good morning RRS, we made it through another week...together
it's Friday, let's Flare...
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WEEKLY LINKS
Tight end Jordan Green commits to Texas Tech after visit
From Red Raider to Raider: How Tyree Wilson fits in Vegas
Long ball bites Free, Red Raiders drop opener with Kansas State
The Recruiting Six Pack
Lopez's three-RBI day evens series with Wildcats in Manhattan
Bullpen implodes late, Tech drops series in Manhattan despite Green's homer
Weekend Thoughts: Tech drops series in Manhattan
Post Spring Ball Texas Tech football roster and scholarship counter
Coen Echols recaps his recent TTTU unofficial visit
How a Summer in California Shaped Gavin Kash's Stellar 2023 Season
Tyree Wilson goes top 10, which Red Raiders could follow him in 2024?
Killeen Shoemaker safety Malik Esquerra earns first offer from Texas Tech
Q&A: Sachse OL/Run Game Coordinator A.J. Roland
Ranking the top five wins for Texas Tech FB in 2022
Texas Tech set for non-conference weekend with Sam Houston
Tadlock talks Sam Houston, starting rotation, RPI & more
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TTU RECRUITING THIS WEEK
the coaches continued to hit the road, seeing a ton of top targets and making several new offers this week...
new offers
TTU 2024 offers
Texas Tech offered Fred J. Page (Tennessee) offensive tackle Ronan O'Connell this week. The 6-foot-5, 275-pound prospect now lists 35 offers from programs across the country, including offers from Auburn, Clemson, Florida State, Miami, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Wisconsin and several others. The four-star lineman is listed as the No. 7 overall prospect on the Rivals Tennessee Top 35 for the 2024 class.
Texas Tech offered University 2026 athlete London Smith this week. The 6-foot-1, 185-pound standout freshman now holds seven (7) early offers from Austin Peay, Baylor, North Texas, TCU, Texas State, UTSA and your Red Raiders. Listed as an athlete, Smith plays both offense and defense for University. He finished his freshman season with 36 receptions for 600 yards and six (6) touchdowns receiving and 11 tackles, four (4) interceptions and one (1) pass breakup on defense.
Texas Tech offered Spring 2025 defensive tackle Floyd Guidry this week. The 6-foot-2, 260-pound standout sophomore now lists two (2) early offers from Texas State and your Red Raiders. He was named the District 14-6A All-District Newcomer and Defensive Lineman of the Year.
Texas Tech offered Flomation (Alabama) defensive tackle Miles Adams this week. The 6-foot-5, 273-pound prospect now lists eight (8) total offers from Alabama State, Charlotte, Chattanooga, Jacksonville State, South Florida, Southern Miss, Troy and your Red Raiders. He finished with 35 tackles, nine (9) tackles for loss, six (6) sacks, two (2) forced fumbles and one (1) fumble recovery this past season.
Texas Tech offered Northern Illinois linebacker transfer Daveren Rayner this week. The 6-foot-3, 205-pound transfer prospect finished with 71 tackles, five (5) tackles for loss and three (3) sacks this past season. Since entering the portal last Thursday, Rayner has announced new offers from Georgia Tech, Oklahoma State, Florida State, Ole Miss, Marshall, App State, UCF, Cincinnati, Kentucky and your Red Raiders.
Texas Tech was the first program to offer La Marque athlete Dylan Thomas this week. The 6-foot-2, 190-pound prospect added an offer from Texas State this week and already held an offer from Incarnate Word. Listed as an athlete, Thomas plays both wide receiver and linebacker for La Marque, earning First Team All-District honors.
Texas Tech offered Bay City defensive end Carlon Jones this week. The 6-foot-3, 275-pound prospect now lists 18 total offers from programs around the country, including offers from Cal, Georgia Tech, Houston, Maryland, Oklahoma State, Utah and several others. He finished with 102 tackles, 29 tackles for loss and 13 sacks this past season - earning First Team All-District and All-State honors. Jones also plays basketball for Bay City.
Texas Tech offered Cibolo Steele corner Alvin Williamson Jr. this week. The 6-foot-1, 180-pound prospect now lists eight (8) total offers from Air Force, Army, Citadel, Colgate, Navy, Sam Houston State, Texas State and your Red Raiders. He will compete at the Rivals Camp in Dallas this weekend.
Texas Tech offered Cibolo Steele safety Dontae Carter this week. The 6-foot-2, 174-pound prospect now lists nine (9) total offers from Arkansas State, Missouri, Sam Houston State, Texas State, Tulane, UTSA, Utah State, Vanderbilt and your Red Raiders. He also competes on the varsity track & field team at Steele and qualified for regionals in the triple jump this season.
quick thoughts - six (6) new offers to 2024 prospects during the open contact period is certainly noteworthy in itself, two (2) offers to prospects in Tennesee and Alabama is also noteworthy...O'Connell holds a ton of offers and unless there is some tie to the coaching staff, then that one is a throw away offer...but the offer to Adams is intriguing, seems like a flyer on a prospect the coaches really like and someone who could end up blowing up later in the process.
the offers to Jones and the Cibolo Steele defensive backs are both interesting, mostly because recruiting is a numbers game - the coaches have plenty of other offers out to defensive end and defensive back prospects, but they are stacking the deck and keeping their options open as other targets add new offers or interest from programs during this open contact period.
