fall camp started this week and we have three (3) more Saturdays without Texas Tech football remaining.
it's Friday, let's Flare...
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WEEKLY LINKS
McGuire talks first day of practice, depth on defensive side of ball
Tech veterans speak offseason changes, goals for 2023
Early Texas Tech Fall Camp Notes & Observations
2025 forward Sebastian Williams-Adams earns Texas Tech offer
Tim DeRuyter's defense set to be tested by strong QB circuit in 2023
Perry expecting jumps from Brooks, Valdez & special teams in 2023
Veteran DB Lux settling in to new home at Tech
Tech's secondary spearheaded by experience looks to take jump in 2023
Tech K Garcia takes unlikely path to West Texas, brings level head to 2023
OL Jackson HIldebrand: "I've wanted to be at Texas Tech my whole life"
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TTU RECRUITING THIS WEEK
the coaches landed a pair of impressive Preferred Walk-On commitments this week, no new offers and some video updates from a pair of 2024 four-star commitments...
PWO commit week
last weekend, Frisco Lone Star defensive end Jaxon Lee announced his commitment to the Red Raiders. the 6-foot-3, 220-pound standout lists 14 total offers from programs around the country, including North Texas, Tulsa, SFA, Navy, Memphis, some school named Harvard and several others.
this week, San Antonio Alamo Heights offensive tackle Jackson Hildebrand announced his commitment to the Red Raiders. the 6-foot-4, 285-pound standout lists five (5) offers from Air Force, Army, Fordham, Incarnate Word and San Diego.
both Lee and Hildebrand accepted a preferred walk-on from the Tech coaches, something made possible by the Matador Club and the NIL deal for every player on the roster...including the walk-ons receiving $25k per year
these are both athletic freaks, surprise surprise...but more importantly, Lee is now at a new school and could blow up this season + Hildebrand had the quote of the week in @B. Golan's article..."I've wanted to be at Texas Tech my whole life"
Hammond + Hendrix start fall camp
there are a lot of really good high school football players around the country, but when it comes to maturity and poise...give me Will Hammond
most of us were pretty immature dummies at age 17/18, going into our senior year of high school. these kids, especially QBs, are under a ton of pressure and it takes a special personality to not only handle the pressure but embrace it.
"I believe that in my own heart, but I'm not going to come out and say that. At the end of the day, I can do exactly what we need to do to win football games as a team." -in response to being asked if he is the best QB in the state of Texas
speaking of really good high school football players, here is a video of Texas Tech commitment Holton Hendrix getting some reps at Center this week.
the four-star local product is probably one of the more overlooked prospects in the class, maybe because he committed so early or maybe because he lives in Lubbock...but he is already huge and is still a puppy at the same time.
he has a ton of room to grow and possesses that 'dawg' in him that Coach Hamby seeks out in his OL prospects...and remember, programs like Tennessee and Auburn still message young Holton, the talent is very real
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the NEW Big 12 Conference
a few things happened last Friday with the Big 12 Conference, in fact it was a historical day for the conference
starting next season...Colorado, Arizona, Utah and Arizona State will join the Big 12 - what??? it is still hard to wrap my head around the news, most of all just how badly the Pac 12 bungled this whole situation
not only did these teams leave the conference, but earlier Friday afternoon both Oregon and Washington were announced to the Big 10 conference...once that happened it was over for the Pac 12
this is not a Pac 12 update and I personally have no stake in that game, nor do I 'feel bad' or believe 'this is bad for CFB'...mostly because I'm 40 years old and college football existing long before me and will exist long after me - conferences and the teams included have changed over the decades, more changes will come for certain
the real story here is again, the man the myth the legend Brett Yormark...I'm sure there are plenty of other people helping, but Yormark has led this conference into an unexpected future and the Big 12 will have 16 teams going into next season
again, hard to believe...because before Yormark and over the past 5-10 years, and especially after OU/UT announced their move to the SEC, the Big 12 conference was left for dead and so many national talking heads dismissed the future of the conference
not any more
while the Colorado, Arizona State, Utah and Arizona programs are not the Oklahoma/Texas type programs, they are great additions and put this conference squarely back in the national conversation after 1-2 years of hearing that the SEC and Big 10 were the 'big two' conferences with everyone else on the outside looking in
now...let's speculate
I will not pretend to know anything about 16 team conferences or how 'pods' and schedules work...but this is just exciting, period
for the longest time, Lubbock was 'way out there' and location was always an 'issue' discussed by the CFB/Big 12 world...well, now the conference covers FIVE (5) more states than it did only a year ago - Ohio, Florida, Colorado, Utah and Arizona
