me neither, Ric...me neither
it's Friday, let's Flare...
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WEEKLY LINKS
Stephenville head coach Sterling Doty talks new TTU commit Tristian Gentry
Film Room Friday: West Virginia
Staff Score Predictions: Red Raiders start off Big 12 play 1-0?
The Recruiting Six-Pack: TTU picks up first commit for 2025 class
Red Raiders open Big 12 slate at West Virginia
Tyler Shough carted off in first quarter vs. West Virginia
Tech dropped by Mountaineers 20-13 in Big 12 opener
McGuire recaps loss in Morgantown, update on Shough
Mailbag Answers: Post-West Virginia
Grading the Red Raiders: Offensive disaster in Morgantown
2024 Texas Tech commits and targets tracker: Week Five
McGuire addresses pre-season expectations, offensive struggles
Zach Kittley talks Behren Morton, offensive struggles
2023 Red Raiders in the NFL: Week three recap
Tech defense taking stop in second year under DeRuyter
Red Raiders prepare for next installment against Houston
GoCoogs.com's Monceaux gives low down on Houston identity
McCasland feels strongly about Tech roster after first day of practice
MWC Freshman of the Year primed to make impact for 23-24 Red Raiders
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TTU RECRUITING THIS WEEK
no new offers this week, but some things were happening with the 2024 class...the coaches are in the mix for a 2025 Rivals Top 100 prospect, we look at the recruiting edit of the week and more.
highlighting some 2024 commitment performances
Beckville running back and Texas Tech commitment J'Koby Williams had a great weekend this past week, earning the Built Ford Tough 2A Player of the Week award.
the 5-foot-9, 180-pound back does it all for Beckville, and finished with 160 passing yards on four (4) attempts with three (3) passing touchdowns along with seven (7) carries for 110 yards and one (1) rushing touchdown. on defense, he had a tackle for loss, a fumble recovery, an interception and returned a punt for a touchdown.
the 5.7 three-star prospect is averaging over 12 yards per carry on the season
coming to a stadium near you...plays like this from Belton five-star wide receiver and Texas Tech commitment Micah Hudson
the 6-foot, 193-pound receiver finished with six (6) receptions for 131 yards and two (2) receiving touchdowns - an average of 21 yards per reception
the guy throwing to Hudson in the future, Hutto quarterback and Texas Tech commitment Will Hammond now leads the state of Texas in total yards with 2,343 yards + 25 touchdowns scored
always hard to 'sell the future'...but man, this QB/WR/RB combo alone is a very solid foundation in this 2024 class
the Dallas Morning News named Frisco Lone Star defensive end Jaxon Lee the SportsDayHS defensive player of the week
the 6-foot-3, 220-pound prospect is a preferred walk-on commitment for the Red Raiders, choosing to walk-on at Texas Tech over 13 other offers from programs across the country, including offers from Memphis, North Texas, Navy, Tulsa and several others.
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things were happening this week
the Red Raiders are 1-3 on the season, so naturally fans were posting about how five-star wide receiver Micah Hudson would not stay committed to such a bad football team...
Hudson, who was seemingly a ghost on X/Twitter before announcing his commitment to Texas Tech recently is now consistently tweeting about the Red Raiders and has officially started to publicly recruit for the program.
earlier this summer, Cibolo Steele safety Dontae Carter committed to Vanderbilt over Nebraska and Texas Tech - the other 'finalists' in his recruitment
Hudson, along with several other 2024 commitments, were responding to Carter on social media this week...posting pictures from a June official visit where several top targets were in Lubbock
to be clear, nothing has happened and Carter was not available for comment this week...but like the title says, things were definitely happening this week
in addition to the commitments publicly recruiting a player committed to another program, the Texas Tech program has a very real history of recruiting at Cibolo Steele and helping to develop Knights into NFL prospects/players
I do not personally have enough info to call for a 'flip watch' here...but we are certainly keeping an eye on Carter's recruitment moving forward
I do expect a return visit to Lubbock for Carter this season, so more to come
plus, and maybe more importantly...the 5.7 three-star prospect does things like this on the football field...whoa
things were happening, and what goes up must go down...maybe
Sachse outside linebacker Cheta Ofili was in College Station over the weekend to watch the Aggies win over Auburn
while there is no offer from the A&M coaches, Ofili visiting is certainly something to monitor...it is hard 'not' to react when these things happen, but Ofili has been sharing Texas Tech stuff on social media all week
I believe this is a non-story, kids take visits and while I did not dig into this story or have a chance to speak with Cheta...I would wager he visited with some teammates from Sachse
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Red Raiders make the Top 12 for Rogers
Mesquite Horn 2025 offensive tackle Lamont Rogers released his Top 12 this week and included your Red Raiders, along with Michigan, Florida, USC, Texas, Tennessee, LSU, Oklahoma, Mississippi State, TCU, Florida State and Texas A&M.
