your Red Raiders finished the season with a three (3) game winning streak, a 7-5 record and will go bowling for the second season in a row
it is Friday, let's Flare...
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WEEKLY CLICKS
...a quick list of links from the various stories posted on RRS this week
Soliz: McGuire-era off to good start following 7-5 season
McGuire wraps wild overtime win, first over Sooners in a decade
RRS TV: Holton Hendrix is a Red Raider
Visitor reactions to Texas Tech's shootout win over OU
Grading the Red Raiders: The QB Hunters go off vs the Sooners
Assessing the Texas Tech Basketball Ahead of Georgetown
Red Raiders host Georgetown in Big East-Big 12 Battle
Adams Preaching Aggressiveness for Tyson, Red Raiders against Hoyas
Texas Tech commits and targets tracker: Week Fourteen
Ron Bailey of HoyaReport chats Georgetown ahead of tonight's matchup
Tyson's new-found aggressiveness shines in 79-65 win over Georgetown
All-Freshman team highlights young talent around the Big 12
Tracking Red Raiders: Polk's Big Day in Apple Cup
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TTU RECRUITING THIS WEEK
a pair of West Texas 2024 prospects commit this week, a couple of new 2024 offers and another transfer offer
Lubbock Cooper four-star offensive tackle Holton Hendrix announced his commitment to the Red Raiders last Sunday, video interview linked above. A win against conference rivals Baylor and Kansas, but the 6-foot-4, 270-pound junior will undoubtedly continue adding offers with over a year left until the 2024 signing period next December.
Odessa three-star wide receiver Ivan Carreon announed his commitment to the Red Raiders yesterday, full interview incoming. The 6-foot-6, 195-pound prospect chose Texas Tech over offers from Southeast Missouri State and Texas State. He finished with 51 receptions, 1,168 yards and 21 total touchdowns this season.
with these two (2) new additions this week, the Texas Tech 2024 recruiting class now lists five (5) total commitments and is ranked as the No. 10 overall class in the nation
Texas Tech was the first program to offer Richardson Pearce 2024 tight end Jewlyen Thomas-Roberts this week. The 6-foot-5, 235-pound prospect had 19 receptions for 238 yards and a touchdown this season.
Texas Tech was the second program to offer Lewisville 2024 corner Tony-Louis Nkuba this week. The 6-foot-1, 165-pound prospect also holds an offer from Austin-Peay. Nkuba is a standout on the track as well, finishing with a 11.52 in the 100m and 23.48 in the 200m as a sophomore last year.
the transfer portal is very busy, more on that later, but there might not be a busier portal prospect than Austin Peay wide receiver transfer Drae McCray
he announced his transfer on Wednesday and has since announced 16 new offers. Texas Tech was the first offer and there are obvious ties to both Josh Cochran and Kirk Bryant, but he added offers from West Virginia, Louisville, Marshall, Georgia Southern, Montana State, Tulane, Troy, Arkansas State, Maryland, Colorado State, Indiana, Memphis, Virginia Tech, Oregon and Colorado.
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2023 - WHAT IS LEFT?
the Texas Tech coaches will hit the road and begin in-home visits with 2023 commitments and remaining targets this week.
with 25 total commitments and the No. 18 overall rated class in the nation, there is not much left but the coaches do have options going into the early signing period.
Frisco Reedy wide receiver Kaleb Smith made it official yesterday and committed to Notre Dame...this subject has been discussed enough, but put briefly - the coaches can find receivers much easier than offensive or defensive linemen, the 'sting factor' is low and this opens a spot for the coaches to use elsewhere
enter John Curtis (Louisiana) outside linebacker Justin Horne, a UL-Lafayette commitment and longtime target for the Texas Tech coaches. the coaches are expected to visit the three-star prospect for an in-home visit this weekend, then Horne is expected to officially visit Lubbock sometime soon. this activity usually indicates mutual interest and a potential flip/commitment, but time will tell on this one.
WR Aiden Meeks - another speedy, do-it-all receiver and a TTU legacy...does he get another look from the coaches?
CB Jayvon Thomas - the longtime Texas A&M commitment is taking an official visit to Texas Tech, TCU and Texas A&M before signing day...maybe a longshot, but an opportunity
RB A.J. Newberry - the longtime Colorado commitment is listed at running back, but the Red Raiders would look at him as a defensive back at the college level...no offer, but potential for an in-home visit this next week
there will certainly be more names that emerge as options or prospects the coaches meet with, but that holds true for a handful of Texas Tech commitments.
guys like Macho Stevenson and Jordan Sanford have a handful of programs coming after them, so official visits or in-home visits would not surprise me. the odds of them flipping are low at the moment, but these are examples and with signing day only a few weeks away it's time to buckle up.
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RIVALS PORTAL IS LIVE
first thing is first, unless you have been living under a rock this week, the transfer portal and players announcing their intention to transfer is bananas this week
@B. Golan has an already 10-page thread with daily updates on transfers to consolidate updates, check it out
the Rivals National team has created an entire page and team around tracking the transfer portal and providing rankings to the process...