even before we knew this type of expansion or future of the Big 12 was a possibility, the storyline was - from me at least - how beating the TCU/OkState/Baylor programs on the field and on the recruiting trail could lead to the Red Raiders being atop the new-look Big 12
with 16 teams, that conversation becomes a little different...but I still believe the Texas Tech program has a great opportunity to compete for championships in this league
look around at Cincinnati, UCF, Utah and Baylor (gross)...these programs have won conference championships, some have gone to the CFB playoff and all of them have at least been considered late into the season for a spot in the CFB playoff
with an expanded playoffs - something that will for certain be tweaked after all these changes - we could see two (2) programs from the conference play in the CFB playoff
why not the Red Raiders? maybe I will be wrong, but in terms of the 'new' teams, only Utah and UCF seem like programs setup to compete...add TCU, Baylor and Oklahoma State to that mix
Tech + the five (5) programs mentioned above represents only six (6) programs in a 16 team conference...so this is going to be fun, so many activities and so many new traditions/road trips/cultures to get to know
there are so many things I could type, but all in all, this is very exciting and the timing this going down before the season is perfect
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No. 11 Texas Tech
the preseason AP poll will be released next Monday, and a lot of projections have the Red Raiders listed from No. 20 to No. 25 for the most part...but Brett McMurphy is feeling froggy and has your Red Raiders listed as the No. 11 team in the nation
I have always said Brett McMurphy is a CFB genius, always
the hype train for Texas Tech football left the station a while ago, but these types of projections and tweets from prominent national reporters makes it feel a little more 'real' every time it happens
we are only weeks away from real football games, but within the building and around the country, people are buying into this Red Raiders team
I meet Red Raiders here in the DFW area all the time...just met a guy yesterday at the driving range and one of the first things he said was 'yeah, we are supposed to have a pretty good football team this season'
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where's the beef?
ok, story time...who remembers the 2019 recruiting cycle and QB target - eventual BU commitment - Jacob Zeno ?
most of you will remember, but for those that do not, Zeno was the No. 1 target for then head coach Kliff Kingsbury in his last season as the Texas Tech head coach
Kliff had coached Johnny Manziel, Patrick Mahomes and several others at this point...so having a guy like that make you his No. 1 target was a big deal - I mean, they did not really recruit another QB seriously for months
the team and I usually build a relationship with recruits' parents, Mom or Dad, in order to stay in touch and not bother kids too much for interviews
Zeno's father and I would talk often, because I truly thought it was only a matter of time before the four-star prospect committed to the Red Raiders
in one conversation late into the recruitment and another visit to campus, I asked his father..."so where do things stand, the Tech coaches have made Jacob a priority...what is keeping you guys from committing?"
his response..."man, to be honest Matt, we love the Tech coaches...but when we visit Tech and then visit a program like Baylor, the players at each program just look different. the players at Baylor are just huge compared to the players at Tech"
that comment always stuck with me, becuase if I'm being 100-percent honest, it kind of confused or pissed me off in the moment...but was he wrong at the time? no, not really
all of that story to say, in only a few years Joey McGuire and his staff have transformed this roster and I'm told there are some gigantic human beings roaming the halls in Lubbock these days
James Blanchard likes to say that 'big people beat up little people'
also, if you are like me - squinting into your computer screen trying to find the Baylor logo...my son found it, under the Rutgers logo, in the middle - average to below average
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speaking of hype...
you did it, give yourselves a hand - season tickets are officially sold out and now two (2) home games against Oregon and Houston are now officially sold out
with only a few weeks left until the season, I have very little doubt that Kansas State and UCF become sellouts before too long
I did not include TCU because it is the Thursday night game...but it should sell out, depends on how many people can take off work and get out to Lubbock
'60 Minutes Of Us' is the mantra from Coach McGuire and the Tech fanbase has responded...not to mention this is a direct coorelation to the team's performance at home in The Jones last season
this fanbase has been through coaching changes, losing seasons and poor performance in home games for the better part of a decade...just win games and this is easily one of the more passionate fan bases and 'most difficult' places to play in the country
we love to see it...
