All the visitors from the weekend are finally settling in at home after traveling back from their OV to Tech this weekend, and we're starting to get reaction feedback from them. We'll continually update this thread as we hear from more prospects.
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I just got off the phone with Odessa (Texas) Permian corner and commit Desmon Smith, and the DB absolutely loved his time on the South Plains over the weekend.
“I probably had the best time on this visit that I had ever. Everybody, we all connected so well. It was a great atmosphere, just a great place to be.”
Seeing as it was their OV, each prospect got a big tour of everything around the program, including an introduction to new strength and conditioning coach Rusty Whitt. So what did Smith think of his soon to be S&C coach?
"We got to go through the facilities and meet the new strength coach," he said. "I was really impressed by what he's doing. He's definitely serious about it. We know why he's here and what his intentions are. He made it pretty clear to us that we're going to come in and be tested. He's going to test us, and it's going to make us better."
--McKay
----
Texarkana (Ark.) defensive tackle Nick McCann was in town this weekend on his official visit and really enjoyed his time in Lubbock. The campus tour with Coach Jones went great, the tour of the facilities—including a video tour of the new facilities—really piqued his interest, and the time spent with the coaches and the recruits was his No. 1 favorite thing according to the DT.
A couple big aspects of the visit for McCann, however was being introduced to two new coaches, both new DL coach Kevin Patrick and new S&C coach Kevin Whitt. McCann is pumped for both coaches.
“It was good. I really liked it. I got to hang out with Coach Patrick a lot. We had a position group meeting of all the defensive linemen and he was just telling all of us how excited he was for this class and how he was going to push us to be the best.,” he said. “He was telling us how everyone in the room could play any position he asked of us, and he loved our versatility. I really love Coach Patrick’s attitude and am really excited to learn from him. He was going to push us hard and wanted us to be ready.”
On coach Whitt:
“We got to watch the team go through drills and conditioning. I really like the new strength and conditioning coach, and I really feel like he will get the job done getting all of us ready and prepared. He can get real hype, and I like that.”
McCann will play host to Coach Patrick, Coach Gibbs, and Coach Jones on Thursday. He will major in RHM and plans to room with Joe Wallace and Clarence Henderson.
--Kohnle
----
All three of the Skyline prospects made it down this weekend including running back Da’Leon Ward. The three-star prospect couldn’t have had a better visit, according to him.
“I had a wonderful time. Probably the best time that I’ve ever had. They showed me around the school, the business center, they let us go to a basketball game, they fed us tons of food; they just made me feel like I was at home,” he said. “The way they treated my family and I was the best. I’m ready for me to fit right in.”
Ward lost his future position coach, Mike Jinks, earlier last month so it was big for him to meet his new RB coach Jabbar Juluke. Juluke has already visited Ward a couple times at Skyline but on the visit, Ward got to pick the brain of the RB coach a bit more.
“I got to watch film with Coach Juluke and just got to spend a lot of one-on-one time with him. He is a great coach and a cool dude. I’m looking forward to him coaching me and making me better. We watched Tech film and Louisiana Tech film (Kenneth Dixon). He showed me a lot of nuances of the offense and the RB position.”
“He is always telling me how he loves that I am ahead of the game.”
Ward loved watching the new strength and conditioning coach and is looking forward to the new facilities that Tech is building. He hopes to major in business.
--Kohnle
----------------------------
Taylor (Texas) defensive back DaMarcus Fields called his time at Texas Tech this weekend "amazing".
"This weekend was basically a review of the program, the campus, and the food was absolutely wonderful," Fields said. "My mother made the trip with me and she loves Texas Tech. She loved the visit and I'm just so blessed, it's pretty awesome."
Fields was hosted this weekend by current Red Raiders safety Jah'Shawn Johnson.
"He told me it's a really good school," Fields said. "He showed me around the campus to a few spots. Jah'Shawn was really cool and very welcoming. We also joined him and the other defensive backs in their position meetings.
"Coach (David) Gibbs and his assistants showed us some film. We spent a lot of time with them because my high school coach went to Texas Tech and wants to transfer some of their defensive schemes over here to our program."
