the Red Raiders.

But thus far, he’s yet to make much of a splash.  In fact, he’s never caught more than two passes in a game and he’s yet to top the 100-yard receiving mark in a game.

That should change this year though as he is going to be relied upon heavily to help stretch the field for the Red Raider offense.  And based on what McGuire had to say last week, there’s every reason for Texas Tech fans to be excited about what this West Texas product can bring to the field this fall.