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New DE On The Radar?
We caught up with Richmond (Texas) Bush defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah
this week. The 6-foot-4, 233-pound prospect claims an offer from Texas Tech, and
says he's hearing the most from the Red Raiders, Arizona and several non-AQ
programs.
He told us he is very interested in Tech.
"They offered after I went to a camp they held," he said. "They are great
coaches and are easy to talk to. I talk to Coach (Chad) Scott the most. He's a
great guy that I can relate to."
Ogbah has not visited Lubbock yet -- he hopes to visit during the season -- but
said he has heard a lot of good things about the Red Raiders.
"I heard they have a good engineering program there that is a big plus to me,"
he said. "I like their colors and Under Armour. They are cool looking and I have
always watched them when they are on TV."
Aside from Tech and Arizona, Ogbah also holds offers from Louisiana-Lafayette,
Nevada and North Texas.
- Hair
?
Things Slowing Down For Keenan
After committing to Tech in June, Argyle (Texas) three-star offensive lineman
Trey Keenan has seen things slow down considerably in his life.
He's been taking advantage of his free time and been putting his nose to the
grindstone in the weightroom to prepare for his senior season.
"(I'm doing) a lot of lifting and just taking it all in. It's the last summer
you have for (relaxing) and just kind of hanging out with friends," he said.
"You just want to go in there, and you don't have to worry about trying to
impress people. You're just able to put your head down as a lineman and get your
job done across the ball. We have a good team and we really want to enjoy this
year."
Now that he has called an end to the arms race for his services, Keenan has seen
his time home in Argyle skyrocket and his time on the road plummet. He's jumped
off the camp wagon and traded his seat in the car for the recliner at home. You
won't hear Keenan complain about that change.
"After the commitment, I've just tried to stay in and be able to relax on the
weekends, because I've got a lot of extra time around the house not going off to
all the camps everywhere," said Keenan. "I feel a lot more relaxed not having
the recruiting process go on. With the coaches, it's not as much worried about
when are we gonna get you out there, you know, all this. It's just more getting
to talk to them and get to know them better."
The Argyle lineman is also busy trying to get to know his future teammates
better. He has most notably built up a relationship with Houston (Texas)
Westbury three star offensive lineman Christian Okafor. Keenan
noted that Christian's relationship with Texas Tech starting right tackle and
brother Mickey Okafor played a big key into his commitment.
"Well, I've spent a lot of time with little Okafor. I guess the first time I was
out there at Tech, he was there, so we talked," said Keenan. " I knew him from a
couple of camps. We were at A&M and OU together and everything last summer, and
he was one of the major reasons I kind of committed there for our class was
because of his relationship with his brother. I'm sure it was a trust that if
one family member liked it enough to make sure his little brother went there."
As noted before, Keenan caught the caboose end of the Tech commit train that was
running through Lubbock during June. Keenan felt that the South Plains were
always going to be his home, but the numbers game presented by the June
commitment run made his decision speed up a bit.
"I had been at Michigan the weekend before, actually. I went up there, toured
Ann Arbor, everything like that. When I got back, I got a message on facebook
saying we've had three commitments overnight, and that we don't have many spots
left. The next day I got another message about OSU having another commit, and
they were down to one spot. I knew Tech was too. I've always known that Tech was
where I belonged, I was just giving it time for other schools. After that, I was
just kind of like I know where I want to go, and I don't want to have to take a
second choice because of just spending an extra week, so I got it out of the way
and couldn't have been happier about it."
Keenan committed to Tech over offers from Arizona, Arkansas, Baylor, Boise
State, Michigan, Oklahoma State, and Tennessee among others.
- McKay
? ?
Johnson Headed To Hub City
League City (Texas) Clear Springs wide receiver Marcus Johnson
is en route to the Hub City.
"We're leaving at midnight tonight and we'll be there on Friday morning around 8
or 9 o'clock. Coach (Neal) Brown told me that I would have a
chance to watch them lift during their set period in the morning and after that
I think they'll give me a tour around the campus and the football facilities,"
he said. "They said they would show me around the academic center too. On Friday
night I'll get to hang out with some of the players in Lubbock and get a chance
to see what it's like when they have some down time. I'm looking forward to it
all."
The 6-foot-1, 180-pounder has remained in frequent contact with Brown and Tommy Mainord since his commitment in June.
"I feel really good about Coach Mainord and Coach Brown. I've been talking with
them for a while and I talk to Coach Brown the most," Johnson said. "Since we've
been getting closer to my visit I've gotten to talk with them three or four
times a week. We've got a great relationship and I think they're good guys."
He's also continued to stand firm with the Red Raiders.
"Texas A&M lost a commit and they kept talking to me about a spot there. It's
just a situation where I had to tell them that I was committed to Tech and I'm
sticking with them," he said. "They asked me to come to a camp not too long ago
and they were saying they wanted to offer me there. I didn't go. I think they
know now that I'm committed to Tech and that's where I'll be. That's who I'm
with."
- Cowan
?
Flannigan Recruiting For 2013
Missouri City (Texas) Fort Bend Marshall linebacker Ryan Flannigan
continues to keep an eye on the future for Texas Tech as he's still working on
2013 linebacker Deon Hollins, Jr.
"I've got a great relationship with Deon. We're on defense together and we spend
a lot of time with each other. We're real close," Flannigan said. "I've tried to
get on him a few times about him needing to go ahead and commit to Tech so we
can start getting ready to be up there together. That's his decision, though."
The 2012 commit is convinced special things would be in store for Tech's defense
if the pair were to end up in Lubbock.
"He's a great player for us. He really gets going and doesn't stop. Those are
the kind of players you always like to play with and I would like that to happen
at Tech," Flannigan said. "I won't pressure him too much, but it would be a
smart decision if he ends up coming to Tech with us. I'm pushing for it to
happen."
- Cowan
??
Finally...
Look for the first batch of Rivals.com 2012 team recruiting rankings sometime in
the next two weeks. I would expect Tech to start out somewhere in the top 25.
- Dickens
?
To view previous installments of the Red Raider Confidential, you can
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This post was edited on 7/22 12:22 AM by A. Dickens
This post was edited on 7/30 1:07 PM by A. Dickens
