it's been a wild month with work travel, happy to be back with you - my best online friends - again this morning.
it's Friday, let's Flare...
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WEEKLY LINKS
Cochran, TEs putting trust, dominance at focal point
Tech explodes in tenth after exhausting arms in opener against Sooners
Kash, Bazzell slug, Free slams door to clinch series over Sooners
Texas Tech run-ruled on Sunday to close series in Norman
Weekend Roundup: Red Raiders take series from Sooners in Norman
Texas Tech offeres Pearland safety Ashton Hampton
No. 16 Texas Tech returns home, hosts Grand Canyon for mid-week pair
McGuire, QBs discuss spring game preparation, ongoing competition
Fast leads way as Coleman, Kash slug through Grand Canyon opener
Tadlock provides injury updates, philosophy in lineup construction
Five important recruiting battles for Texas Tech in 2004
Kash powers Red Raiders to mid-week sweep of Grand Canyon
Mid-week Debrief: Red Raiders sweep pair with Lopes
Rudder playmaker Jaquise Martin earns first offer from Texas Tech
Red Raiders continue homestand, host Baylor over the weekend
Kittley, DeRuyter put finishing touches on spring game groundwork
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TTU RECRUITING THIS WEEK
we are going to go back a few weeks with a few new commitments in the 2024 recruiting class, a decommitment in the 2024 class, a few transfers out of the program and several new offers were made...
new offers
Texas Tech recently offered Destrehan (Louisiana) 2025 wide receiver Phillip Wright III. The 6-foot, 159-pound standout underclassmen now lists five (5) early offers from your Red Raiders, Cincinnati, Miami, Mississippi State and Tulane.
Texas Tech recently offered Dripping Springs offensive tackle Jacob Ponton after an unofficial visit to campus. The 6-foot-7, 260-pound prospect holds one (1) offer from your Red Raiders with interest from the Texas State coaches.
Texas Tech recently offered Covington Catholic (Kentucky) tight end Willie Rodriguez and our @J. Gonzales interviewed him after the offer. The 6-foot-4, 230-pound prospect lists 28 total offers from programs around the country, including your Red Raiders, Kentucky, Duke, Illinois, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Purdue and several others.
Texas Tech recently offered Cibolo Steele 2026 running back Jonathan Hatton Jr. The 6-foot-1, 193-pound standout freshman now lists three (3) offers from your Red Raiders, UTSA and Houston.
Texas Tech recently offered Pearland safety Ashton Hampton and our @J. Gonzales intereviewed him after the offer. The 6-foot-1, 170-pound prospect lists nine (9) offers from your Red Raiders, Oregon State, SMU, Tulane, Vanderbilt and others.
Texas Tech recently offered Louisiana Monroe defensive end transfer Anthony Campbell. Originally a 2021 junior college prospect out of Independence C.C., Campbell is listed at 6-foot-7, 277-pound and finished with 13 tackles along with 3.5 tackles for loss and one (1) sack last season. Since entering the portal on Monday, Campbell has announced offers from your Red Raiders, Purdue, West Virginia, Cal, North Texas, Auburn, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, South Florida, Miami, TCU, Marshall, Penn State, Western Kentucky, Virginia Tech, UTSA, Cincinnati and Indiana.
Texas Tech recently offered Charles Page (Oklahoma) 2026 offensive tackle Ryley Kester. The 6-foot-4, 260-pound standout freshman lists two (2) offers from your Red Raiders and Georgia Tech.
Texas Tech recently offered Richland 2025 running back Michael Turner Jr. The 6-foot, 191-pound standout underclassman now lists four (4) offers from your Red Raiders, Austin Peay, Duke and Colorado.
Texas Tech was the first program to offer Rudder 2025 athlete Jaquise Martin recently. The 6-foot, 191-pound standout underclassman earned first-team all-district and newcomer of the year honors this past season.
Texas Tech recently offered Derby (Kansas) 2025 tight end Da'Saahn Brame. The 6-foot-6, 225-pound standout underclassman now lists 14 total offers from programs around the country, including your Red Raiders, Arizona State, Kansas State, Michigan, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Wisconsin and others.
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new 2024 commitments
Sachse edge Cheta Ofili recently committed to the Red Raiders and our @B. Golan spoke with him about the decision. A typical McGuire & Blanchard type target, Ofili was an unrated prospect with one (1) offer from Texas Tech for what seemed like the longest time. The 6-foot-4, 220-pound prospect is a very athletic, yet very raw prospect that went from uncommitted and unranked to rated as one of the top prospects in the country by some recruiting services.
