another day, another dollar...let's get ready for the extended holiday weekend boys & girls.
it's Friday, let's Flare...
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WEEKLY LINKS
Joshua Smith recaps his official visit to Texas Tech
Seminole LHP Carson Baugh ready to make jump from Juco to Texas Tech
Cambridge offers athleticism as latest Texas Tech commit
Gonzaga's Cade McGee finds fit that feels like home with Texas Tech
Tech adds Blinn College OL Dalton Merryman
The Recruiting Six Pack
Pearland Dawson EDGE Eddy Smith details Texas Tech commitment
Biggs & Greenslade Law presents GIFnalysis: EDGE Eddy Smith
Q&A: Glenda Dawson DC Mike Garcia talks new Tech defensive line commits
Bryan WR Tyson Turner looking to bring championships to Lubbock
DE commit Charles Anderson Jr. looking to do something 'great' at TTU
LHP Max Huffling from ACU lands at former foe in Tech for final season
Q&A: Prosper OL Coach Brian Thompson talks TTU OL commit Ellis Davis
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TTU RECRUITING THIS WEEK
it was another busy week on the recruiting trail with a new 2024 commitment, a JUCO OL addition, several targets set to announce this weekend and there was a departure from the 2024 recruiting class...
new commit
Glenda Dawson defensive end Edward Smith announced his commitment to the Red Raiders this week. The Texas Top 100 prospect chose the Red Raiders over 24 other offers, including offers from Baylor, Houston, Kansas State, Nebraska, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Purdue, TCU, Utah and others.
The 6-foot-5, 250-pound standout was at a few camps that I attended this off-season and the size is very real. Smith is versatile, he can move quickly off the edge and has the size to help set the edge. There are always areas for improvement, but with another year of high school and a redshirt season at the college level, this is the type of potential, talent and size headed to Lubbock under Joey McGuire and his staff.
Industry rankings:
Rivals - 5.7 three-star, No. 77 overall prospect in Texas and No. 32 overall rated DE prospect
247 - 89 rating (three-star), No. 55 overall prospect in Texas and No. 30 overall DL prospect
On3 - 89 rating (three-star), No. 65 overall prospect in Texas and No. 36 overall EDGE prospect
these are the recruiting battles that matter, when you see schools like Baylor/TCU/OkState/KState as the 'other' schools...then you are potentially bringing game changing talent to your campus, as it relates to competing for Big 12 titles.
I'm a big fan on this take, had the opportunity to meet with young Edward a few times and the raw talent is there...look for the coaches to add one (1) more 2024 recruit to this DL class.
credit to noted Texas Tech recruiting journalist @B. Golan for catching this one earlier in the week, but the Tech coaches added some beef to the OL room in Blinn C.C. offensive tackle Dalton Merryman.
sure, there are no stars and this one is not one of the commitments you guys & gals were waiting on...BUT were you waiting on Dennis Wilburn last off-season? how much limelight did that commitment receive from the noted Texas Tech recruiting fanbase of RRS?
I cannot predict whether Merryman will have any immediate impact, but I always love a situation where a kid takes a chance on himself vs. the safe route of staying at school, seeing who offers next time around.
At a reported 6-foot-9, 325-pounds it is clear that Coach Hamby is attempting to rebuild the Wall of Lubbock on this Tech OL.
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new offer
this is a preferred walk-on (PWO) offer from the Tech coaches to Midland Legacy offensive tackle Lucas Barrientes. the 6-foot-4, 270-pound tackle lists one (1) offer from UNLV with listed interest from Arkansas.
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longtime 2024 WR decommits
last night, Odessa four-star wide receiver Ivan Carreon announced his decommitment and plans to reopen his recruitment. the 6-foot-6, 205-pound receiver committed to the Red Raiders as an unranked prospect last November, then he attended an Oklahoma camp about a month ago and earned an offer from the Sooners...the smoke started there, and then Carreon scheduled official visits to both Oklahoma and Purdue.
the Tech coaches weren't thrilled with the official visits, but they do not have some bozo policy like other college coaches about 'not' taking official visits...they let the young man do his thing and have his recruiting experience.
at some point the communication and the 'buy in' from Carreon simply wasn't there. the coaches spoke with him and decided to part ways with Carreon, leading to his announcement last night.
