Pardon the sentimental post here. I apologize in advance.
Jurrien Loftin is a kid I've known the last 5 years, but have really gotten to know him the last 3. He is an Aledo graduate and is very good friends with my daughter. In fact, she was the one who brought him to Lubbock for his unofficial visit for the Iowa State game back in 2021. If you recall, that was Sonny Cumbie's first game as interim HC, Joey had just been hired, and Jurrien was invited by Matt Wells. It was an odd situation to say the least. He had never been to campus before--ever--so our family showed him around, and he had Scarlett and Zach sit with him in the recruits section. That was the Garibay 62 yard FG to beat Iowa State. They all rushed the field. Long story short--he was a Red Raider that day.
Jurrien is one of the smartest kids I know. Freakish smart. Could be a doctor, will probably be a lawyer, looking to be an economist. Earned a full academic scholarship to Tech. His summer internship last summer (2023) was in the Australian Parliament. Just a really great kid. And, clearly, one of my favorites.
He's about 6'4" in the 290 - 300 lb range. Subsequently, he is a walk on OL for Joey. Joey even gave him some pub in a press conference as a walk on player of the week. In the Fall of 2022, his first year in the program, he was going thru pass pro in practice and everyone heard his left ankle snap. He was done for the year. After about 6 - 9 months of rehab, he was back for summer workouts in 2023. He was doing really well in practice, and felt like he had a shot at making the travel roster, and would see some playing time vs. Tarleton State. The week of the Tarleton State game, again at practice, he suffered a devastating knee injury. He tried to explain to me how and what happened, but basically he ended up with multiple pieces of cartilage floating around in his knee. It required a total knee replacement. He had to be put on a donor list and had to wait for the right donor to literally die so he could get their knee. (A lot of summary there, but you get the point.) In March of 2024, he flew out to California to have the surgery. The doctors told him that he could not put weight on his knee for 4-6 weeks, and 9 months for complete recovery. Now, 3 months ahead of schedule, he is back in a Texas Tech Football jersey, practicing with the team. I honestly did not think I would see him in a Tech jersey this year.
Sorry for the long post. Just very, very proud of this kid. He had opportunities to go to Baylor or TCU. The coach who invited him on a visit was fired. He didn't know if the new guy wanted him. Hell, he had never seen the campus before. Gets a shot, gets injured, rehabs, makes progress, has a devastating injury, gets a new position coach, works his ass off, and is now back on the field.
PS: HUGE shout out to Joey and the medical team at Tech. It could have been easy to tell him "Sorry buddy, hope you get better". But nope, they stuck with him and took care of him. Good on Joey and his staff.
Jurrien Loftin is a kid I've known the last 5 years, but have really gotten to know him the last 3. He is an Aledo graduate and is very good friends with my daughter. In fact, she was the one who brought him to Lubbock for his unofficial visit for the Iowa State game back in 2021. If you recall, that was Sonny Cumbie's first game as interim HC, Joey had just been hired, and Jurrien was invited by Matt Wells. It was an odd situation to say the least. He had never been to campus before--ever--so our family showed him around, and he had Scarlett and Zach sit with him in the recruits section. That was the Garibay 62 yard FG to beat Iowa State. They all rushed the field. Long story short--he was a Red Raider that day.
Jurrien is one of the smartest kids I know. Freakish smart. Could be a doctor, will probably be a lawyer, looking to be an economist. Earned a full academic scholarship to Tech. His summer internship last summer (2023) was in the Australian Parliament. Just a really great kid. And, clearly, one of my favorites.
He's about 6'4" in the 290 - 300 lb range. Subsequently, he is a walk on OL for Joey. Joey even gave him some pub in a press conference as a walk on player of the week. In the Fall of 2022, his first year in the program, he was going thru pass pro in practice and everyone heard his left ankle snap. He was done for the year. After about 6 - 9 months of rehab, he was back for summer workouts in 2023. He was doing really well in practice, and felt like he had a shot at making the travel roster, and would see some playing time vs. Tarleton State. The week of the Tarleton State game, again at practice, he suffered a devastating knee injury. He tried to explain to me how and what happened, but basically he ended up with multiple pieces of cartilage floating around in his knee. It required a total knee replacement. He had to be put on a donor list and had to wait for the right donor to literally die so he could get their knee. (A lot of summary there, but you get the point.) In March of 2024, he flew out to California to have the surgery. The doctors told him that he could not put weight on his knee for 4-6 weeks, and 9 months for complete recovery. Now, 3 months ahead of schedule, he is back in a Texas Tech Football jersey, practicing with the team. I honestly did not think I would see him in a Tech jersey this year.
Sorry for the long post. Just very, very proud of this kid. He had opportunities to go to Baylor or TCU. The coach who invited him on a visit was fired. He didn't know if the new guy wanted him. Hell, he had never seen the campus before. Gets a shot, gets injured, rehabs, makes progress, has a devastating injury, gets a new position coach, works his ass off, and is now back on the field.
PS: HUGE shout out to Joey and the medical team at Tech. It could have been easy to tell him "Sorry buddy, hope you get better". But nope, they stuck with him and took care of him. Good on Joey and his staff.
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