Rivals Transfer Tracker
Rivals Transfer Portal - Main Page
Rivals Transfer Portal - Message Board
these are new features for Rivals and we are all still learning, but we will continue to cover potential transfer targets here at RRS and you will see much more content from the national team as the transfer portal officially opens on Dec. 5th
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BIG 12 POWER RANKINGS
the TCU Horned Frogs have won the regular season Big 12 title, finishing 12-0 on the season...the collective 'we' here at RedRaiderSports do not care for the purple team in Fort Worth, but undefeated is undefeated and hate or no hate, that is a significant achievement and something Tech fans would like to accomplish - still gross
Big 12 Championship Prediction - TCU 31 KSU 27
1. TCU (12-0)
The No. 3 Horned Frogs finished the season undefeated and it was not always pretty, but they did it and have been living in the college football spotlight for months. They enter the Big 12 Championship weekend with an opportunity to win or possibly lose close and still make the college football playoff. Sonny Dykes' team is a slight favorite against Kansas State this weekend, but it should be a good game with a lot on the line.
2. Kansas State (9-3)
The No. 10 Wildcats were a preseason darling to win the Big 12 Conference and a lot of people laughed or mocked those predictions. It wasn't always easy for K-State, but the Wildcats bounced back from a handful of losses and injury issues at the quarterback position to finish the season strong. Now this K-State team has a spot in the Big 12 Championship game and a very real shot to win the conference against TCU, a team they were up 28-17 at halftime on the road in Fort Worth...only to go scoreless in the second half to lose 38-28 in the first meeting earlier this season.
3. Texas (8-4)
The No. 20 Longhorns had another average season with many highs and lows, including a close loss at home to Alabama and an overtime loss on the road to your Red Raiders. They also shutout Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry in a big win 49-0, but then lost on the road to a very average Oklahoma State team a few weeks later. Sark was supposed to have found QB Jesus with Quinn Ewers, but Ewers' inexperience at the college level showed a few times this season. All of that being said, if Sark and his staff can add the right pieces, it feels like Texas could be on the right track to building success going into next season.
4. Texas Tech (7-5)
The Red Raiders closed the season on a three (3) game winning streak and a 5-4 conference record, the program's first winning conference record in several years. Things feel much different under new head coach Joey McGuire, both on and off the field. We covered recruiting earlier, it does not seem to ever stop and we expect that to hold true when it comes to the transfer portal as well. This is the type of season McGuire and the Red Raiders can build serious momentum upon. Things are far from perfect and the off-season will present its own challenges, but the Texas Tech program was predicted to finish 9th in the conference and finished 4th overall...whammy.
5. Oklahoma State (7-5)
The Cowboys were probably the most confusing team to cover or follow this season. The first half of the season they sat atop of these rankings, then only moved to No. 2 after an overtime loss to TCU and things just fell apart in the back half of the conference schedule. They finished the season 2-4 and had injury issues, but lost to some inferior teams and played poorly in the second half of the season. Gundy and his program seem to only reload, so this isn't a funeral for Oklahoma State, I expect them to come back strong in 2023.
6. Baylor (6-6)
The Bears had high expectations coming off another Big 12 Championship season. Dave Aranda was a hot name on the coaching carousel, but ultimately signed an extension at Baylor and everything was good in Waco. Fast forward to this season, Blake Shapen was supposed to be 'the guy' at quarterback and did not necessarily live up to that billing this season. The Baylor defense played very poorly in conference play, giving up 30+ points per game and it was announced they parted ways with defensive coordinator Ron Roberts yesterday. That is two coordinators gone in the span of 2-3 years under Dave Aranda, which doesn't even account for losing Joey McGuire and several staffers to Texas Tech. I'm sure Aranda and Baylor will reload, but there is legitimate cause for concern for Bears fans going into next season.
7. Oklahoma (6-6)
The Sooners lost every one-score game they played in this season. In a year of massive change for the Oklahoma program, a 6-6 season is the last thing Sooner fans expected. The season ended in another dissapointing conference loss, an overtime thriller against your Red Raiders. Much like the Cowboys, Oklahoma lost to programs they had no business losing to. This is a program and a roster with 40+ former four and five star prospects...something just did not come together under Brent Venables and his staff. That being said, I'm very confident they are recruiting at an elite level and can build momentum, continue to build the roster under Venables in year two...but it was a very underwhelming season for the Sooners, all things considered.
8. Kansas (6-6)
The Jayhawks started the season 5-0 and hosted College Gameday against TCU, they were a media darling and Lance Leiphold was applauded as one of the best new coaches in the country. Leiphold was named as a top target for both Nebraska and Wisconsin, obviously neither happened and he signed a long term extension to stay at Kansas. The fall from 5-0 to 6-6 is not great, but it is great when you are Kansas and you retain the coach responsible for the turnaround. A few injuries and a few bounces change, and this season looks different for the Jayhawks. I expect them to continue to improve going into next season and compete in the Big 12 Conference.
9. West Virginia (5-7)
The Mountaineers were very inconsistent this season, but they did rebound and win a few games they had no business winning. With a new AD hired this week, there were reports that Neil Brown is safe for another season, but always expect the unexpected. They beat Baylor, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State...and still finished 5-7 and lost six (6) other conference games. It was a weird season for West Virginia, but they can reload and climb the ladder in the Big 12 Conference next season.
10. Iowa State (4-8)
The shine is certainly off the Cyclones and Matt Campbell after a 4-8 season with a 1-8 conference record. The defense was good, often very good, but as a team the Cyclones just did not put together a complete game throughout the season and mistakes led to a very dissapointing season in Aimes. It seems like they identify talent very well on the recruiting trail and they develop, so that can take time, but Campbell and his staff have to address the offense going into next season in order to compete in the Big 12 Conference next season.
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have a great weekend everyone!
