we made it back to Friday on this short, weird week...hope everyone had a great holiday break, 4th of July earlier this week.
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WEEKLY LINKS
Davis Rivers excited to land at Tech after exploding onto national scene
Commitment profile: DB Ashton Hampton
Commitment profile: DB Peyton Morgan
Biggs & Greenslade Law presents GIFnalysis: DB Peyton Morgan
Baylor transfer DB AJ McCarty is a Red Raider
Tech strengthens secondary with addition of McCarty
Commitment profile: DB Oliver Miles III
Biggs & Greenslade Law presents GIFnalysis: DB Oliver Miles
Hutto's Garet Boehm is heading to Texas Tech as No. 1 3B in Texas
Energy Renovation Center presents GIFnalysis: CB Isaiah Collins
Commitment profile: CB Isaiah Collins
TTU coaches were there since day one for DB Cai Morgan
Red Raiders round out roster with transfer addition Joe Toussaint
DB Oliver Miles III talks decision to be a Red Raider
2023 MLB Draft Preview: Texas Tech
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TTU RECRUITING THIS WEEK
the coaches had a very busy holiday weekend, adding four (4) new 2024 commitments and a DB transfer from Baylor...no new offers but plenty to cover this week.
new 2024 commits
Pearland safety Ashton Hampton announced his commitment to the Red Raiders over the weekend. The 6-foot-1, 170-pound defender is another freak athlete, another track & field standout and a three-star prospect with competing offers from Missouri, Houston, Oregon State, SMU, Washington State and others.
Hampton won the UC Report camp MVP, an offshoot of the Under Armour Camp sereies, in Houston earlier this spring. The athleticism is real, the ball skills are well above average and all in all I see a little bit of Dadrion Taylor-Demerson when watching his tape.
Industry rankings:
Rivals: 5.6 three-star rating
247: 87 rating (three-star), No. 123 overall prospect in Texas and No. 78 overall Safety prospect
On3: no rating
Pflugerville Weiss athlete Peyton 'Cai' Morgan announced his commitment to the Red Raiders over the weekend. The 6-foot-1, 175-pound defender is listed as an Athlete, but Morgan is very much a defensive back and the coaches see him playing every position in the defensive backfield - safety, corner, nickel. He chose Texas Tech over 17 other offers from Baylor, Arizona State, Colorado, Houston, Kansas State, Ole Miss, Nebraska, TCU and others.
Industry rankings:
Rivals: 5.6 three-star rating, No. 63 overall rated Athlete prospect in the nation
247: 89 rating (three-star), No. 54 overall prospect in Texas and No. 32 overall Safety prospect
On3: 93 rating (four-star), No. 108 overall prospect in the nation, No. 24 overall prospect in Texas and No. 8 overall Safety prospect
El Campo athlete Oliver Miles III announced his commitment to the Red Raiders over the weekend. The 6-foot-2, 170-pound defender is listed as an Athlete, mainly because Miles III plays quarterback for the Ricebirds and is a state champion track & field athlete - expected to also join Wes Kittley's T&F program at Texas Tech. I also left out the note that Miles III was the varsity basketball team's offensive MVP this past season, so safe to say the athleticism is real...seeing a trend?
The standout athlete chose Texas Tech over offers from Notre Dame, Stanford, Baylor, Houston, Nebraska, Utah and others.
Industry rankings:
Rivals: 5.7 three-star rating, No. 52 overall rated Athlete prospect in the nation
247: 88 rating (three-star), No. 79 overall prospect in Texas and No. 49 overall Safety prospect
On3: 88 rating (three-star), No. 127 overall prospect in Texas and No. 68 overall Safety prospect
Huntsville corner Isaiah Collins announced his commitment to the Red Raiders over the holiday weekend. The 6-foot-3, 186-pound defender is another athletic prospect with all-district first team honors and impressive times as a varsity T&F standout. He chose Texas Tech over 10 other offers from Baylor, Houston, Oregon State, Utah and others.
The size, length and athleticism make Collins a very intriguing addition for the Red Raiders. In the pass-happy Big 12 conference, give me all of the 6-foot-3 corners with elite T&F speed, please.
Industry rankings:
Rivals: 5.5 three-star rating
247: 87 rating (three-star), No. 102 overall prospect in Texas and No. 64 overall Cornerback prospect
On3: no rating
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TTU lands Baylor transfer DB
Baylor defensive back A.J. McCarty transferred to Texas Tech over the weekend, adding to a big recruiting weekend for the defensive backs room. In his third season at Baylor, McCarty started seeing action - playing in 13 games - after being a backup and special teams contributor for his first two seasons. He finished with 37 tackles, three pass breakups and an interception / pick six against your Red Raiders.
Originally from Brownwood, McCarty was a member of the 2020 recruiting class - rated a 5.4 two-star prospect - and chose Baylor over another offer from Tulsa.