Fields also spent a lot of time with fellow corner commit Desmon Smith and the two plan on rooming together.
"Des and I are pretty close," Fields said. "Jett, T.J., and really just all of us. It's one big family and it's been like that for a while now."
The three-star prospect plans to major in Computer Engineering at Texas Tech.
-Clare
----------------------------
Missouri City (Texas) Ridge Point offensive tackle Travis Bruffy says the Texas Tech coaches "absolutely spoiled us with food this weekend".
Bruffy made the trip to Lubbock by himself this weekend and enjoyed spending time around his fellow 2016 commitments.
"I spent a lot of time with the recruiting class this weekend," Bruffy said. "Most of my time was with the other offensive lineman and the coaches. Coach (Kliff) Kinsgbury and Coach (Lee) Hays invited us into the offensive line meetings and broke down the film from their game against Kansas State this season.
"Coach Hays had us focus not only the player's technique, but also the mentality they play with. Sometimes he would point out the way La'Raven (Clark) finished a block, or how Alfredo (Morales) would just show up out of nowhere and take a guy out of the play. I was getting hyped, because I haven't seen him coach in person and I loved what he was doing."
Bruffy was hosted by current Texas Tech offensive lineman Cody Wheeler.
"Cody and I are similar," Bruffy said. "He was rated a two-star guy out of high school, except he also had three state championship rings - which he showed me. We talked about the adjustment from high school to college, just that the mentality is the same, but the skill set is much different.
"He's a very cool guy. I couldn't have asked for a better host to be honest."
Bruffy's favorite part of the visit was meeting new people and fellow commitments from other areas of the state.
"Me, Gio (Pancotti), and Zach (Adams) spent most of the time together, but we already knew one another though," Bruffy said. "I actually got closer with Brayden (Stringer) on this trip, and the Skyline kids are awesome. They travel in packs, so I would see all seven of them together and we became close over the weekend."
The two-star prospect plans to major in Business Economics and expects Coach Hays to visit his school this Tuesday.
-Clare
--------
I just got off the phone with Keller (Texas) defensive end and commit Houston Miller who shared a few thoughts about his visit out to Tech.
"The entire visit was just great. The atmosphere, hanging out with the guys, having all the commits there, hanging out with and getting to meet all the new coaches, it was all awesome. Great food, too. We got fed real good. I loved the visit."
It was the first time that the defensive line commits all got to hang out as a group with new DL coach Kevin Patrick, and Miller spoke a little about what that was like.
"It was so cool. We even had a position meeting with all us, the D-line commits," he said. "Coach Patrick was telling us what the plan was. He was talking to us about how he wasn't just going to coach us on football. He's going to coach us on how to be men and things like that. It was just so cool being about to be with him and talk like that."
Miller also talked in detail about new S&C coach Rusty Whitt and what his program is going to look like moving forward.
"It's a whole new game now. Coach Whitt, he's crazy smart when it comes to all this. He's a great coach. I don't even have words to explain him and what they're doing. He's really intense. He knows what it's like to be blessed, and he made sure we knew what it was like and understood that every day we have a job to do, and if he has to get into us to do it, then we don't understand that. The program is going to completely change from here. It's a new game."
--McKay
--------
I was able to get in touch with Wichita Falls (Texas) Rider receiver and commit TJ Vasher about his visit this weekend, and the long pass catcher said he had a great time bonding with his future coaches and teammates.
"I really like how close our class is and how involved the academic side of the school is involved with everything. They actually care about us. The coaches are unbelievable. Lubbock also feels like just a bigger version of Wichita Falls to me."
It was a question of how solid Vasher was with the Red Raiders going into the visit, but that shouldn't be an issue any more. He loved his time in Lubbock and can't wait to be at Tech.
"It was great. It was everything I expected and more. I feel like I've known all these guys for a long time," he said. "I'm solid. Texas Tech is the place I want to be at."
--McKay
--------
Just talked to Houston (Texas) Episcopal OT and commit Gio Pancotti, and like most of the other guys who visited, he spent the afternoon hanging out and relaxing after getting home around noon.