usually a 'top 12' makes people roll their eyes or something like this does not register much mid-football season...but folks, this is a big one
Rogers holds nearly 30 offers from programs across the country, and a few programs who did not make this list include - Alabama, Baylor, Ole Miss, Nebraska, Penn State and Washington to name a few
the 6-foot-8, 305-pound junior is listed as the No. 27 overall prospect in the nation, the No. 5 prospect in the state of Texas and the No. 5 overall offensive tackle prospect in the nation for the 2025 class
to clarify the rankings info, this is five-star territory and if this ranking holds, then Rogers will be a five-star prospect going into this off-season when the rankings are fully updated
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TTU recruiting edit of the week
this week's recruiting edit of the week is brought to you / shared by Fulshear 2025 defensive end Sheldon Rice
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the sky is falling, the sky is falling - my .02 cents
the Red Raiders are 1-3, something nobody predicted before the season started...people around this here website were mad online and it was rough all over for TTU fans
I have never posted here on gameday, well 'never' is too strong of a word...maybe 10+ years ago and that was short-lived
I found myself somewhat angered at some of the posts calling for people's jobs after 15 games into their tenure...seems like low-hanging fruit, "I'm mad and hear me roar" and gathering those sweet-sweet likes and clicks on the backs of everyone's raw emotions
but I get it, I really do - nobody hammering their keyboard while on RRS would disagree
so here is my 'take a beat and wait until next Friday Flare' post on the subject...
if you are so passionate or upset that firing a coach or offensive coordinator after 15 games played, then you could most likely agree that your preference would be for the Texas Tech program to 'build' a foundation of success for years to come
losing three (3) games by....
2 points to Wyoming on the road
8 points to No. 9 Oregon at home
7 points to West Virginia on the road
...sucks, it sucks - that is the main reaction, it has been brutal to watch
that being said, if nobody here had the team at 1-3, the coaching staff sure as you-know-what did not plan on having a losing record at this point of the season
I have seen posts about fans being upset at McGuire's comments in the off-season, the expectations for this team going into the season...those are all fair, but my question to those folks - what would you prefer McGuire to say?
..."our OL is going to be average to above average, we have some unproven guys and they need to prove themselves, but I'm just not sure about them right now"
idk, you get it...made up comment is a made up comment, but this is where my brain goes when reading some of these posts over the past few weeks
does Kittley and the offense need to figure things out? abso-freakin-lutely, nobody can argue that whatsoever
has the defense come to play this season? yes, the answer is yes
here is what I know for certain...'firing' another coach seems like the dumbest idea that I could possibly think of after the past decade of Tubberville, Kingsbury and Wells
this program needs stability, this program needs someone committed to building a roster through good times and bad...we have seen what McGuire is capable of this past season, and I would argue there was not some major talent 'lost' from last year's team
the positive? there is nowhere to go but 'up' from here...these coaches and these players have been down & out before, staring at a 4-5 record after a loss at TCU and then they rattled off four (4) straight wins to finish the season
I have zero idea what will happen this weekend and the remainder of the season, but I am certain that firing someone is not the answer...there are eight (8) more games for the Red Raiders to 'get right' and turn things around
I'm excited to see what the offense does this weekend and I plan on being here to read all of the wild threads & comments along the way
win, lose or draw...we all love RRS and all of our best online friends
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honoring Mike Leach this weekend
this weekend, Texas Tech Athletics will be inducting Mike Leach, Kliff Kingsbury and Matt Wingo into the program's Hall of Fame
everyone has their own experience as a Texas Tech student, and I consider myself pretty lucky to have been on campus for the majority of Leach's tenure
there is not another Mike Leach, he was himself and is directly responsible for changing offense throughout college football...in fact, his influence on offense and coaching in college football will live on for decades - look at guys like Lincoln Riley, Dana Holgerson, Sonny Dykes, Dave Aranda, Kliff Kingsbury, Eric Morris, Wes Welker, Sonny Cumbie, Josh Heupel, Graham Harrell, Neal Brown and others
while the departure from Texas Tech was just as unique as Leach himself, the Pirate went on to have success at both Washington State and Mississippi State - programs that have a lot of similarities to Texas Tech, in terms of historically not being 'winners'
if you recall, while at Washington State - Leach met with Microsoft engineers to create mismatches
nearly 15 years after being fired at Texas Tech, Leach and his Mississippi State team lost to the Red Raiders in the Liberty Bowl - it seems liked the relationship between Texas Tech and Leach had drastically improved from that week of media coverage...not here to say they were ever 100-percent perfect or that things were ever forgiven
there are countless stories about Leach, but the man was a winner and we all lost him way too soon
Texas Tech is a better football program to this day because of Mike Leach
there will never be another Mike Leach and I'm very happy to see the program honoring his legacy
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more Senior Bowl love for TTU
we have posted about Senior Bowl Director Jim Nagy for a few weeks now, and Nagy was at the game in Morgantown last weekend showing the Red Raiders more love...
