The Red Raider Confidential is sponsored by Cardinal's Sports Center. If you need Texas Tech gear or Under Armour apparel, the best place to go in our opinion is Cardinal's -- they have a tremendous location in Lubbock (Slide and S. Loop 289), a store in Plano and a fantastic selection on their website.
If you're in the Lubbock area and looking to get into shape, but don't know where to start, check out the website for Cardinal's Fitness. You can sign up for individual classes -- no contract or membership required -- that are good for people at any fitness level.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tyler (Texas) Lee athlete Zach Hall currently holds offers from Texas Tech and Baylor, and the standout prospect is planning to see each campus this summer. He's been keeping up with the Red Raiders regularly, and he's ready to make it out to Lubbock.
“I connect with Coach Haverty from Texas Tech on a weekly basis,” Hall said. “I actually have a visit setup with my coach to Texas Tech next month. I’m looking forward to seeing the campus and spending time around the coaches."
And, while he may be playing QB right now at Tyler Lee, Tech is looking at him as a wideout.
“I play quarterback for my high school, but the Texas Tech coaches talked with me about playing receiver at the next level. The position that I play doesn’t really matter that much to me. I just want to compete and join a good program in college.”
The 5-foot-11, 170-pound prospect also plans to visit Baylor next week and continues to receive interest from coaches at SMU, Missouri and TCU.
“I don’t have a favorite between Tech and Baylor right now,” Hall said. “I have to visit each program and learn more before saying that. The Texas Tech coaches recruit me harder and stay in touch with me more often, but I also know that Baylor has the better team at the moment. I want to spend time around both coaching staffs and see each campus before seeing which one I like better.”
Rated a four-star prospect, Hall is the number 46 athlete in the nation and the number 72 player on the Rivals Texas Spring Top 100 for the 2016 class.
-Clare
-----
Dallas (Texas) Parish Episcopal School defensive tackle Douglas Tucker holds eight FBS offers, and several other programs are beginning to show interest, including Texas Tech.
“Coach (Matt) Brock checked in with me during the spring,” Tucker said. “I also camped with Texas Tech at their camp here in Lancaster. Coach Brock and the other coaches want to watch me into my senior season, but told me to keep working on my first step off the line."
“Some schools see me playing defensive tackle and some see me playing offensive line. The Texas Tech coaches see me playing offensive line. My high school head coach even thinks that I should play offensive line in college. I’m open to playing either position really. I like playing defense and getting after it on the defensive line, but right now UTSA is the only school really recruiting me at defensive tackle.”
Along with the interest from the Texas Tech coaches, Tucker is also hearing from Texas A&M, LSU, Houston, Baylor, Nebraska and Arkansas.
The six-foot-four, 300-pound prospect would like to make a decision before his senior season and mentioned that San Diego State, Nevada and UTSA were all programs standing out to him at the moment.
-Clare
-----
Denton (Texas) Ryan defensive tackle Ken McLaurin currently holds six offers and received a lot of interest from new programs this spring, including interest from the Texas Tech coaches.
“Things are going really good lately, I have a lot of schools that are really close to offering,” McLaurin said. “Coach (Matt) Brock and Texas Tech are close. I didn’t get to camp with them this spring, but I’m working with the coaches to find a date to visit next month."
As for a position, the Red Raiders like him as a 3-Tech on the D-line.
“They see me playing the three technique tackle position on the defensive line and the coaches have several seniors graduating after this season. I’m hoping once all of the coaches get to see me in person, then the offer might come through, but the coaches might need to watch me play my senior season.”
The six-foot-four, 275-pound prospect wants to try and make a decision before his senior season and does have a handful of programs standing out at the moment.
“Right now, I would say that my top choices are Illinois, Colorado State, Texas State and Nevada,” McLaurin said. “I’m still talking with several other schools that are showing interest, but those are schools that have offered and keep in regular contact with me.”
-Clare
-----
Newton (Texas) inside linebacker Tanner Holmes is another East Texas prospect the Texas Tech coaches are keeping tabs on.
“Coach Haverty and I have been in touch for 2-3 months now,” Holmes said. “We just connect every now and then, over the phone and online. I was actually going to head up to Lubbock this weekend, but the coaches are all on vacation and Coach Haverty didn’t want me to make the trip if only a few coaches could host me.
“We are going to look at a couple of other dates and I will probably take a visit out there sometime next month.”
