good morning best online friends, no Red Raider football today but there are a lot of things to cover on this Saturday morning.
it's Saturday, let's Flare...
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WEEKLY LINKS
Numbers of Note: BYU
Staff Prediction: Tech heads to Provo to take on BYU
Tech aims to regroup in hostile road test at BYU
Strong IN, Morton OUT, defensive studs return against BYU
Tech falls flat against BYU, suffer thrid Big 12 loss 27-14
McGuire frustrated with trunovers, penalties after Tech loss in Provo
Top-ranked LS Rylan Vagana discusses Texas Tech commitment
Grading the Red Raiders: Not good enough in Provo
McCasland talks faster pace, anticipation ahead of A&M exhibition
2023 Red Raiders in the NFL: Week seven recap
Breaking Down the Red Raiders Pre-Season Projections
TTU offers 2025 Cypress Falls ILB Kaleb Burns
McGuire, Red Raiders relishing much-needed bye week
Texas Tech Basetball improvements and questions to watch: Guards
The Recruiting Six Pack: TTU picks up commit from Brandeis OT
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TTU RECRUITING THIS WEEK
the coaches landed a new commitment, there were a handful of new offers, a 2024 commitment was officially invited to the UA All-American game and more...
new 2024 commitment
earlier this week, the coaches landed a commitment from San Antonio Brandeis offensive tackle Tyler Murray. the 6-foot-5, 281-pound senior originally committed to Army over the summer, but reopened his recruitment in late September only days after visiting Lubbock.
Murray is a preferred walk-on commitment, further proof of the Matador Club and NIL dollars/opportunities helping to land quality prospects as walk-on additions to the program.
In addition to the offer from Army, Murry held offers from Northwestern State and Weber State. The Baylor coaches hosted him on a visit in late September as well.
we will speak with Murray and gather more details, but having a preferred walk-on offensive lineman is always a good thing.
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new offers
the Texas Tech coaches offered Beckville 2026 running back Jorden Prince this week. the 6-foot, 170-pound sophomore prospect now holds two (2) early offers from UTSA and your Red Raiders. Prince is the younger brother of current Texas Tech 2024 commitment J'Koby Williams, and the two share a backfield at Beckville and have been very productive so far this season. Prince is also a member of the varsity track & field team at Beckville, running in the 100m and competing in the triple jump.
the Texas Tech coaches offered Michigan State transfer and former Coffeyville C.C. offensive guard Keyshawn Blackstock this week. listed at 6-foot-5, 310-pounds, Blackstock was ranked as the No. 1 JUCO offensive lineman in the 2023 class and chose Michigan State over 38 other listed offers. with the coaching change at MSU, Blackstock announced his intent to transfer from the program this Tuesday. since announcing his intention to transfer, he has announced new offers from N.C. State, Houston, Pitt, Cal, Memphis, Nebraska, UTSA, Virginia Tech, Louisiana, Arizona State, Ole Miss, Penn State, USF, Temple, West Virginia, Kansas and your Red Raiders - so 17 new offers in less than a week, not bad.
the Texas Tech coaches offered Montgomery tight end and Wyoming verbal commitment Jake Wilson this week. the 6-foot-5, 215-pound prospect lists eight (8) offers from Wyoming, Air Force, Dartmouth, Harvard, Idaho, Holy Cross, Princeton, Stephen F. Austin and now your Red Raiders. we will confirm, but this is most likely a preferred walk-on offer. through nine (9) games this season, Wilson has recorded 30 receptions for 416 yards and four (4) touchdowns this season. he just announced his commitment to Wyoming a few weeks ago, so we will speak with him and confirm things on the Texas Tech side - re: PWO and potential visit to Lubbock.
the Texas Tech coaches offered Byron Nelson 2025 corner Leo Almanza Jr. this week. the 6-foot-1, 170-pound junior prospect now lists three (3) early offers from Cal, Utah and your Red Raiders. Almanza Jr. camped with the Red Raiders over the summer and ran a 4.43 40-yard dash. the standout defender was named the District 4-6A Defensive Newcomer of the Year as a sophomore last season. he also plays varsity basketball and track & field for the Bobcats.
