there was a lot going on around Raider Land this week, let's recap it all.
it's Friday, let's Flare...
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WEEKLY LINKS
Tech set to host Oklahoma State in senior night shootout
Long-ball bites Red Raiders as ten-game win streak ends against Rice
Red Raiders bounce back in Houston with 10-7 win over Wolverines
Daniel Batcho warming up ahead of matchup with Oklahoma State
Apodaca: Oklahoma State's three-point barrage drops Tech on senior night
Mark Adams speaks on loss to Oklahoma State
TTU Junior Day - Social Slant
Ramirez: Lack of control doomed Tech against Oklahoma State
TTU Junior Day - Visitor Reactions
Texas tech announces suspension of Mark Adams
Red Raiders fall in marathon to Texas A&M, 4-2
Empyting the Notebook: Looking back at the weekend in Houston
Hammond recaps Junior Day experience
Tech looks to run the table at Big 12 Tournament
Williams, Obanor speak to media ahead of Big 12 Tournament
Red Raiders top Lobos in mid-week meeting, 6-3
Tadlock talks injuries, gives insight on program after win over Lobos
Ramirez: Red Raiders' season ends in depressing fashion
Texas Tech's season comes to a close against West Virginia, 78-62
Williams reflects on West Virginia, week so far after loss to Mountaineers
Adams steps down as coach of Texas Tech MBB
Texas Tech welcomes red-hot No. 23 Ioa for non-conference weekend set
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TTU RECRUITING THIS WEEK
there were a handful of new offers and a ton of unofficial visitors for the program's Junior Day last weekend
new offers
Texas Tech offered Lancaster offensive tackle Tobias Steppes this week. The 6-foot-6, 256-pound standout is currently unranked and now holds two (2) offers from Texas Tech and Louisiana Monroe with interest from coaches at TCU, Texas State, Nebraska, SFA and Baylor. He received the offer during his visit to campus this past weekend and has plans to officially visit again this June.
Texas Tech offered Southlake Carroll kicker Kyle Lemmermann this week. The 6-foot-2, 195-pound standout is considered one of the top specialist in the country and now holds three (3) offers from Texas Tech, TCU and UTSA. He received the offer during his visit to campus this past weekend and has plans to officially visit again this June.
Texas Tech offered South Oak Cliff tight end Trey Jackson this week. The 6-foot-6, 210-pound standout is currently unranked and now holds eight (8) offers from Texas Tech, Arkansas State, North Texas, Jackson State, Rice, Illinois State, UTSA and Texas State. He received the offer during his visit to campus this past weekend and has plans to officially visit again this June. Jackson is also a standout on the varsity basketball team at SOC.
Texas Tech offered San Antonio O'Connor offensive guard Briley Brown this week. The 6-foot-4, 270-pound standout is currently unranked and now holds three (3) offers from Texas Tech, Incarnate Word and UTSA. He received the offer during his visit to campus this past weekend, and Brown is the younger brother of former Red Raider offensive lineman Baylen Brown.
Texas Tech was the first program to offer Denton offensive tackle Hayden Gunter this week. The 6-foot-8, 255-pound standout is currently unranked and is the Center on the varsity basketball team at Denton along with playing AAU basketball in the off-season.
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Junior Day recap/thoughts
anyone reading this knows the coaches hosted dozens of recruits on campus this past weekend for the program's first Junior Day event of the 2024 recruiting cycle.
it hasn't been a full week yet, but there have not been any immediate commitments from the event. we have posted over the past week that most of what we are hearing is that things went very well with the program's top targets in town.
the coaches always want commitments, however, it sounds like there could be a few commitments later this month and the real move or additions to watch in this 2024 class appears to be in June. a majority of the 2024 visitors in town mentioned a return visit for an official visit on June 9th, commits and top targets included.
that being said, the new OL offers are clearly part of a strategy for these coaches...guys like Steppes, Brown and Gunter - all listed above - have very few offers if any comparable offers to Texas Tech right now. the offers thing can change in a day or two, but overall this is an example of the coaches looking at a position group of strength with commits from Hendrix and Long, and now they are leveraging a handful of new offers to 'hedge' the other offers at the position group.
when it comes to the 'big names' in town, everyone is asking about Micah Hudson and we will be figuring out a way to interview him soon...it isn't easy, most of the interviews you see are guys driving to his high school - so that might be the play
between Hudson, Selman Bridges, Nigel Smith, Keonde Henry and Loghan Thomas - the coaches had some major talent on campus and they were able to make a big impression on the talent who traveled to Lubbock
those are just a few we weren't able to reach for comment yet, but there were also guys like Kedren Young, Travis Jackson, Braylon Conley, Cai Morgan and Ashton Bethel-Roman who loved the visit and already confirmed a return visit for the official in June - visitor reactions
if you can get these types on campus for an official visit later this summer, then watch out...hard to count out McGuire and his staff when it comes to these targets until it is over
it might be a bummer to read - re: more movement/commitments coming in June, over two (2) months from now - but the coaches are working with a smaller class in 2024 and will be selective on which commitments they take with limited spots
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Under Armour Camp Dallas this weekend
the good to great news is that the first major camp of the off-season is this weekend in Dallas...the UA Camp is this Sunday at Arlington Martin and several of the regions top talents will compete and I will have the opportunity speak with several Texas Tech commitments and targets in attendance.