The six-foot-three, 210-pound prospect currently holds offers from Central Arkansas and McNeese State, but several programs are beginning to notice the standout linebacker lately.
“I just finished up visits to both Texas A&M and UTSA,” Holmes said. “This spring, coaches from Texas State, Louisiana Tech, Kansas and a few others stopped by the school to watch our practices. I also camped with Louisiana Tech, Texas State and Louisiana-Lafayette.”
Rated a two-star prospect, Holmes was named the District 11-3A Defensive MVP and earned 3A First-Team All State Defense honors this past season.
-Clare
-----
Dallas (Texas) Willmer-Hutchins safety DeMarkus Acy is a prospect that's clearly in Tech's crosshairs. A long, rangy safety, Acy feels things have slowed down on the recruiting trail, but there's a group of schools he talks to on a consistent basis right now.
"Everything has died down a bit now since Texas offered, so I'm really just trying to narrow down my options, trying to figure out which school is best for me," he said. "The schools I'm talking to the most right now are Texas, Tech, SMU, and Oklahoma. We all talk a lot."
Acy stopped by the Red Raiders' Lancaster camp in south Dallas earlier this month, and he let me know then that he was very, very interested in Tech. That's still the case, and there are several things about the program that have caught his eye.
"Tech's up there right now. They're actually in my top three right now. I have my top three, and then my top six, and Tech is definitely in my top three. I like their coaches. Coach Kingsbury, I've actually been in contact with him not long ago, and I like the coaches up there. They're real cool. They also have the most commits right now in the class of 2016 around here, so that really opened my eyes."
The coach he's been talking with the most on Tech's staff is cornerbacks coach Kevin Curtis, and the DB feels great about their relationship.
"Coach Curtis, he texts me every morning, and gives me motivation, and our relationship is quite strong right now. He's a really cool dude," said Acy. "He came by the school on February, and ever since then, they've been in really heavy contact."
As Acy said earlier in the interview, he currently has a top three, which the Red Raiders are clearly in. In fact, he has both a top three and top six right now.
"Tech, Texas, and Oklahoma. The remaining three in my top six are Kansas, Kansas State, and SMU," said the DB. "I know for sure that I want to make a decision before the season starts so I can get that out of the way. I don't know about a date, but definitely before the season starts."
Before he makes a decision, Acy may take a few visits in July, but he hasn't set anything up yet.
-McKay
If you're in the Lubbock area and looking to get into shape, but don't know where to start, check out the website for Cardinal's Fitness. You can sign up for individual classes -- no contract or membership required -- that are good for people at any fitness level.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tyler (Texas) Lee athlete Zach Hall currently holds offers from Texas Tech and Baylor, and the standout prospect is planning to see each campus this summer. He's been keeping up with the Red Raiders regularly, and he's ready to make it out to Lubbock.
“I connect with Coach Haverty from Texas Tech on a weekly basis,” Hall said. “I actually have a visit setup with my coach to Texas Tech next month. I’m looking forward to seeing the campus and spending time around the coaches."
And, while he may be playing QB right now at Tyler Lee, Tech is looking at him as a wideout.
“I play quarterback for my high school, but the Texas Tech coaches talked with me about playing receiver at the next level. The position that I play doesn’t really matter that much to me. I just want to compete and join a good program in college.”
The 5-foot-11, 170-pound prospect also plans to visit Baylor next week and continues to receive interest from coaches at SMU, Missouri and TCU.
“I don’t have a favorite between Tech and Baylor right now,” Hall said. “I have to visit each program and learn more before saying that. The Texas Tech coaches recruit me harder and stay in touch with me more often, but I also know that Baylor has the better team at the moment. I want to spend time around both coaching staffs and see each campus before seeing which one I like better.”
Rated a four-star prospect, Hall is the number 46 athlete in the nation and the number 72 player on the Rivals Texas Spring Top 100 for the 2016 class.
-Clare
-----
Dallas (Texas) Parish Episcopal School defensive tackle Douglas Tucker holds eight FBS offers, and several other programs are beginning to show interest, including Texas Tech.
“Coach (Matt) Brock checked in with me during the spring,” Tucker said. “I also camped with Texas Tech at their camp here in Lancaster. Coach Brock and the other coaches want to watch me into my senior season, but told me to keep working on my first step off the line."