I do not have the play by play details, but I am 100-percent confident in reporting the sentence above.
I will also never say never...it is June 30th, roughly six (6) months left until the December signing period. we tried and tried to speak with Carreon over the past month with absolutely zero luck. I reached out to coaches, 7v7 coaches/trainers and anyone willing to speak...literally everyone said Carreon loved Texas Tech and wanted to be a Red Raider, fwiw.
I would assume a commitment to Oklahoma is on the horizon, but I will not completely rule out Purdue and the connection to the Boilermakers QB commitment Marcus Davila either.
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more 2024 WR drama-ish
yes, it is not a secret that the Red Raiders lead for five-star wide receiver Micah Hudson...anyone reading this has picked up on that fact
after his official visit, several national recruiting analysts across the industry put in their call for Hudson to commit to Texas Tech...that was all last week
I wrote about this last week, and we were confident an announcement was impending...but as any longtime recruiting fan knows, things happen when they happen and this recruiting thing is completely unpredictable
look at the story above, after speaking with Ivan Carreon months ago I never thought he would even take other visits...much less decommit
as of this post, this moment...I still expect Micah Hudson to eventually make a verbal commitment to the Red Raiders, but all of this is a reminder that nothing matters until the NIL is signed, sealed and delivered
maybe that is a captain obvious post, but it is what it is...Hudson could announce today, he could announce right before the season...at this point, it is his world and we are all living in it
I chalk all of this up to fishing in deeper waters and trying to reel in bigger fish...we haven't been here before friends, and the wait might be the hardest part...but you are having fun and you know it
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holiday weekend = commitment announcements
every summer, recruits across the country take official visits in the months of April, May and June...then we start to see a ton of commitment announcements over the July 4th holiday weekend
well, here we are and some Texas Tech targets have shared plans to announce their commitment this weekend...
Pflugerville athlete and safety target Peyton 'Cai' Morgan is set to announce his commitment this Sunday at 2pm. The 5.6 three-star prospect is set to choose from a final five (5) that includes Texas Tech, SMU, Nebraska, TCU and Arizona.
my forecast is in for Morgan to pick the good guys
Pearland safety Ashton Hampton is set to announce his commitment tomorrow. The 5.6 three-star prospect lists 13 total offers and is coming off of official visits to both Texas Tech and Tulane. He also officially visited Vanderbilt earlier this off-season.
my forecast is in for Hampton to pick the good guys
Ridge Point wide receiver Ashton Bethel-Roman is set to announce his commitment next Tuesday, on July 4th. The Rivals 250 prospect lists 23 total offers and is coming off of official visits to Texas Tech, Oregon and Arkansas. The four-star standout has also visited Purdue, Kansas State, Arizona State and Baylor.
we have seen industry picks for Arkansas here and I'm not saying that would surprise me, but I'm also not ready to buy into that...with Carreon now departed, the Tech coaches will certainly have a chance to speak with Bethel-Roman again and that is meaningful, mostly because Texas Tech has recruited Bethel-Roman longer than any of these other programs.
I'm not confident enough in any school to make a forecast pick here...but they say to never bet against Mom, and Bethel-Roman's Mom sure does like a lot of Texas Tech stuff imnsho
we will see, maybe Bethel-Roman celebrates America's independence with becoming a Red Raider...
***hint hint, the 'wooooooo' Ric Flair gif is not any of these three (3) young men...expect another standout to commit to the Red Raiders later today or over the holiday weekend
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new streaming site, new website and new app???
the Texas Tech athletics department had some major announcements this week, namely a new streaming network called Texas Tech + along with a new website and new mobile app experience for Tech alumni and fans
I have admittedly not downloaded the new streaming app or dug into the details, but the first piece of content is around new Men's Basketball coach Grant McCasland and his takeover of the TTU program
in the year of our lourde 2023, this is significant progress for the athletics program across the board...the stories, insight and traditionally non-televised game action that will be found on this streaming channel will be valuable for Texas Tech fans of all sorts
for me, a slightly overweight and older man who loves to golf...I would love to watch a Texas Tech golf match via the TTU+ channel or the new TTU app
maybe you like a certain sport or gravitate towards a sport that isn't as widely covered as football, basketball...this will be perfect for fans of every sport and I'm mostly excited to see the insight for potential recruits to see Lubbock in a completely different light than 'dusty country town in the panhandle'
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Big 12 Media Days - TTU attendees announced
who cares about Big 12 Media days, amirite? well, this year is unique because it will feature both Texas and OU...but also includes the new Big 12 conference members BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF.
the TTU program announced the players representing the Red Raiders at media days, and it will be...