I expect to get a lot more detailed feedback from some of the uncommitted targets who visited for the Junior Day last weekend, so something to watch for this Sunday evening and early next week.
From the 2024 commitment list - QB Will Hammond, OL Holton Hendrix, OL Kasen Long and ATH Lorenzo Johnson Jr. will be competing at the camp this weekend
From the 2024 targets list + visited last weekend - WR Ashton Bethel-Roman, DB Selman Bridges, WR Keonde Henry, DE Travis Jackson, OLB Cheta Ofili, TE Jewlyen Roberts, WR Britain Simmons, DE Nigel Smith, OL Tobias Steppes, DB Kris Wokomah
From the 2024 targets list - DE Charles Anderson Jr., LB Dakyus Brinkley, WR Terry Bussey, DE Chima Chineke, DB Aaron Flowers, WR Elijah Green, WR Vosky Howard, DB Tony Louis-Nkuba, DE Edward Smith
there are also a ton of underclassmen attending the event with offers and interest from the Red Raiders, so we will have a ton of content to read through over the next week on RRS
for me, these camps are way less about how kids block or compete in shorts & t-shirts and way more about the banter, conversations with other recruiting analysts and the direct feedback from prospects answering questions live vs. over the phone/direct messages...just way more genuine reponses and detail, IMHO
I'm personally excited to watch Hammond throw live and get some video of his performance, plus compare his makeup/arm strength/accuracy against guys like Marcus Davila (Purdue), Michael Hawkins Jr. (4-star), Hauss Hejny (Duke), DJ Lagway (Florida), Mabrey Mettauer (Wisconsin), Trey Owens (Texas) and other QBs in attendance
sticking with the commitments, guys like Holton Hendrix and Kasen Long have the opportunity to come into the 'big' city and compete against the other very talented big uglies from across the region...some stops against guys like Nigel Smith and others in attendance could be huge for these two
there will be dozens of other reporters in attendance as well, so I'm mostly interested in the genuine feedback from each prospect / target in the mix for Texas Tech...see who is really interested and who says they 'love' Coach McGuire as an easy answer
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West Texas Camp (cont.)
last week I posted about how Rivals Regional Analyst Nick Harris was in Lubbock for a camp and how we would get with him for more detail...then he posted a story a few hours later last Friday recapping the camp and some of the underclassmen standouts in the region that I had alluded to
overall, it is a pretty solid list of prospects and it appears the talent in West Texas is there for the taking over the next few years
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some Top 10 lists with TTU included
Flowers was not available to visit this past weekend, but had positive things to say about TTU in recent interviews and the Red Raiders made the cut for his Top 10 list.
Conley was in town this past weekend and is another highly rated prospect with TTU included in his Top 10 list.
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2023 - cannot teach fast
PWO Miles Thompson is flying in this clip
Rivals 250 LB Justin Horne sets the state of Louisiana record and the No. 3 overall time in the nation
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TTU Basketball Hot Board - from a big-time ball reporter*
as you all know, I'm one of the most connected TTU Men's Basketball reporters in the country...some have said
with the happenings of this week and the program now looking for another new head coach, I wanted to chime in and recap some of the hot board names for the job
Cece McCasland - wife to UNT head coach Grant McCasland
these two love birds met at Texas Tech, where Cece played soccer for the Red Raiders (bonus points)
Lauren Wade - wife to former LSU head coach Will Wade
Amy Miller - wife to Xavier head coach Sean Miller
Careylyen Tang - wife to Kansas State head coach Jerome Tang
this is strictly a hot board for analytical purposes, please review and let me know if this helps with the coaching search information needed on the subject.
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various quick hits from TTU Football this week
the coaches are running 'commitment week' within the program this week, basically the team is broken into groups/teams and they compete for points - these points could come from attending another TTU sporting event, scavenger hunts to see who can get a picture with another TTU coach, they had football coach impressions and more.
this one above is one of the better ideas that McGuire brought into the program, basically everyone wears a t-shirt from their high school from coaches to players to support staff...all to support THSCA and shoutout the Texas roots of the program, head coach, etc.
https://twitter.com/TtuTortillas/status/1633241120309125120
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Recruiting - Around the Big 12
no new commitments around the conference, including the new conference members Houston, Cincinnati, BYU and UCF
Oklahoma, TCU and Cincinnati remain the only three (3) teams in the Big 12 without a commitment in the 2024 recruiting class
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have a great weekend everyone!