Along with C.J. Baskerville and Bralyn Lux, McCarty is the third defensive back transfer and the coaches are infusing as much talent into the roster as possible going into this next season.
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TE target Joshua Smith's Top 7
Crandall tight end Joshua Smith is a newer target for the Texas Tech coaches, but the Red Raiders are trending in his recruitment since an official visit to campus this past month. The 6-foot-4, 215-pound prospect plays wideout and tight end for his high school team. Smith can go and is arguably one of the more intriguing under-the-radar prospects that Blanchard and Co. have identified.
He finished with 53 receptions for 771 yards and eight (8) touchdowns as a junior tihs past season.
The Red Raiders are competing with Oklahoma State, Louisiana Tech, Tulsa, UTSA, Toledo and UAB...I'm thinking this is a Texas Tech, Tulsa and Oklahoma State battle - my Futurecast is in for Smith to join the Texas Tech 2024 recruiting class.
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OG target Casey Poe's Top 7
Lindale offensive guard Casey Poe released his final/top 7 schools over the weekend, 'shutting down' his recruitment with plans to announce his commitment on IG Live next Wednesday, July 12th.
If you are reading this, then you are well aware of Poe's recruitment + his longtime ties to the Texas Tech coaching staff.
sure, Josh Cochran is the brother of his high school coach. sure, the coaches have been recruiting him for nearly two years and were in very early. sure, Poe has excellent things to say about Texas Tech after his 6-7 different visits to campus.
there are a lot of reasons why Texas Tech is listed in this Top 7 list of schools along with Clemson, LSU, Alabama, Georgia, Auburn and Oklahoma...
BUT - I do not think this is trending in the right direction for the Red Raiders...Poe is an incredibly talented, well-rounded young man who will always say the right thing - but the allure of playing at Alabama or Georgia or Clemson is just something that he has gravitated towards over the past month or so of official visits.
no Futurecast for me yet, but I would place a large wager on Alabama with Oklahoma as a longshot/darkhorse candidate.
it would be incredible for McGuire and Co. to land a prospect like Poe, and even Poe himself shares and retweets 'pro' Texas Tech items on social media and interacts with 2024 commitments...BUT I just don't believe that will be enough to secure his commitment in the end.
also, I'm far from any sort of technical creative guy, but this might be the worst graphic ever created...it looks like something the MNF crew produces for NFL games.
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a few 2023 recruiting addition superlatives
I have probably mentioned LB signee Justin Horne weekly since he signed with the Red Raiders, mainly because the standout athlete continues adding new accolades and this week he was named the Gatorade Athlete of the Year for Louisiana Boys Track & Field.
anyone reading this far already knows his background, but I'm very excited to see how this athleticism and speed translates to the field on Saturdays.
this is less of an accolade or superlative, but a nice note on transfer DB C.J. Baskerville and the Strength & Conditioning + Nutrition staff at Texas Tech.
the university has invested a lot of money into the Nutrition program, both the facilities and personnel, and the S&C staff is pushing these athletes to not only follow the nutrition plan but they are showing significant gains with these types of players who have only been on campus for a few months.
I was already excited to see what Baskerville's role will be this upcoming season, but if he plays safety at the weight of an OLB, then I'm even more intrigued.
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James Blanchard + Recruiting Team appreciation
we all work on teams, I work on the RRS team and without hiring @B. Golan then I would be up shit creek without a paddle...I work on a team at my corporate job and without my lovely assistant Sloane then I would be up shit creek without a paddle.
my point in saying that is this...McGuire interviewed with the Texas Tech leadership and came into the meeting with a very detailed plan, included in that plan was essentially - James Blanchard is coming with me and he is the secret sauce to recruiting success.
obviously I used the term team several times, it is not just McGuire and Blanchard...there are several others to mention, but looking at this from a high level, the Texas Tech recruiting operation has been completely rebuilt and completely turned around in less than two years.
I mean, look at the two 'top schools' examples above...this staff competes with the nation's best programs and they also unearth prospects with very high upside who blossom into very productive college players.
so without typing a ton more words, this is an appreciation post much like McGuire's tweet...because Blanchard's team just works and works, they outwork the competition and stay ahead of the curve.
as someone who has covered Texas Tech recruiting for a long time, it is a breath of fresh air to have a coaching staff all aligned and a coaching staff that truly believes in what they are selling at Texas Tech University.
look no further than the commitment stories from over the weekend, a very consistent quote or feedback from recruits is that "Texas Tech is building something with Coach McGuire" and the hype is real on the recruiting trail.
cheers to the recruiting staff, looks like they are having a ton of fun doing something they love...based on that updated video alone, I know that I love it 🥰
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Big 12 preseason rankings + all-Big 12 teams announced
let's start with Bradley and Hutchins, we were all expecting Hutchins with his outstanding season last year and high ratings across sites like PFF/etc...Bradley was a standout last season as well, but not necessarily a 'shoe in' for all conference.