It worked out where Pancotti, Zach Adams, and Travis Bruffy all actually flew in together on the same flight, and the trio has really enjoyed getting to know each other. That, and Pancotti was just happy to be around the FTF.
"We'd met each other, but this was a really good chance to get closer with each other," he said. "I just loved being in Lubbock and seeing the football facility. I never get tired of that. It never gets old, and I loved getting to spend time there."
Pancotti was also another guy that brought up getting to see S&C Coach Rusty Whitt in action, and the thing that he took away from it was simply intensity.
"We actually got to see a little like mini-workout where he was showing them how to do things since it was one of their first workouts coming out of the break," he said. "The atmosphere in the weight room was just so intense and not something I've ever been around. I mean, I've been around intense weight room, but just seeing the atmosphere there and the intensity was just something else. It was really cool to meet Coach Whitt."
--McKay
--------
Three-star defensive end commit Clarence Henderson of Dallas Skyline also made it to Lubbock for his official visit over the weekend and came away very impressed.
“It was great, perfect really,” Henderson said. “I went down there and they showed me everything I expected to see and then some. It was a great experience and a great family vibe down there. I felt like I was at home.”
Henderson spent most of his time with Ivory Jackson, Nick McCann and T.J. Vasher and now he’s even more fired up to take the field for the scarlet and black
“I can’t wait to get down there and turn the dog loose.”
- Wright
--------
Cypress Ranch outside linebacker and Texas Tech commit Brayden Stringer got a first-hand glimpse of the Red Raiders new strength and conditioning coach Rusty Whitt’s workouts this weekend.
“I thought they were different, definitely,” Stringer said. “I never got to watch the old strength and conditioning coach work out so I don’t know what he did. The new coach is more of a military discipline kind of guy which is good for a football team. There wasn’t as much weight lifting that day, but that was the first day they got to work out with him, more push-ups, sit ups and body exercises. It looked hard for sure but he looks like he’s doing a good job.”
During the weekend, the recruits watched a video previewing the plans for the new indoor facility that is in the works.
“That’s going to be awesome,” Stringer said. “Especially for the random weather they have, having it indoor can benefit the football team, not knowing what the weather is going to be like outside. It will give us more practice time for sure.”
-Wright
----------------------------
I just got off the phone with Odessa (Texas) Permian corner and commit Desmon Smith, and the DB absolutely loved his time on the South Plains over the weekend.
“I probably had the best time on this visit that I had ever. Everybody, we all connected so well. It was a great atmosphere, just a great place to be.”
Seeing as it was their OV, each prospect got a big tour of everything around the program, including an introduction to new strength and conditioning coach Rusty Whitt. So what did Smith think of his soon to be S&C coach?
"We got to go through the facilities and meet the new strength coach," he said. "I was really impressed by what he's doing. He's definitely serious about it. We know why he's here and what his intentions are. He made it pretty clear to us that we're going to come in and be tested. He's going to test us, and it's going to make us better."
--McKay
----
Texarkana (Ark.) defensive tackle Nick McCann was in town this weekend on his official visit and really enjoyed his time in Lubbock. The campus tour with Coach Jones went great, the tour of the facilities—including a video tour of the new facilities—really piqued his interest, and the time spent with the coaches and the recruits was his No. 1 favorite thing according to the DT.
A couple big aspects of the visit for McCann, however was being introduced to two new coaches, both new DL coach Kevin Patrick and new S&C coach Kevin Whitt. McCann is pumped for both coaches.
“It was good. I really liked it. I got to hang out with Coach Patrick a lot. We had a position group meeting of all the defensive linemen and he was just telling all of us how excited he was for this class and how he was going to push us to be the best.,” he said. “He was telling us how everyone in the room could play any position he asked of us, and he loved our versatility. I really love Coach Patrick’s attitude and am really excited to learn from him. He was going to push us hard and wanted us to be ready.”
On coach Whitt:
“We got to watch the team go through drills and conditioning. I really like the new strength and conditioning coach, and I really feel like he will get the job done getting all of us ready and prepared. He can get real hype, and I like that.”
McCann will play host to Coach Patrick, Coach Gibbs, and Coach Jones on Thursday. He will major in RHM and plans to room with Joe Wallace and Clarence Henderson.