“Some schools see me playing defensive tackle and some see me playing offensive line. The Texas Tech coaches see me playing offensive line. My high school head coach even thinks that I should play offensive line in college. I’m open to playing either position really. I like playing defense and getting after it on the defensive line, but right now UTSA is the only school really recruiting me at defensive tackle.”
Along with the interest from the Texas Tech coaches, Tucker is also hearing from Texas A&M, LSU, Houston, Baylor, Nebraska and Arkansas.
The six-foot-four, 300-pound prospect would like to make a decision before his senior season and mentioned that San Diego State, Nevada and UTSA were all programs standing out to him at the moment.
-Clare
-----
Denton (Texas) Ryan defensive tackle Ken McLaurin currently holds six offers and received a lot of interest from new programs this spring, including interest from the Texas Tech coaches.
“Things are going really good lately, I have a lot of schools that are really close to offering,” McLaurin said. “Coach (Matt) Brock and Texas Tech are close. I didn’t get to camp with them this spring, but I’m working with the coaches to find a date to visit next month."
As for a position, the Red Raiders like him as a 3-Tech on the D-line.
“They see me playing the three technique tackle position on the defensive line and the coaches have several seniors graduating after this season. I’m hoping once all of the coaches get to see me in person, then the offer might come through, but the coaches might need to watch me play my senior season.”
The six-foot-four, 275-pound prospect wants to try and make a decision before his senior season and does have a handful of programs standing out at the moment.
“Right now, I would say that my top choices are Illinois, Colorado State, Texas State and Nevada,” McLaurin said. “I’m still talking with several other schools that are showing interest, but those are schools that have offered and keep in regular contact with me.”
-Clare
-----
Newton (Texas) inside linebacker Tanner Holmes is another East Texas prospect the Texas Tech coaches are keeping tabs on.
“Coach Haverty and I have been in touch for 2-3 months now,” Holmes said. “We just connect every now and then, over the phone and online. I was actually going to head up to Lubbock this weekend, but the coaches are all on vacation and Coach Haverty didn’t want me to make the trip if only a few coaches could host me.
“We are going to look at a couple of other dates and I will probably take a visit out there sometime next month.”
The six-foot-three, 210-pound prospect currently holds offers from Central Arkansas and McNeese State, but several programs are beginning to notice the standout linebacker lately.
“I just finished up visits to both Texas A&M and UTSA,” Holmes said. “This spring, coaches from Texas State, Louisiana Tech, Kansas and a few others stopped by the school to watch our practices. I also camped with Louisiana Tech, Texas State and Louisiana-Lafayette.”
Rated a two-star prospect, Holmes was named the District 11-3A Defensive MVP and earned 3A First-Team All State Defense honors this past season.
-Clare
-----
Dallas (Texas) Willmer-Hutchins safety DeMarkus Acy is a prospect that's clearly in Tech's crosshairs. A long, rangy safety, Acy feels things have slowed down on the recruiting trail, but there's a group of schools he talks to on a consistent basis right now.
"Everything has died down a bit now since Texas offered, so I'm really just trying to narrow down my options, trying to figure out which school is best for me," he said. "The schools I'm talking to the most right now are Texas, Tech, SMU, and Oklahoma. We all talk a lot."
Acy stopped by the Red Raiders' Lancaster camp in south Dallas earlier this month, and he let me know then that he was very, very interested in Tech. That's still the case, and there are several things about the program that have caught his eye.
"Tech's up there right now. They're actually in my top three right now. I have my top three, and then my top six, and Tech is definitely in my top three. I like their coaches. Coach Kingsbury, I've actually been in contact with him not long ago, and I like the coaches up there. They're real cool. They also have the most commits right now in the class of 2016 around here, so that really opened my eyes."
The coach he's been talking with the most on Tech's staff is cornerbacks coach Kevin Curtis, and the DB feels great about their relationship.
"Coach Curtis, he texts me every morning, and gives me motivation, and our relationship is quite strong right now. He's a really cool dude," said Acy. "He came by the school on February, and ever since then, they've been in really heavy contact."
As Acy said earlier in the interview, he currently has a top three, which the Red Raiders are clearly in. In fact, he has both a top three and top six right now.
"Tech, Texas, and Oklahoma. The remaining three in my top six are Kansas, Kansas State, and SMU," said the DB. "I know for sure that I want to make a decision before the season starts so I can get that out of the way. I don't know about a date, but definitely before the season starts."
Before he makes a decision, Acy may take a few visits in July, but he hasn't set anything up yet.
-McKay
