good morning RRS, hope you all had a great week.
it's Friday, let's Flare...
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WEEKLY LINKS
Texas Tech earns pledge from ASU big man Warren Washington
Bazzell bombs, Beckel slams door as Tech takes opener from West Virginia
Five-star wide receiver Micah Hudson goes in-depth on top contenders
Texas Tech offers 2026 Carthage QB Jett Surratt
West Virginia piles on Tech to even series in Morgantown
Red Raiders drop finale to homer-happy Mountaineers in Morgantown
Apodoca: Outlook remains positive as Tech drops series in Morgantown
Katy OL Coen Echols sets several official visits, talks Texas Tech
True or False: Familiar faces in new places for Tech FB
Josh Jung enjoying early season breakout with Rangers
Texas Tech set to play host to Kansas for final regular season series
Tadlock talks NIL collectives, RPI & senior day
DeRuyter, Tech defense aim for next step after successful 2022
Late homer undo's Molina's gem, Tech drops opener with Kansas
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TTU RECRUITING THIS WEEK
there were several new offers made this week, some updates from the state track meet on 5-star WR target Michah Hudson and more...
new offers
Texas Tech was the first program to offer Newton 2026 defensive tackle Rchon Washington this week. The 6-foot-2, 240-pound standout freshman does not have a ton of information out there online, but appears to also compete in weightlifting.
Texas Tech was the first program to offer Lago Vista 2025 corner back Swayde Griffin this week. The 6-foot-1, 170-pound standout sophomore finished in 4th place at the state track meet with a 14.07 second finish in the 110m hurdles.
Texas Tech offered Bastrop 2026 defensive tackle Tiki Hola this week. The 6-foot-3, 270-pound standout freshman now holds two (2) early offers from your Red Raiders and UTSA.
Texas Tech offered Dekaney 2025 tight end Nicholas Townsend this week. The 6-foot-4, 225-pound standout sophomore now holds nine (9) offers from your Red Raiders, Florida Atlantic, Marshall, Nebraska, Texas State, UAB, UNLV, Washington State and UTSA.
Texas Tech offered Refugio athlete Ernest Campbell this week. The 5-foot-8, 145-pound standout now holds 25 total offers from programs around the country, including offers from your Red Raiders, Auburn, Baylor, Florida State, Ole Miss, Nebraska, TCU, Texas A&M and others. Campbell is the back to back state champion in the 100m (2A) after a 10.32 second finish.
Texas Tech offered Dekaney 2025 wide receiver Tanook Hines this week. The 6-foot-1, 170-pound standout sophomore now holds 24 early offers from programs around the country, including offers from your Red Raiders, Alabama, Arkansas, Kansas, Michigan, Nebraska, Tennessee, Texas, Wisonsin and others. He finished with 50 receptions for 867 yards and eight (8) touchdowns this past season.
Texas Tech offered Checotah (Oklahoma) 2025 wide receiver Elijah Thomas this week. The 6-foot-1, 183-pound standout sophomore now holds seven (7) offers from your Red Raiders, Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma, Kansas State, Tulsa and Oklahoma State. Thomas is rated a 5.9 four-star prospect, the No. 92 overall prospect on the Rivals 100 for the 2025 class and the No. 17 overall wide receiver prospect in the country.
Texas Tech offered Dekaney 2026 athlete Calvin Carter this week. The 6-foot-4, 225-pound standout freshman now holds four (4) early offers from your Red Raiders, Colorado State, Maryland and Nebraska. All of these offers came over the past week, so coaches are seeing Carter in person and offering early. He played tight end and wide receiver on offense, and outside linebacker and defensive end on defense for Dekaney as a freshman.
Texas Tech offered Jenks (Oklahoma) 2026 running back Kaydin Jones this week. The 5-foot-11, 170-pound standout freshman now holds four (4) early offers from your Red Raiders, Colorado, Oklahoma State and Tulsa. Jones played his freshman season at Broken Arrow and current Red Raiders defensive back Maurion Horn shouted out his offer on social media.
Texas Tech offered Edna Karr (Louisiana) 2026 corner back Aiden Hall this week. The 6-foot-1, 175-pound standout freshman now holds 11 early offers from programs around the country, including offers from your Red Raiders, Arkansas, Duke, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Oregon and others.
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Micah Hudson updates his recruitment
our colleague Cole Patterson was at the state track tournament last weekend and posted an update with Micah Hudson.
from the article...
"We have a great relationship over there. They haven't changed up once since they first offered me," said Hudson. "There's a lot to consider, the way that they treat me and my family. Not just because of who I am, they treat me like any other person - not just in a certain way."
for context, Hudson was giving multiple interviews at once to Rivals, On3, 247, etc/etc at the event...I shared this comment because it was the most consistent thing people wrote about Hudson from the event - the way he talks about Texas Tech and his relationship with the coaches is simply different, there is a clear comfort with the TTU coaches and something unique compared to other programs
the consensus five-star prospect will be in Lubbock for his official visit on June 16th
the other program mentioned in the article was Texas, and Orangebloods publisher Geoff Ketchum had the following to say on social media...for some reason (???)
known as a hot take artist, I clutched my proverbial pearls when my baby boy @B. Golan replied to Mr. Ketchum with the following...
this all happened on Friday night, then coaches from Texas Tech and Texas were tweeting pictures/info about prominent wide receivers from each program.
there is a very long way to go, but I absolutely love where the TTU coaches stand in this recruitment and they are more aware than anyone that it will be a marathon, not a sprint.
in a world where players and recruits hold all of the cards with NIL and the transfer portal, I currently see no reason a solid relationship with the TTU coaches doesn't win out for young Micah.
we are scheming a trip to Lake Belton, which seems like the only way to speak with Hudson...but we realize that the @staff needs to speak with him soon.