After a few standout performances at both the Next Level and Under Armour Dallas camps this spring, Rivals updated Ofili's ranking to a 5.7 three-star prospect. He should end up as one of the state's Top 100 prospects with that type of ranking and should only move up with a solid senior season.
Relationships win out in recruiting and although some other major programs got into the mix with an offer, Ofili and his family felt most comfortable with the Texas Tech coaching staff.
I really like this take and I was at both of the camps mentioned above. Ofili absolutely looks the part and has room to add weight onto his already big frame with athleticism to spare.
South Oak Cliff tight end Trey Jackson recently committed to the Red Raiders and @B. Golan spoke with him about the decision. The 6-foot-5, 220-pound prospect did hold several offers, but the majority of his offers were regional mid-major programs and his 5.6 three-star ranking came after the commitment. All of that to say, it is easy to say Jackson was another under the radar type prospect, but at a program like South Oak Cliff - can you really be too under the radar?
In speaking with the coaching staff, Jackson has always been a bigger kid and has always played receiver or tight end. He scored essentially every time he touched the ball this past season and proved himself as a playmaker while battling injuries.
The Tech coaches believe Jackson can easily add another 30-40 pounds to his frame and compete at tight end in the Big 12 conference.
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2024 RB decommits from TTU
last night, St. Thomas running back Johann Cardenas announced his decommitment from Texas Tech. the 5.7 three-star prospect added offers from Vanderbilt and Oregon after his commitment this past January. we can eventually speak with Cardenas, but this does not seem like a situation where the standout back will 'come back' into the fold for TTU in this 2024 class.
all eyes go to Lufkin running back Kedren Young now, a prospect who visited with other 2024 commitments and targets earlier this year.
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surprise, surprise - TTU in the Top 8 for Casey Poe
Poe had this to say about why the Red Raiders made his Top 8 list of schools...
“Everything runs through Lubbock. Coach McGuire and his staff are building something special that will be a force soon."
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a few transfers
a pair of 2022 signees - defensive back Hut Graham and defensive lineman Erik Gray - announced their intention to enter the transfer portal recently.
both were originally committed to Matt Wells and the previous staff, but stayed on board when McGuire and his staff took over...with each of these players, Graham a scholarship player and Gray a preferred walk-on, playing time and the depth chart was an issue.
the thinning out of the roster will continue throughout the spring and we will continue to update the overall roster counts before the remaining 2023 signees move in this June.
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spring game this weekend
the Red Raiders will host their spring game this Saturday at Lowrey Field while The Jones remains under construction.
the visitors list is not going to overwhelm anyone, but there have been several underclassmen coming to visit Lubbock and that will makeup the majority of visitors this weekend.
I'm curious to see how the offense has evolved, the quarterback position, the offensive line and how the transfer additions on offense & defense impact the starting lineup and rotation on both sides of the ball.
spring games are usually vanilla, but there remains a ton of buzz for what Coach McGuire is doing at Texas Tech and I'm interested to hear the commentary from the ESPN+ crew.
our team will be in attendance and you can expect write ups and recaps from a few staff members.
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NFL Draft is next week, Tyree Wilson news
the narrative coming out in NFL Draft circles these past two weeks was around who will be the better pro - Alabama's Will Anderson or Texas Tech's Tyree Wilson. it does not have to be one or the other, but from a draft standpoint many NFL insiders were saying that NFL personell folks seem to prefer Wilson's frame and upside to Anderson.
Wilson has been mocked at No. 2 overall to the Texans all the way down to No. 10 and everything in between.
the draft will be held next Thursday evening in Kansas City, and Wilson along with Joey McGuire and some of the TTU coaches will be there to support.
this is newsworthy for so many obvious reasons, but we cover recruiting here at RRS...this is huge for recruiting, it will be Tim DeRuyter's second first round edge rusher taken in the past two drafts and it will be another Texas Tech defender taken in the first round...following Jordyn Brooks (picked No. 27 overall in the 2020 draft)
the top recruits are certainly concerned with the college programs, the coaches, etc...but most of the top recruits want someone that can help get them to the next level, the NFL, the 'league'.
McGuire and his staff are hammering the success of Tyree Wilson with recruits and have even shown tape of his highlights when reviewing tape with visiting recruits.