--Kohnle
----
All three of the Skyline prospects made it down this weekend including running back Da’Leon Ward. The three-star prospect couldn’t have had a better visit, according to him.
“I had a wonderful time. Probably the best time that I’ve ever had. They showed me around the school, the business center, they let us go to a basketball game, they fed us tons of food; they just made me feel like I was at home,” he said. “The way they treated my family and I was the best. I’m ready for me to fit right in.”
Ward lost his future position coach, Mike Jinks, earlier last month so it was big for him to meet his new RB coach Jabbar Juluke. Juluke has already visited Ward a couple times at Skyline but on the visit, Ward got to pick the brain of the RB coach a bit more.
“I got to watch film with Coach Juluke and just got to spend a lot of one-on-one time with him. He is a great coach and a cool dude. I’m looking forward to him coaching me and making me better. We watched Tech film and Louisiana Tech film (Kenneth Dixon). He showed me a lot of nuances of the offense and the RB position.”
“He is always telling me how he loves that I am ahead of the game.”
Ward loved watching the new strength and conditioning coach and is looking forward to the new facilities that Tech is building. He hopes to major in business.
--Kohnle
----------------------------
Taylor (Texas) defensive back DaMarcus Fields called his time at Texas Tech this weekend "amazing".
"This weekend was basically a review of the program, the campus, and the food was absolutely wonderful," Fields said. "My mother made the trip with me and she loves Texas Tech. She loved the visit and I'm just so blessed, it's pretty awesome."
Fields was hosted this weekend by current Red Raiders safety Jah'Shawn Johnson.
"He told me it's a really good school," Fields said. "He showed me around the campus to a few spots. Jah'Shawn was really cool and very welcoming. We also joined him and the other defensive backs in their position meetings.
"Coach (David) Gibbs and his assistants showed us some film. We spent a lot of time with them because my high school coach went to Texas Tech and wants to transfer some of their defensive schemes over here to our program."
Fields also spent a lot of time with fellow corner commit Desmon Smith and the two plan on rooming together.
"Des and I are pretty close," Fields said. "Jett, T.J., and really just all of us. It's one big family and it's been like that for a while now."
The three-star prospect plans to major in Computer Engineering at Texas Tech.
-Clare
----------------------------
Missouri City (Texas) Ridge Point offensive tackle Travis Bruffy says the Texas Tech coaches "absolutely spoiled us with food this weekend".
Bruffy made the trip to Lubbock by himself this weekend and enjoyed spending time around his fellow 2016 commitments.
"I spent a lot of time with the recruiting class this weekend," Bruffy said. "Most of my time was with the other offensive lineman and the coaches. Coach (Kliff) Kinsgbury and Coach (Lee) Hays invited us into the offensive line meetings and broke down the film from their game against Kansas State this season.
"Coach Hays had us focus not only the player's technique, but also the mentality they play with. Sometimes he would point out the way La'Raven (Clark) finished a block, or how Alfredo (Morales) would just show up out of nowhere and take a guy out of the play. I was getting hyped, because I haven't seen him coach in person and I loved what he was doing."
Bruffy was hosted by current Texas Tech offensive lineman Cody Wheeler.
"Cody and I are similar," Bruffy said. "He was rated a two-star guy out of high school, except he also had three state championship rings - which he showed me. We talked about the adjustment from high school to college, just that the mentality is the same, but the skill set is much different.
"He's a very cool guy. I couldn't have asked for a better host to be honest."
Bruffy's favorite part of the visit was meeting new people and fellow commitments from other areas of the state.
"Me, Gio (Pancotti), and Zach (Adams) spent most of the time together, but we already knew one another though," Bruffy said. "I actually got closer with Brayden (Stringer) on this trip, and the Skyline kids are awesome. They travel in packs, so I would see all seven of them together and we became close over the weekend."
The two-star prospect plans to major in Business Economics and expects Coach Hays to visit his school this Tuesday.
-Clare
--------
I just got off the phone with Keller (Texas) defensive end and commit Houston Miller who shared a few thoughts about his visit out to Tech.