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Texas Tech NIL stuff
Earlier this week, the Matador Club announced they have signed the entire Texas Tech baseball team to a new NIL deal. The NIL collective did not disclose specific numbers, but the figure was described as "five-figure deals" for each player.
This follows a trend where the Matador Club has followed a plan on starting with football, moving to basketball for the men's and women's team, and now the baseball program.
This deal for the baseball team is unique, mostly because college baseball programs have 11-12 total scholarships to work with on a 40-man roster. Having the NIL collective support in college baseball puts Texas Tech in great spot as one of the only baseball programs in the country where players are making real money. This can help with retaining talent year over year, especially as younger players wait to contribute or certain players weigh the option of going pro versus staying in college another year.
Overall, this is just another strong indicator of how serious the Matador Club and the leadership amongst alumni is about supporting Texas Tech student athletes.
speaking of NIL, I noticed these two (2) tweets this week and wanted to share...no idea how much Hutchings and Brooks receive for these types of partnerships, but the ear-to-ear smiles from both players is enough of an indictor for me.
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Adrian Frye signed by the Saints
originally a camp invite after the NFL Draft, former TTU defensive back Adrian Frye is now signed with the New Orleans Saints after taking care of business in Rookie mini-camp.
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speaking of NIL
this is great reporting as usual from Bruce, seems like things we already knew about or already perceived from this new NIL world - re: the food chain or pecking order of college football
for my money, this is no doubt Jeff Traylor from UTSA providing quotes about how some of his players have been tampered with...not saying this with any knowledge, just my opinion.
this happens everywhere and the human nature element of introducing thousands of dollars into the mix will forever change college football...some kids develop later in the process, so they come to a program like UTSA or others, then leave to chase the NIL bag in preparation for a junior or senior season before they enter their name into the NFL Draft.
we saw this last year with the Biletnikoff winner leaving Pitt for USC - what if Crabtree left after winning his first Biletnikoff for a 'bigger program'?
sure that example hits close to home, but that is the reality of college football these days. we have college collectives paying six-figure salaries to top level talent, sometimes millions of dollars guaranteed to top tier recruits.
the money part of things is here to stay, so the focus here is more about tampering and how college coaches have to re-recruit their roster at all times of the year.
it only takes a kid - again these are young kids with young emotions - having a bad week, he tells a former coach or trainer about the situation and all of the sudden he is 'unhappy at ___ school' becomes the talk amongst coaches...most prospects entering the portal have a pretty good idea of where they are planning to visit, often times where they are going to commit...not all, but most already have a plan when announcing their intention to transfer.
this has not really bitten the Red Raiders at this point in time, but it is happening in college football and Coach McGuire's staff has to work against increased competition on a daily basis these days.
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what if I told you...
the Action Network is a gambling site that has hired several 'big' names in sports journalism over the past few years, including college football reporter Brett McMurphy
we have always applauded the sheer insight of Mr. McMurphy around here, and he showed off that big brain again earlier this week when releasing his 'never too early' bowl predictions for this upcoming season.
he has your Red Raiders facing Alabama in the Cotton Bowl on December 29th, which means he has Texas Tech winning the Big 12 conference and narrowly missing the 'final four' of the college football playoff
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Recruiting - Around the Big 12
we have more action around the Big 12 conference this week, let's recap the week in recruiting...
Iowa State:
The Cyclones now hold seven (7) total commitments in the 2024 class, good for the No. 39 overall class in the nation.
Lake Minneola (Florida) corner back Quentin Taylor committed to Iowa State this week. The 6-foot, 180-pound prospect is currently unrated and chose the Cyclones over offers from Duke, Liberty, Navy, South Florida, Virginia, Washington State, West Virginia and several Ivy League programs.
TCU:
The Horned Frogs now hold four (4) total commitments in the 2024 class, good for the No. 44 overall class in the nation.
Lancaster four-star offensive tackle Tobias Steppes committed to TCU this week. The 6-foot-6, 256-pound prospect chose the Horned Frogs over offers from your Red Raiders, Baylor, SMU, Cal and others. This is a head-to-head win for TCU over Texas Tech, as Steppes visited campus and was offered earlier this year.
Baylor:
The Bears now hold five (5) total commitments in the 2024 class, good for the No. 45 overall class in the nation.
Oaks Christian (Calif.) pro-style quarterback Nate Bennett committed to Baylor this week. The 6-foot-2, 180-pound unrated prospect chose the Bears over offers from Liberty, Utah State, Hawaii, San Jose State and several Ivy League programs.
West Virginia:
The Mountaineers now holds three (3) total commitments in the 2024 class, good for the No. 75 overall class in the nation.
Walnut Hills (Ohio) tight end Jack Sammarco committed to West Virginia this week. The 6-foot-6, 221-pound unrated prospect chose the Mountaineers over offers from UConn, Miami Ohio, Toledo, Army, Akron and Eastern Michigan.
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have a great weekend everyone!