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shoutout to the TTU creative team
with fall camp starting this week, the TTU creative team is back in their bag and producing some incredible video recaps of practice
these drone shots and the transitions are just beautiful
I used to complain that the Tech program was 'behind' when it came to social media/etc...but no more, this team sets the bar very high and these videos are great
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Red Raiders in the NFL - quick hits
former TTU standout and TTU Hall of Famer Zach Thomas was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame last weekend, which I wrote a bit about in last week's Flare...but an awesome speech by Chris Berman and an intro from Jimmy Johnson
then this absolutely iconic Guns Up from the man himself, just pretty cool
early entry for picture of the year, imnsho
what a list, 21 former Red Raiders in total are competing in Fall Camps right now...some obviously hold a starting spot while others are either new to the league or working to hold onto said spot
I'm excited to see what Tyree Wilson does in his rookie season, and I believe we will hear Muddy Waters' name called at some point this season
speaking of former Red Raiders in the NFL, a big congrats to former Texas Tech standout Broderick Washingon who signed a 3-year deal worth $17.5 million dollars with $10 million guaranteed earlier this week
back when satellite camps were still a thing, the Red Raiders hosted an East Texas satellite camp in the summer of 2014 - Washington was a two-star offensive lineman that showed up and was named one of the top performers at the camp by then Rivals analyst Jason Howell
the coaches did not offer after the camp, in fact they waited until September to offer and Washington jumped on the opportunity...committing a day later
from @A. Dickens 2014 commit story...
"They had called down there and asked coach for some defensive film on me," said Washington. "I don't know how that went, but today is when they offered me, and I committed today.
"When I was a little kid, I always wanted to go to Texas Tech. I would always watch the games and see the mascot and that kind of made me want to go to Texas Tech when I was young."
just awesome, congrats to young Broderick!
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Happy Birthday to Coach McGuire 🎉
last Sunday was young Joey's birthday, not sure of his age but McGuire somehow has the energy of a 20 year old
happy birthday, coach!
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Recruiting - Around the Big 12
we look around the new-look conference this week after more new commitments were made, the rankings are now updated and have shifted the Sooners to the top class in the conference...
*listed in current Big 12 rankings order, new programs now officially added to the Rivals rankings list - plus a new 'look' or design from the Rivals team on these lists/pages
Oklahoma - 19 total commitments, No. 14 class in the nation
the Sooners added a new commitment this week...
OL Josh Aisosa
Texas - 16 total commitments, No. 15 class in the nation
the Longhorns added a new commitment this week...
DE Collin Simmons (five-star prospect)
UCF - 17 total commitments, No. 22 class in the nation
the Golden Knights added three (3) new commitments this week...(now 8 total four-star prospects in this class) and a RB from Texas 👀
RB Frankie Arthur
DB Jaylen Heyward
WR Bredell Richardson
watch out for the Golden Knights...now 8 total four-star prospects in this class 👀
Texas Tech - 18 total commitments, No. 32 class in the nation
the Red Raiders did not add any new commitments this week...
*the PWO commitments do not count towards the class recruiting rankings
West Virginia - 20 total commitments, No. 40 class in the nation
the Mountaineers added one (1) new commitment this week...
DT Nate Gabriel
Cincinnati - 20 total commitments, No. 44 class in the nation
the Bearcats did not add any new commitments this week...
Kansas - 15 total commitments, No. 48 class in the nation
the Jayhawks did not add any new commitments this past week...
Iowa State - 16 total commitments, No. 51 class in the nation
the Cyclones did not add any new commitments this past week...
TCU - 16 total commitments, No. 55 class in the nation
the Horned Frogs added one (1) new commitment this week...
ATH Ladainian Fields
Oklahoma State - 13 total commitments, No. 56 class in the nation
the Cowboys did not add any new commitments this past week...
Baylor - 14 total commitments, No. 58 class in the nation
the Bears added two (2) new commitments this past week...
K Connor Hawkins
DB Kyler Beaty
BYU - 11 total commitments, No. 82 class in the nation
the Cougars added two (2) new commitments this past week...
DB Tre Alexander
ATH Jonathan Kabeya
Houston - eight (8) total commitments, No. 90 class in the nation
the Cougars added one (1) new commitment this past week...
ATH Michael Graham Jr.
Kansas State - seven (7) total commitments, No. 91 class in the nation
the Wildcats did not add any new commitments this past week...
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have a great weekend everyone!