he posted about a few other players, but this is the first NFL Draft hype for Texas Tech running back Tahj Brooks that I have seen
Brooks is having a great season so far and is firmly out of the shadow of SaRadorick Thompson after backing him up for two (2) seasons
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25K Mahomes
former TTU great Patrick Mahomes became the fastest QB ever to reach 25,000 passing yards, doing so in 83 games
and...TAYLOR SWIFT was there to see it happen, omgsh!!!
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the CFB weekend - what to watch
let's look at what to watch in week four around college football this week...
tonight
8pm - No. 10 Utah at No. 19 Oregon State on FS1
9:15pm - Cincinnati at BYU on ESPN
Saturday
11am - No. 8 USC at Colorado on Fox
11am - No. 22 Florida at Kentucky on ESPN
11am - Texas A&M at Arkansas on SEC Network
2:30pm - No. 1 Georgia at Auburn on CBS
2:30pm - No. 2 Michigan at Nebraska on Fox
2:30pm - No. 24 Kansas at No. 3 Texas on ABC
2:30pm - Houston at Texas Tech on FS2
5pm - No. 13 LSU at No. 20 Ole Miss on ESPN
6:30pm - No. 11 Notre Dame at No. 17 Duke on ABC
6:30pm - South Carolina at No. 21 Tennessee on SEC Network
9pm - No. 7 Washington at Arizona on Pac12 Network
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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 updated and the Sooners retain 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
*per request, I have added the 'new' Big 12 programs that will join the conference next season - Arizona, Utah, Colorado and Arizona State
Oklahoma - 24 total commitments, No. 6 class in the nation
the Sooners did not add a new commitment this week...
Texas - 18 total commitments, No. 13 class in the nation
the Longhorns added a new commitment this week...
OT Brandon Baker
Texas Tech - 20 total commitments, No. 23 class in the nation
the Red Raiders did not add a new commitment this week...
UCF - 18 total commitments, No. 26 class in the nation
the Golden Knights did not add a new commitment this week...
Arizona - 21 total commitments, No. 39 class in the nation
the Wildcats 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 - 21 total commitments, No. 42 class in the nation
the Bearcats added a new commitment this week...
OT Zac Clarke
TCU - 17 total commitments, No. 45 class in the nation
the Horned Frogs did not add a new commitment this week...
Arizona State - 17 total commitments, No. 47 class in the nation
the Sun Devils did not add a new commitment this week...
Iowa State - 17 total commitments, No. 51 class in the nation
the Cyclones added a new commitment this week...
ATH Marcus Neal
Kansas - 15 total commitments, No. 51 class in the nation
the Jayhawks 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. 59 class in the nation
the Cowboys did not add a new commitment this week...
Utah - 10 total commitments, No. 66 class in the nation
the Utes did not add a new commitment this week...
BYU - 14 total commitments, No. 69 class in the nation
the Cougars did not add a new commitment this week...
Colorado - nine (9) total commitments, No. 72 class in the nation
the Buffs did not add a new commitment this week...
Houston - eight (8) total commitments, No. 93 class in the nation
the Cougars did not add a new commitment this week...
Kansas State - seven (7) total commitments, No. 98 class in the nation
the Wildcats did not add a new commitment this week...
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have a great weekend everyone!
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