good morning, wanted to post some midweek recruiting notes for the 2021 class.
'that was quick'
yes, most of you have heard this before, but I'm talking about recruiting here.
La Porte standout Albert Regis committed to Minnesota site unseen on April 29th, then took to social media over the weekend to decommit and reopen his recruitment.
listed as a tight end on Rivals, Regis' future is as a defensive lineman at the D1 level. He is originally from St. Lucia and holds 13 total offers at the moment. I fully expect the Red Raiders to get back involved with the 6-foot-1, 290-pound prospect.
and we cannot paint with a broad brush, but Regis is not the only prospect to 'try on' the commitment during this pandemic.
even Texas experienced this over the weekend when Atascocita tight end Landen King decommitted from the Longhorns a month after his verbal commitment.
watch the tape though, you cannot teach the athleticism Regis possesses and he could become a very disruptive defensive lineman at the D1 level.
interestingly enough, he might be just the type for Texas Tech...a kid who fell in the Rivals rankings and was a big riser in all other rankings. I joke, but Regis is now a 4-star on TOS while no longer being a Top 100 prospect in the state of Texas on Rivals...yeah!
'who is this guy???'
when @B. Golan and I cover recruiting there are various ways we unearth new information, and one of them is literally dumpster diving through who the coaches follow. this is not singular to Texas Tech coaches either, who are other Big 12 and college programs offering around the state.
meet Lakeview Centennial defensive tackle Ikechukwu "Ike" Iwunnah, who now holds 11 offers from programs around the country.
I'm setup to speak with Ike and his coaches soon, but the majority of these offers have come in after April 1st, which means it is time to build a relationship with young Ike.
Baylor, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado and now Texas have all offered recently.
listed a 6-foot-3, 240-pounds and growing, Iwunnah can certainly use some work on technique and staying lower...but I would bet $100 he is not a lifelong football player or defensive lineman, again going to learn more about him soon.
if the coaches do not offer, then this is a kid who will end up rushing the Tech QB for Baylor or Texas or another Big 12 program.
2021 - OL Recruiting
Coach Farmer currently lists 12 total offers to offensive lineman prospects in the 2021 class.
in the 'not happening' or 'longshot' category there are seven (7) prospects of the 12 total offers who are committed elsewhere, are not even considering Texas Tech or could be considering 'longshots'...
Tommy Brockermyer, Savion Byrd and Reuben Fatheree all hold offers...Fatheree even included Texas Tech in his Top 9 schools, but even Fatheree is a 'longshot' for committing to the Red Raiders.
Matthew Wykoff (A&M), Cole Carson (Arkansas), Kenneth Bannister (La Tech) and Donovan Jackson (Ohio State) are all committed elsewhere...and let's add Texas Tech commit Jack Tucker to that list, which rounds out the committed number to five (5) of the 12 total offers.
so three (3) prospects in the 'probably not' category, four (4) others committed elsewhere and one (1) commitment out of the 12 total offers along the offensive line leaves the following...
Erick Cade - very intriguing prospect from Denton Braswell, does zero media and we are trying to contact his HS coaches...but at 6-foot-7, 290-pounds Cade is a future D1 tackle and someone worth fighting for despite the listed offers from Alabama, LSU, Oklahoma State, Texas, Baylor, Texas A&M and others.
Jacoby Jackson - a longtime target, Jackson has been on campus several times, but seems in no hurry to make a decision and continues adding offers to a list that includes 30+ programs from around the country. his father played RB at TCU, plenty of other competition for his commitment as well.
Jack Leyrer - a prospect who blew up this off-season and is rumored to favor the academic programs like Northwestern, Stanford and others to the traditional programs. regardless, he now lists 28 total offers, including most of the Ivy League schools and several Big 12 programs.
Caleb Etienne - the lone JUCO offer, Etienne would be looked upon as a quick help starter at the tackle position...and in comparison to the HS prospects, it is what it is with JUCO prospects, although the 6-foot-9, 325-pound tackle seems like a very talented lineman.
the coaches have aimed high with some offers and existing relationships with prospects, but as the calendar turns to June and our world begins to 'reopen' more and more, it looks like the time to offer additional 2021 OL targets is now.
there are prospects on the radar, who do not hold an offer but have a relationship with the TTU coaches...
Remington Strickland
Carson Walker
Ty Buchanan
Aaron Session
Caden Barnett
I'm sure there are others, but this is a small group of prospects the coaches are currently speaking with...but in order to land 4-5 commitments, with one in hand already, it is going to take a few more offers this summer.