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Red Raider speed - checking in on 2023 signees
when we talk about the Texas Tech coaches signing the fastest class in the nation, not only do the stats/info check out, these kids just keep putting up ridiculous track times and proving the speed at every turn.
this is a preferred walk-on and prospect from El Paso whose only other offer was from New Mexico State...there is certainly more to prove for each prospect, but the early results are very very positive.
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coaches on the road
there are numerous tweets and examples to share, but a few noteable stops this week - Lake Belton for TTU WR's coach Justin 'Juice' Johnson and Lindale for TTU TE's coach Josh Cochran and OL coach Stephen Hamby
if you have been living under a rock or just don't follow recruiting closely, these two stops are home to arguably the top two 2024 prospects on the TTU recruiting board - five-star WR Micah Hudson and four-star OL Casey Poe
earlier this week, former Rivals analyst and current On3 regional analyst Sam Spiegelman entered a prediction in favor of Texas Tech to land Hudson's commitment - with a '65 percent confidence' rating
as we all know, the Red Raiders have never landed a five-star high school prospect in the modern era of recruiting rankings, so there is some trepidation with most when it comes to getting too excited for the coaches to actually land Hudson in this 2024 class. that being said, week after week and month after month, the tea leaves or vibes or whatever you want to call it continue to show Hudson's love for the Red Raiders and even national analysts throughout the recruiting industry are taking notice.
recruiting is a marathon, not a race...so a ton of time and work left to be done, but you have to like where the Red Raider coaches sit with guys like Hudson and Poe at the moment
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NFL Draft follow up
we have written, talked about and covered Tyree Wilson and the NFL Draft a ton on the Friday Flare...but this video is just too cool not to share
the main thread in these discussions is how great this whole thing is for Texas Tech recruiting, and this video along with the edits shared with recruits and the sheer exposure to the Double T logo for the nation/world to see is invaluable
while all of the focus has been on Tyree and the first round of the NFL Draft, a handful of Red Raiders received opportunities to join NFL teams as free agents and camp invites...
Kicker Trey Wolff signed with the Tennesee Titans as a free agent
Defensive back Marquis 'Muddy' Waters signed with the New York Jets as a free agent
Running back SaRodorick Thompson signed with the New Orleans Saints as a free agent
Defensive back Adrian Frye accepted a camp invite from the New Orleans Saints
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Scattershooting - what is happening at Colorado?
we do not cover Colorado recruiting around here very often, but Deion Sanders taking over as the Buffalo's head coach has been one of the more interesting storylines from this off-season
everyone knows 'Prime Time' from his playing days, DFW residents might even remember Prime Prep from years ago, and Sanders has been coaching at various levels for years now...but this is his first D1 and major program opportunity
the national media is all over this takeover at Colorado and what has transpired over the past 5-6 months in Boulder...which is now 50+ players transferring out of the program since Sanders took over as the head coach
while he is certainly driving more attention from the national media and Colorado fanbase, many are left wondering just how any coach can lose this many players from a roster - that honestly was not very good to begin with - and maintain a culture or legitmate roster going into fall camp
to put this into perspective, the Texas Tech coaches have lost maybe 10-15 players to transfer over the past two (2) seasons combined...at 50+ departures from the program, it seems like Sanders and his coaching staff will have to work double/triple time to recruit the portal and simply field a roster, let alone improve said roster
it is noteworthy because it simply hasn't happened before...maybe you look at Matt Rhule taking over a scandal-ridden Baylor program years ago, but even those coaches did most of their additions from the high school level and that success is why Joey McGuire is now your head coach
I don't have any doubts Sanders can identify and recruit and eventually land the number of players needed here...but what does that do to a college football program's culture, how quickly can 18-20 year olds really acclimate to moving to Colorado, settling in and competing at this level? even some of the best transfers from any level - D1, D2, JUCO - usually need a full season to truly settle in and begin contributing to the team
I mean look at a guy like Tyree Wilson who just went No. 7 overall in the NFL Draft...he came into the program as a transfer and did well, but even he needed a full season to really contribute at a high level
all of this to say, if you aren't watching or weren't aware - keep an eye on this moving forward because it is unprecented and the Colorado staff will be looking to add 30+ transfer additions after the spring semester ends...giving them roughly three (3) months to not only land these prospects and sign them, but get them on campus and into practices before the season starts
don't just believe me, here is what one Big 12 coach had to say in an anonymous Q&A had to say to Max Olsen from The Athletic...
Recruiting - Around the Big 12
we have more action around the Big 12 conference this week, let's recap the week in recruiting...
Texas:
The Longhorns now hold three (3) total commitments in the 2024 class, good for the No. 52 ranked class in the nation.
St. Thomas Aquinas punter Michael Kern committed to the Longhorns this week. The 6-foot-3, 170-pound two-star prospect chose Texas over Army.
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have a great weekend everyone!