RB Tahj Brooks
DT Jaylon Hutchings
QB Tyler Shough
DT Tony Bradford
WR Jerand Bradley
we hear from Hutchings, Bradford and Brooks seemingly all of the time...and that is certainly not a bad thing, but all of that to say Shough and Bradley are voices not often heard at the microphone and I'm interested to see what they have to say, what questions they will be asked, etc.
I'm doing my best to attend and provide some insight from the event, but we will see how the schedule shakes out.
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Josh Jung - your starting AL 3B selection
I mean, what else can I say about Josh Jung...the rookie third basemen is raking at the plate and is one of the AL leaders in runs scored, ahead of some guy named Otani - never heard of her.
making the all-star game ever is a significant accomplishment, but doing this as a rookie is outstanding...Jung is approaching legendary status as a former TTU standout on the wildly successful Omaha teams, to first round draft pick and now becoming what so many thought he could be at the MLB level
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speaking of impressive former TTU athletes...
Ludvig Adberg had a great first round at the Rocket Mortgage Classic yesterday, finishing the round at -7 and tied for 2nd place
golf is hard and first round score cards never exactly coorelate to Sunday wins...but in his second appearance as a tournament pro, Adberg already looks like he belongs and this tweet/stat just really stuck out to me
this is another dude with a ton of potential as a former TTU athlete gone pro
also, I plan on hitting 17+ greens in regulation and averaging 300+ yards off the tee later today - tee time 2:20pm and my body is ready
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Recruiting - Around the Big 12
we recapped a ton of new commitments in last week's Flare, and this week is no different with official visits happening all over the country...let's recap the week that was in the Big 12
Texas Tech - 13 total commitments, No. 32 class in the nation
added DE Edward Smith, lost WR Ivan Carreon...covered above*
Oklahoma - 10 total commitments, No. 34 class in the nation
the Sooners added two (2) new commitments this past week...
RB Xavier Robinson
DE Wyatt Gilmore
West Virginia - 14 total commitments, No. 36 class in the nation
Neil Brown and his staff added one (1) new commitment this past week...
QB Khalil Wilkins
Iowa State - 15 total commitments, No. 38 class in the nation
the Cyclones added three (3) new commitments this past week...
TE Cooper Alexander
OL Wade Helton
OL Brent Helton
Kansas - 13 total commitments, No. 41 class in the nation
the Jayhawks added one (1) new commitment this past week...
OL Carter Lavrusky
Texas - eight (8) total commitments, No. 44 class in the nation
the Longhorns added three (3) new commitments this week...
RB Jerrick Gibson
OL Nate Kibble
OL Daniel Cruz
Oklahoma State - 11 total commitments, No. 46 class in the nation
the Cowboys added three (3) new commitments this week...
OL Chauncey Johnson
LB Gunnar Wilson
DE Armstrong Nnodim
TCU - 10 total commitments, No. 47 class in the nation
the Horned Frogs added two (2) commitments this week...
WR Gekyle Baker
K Kyle Lemmerman
Baylor - 11 total commitments, No. 48 class in the nation
the Bears added three (3) new commitments this week...
OL Tristan Santoro
LB Kyland Reed
LB Bo Tate
Kansas State - seven (7) total commitments, No. 66 class in the nation
the Wildcats added a new commitment this week...
OL Kaedin Massey
BYU - seven (7) total commitments, No. 81 class in the nation
the Cougars added a new commitment this week...
TE Jett Nelson
Cincinnati - 15 commitments, No. 45 class in the nation
the Bearcats added two (2) new commitments this week...
WR Elijah Jones
RB Jakorion Caffey
Houston - seven (7) total commitments, No. 79 class in the nation
the Cougars added four (4) new commitments this week...
DB Maurice Williams
TE Kaleb Thomas
OL Ray'Quan Bell
OL Ronnell McLain
UCF - six (6) total commitments, No. 69 class in the nation
the Knights added a new commitment this week...
DB Chasen Johnson
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have a great weekend everyone!
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