"The entire visit was just great. The atmosphere, hanging out with the guys, having all the commits there, hanging out with and getting to meet all the new coaches, it was all awesome. Great food, too. We got fed real good. I loved the visit."
It was the first time that the defensive line commits all got to hang out as a group with new DL coach Kevin Patrick, and Miller spoke a little about what that was like.
"It was so cool. We even had a position meeting with all us, the D-line commits," he said. "Coach Patrick was telling us what the plan was. He was talking to us about how he wasn't just going to coach us on football. He's going to coach us on how to be men and things like that. It was just so cool being about to be with him and talk like that."
Miller also talked in detail about new S&C coach Rusty Whitt and what his program is going to look like moving forward.
"It's a whole new game now. Coach Whitt, he's crazy smart when it comes to all this. He's a great coach. I don't even have words to explain him and what they're doing. He's really intense. He knows what it's like to be blessed, and he made sure we knew what it was like and understood that every day we have a job to do, and if he has to get into us to do it, then we don't understand that. The program is going to completely change from here. It's a new game."
--McKay
--------
I was able to get in touch with Wichita Falls (Texas) Rider receiver and commit TJ Vasher about his visit this weekend, and the long pass catcher said he had a great time bonding with his future coaches and teammates.
"I really like how close our class is and how involved the academic side of the school is involved with everything. They actually care about us. The coaches are unbelievable. Lubbock also feels like just a bigger version of Wichita Falls to me."
It was a question of how solid Vasher was with the Red Raiders going into the visit, but that shouldn't be an issue any more. He loved his time in Lubbock and can't wait to be at Tech.
"It was great. It was everything I expected and more. I feel like I've known all these guys for a long time," he said. "I'm solid. Texas Tech is the place I want to be at."
--McKay
--------
Just talked to Houston (Texas) Episcopal OT and commit Gio Pancotti, and like most of the other guys who visited, he spent the afternoon hanging out and relaxing after getting home around noon.
It worked out where Pancotti, Zach Adams, and Travis Bruffy all actually flew in together on the same flight, and the trio has really enjoyed getting to know each other. That, and Pancotti was just happy to be around the FTF.
"We'd met each other, but this was a really good chance to get closer with each other," he said. "I just loved being in Lubbock and seeing the football facility. I never get tired of that. It never gets old, and I loved getting to spend time there."
Pancotti was also another guy that brought up getting to see S&C Coach Rusty Whitt in action, and the thing that he took away from it was simply intensity.
"We actually got to see a little like mini-workout where he was showing them how to do things since it was one of their first workouts coming out of the break," he said. "The atmosphere in the weight room was just so intense and not something I've ever been around. I mean, I've been around intense weight room, but just seeing the atmosphere there and the intensity was just something else. It was really cool to meet Coach Whitt."
--McKay
--------
Three-star defensive end commit Clarence Henderson of Dallas Skyline also made it to Lubbock for his official visit over the weekend and came away very impressed.
“It was great, perfect really,” Henderson said. “I went down there and they showed me everything I expected to see and then some. It was a great experience and a great family vibe down there. I felt like I was at home.”
Henderson spent most of his time with Ivory Jackson, Nick McCann and T.J. Vasher and now he’s even more fired up to take the field for the scarlet and black
“I can’t wait to get down there and turn the dog loose.”
- Wright
--------
Cypress Ranch outside linebacker and Texas Tech commit Brayden Stringer got a first-hand glimpse of the Red Raiders new strength and conditioning coach Rusty Whitt’s workouts this weekend.
“I thought they were different, definitely,” Stringer said. “I never got to watch the old strength and conditioning coach work out so I don’t know what he did. The new coach is more of a military discipline kind of guy which is good for a football team. There wasn’t as much weight lifting that day, but that was the first day they got to work out with him, more push-ups, sit ups and body exercises. It looked hard for sure but he looks like he’s doing a good job.”
During the weekend, the recruits watched a video previewing the plans for the new indoor facility that is in the works.
“That’s going to be awesome,” Stringer said. “Especially for the random weather they have, having it indoor can benefit the football team, not knowing what the weather is going to be like outside. It will give us more practice time for sure.”
-Wright
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