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Micah Hudson stuff...
when following recruiting, it is very easy to react and respond to every little thing that happens over a 9-12 month timeline.
now that the Red Raiders are sitting at a higher stakes table, the reactions and responses from even those outside of our RRS/TTU bubble come more often.
it was reported that Hudson visited Texas A&M once again last weekend, staying on Saturday evening and attending an A&M volleyball game. after the reports, Hudson shared the above tweet the very next day.
I cannot say with 100-percent certainty what this lock emoji means, but I would say it was in reference to Hudson being 'locked in' with the Red Raiders. who knows why he was on the A&M campus again, but I'm guessing there were friends or maybe a beautiful young woman involved...the A&M campus is 1.5 hours away for Hudson and the Aggies were on a bye week...however, in terms of being fair & balanced here, this was Hudson's second visit to College Station in the past month.
let's pause for a quick halftime break to watch Hudson's highlights from last weekend...
so if one wasn't sure whether that 'lock' tweet meant anything or not, Hudson shared that he was attending the Hutto game to watch his fellow TTU commitment and QB Will Hammond's team play last night. not only did Hudson attend the game, but he was sharing highlight tweets from Hammond's dominate performance. the TTU QB commitment put on a show in another bananas stats game - see below.
so all of this story/update aside, when recruiting five-star prospects this is the 'drama' or suspense that most around here (including me) are simply not used to following.
everything points to Hudson being a Red Raider, regardless of hollow reports from other websites...his actions speak louder.
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speaking of impressive 2024 TTU commitments...
this week Prosper offensive tackle and longtime Texas Tech commitment Ellis Davis announced that he had been named an Under Armour All-American, posting an edit from the TTU Football department featuring him and five-star wide receiver commitment Micah Hudson.
Davis is a four-star prospect on Rivals, but on other recruiting sites Davis is considered a Top 100 prospect in the nation and this honor validates some of those other industry rankings...which makes me think he could be in line for an update on the Rivals side, especially after a solid performance against other top talent in the UA All-American game.
also, if you were wondering...Hudson is a fan of this post as well
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Tahj Brooks' big season continues
after another solid performance last weekend, Brooks was named the East-West Shrine Bowl Texas Star of the week. with a true freshman QB running the show, the Red Raiders needed Brooks to shoulder the load and he did that with 31 carries for 105 yards and a touchdown.
the Red Raiders are on a bye this weekend, so before the action starts today...Brooks is the P5 leader in rushing with 896 yards and in missed tackles forced with 55 total.
if this TTU Football team has a shot at turning things around this season, then we know Brooks will be a huge piece to that puzzle...he has been tremendous this season, his first season as 'the guy' after Thompson graduated last year.
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Three Stripe Life
after months of speculation and thousands of comments in various threads on RRS, the program partnered with Patrick Mahomes to announce the move from Under Armour to Adidas apparel moving forward.
look, not sure about you guys...but the team has worn at least 2-3 different uniform brands since I started college...it truly doesn't matter to me what the team wears as long as the games are entertaining and the team wins more than they lose.
BUT, that being said...Patrick Mahomes is arguably the best football player walking planet earth right now and he is a Texas Tech alumni doing whatever he can to help his Red Raiders.
add to that, off the field, Mahomes is setting himself up to become a billionaire sometime soon...with brand deals with numerous companies, including Adidas, his talent on the field has helped him rake in cash off the field - truly an American dream.
the chef's kiss to this whole thing is the t-shirt, a play on something Mahomes wore during the Final Four a few years ago where he wanted to represent the Double T but his affiliation and deal with Adidas prevented him from wearing the UA logo - so he simply grabbed some duck tape, wrote Adidas on it and made his own shirt...improvisation at it's finest.
fast forward a few years and Mahomes + Adidas + Texas Tech announce the new agreement with a shirt commermorating the occasion, no real tape this time...just a great idea all around
the details of this deal have yet to be announced, but we could assume that Mahomes' involvement was crucial and his logo or likeness could be used on jerseys, apparel, etc.
