"what the hell was that" -all of us last Saturday night
it's Friday, let's Flare...
----------
WEEKLY LINKS
Tech unable to find rhythm, drops opener to Wyoming 35-33 in 2OT
Tech won't let loss in Laramie "define" 2023 season
Film Review: Post-Wyoming
Grading the Red Raiders: Offense falters in road loss to Wyoming
2024 Texas Tech commits and targets tracker: Week Two
McGuire Injury Updates: Rodriguez & Smith to miss significant time
Monday McGuire Notebook: Oregon
Kittley, DeRuyter talk Wyoming misstep, shift focus towards Oregon
2023 Red Raiders in the NFL: Regular season preview
Red Raiders staying the course ahead of matchup with Oregon
Red Raiders offer 2025 Alief Hastings SDE Smith Orogbo
McCasland optimistic on 23-24 schedule, roster construction & staff
RRS TV: Verone McKinley Jr., Pres. by J's Salsa
The Recruiting Six-Pack: Visitors expected to be in town for Oregon game
DuckSportsAuthority's Reed talks Oregon offense, anticipates road test
----------
TTU RECRUITING THIS WEEK
no new offers were made this week, a 2023 walk-on enters the transfer portal, we preview a huge visitor weekend, updates on several 2024 commit and targets' performances from the past week and a look at the weekly edit from the TTU FB Graphics department...
TE Jordan Green enters the transfer portal
Fort Worth Christian tight end Jordan Green was a late addition to the 2023 recruiting class as a walk-on, and in less than a year and one week into the season he announced his intentions to enter the transfer portal.
not really much to write about here, very odd timing and even regular college students never settle into the new routine or change in scenary...this one is more of a head scratcher because Green chose the walk-on opportunity from TTU over full ride scholarship offers from UMass, Liberty, Fordham, Jackson State and Indiana.
TTU coaches set to host several visitors this weekend
between current commitments, targets and a ton of underclassmen - the TTU coaches are set to host over 50 prospects for the home opener against Oregon this weekend
the headliner targets for the 2024 class - WR Micah Hudson and WR Cedric Lott
a lot of people are concerned with the week one loss and how that impacts Hudson's view of Texas Tech...well, that is not necessarily how recruiting works. that being said, the team cannot play poorly all season and the Red Raiders have a great opportunity at home to beat a high quality OOC opponent in Oregon.
Lott is a current Boston College commitment, but this weekend his Mom is visiting Lubbock with him and a good visit + thumbs up from Mom could lead to a flip here.
the real opportunity this weekend is for the 2025 recruiting class with nearly 40 prospects visiting for the game...as we all know, Blanchard & the recruiting staff are often 'in' with recruits very early and the majority of these visitors are not even rated and have very few offers, so there are probably some hidden gems on this list
these are longtime targets, prospects that have already visited campus this off-season...
WR Kaliq Lockett
WR Terrence Lewis
WR Leyton Stone
WR Michael Terry
OL Logan Schram
DB Micah Strickland
DB Nathan Tilmon
DB Jaquise Martin
these young men and their families are in for a treat with a night game in Lubbock, sold out crowd...and a win this weekend would be huge on the recruiting trail
2024 commitment highlights
not a commitment...but Cedric Lott hauled in three (3) touchdowns last week
longtime commitment Lorenzo Johnson Jr. with the pick six
Micah Hudson is very good...'better than 96% of over 8,000 D1 WR since 2010' - what a stat
Will Hammond went crazy in a 82-80 loss, which probably sucks...but then Patrick Mahomes quoted the RRS tweet - so cool
weekly TTU Recruiting edits
----------
new LED lighting at Jones AT&T Stadium
one of the many updates to Jones AT&T Stadium this off-season was the addition of LED lighting, and this looks incredible...I cannot wait to see this in person, but I will settle for watching it on TV this weekend (my son has a baseball tournament at Rocker B Ranch this weekend, so no Oregon game for me 🥲)
while this is very very cool, just imagine a year from now when the South endzone is completed and these lights are going wild as the team runs through the new South endzone entrance...whoa
----------
the CFB weekend - what to watch
the Red Raiders do not play until the evening, so while you prepare here are some games to watch throughout the day...
tonight at 6:30pm - Illinois @ Kansas on ESPN2
Saturday:
11am - No. 10 Notre Dame @ NC State on ABC
11am - No. 12 Utah @ Baylor on ESPN
11am - Nebraska @ No. 22 Colorado on Fox
2:30pm - No. 20 Ole Miss @ No. 24 Tulane on ESPN2
2:30pm - No. 23 Texas A&M @ Miami on ABC
5pm - SMU @ No. 18 Oklahoma on ESPN+
6pm - No. 11 Texas @ No. 3 Alabama on ESPN
6pm - No. 13 Oregon @ Texas Tech on Fox
9:30pm - Oklahoma State @ Arizona State
----------
Steele gets paid
congrats to former Red Raider and undrafted free agent Terence Steele, who signed a contract extension worth nearly $87 million dollars with $50 million dollars guaranteed.
the former 5.5 three-star prospect has excelled ever since joining the Cowboys as an undrafted free agent, and it was very evident when he went out last season with an injury...Steele is now set for life at 26 years old and could easily sign another contract for many more millions at age 30.
----------
speaking of...Red Raiders in the NFL
the majority of these guys are proven NFL commodities besides Ezukanma and Wilson, but I'm most excited to see how Ezukanma develops in the Miami offense this season.
----------
Ludvig selected to the Ryder Cup for Team Europe
yes, we cover mostly football and more football in the Friday Flare...but I'm a golf junkie and this is just awesome.
fresh off his first tour win, Ludvig Aberg was selected to play on Team Europe in the Ryder Cup...that is a huge deal, essentially the All-Star game for golf
this kid is special and I cannot wait to see him in match play
----------
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 - 22 total commitments, No. 10 class in the nation
the Sooners did not add a new commitment this week...
Texas - 17 total commitments, No. 17 class in the nation
the Longhorns added a new commitment this week...
DE Zina Umeozulu
UCF - 18 total commitments, No. 24 class in the nation
the Golden Knights did not add a new commitment this week...
Texas Tech - 18 total commitments, No. 31 class in the nation
the Red Raiders did not add a new commitment this week...
West Virginia - 20 total commitments, No. 40 class in the nation
the Mountaineers did not add a new commitment this week...
Cincinnati - 20 total commitments, No. 43 class in the nation
the Bearcats did not add a new commitment this week...
TCU - 17 total commitments, No. 45 class in the nation
the Horned Frogs added a new commitment this week...
DB Ja'ir Smith
Kansas - 15 total commitments, No. 50 class in the nation
the Jayhawks did not add a new commitment this week...
Iowa State - 16 total commitments, No. 52 class in the nation
the Cyclones did not add a new commitment this week...
Baylor - 14 total commitments, No. 57 class in the nation
the Bears did not add a new commitment this week...
Oklahoma State - 13 total commitments, No. 61 class in the nation
the Cowboys did not add a new commitment this week...
BYU - 14 total commitments, No. 67 class in the nation
the Cougars added a new commitment this week...
DE Devoux Tuataga
Houston - eight (8) total commitments, No. 89 class in the nation
the Cougars did not add a new commitment this week...
Kansas State - seven (7) total commitments, No. 96 class in the nation
the Wildcats did not add a new commitment this week...
----------
have a great weekend everyone!