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Recruiting - Around the Big 12
we have seen a lot of movement in recruiting around the conference this month, including the new Big 12 conference members
Texas Tech:
McGuire and his staff now hold eight (8) total commitments in the 2024 class, good for the No. 20 overall class in the nation
your Red Raiders have added two (2) commitments this month in Sachse edge Cheta Ofili and South Oak Cliff tight end Trey Jackson - both covered above
Oklahoma State:
The Cowboys now hold six (6) total commitments in the 2024 class, good for the No. 27 overall class in the nation.
Pleasant Grove running back Jaylen Boardley committed to Oklahoma State this month. The 5.7 three-star, Texas Top 100 prospect chose the Cowboys over 12 other offers, including offers from Texas Tech, Baylor, Arkansas, Auburn, LSU and others.
Pleasant Grove offensive tackle Caleb Hackleman committed to Oklahoma State this month. The 5.6 three-star prospect chose the Cowboys over four (4) other offers from Texas Tech, Austin Peay, Baylor and Memphis.
Kansas State:
The Wildcats now hold five (5) total commitments in the 2024 class, good for the No. 32 overall class in the nation.
Blue Valley (Kansas) running back John Price committed to Kansas State this month. The 5.6 three-star prospect chose the Wildcats over five (5) other offers from Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska and Oklahoma State.
Baylor:
The Bears now hold four (4) total commitments in the 2024 class, good for the No. 35 overall class in the nation.
DeSoto outside linebacker Brandon Booker committed to Baylor this month. The 5.7 three-star, Texas Top 100 prospect chose the Bears over nine (9) other offers from Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, Florida State, Auburn and others.
Oklahoma:
The Sooners now hold three (3) total commitments in the 2024 class, good for the No. 38 overall class in the nation.
Frisco Emerson quarterback Michael Hawkins committed to Oklahoma this month. The 5.9 four-star, Rivals 250 prospect chose the Sooners over 13 other offers from Alabama, Arkansas, Michigan, TCU and others.
Franklinton (Louisiana) wide receiver Kelly 'KJ' Daniels committed to Oklahoma this month. The 5.6 three-star prospect chose the Sooners over seven (7) other offers from Texas Tech, Cincinnati, Houston, Memphis and others.
Iowa State:
The Cyclones now hold five (5) total commitments in the 2024 class, good for the No. 39 overall class in the nation.
Southeast Polk (Iowa) quarterback Connor Moberly committed to Iowa State this month. The 5.6 three-star prospect chose the Cyclones over Northern Iowa.
Pine Creek (Colorado) outside linebacker Mason Miller committed to Iowa State this month. The 5.5 three-star prospect chose the Cyclones over three (3) other offers from South Florida, Wsahington State and Wyoming.
Kansas:
The Jayhawks now hold four (4) total commitments in the 2024 class, good for the No. 43 overall class in the nation.
Sioux Center (Iowa) tight end Carson Bruhn committed to Kansas this month. The 5.6 three-star prospect chose the Jayhawks over five (5) other offers from Kansas State, Minnesota, Missouri, South Dakota and South Dakota State.
TCU:
The Horned Frogs now hold two (2) total commitments in the 2024 class, good for the No. 59 overall class in the nation.
Aledo quarterback Hauss Henjy committed to TCU this month. The 5.6 three-star prospect chose the Horned Frogs over 10 other offers from Baylor, Duke, Nebraska, Oklahoma State, West Virginia and others.
The Woodlands offensive tackle Ryan Hughes committed to TCU this month. The 5.6 three-star prospect chose the Horned Frogs over 10 other offers from Army, Houston, Nebraska, Virginia and others.
West Virginia:
The Mountaineers now hold two (2) total commitments in the 2024 class, good for the No. 71 overall class in the nation.
Jefferson (West Virginia) athlete Keyshawn Robinson committed to West Virginia this month. The unrated prospect chose the Mountaineers over two (2) other offers from Old Dominion and Temple.
Cincinnati:
The Bearcats now hold seven (7) total commitments in the 2024 class, good for the No. 28 overall class in the nation.
With seven (7) new commitments in the month of April alone, I'm not going to provide details on each prospect, but the Bearcats landed one (1) four-star prospect, five (5) three-star prospects and one (1) unranked prospect.
UCF:
The Knights now hold four (4) total commitments in the 2024 class, good for the No. 37 overall class in the nation.
Armwood (Florida) wide receiver Kason Stokes committed to UCF this month. The 5.5 three-star prospect chose the Knights over eight (8) other offers from Boston College, Maryland, Ole Miss, Rutgers, West Virginia and others.
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have a great weekend everyone!
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