'top list season'
last, but not least is the topic of 'top list season' for today...anyone that follows recruiting is familiar with prospects announcing their top schools, whether that is a true Top 5 or even a Top 11 or Top 15 in some cases.
it seems like the Red Raiders have been listed in a 'top schools' list for the past 2-3 weeks, with multiple prospects including Texas Tech.
but what does that really mean? especially when kids are committing and decommitting at a historical rate?
you guessed it, very little to not at all. social media has changed the recruiting game so so much, and these lists are often announced with a 'recruitment still open' byline.
so...how do you know if a kid's 'top list' is really inclusive of Texas Tech?
well, that part is simple...do they retweet or like a ton of Texas Tech stuff, or are they retweeting or liking a ton of stuff from another program. this is probably the easiest way to decipher some of these things.
then, you have the kids who ask for followers or post random pictures/.gifs of certain programs, simply out of boredom or in an attempt to gain more followers from ___ program.
over the past two weeks alone, Texas Tech has been listed in the following...
Omega Blake, DB target from South Carolina - Top 15 includes TTU
...if you had to wager money, would you say young Omega is coming to Lubbock?
Ryan Keeler, OL target from Illinois - Top 5 (story here)
...way better than a Top 15 here, but at the moment, most experts are picking Rutgers for the standout defensive lineman
Jackie Marshall, OLB target from Louisiana - Top 5
...with Marshall, we have never talked and plan to do so soon, but he immediately started retweeting and liking every OkState report on his Top 5. I'm sure other reporters, including myself, were tweeting about "Texas Tech makes the Top 5 for Jackie Marshall" and those were all ignored.
so make of that what you will, it might mean very little to nothing at all...but the bread crumbs or tea leaves are there for all of these situations.
Melvin Swindle, DT target from Oklahoma - Top 8
...so not a 'true' Top 8 here, but I wanted to include young Melvin's recent tweet to point a few things out about today's recruiting approach.
the coaches from Memphis might view Swindle as a top target, where Texas Tech might view Swindle as a fall back option in case prospects A, B and C ultimately say "no"...it is the circle of life, the food chain of college football recruiting, etc.
much like looking at which schools are listed among a player's 'top list' and who they are tweeting about, remember that an offer is not a 'real' or 'official' offer until after August 1st...so a program like Texas Tech could verbally offer Swindle and a number of prospects, but only send official offers to a certain number of prospects.
way too many variables and topics to cover in one board post, but wanted to share some thoughts and I'm certainly open to answering your questions on the process or specific recruits/targets.
-Clare
'that was quick'
yes, most of you have heard this before, but I'm talking about recruiting here.
La Porte standout Albert Regis committed to Minnesota site unseen on April 29th, then took to social media over the weekend to decommit and reopen his recruitment.
listed as a tight end on Rivals, Regis' future is as a defensive lineman at the D1 level. He is originally from St. Lucia and holds 13 total offers at the moment. I fully expect the Red Raiders to get back involved with the 6-foot-1, 290-pound prospect.
and we cannot paint with a broad brush, but Regis is not the only prospect to 'try on' the commitment during this pandemic.
even Texas experienced this over the weekend when Atascocita tight end Landen King decommitted from the Longhorns a month after his verbal commitment.
watch the tape though, you cannot teach the athleticism Regis possesses and he could become a very disruptive defensive lineman at the D1 level.
interestingly enough, he might be just the type for Texas Tech...a kid who fell in the Rivals rankings and was a big riser in all other rankings. I joke, but Regis is now a 4-star on TOS while no longer being a Top 100 prospect in the state of Texas on Rivals...yeah!
'who is this guy???'
when @B. Golan and I cover recruiting there are various ways we unearth new information, and one of them is literally dumpster diving through who the coaches follow. this is not singular to Texas Tech coaches either, who are other Big 12 and college programs offering around the state.
meet Lakeview Centennial defensive tackle Ikechukwu "Ike" Iwunnah, who now holds 11 offers from programs around the country.
I'm setup to speak with Ike and his coaches soon, but the majority of these offers have come in after April 1st, which means it is time to build a relationship with young Ike.
Baylor, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado and now Texas have all offered recently.
listed a 6-foot-3, 240-pounds and growing, Iwunnah can certainly use some work on technique and staying lower...but I would bet $100 he is not a lifelong football player or defensive lineman, again going to learn more about him soon.
if the coaches do not offer, then this is a kid who will end up rushing the Tech QB for Baylor or Texas or another Big 12 program.
2021 - OL Recruiting
Coach Farmer currently lists 12 total offers to offensive lineman prospects in the 2021 class.
in the 'not happening' or 'longshot' category there are seven (7) prospects of the 12 total offers who are committed elsewhere, are not even considering Texas Tech or could be considering 'longshots'...