Under Armour was a great partner to Texas Tech for several years, but the writing seemed to be on the wall when UA started losing many contracts across college football. now the Red Raiders are set to announce a partnership with Adidas in July of 2024, and I would imagine some of the details are released/shared before the official announcement comes down.
as I mentioned, what the team wears is not majorly important to me...having Mahomes included and literally using his Name Image & Likeness to promote the program and this move is completely worth every meeting, negotiation and upcoming changes within each athletic program with the new uniforms & apparel.
also, I would be neglecting the overall picture here without mentioning basketball. let's be honest, no real ballers on the recruiting trail are rocking Under Armour...one could argue that Adidas is not miles and miles better, but I would say that it certainly helps and Adidas is very much invested in the AAU basketball scene...feels like this only helps compared to the UA option before.
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scattershooting Twitter links...
we all know Tony Bradford Jr. is an outstanding young man on and off the field at this point, but my reason for posting this video is how cool of new Big 12 member BYU for featuring the opposing team in such a positive light.
conference realignment causes arguments and has forever changed college football, but at the end of the day, every fanbase loves their program and wants to simply have a good time.
I don't know about you, but regardless of the outcome, the BYU stadium was rocking and I was impressed by their fans, the overall scene last Saturday night.
ANOTHER ONE
another Red Raider doing big things at the professional level, the year of Josh Jung continues in Arlington...the rookie third basemen looks nothing resembling a rookie throughout these playoffs and the Texas Tech Baseball account on Twitter has become a Josh Jung account, for all the right reasons.
https://twitter.com/TechAthletics/status/1717677489001312712
I'M MIKE JONES, WHO? MIKE JONES THE ONE AND ONLY, YOU CAN'T CLONE ME, GOTTA A LOT OF HATERS AND A LOT OF HOMIES, SOME FRIENDS AND SOME PHONIES
not going to lie, the 20 year old Matt Clare who bought this CD with the bonus DVD really wants the 40 year old Matt Clare to drop everything and drive to Lubbock next Thursday just to see Mike Jones rock the mic...so cool
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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...
Saturday
11am - No. 6 Oklahoma at Kansas on Fox
11am - Indiana at No. 10 Penn State on CBS
11am - South Carolina at Texas A&M on ESPN
11am - Houston at Kansas State on ESPN2
11am - West Virginia at UCF on FS1
2:30pm - No. 1 Georgia at Florida on CBS
2:30pm - BYU at No. 7 Texas on ABC
2:30pm - No. 8 Oregon at No. 13 Utah on Fox
2:30pm - No. 20 Duke at No. 18 Louisville on ESPN
7pm - Cincinnati at Oklahoma State on ESPN2
9:30pm - No. 11 Oregon State at Arizona on ESPN
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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 - 27 total commitments, No. 5 class in the nation
the Sooners added a new commitment this week...
DB Devon Jordan
Texas - 19 total commitments, No. 7 class in the nation
the Longhorns added a new commitment this week...
WR Ryan Wingo
Texas Tech - 20 total commitments, No. 24 class in the nation
the Red Raiders did not add a new commitment this week...
UCF - 18 total commitments, No. 27 class in the nation
the Golden Knights did not add a new commitment this week...
TCU - 18 total commitments, No. 38 class in the nation
the Horned Frogs added a new commitment this week...
DE Tristan Johnson
West Virginia - 20 total commitments, No. 40 class in the nation
the Mountaineers did not add a new commitment this week...
Arizona - 22 total commitments, No. 43 class in the nation
the Wildcats did not add a new commitment this week...
Cincinnati - 23 total commitments, No. 44 class in the nation
the Bearcats added two (2) new commitments this week...
DT Lendric Barber
OL Aiden Pastoriza
Kansas - 16 total commitments, No. 50 class in the nation
the Jayhawks did not add a new commitment this week...
Iowa State - 18 total commitments, No. 52 class in the nation
the Cyclones did not add a new commitment this week...
Oklahoma State - 15 total commitments, No. 54 class in the nation
the Cowboys did not add a new commitment this week...
Baylor - 14 total commitments, No. 59 class in the nation
the Bears did not add a new commitment this week...
Colorado - 10 total commitments, No. 63 class in the3nation
the Buffs 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...
Utah - 10 total commitments, No. 70 class in the nation
the Utes did not add a new commitment this week...
Kansas State - nine (9) total commitments, No. 88 class in the nation
the Wildcats added two new commitments this week...
DB Callen Barta
LB Boone Morris
Houston - eight (8) total commitments, No. 97 class in the nation
the Cougars did not add a new commitment this week...
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have a great weekend everyone!
