RedRaiderSports.com can now confirm that four-star wide receiver Eric Ward is currently enrolled in and attending classes at Texas Tech; he will sign a National Letter of Intent with the Red Raiders on February 4th and will be able to participate in spring football practices.
We initially held off breaking the news at Ward's request, but a couple of Wichita Falls television stations reported it in their evening newscast tonight and it's going to be hitting the web here pretty quick.
The Rider prospect originally committed to Oklahoma on March 30, 2008, and throughout the season he never gave much indication that he was having second thoughts. In October, after a report incorrectly linked Texas Tech with Rider quarterback Shavodrick Beaver, we reported that it was actually Ward that was still being courted.
"Tech," he answered in mid-October when asked if any other schools had been talking to him. "I've been talking to Texas Tech a little bit. They run our offense and obviously they throw it around a lot, so that's nice. I might take them into consideration - and they're the only other school I might consider - I don't know, it's a long time until I sign, so I don't know for sure. It might change, but for now I'm committed to OU."
During that same conversation, Ward said that one of his biggest goals was to start and be an example to kids in his community.
"I want to start," he explained. "That's my goal, and where I come from, people don't believe in goals. I am going to be the first person from my community to go to college, and it's a big deal. I come from a very impoverished area, and I want to give the kids in my community hope that you can be anyone you want to be, and you don't need drugs or violence to get there. I want to show them that you can get an education and that you can achieve any goal you're willing to earn. I want to show them that the sky's the limit and let them know that if I can make it, and I was in their shoes once, that maybe they can to.
"[Michael Crabtree] made it big time and now I know those kids listen to him when he goes back [to Dallas]. If he says not to do drugs, they'll listen to him - I mean, that's an All-American, Bilitnekoff Award winner right there telling you to dream big. You think they might listen? That same opportunity is a big thing to me and if I thought I would have that same chance, then I would say that would play a role in my decision."
In December, word started swirling that Ward was not only thinking about switching to Texas Tech, but he had already done so. While we heard the same thing from sources within the Rivals.com network, this rumor died down fairly quickly as he began to publicly reaffirm his commitment to Oklahoma.
Persuading the wideout to decommit from the Sooners in favor of the Red Raiders this late in the game has to be regarded as one of the program's biggest recruiting coups of the Mike Leach era, and much of the credit should go to Texas Tech special teams coach Clay McGuire, who stayed in contact with Ward throughout the process. You may recall that McGuire is also the primary recruiter for Abilene (TX) Cooper defensive back and Texas Tech commit Will Ford, who was also verbaled to Oklahoma at one point.
UPDATE: We can confirm that Ward is in a Texas Tech classroom right now.
This post was edited on 1/13 8:46 AM by A. Dickens
Eric Ward
We initially held off breaking the news at Ward's request, but a couple of Wichita Falls television stations reported it in their evening newscast tonight and it's going to be hitting the web here pretty quick.
The Rider prospect originally committed to Oklahoma on March 30, 2008, and throughout the season he never gave much indication that he was having second thoughts. In October, after a report incorrectly linked Texas Tech with Rider quarterback Shavodrick Beaver, we reported that it was actually Ward that was still being courted.
"Tech," he answered in mid-October when asked if any other schools had been talking to him. "I've been talking to Texas Tech a little bit. They run our offense and obviously they throw it around a lot, so that's nice. I might take them into consideration - and they're the only other school I might consider - I don't know, it's a long time until I sign, so I don't know for sure. It might change, but for now I'm committed to OU."
During that same conversation, Ward said that one of his biggest goals was to start and be an example to kids in his community.
"I want to start," he explained. "That's my goal, and where I come from, people don't believe in goals. I am going to be the first person from my community to go to college, and it's a big deal. I come from a very impoverished area, and I want to give the kids in my community hope that you can be anyone you want to be, and you don't need drugs or violence to get there. I want to show them that you can get an education and that you can achieve any goal you're willing to earn. I want to show them that the sky's the limit and let them know that if I can make it, and I was in their shoes once, that maybe they can to.
"[Michael Crabtree] made it big time and now I know those kids listen to him when he goes back [to Dallas]. If he says not to do drugs, they'll listen to him - I mean, that's an All-American, Bilitnekoff Award winner right there telling you to dream big. You think they might listen? That same opportunity is a big thing to me and if I thought I would have that same chance, then I would say that would play a role in my decision."
In December, word started swirling that Ward was not only thinking about switching to Texas Tech, but he had already done so. While we heard the same thing from sources within the Rivals.com network, this rumor died down fairly quickly as he began to publicly reaffirm his commitment to Oklahoma.
Persuading the wideout to decommit from the Sooners in favor of the Red Raiders this late in the game has to be regarded as one of the program's biggest recruiting coups of the Mike Leach era, and much of the credit should go to Texas Tech special teams coach Clay McGuire, who stayed in contact with Ward throughout the process. You may recall that McGuire is also the primary recruiter for Abilene (TX) Cooper defensive back and Texas Tech commit Will Ford, who was also verbaled to Oklahoma at one point.
UPDATE: We can confirm that Ward is in a Texas Tech classroom right now.
This post was edited on 1/13 8:46 AM by A. Dickens
Eric Ward