Tommy Brockermyer, Savion Byrd and Reuben Fatheree all hold offers...Fatheree even included Texas Tech in his Top 9 schools, but even Fatheree is a 'longshot' for committing to the Red Raiders.
Matthew Wykoff (A&M), Cole Carson (Arkansas), Kenneth Bannister (La Tech) and Donovan Jackson (Ohio State) are all committed elsewhere...and let's add Texas Tech commit Jack Tucker to that list, which rounds out the committed number to five (5) of the 12 total offers.
so three (3) prospects in the 'probably not' category, four (4) others committed elsewhere and one (1) commitment out of the 12 total offers along the offensive line leaves the following...
Erick Cade - very intriguing prospect from Denton Braswell, does zero media and we are trying to contact his HS coaches...but at 6-foot-7, 290-pounds Cade is a future D1 tackle and someone worth fighting for despite the listed offers from Alabama, LSU, Oklahoma State, Texas, Baylor, Texas A&M and others.
Jacoby Jackson - a longtime target, Jackson has been on campus several times, but seems in no hurry to make a decision and continues adding offers to a list that includes 30+ programs from around the country. his father played RB at TCU, plenty of other competition for his commitment as well.
Jack Leyrer - a prospect who blew up this off-season and is rumored to favor the academic programs like Northwestern, Stanford and others to the traditional programs. regardless, he now lists 28 total offers, including most of the Ivy League schools and several Big 12 programs.
Caleb Etienne - the lone JUCO offer, Etienne would be looked upon as a quick help starter at the tackle position...and in comparison to the HS prospects, it is what it is with JUCO prospects, although the 6-foot-9, 325-pound tackle seems like a very talented lineman.
the coaches have aimed high with some offers and existing relationships with prospects, but as the calendar turns to June and our world begins to 'reopen' more and more, it looks like the time to offer additional 2021 OL targets is now.
there are prospects on the radar, who do not hold an offer but have a relationship with the TTU coaches...
Remington Strickland
Carson Walker
Ty Buchanan
Aaron Session
Caden Barnett
I'm sure there are others, but this is a small group of prospects the coaches are currently speaking with...but in order to land 4-5 commitments, with one in hand already, it is going to take a few more offers this summer.
'top list season'
last, but not least is the topic of 'top list season' for today...anyone that follows recruiting is familiar with prospects announcing their top schools, whether that is a true Top 5 or even a Top 11 or Top 15 in some cases.
it seems like the Red Raiders have been listed in a 'top schools' list for the past 2-3 weeks, with multiple prospects including Texas Tech.
but what does that really mean? especially when kids are committing and decommitting at a historical rate?
you guessed it, very little to not at all. social media has changed the recruiting game so so much, and these lists are often announced with a 'recruitment still open' byline.
so...how do you know if a kid's 'top list' is really inclusive of Texas Tech?
well, that part is simple...do they retweet or like a ton of Texas Tech stuff, or are they retweeting or liking a ton of stuff from another program. this is probably the easiest way to decipher some of these things.
then, you have the kids who ask for followers or post random pictures/.gifs of certain programs, simply out of boredom or in an attempt to gain more followers from ___ program.
over the past two weeks alone, Texas Tech has been listed in the following...
Omega Blake, DB target from South Carolina - Top 15 includes TTU
...if you had to wager money, would you say young Omega is coming to Lubbock?
Ryan Keeler, OL target from Illinois - Top 5 (story here)
...way better than a Top 15 here, but at the moment, most experts are picking Rutgers for the standout defensive lineman
Jackie Marshall, OLB target from Louisiana - Top 5
...with Marshall, we have never talked and plan to do so soon, but he immediately started retweeting and liking every OkState report on his Top 5. I'm sure other reporters, including myself, were tweeting about "Texas Tech makes the Top 5 for Jackie Marshall" and those were all ignored.
so make of that what you will, it might mean very little to nothing at all...but the bread crumbs or tea leaves are there for all of these situations.
Melvin Swindle, DT target from Oklahoma - Top 8
...so not a 'true' Top 8 here, but I wanted to include young Melvin's recent tweet to point a few things out about today's recruiting approach.
the coaches from Memphis might view Swindle as a top target, where Texas Tech might view Swindle as a fall back option in case prospects A, B and C ultimately say "no"...it is the circle of life, the food chain of college football recruiting, etc.
much like looking at which schools are listed among a player's 'top list' and who they are tweeting about, remember that an offer is not a 'real' or 'official' offer until after August 1st...so a program like Texas Tech could verbally offer Swindle and a number of prospects, but only send official offers to a certain number of prospects.
way too many variables and topics to cover in one board post, but wanted to share some thoughts and I'm certainly open to answering your questions on the process or specific recruits/targets.
-Clare
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