I'm not a fan of preseason lists of any sort, re: Tyree Wilson not being first team last year...but it is significant when you view it from a progress for the program/team under Joey McGuire.
I believe there are some players who deserve that first team recoginition, but with the addition of Houston/UCF/BYU/Cincinnati, it changed the landscape of these lists a little bit.
in terms of the team being rated No. 4 overall in the conference vs. nearly dead last the previous year, I think that is the biggest indicator of what Coach McGuire is doing with the Texas Tech program. the roster and returning production are impressive, the schedule aligns with a great home schedule and a very real opportunity to vault into the national conversation with the OOC game against Oregon.
a lot of this relies on QB Tyler Shough, who I believe can be the conference's best quarterback with a healthy season...which is a big 'but' considering his injuries in the past few seasons. with Kittley calling the plays, Bradley on the outside and touted transfer WR Drae McCray, the Red Raiders will stretch the field against the competition this season. add veteran RB Tahj Brooks into that mix with a deeper OL group, and the excitement for what this offense can be is very real.
the defense returns a ton of starters and will have a talent infusion with several quality transfer additions. Coach McGuire famously said they are going to play defense in Lubbock, so that being said...we are all a little bruised and battered when it comes to 'truly' believing that before seeing that on the field.
BUT...the interior line is solid, the freshman/redshirt freshman contributors on the outside + the transfers (Linton + Cole) are being talked about as the next potential NFL Draft picks at rush end.
the linebacker position is unproven to an extent, the defensive backfield returns a ton of experience and a very intriguing group of freshman/redshirt freshman ready to contribute...not to mention a handful of transfer additions we mentioned above.
with enough scoring, I'm confident the defense can help turn the ball over and help keep the Red Raiders in any shootout type games that happen in Big 12 conference play.
man, writing all of that in the first week of July is very exciting, because that means football is right around the corner boys & girls...get those tickets and stay tuned to RRS for more preseason prep and analysis on this roster going into this 2023 campaign.
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Recruiting - Around the Big 12
we recapped a ton of new commitments in last week's Flare, and this week is no different...let's recap the week that was in the Big 12
*listed in current Big 12 rankings order, new programs now officially added to the Rivals rankings list
Texas Tech - 17 total commitments, No. 27 class in the nation
the Red Raiders have added nine (9) new 2024 commitments since the beginning of June through the holiday weekend
covered above, the TTU coaches added commitments from DB Ashton Hampton, ATH/DB Oliver Miles III, ATH/DB Peyton 'Cai' Morgan and DB Isaiah Collins this past week
Texas - 12 total commitments, No. 29 class in the nation
the Longhorns added four (4) new commitments over the holiday weekend
DT Alex January
DB Jordan Johnson-Rubell
WR Parker Livingstone
TE Jordan Washington
West Virginia - 18 total commitments, No. 31 class in the nation
the Mountaineers added two (2) new commitments over the holiday weekend
RB Diore Hubbard
WR Jay'Quan Bostic
Oklahoma - 11 total commitments, No. 39 class in the nation
the Sooners added a commitment from former Texas Tech WR commitment Ivan Carreon last Friday...🙄
Kansas - 15 total commitments, No. 41 class in the nation
the Jayhawks added two (2) new commitments over the holiday weekend
DE Deshawn Warner
LB Dakyus Brinkley
Cincinnati - 18 total commitments, No. 42 class in the nation
the Bearcats added three (3) new commitments over the holiday weekend
QB Samaj Jones
DB Jiquan Sanks
DE Marquaze Parker
UCF - 11 total commitments, No. 47 class in the nation
the Golden Knights added five (5) new commitments over the holiday weekend
DB Jashad Presley
OL Waltclaire Flynn
LB Ja'Qualin Birdsong
TE Kylan Fox
DB Jakob Gude
Iowa State - 15 total commitments, No. 48 class in the nation
the Cyclones did not add any new commitments this past week
Oklahoma State - 13 total commitments, No. 50 class in the nation
the Cowboys added two (2) new commitments over the holiday weekend
DE Temerrick Johnson
LB Jonathan Agumad
Baylor - 12 total commitments, No. 53 class in the nation
the Bears added one (1) new commitment over the holiday weekend
DE Alex Foster
TCU - 10 total commitments, No. 55 class in the nation
the Horned Frogs did not add any new commitments this past week
Houston - seven (7) total commitments, No. 79 class in the nation
the Cougars did not add any new commitments this past week
Kansas State - seven (7) total commitments, No. 80 class in the nation
the Wildcats did not add any new commitments this past week
BYU - eight (8) total commitments, No. 87 class in the nation
the Cougars added one (1) new commitment over the holiday weekend
ATH Carson Su'esu'e
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have a great weekend everyone!
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