Joey McGuire is rapidly changing the narrative of what can be done on the recruit trail in Lubbock. A week after making four verbal commitments for the Class of 2024, he and his coaching staff have held another big recruiting weekend in the last three days and it looks like they have once again come out with a monster that could secure the program’s future. and define the Red Raiders as one of the true power brokers in the revamped Big 12 as the conference begins its new era without Oklahoma and Texas next year.
Now, we must bear in mind that the reporting of recruiting news has changed. Now, because of social media, we typically get immediate confirmation of an engagement from McGuire in the form of a Tweet that is simply a GIF of former pro wrestler Rick Flair. However, now, we often have to wait days or even weeks to find out which prospect has become the last recruit member, as high school players delay their announcements for various reasons, including waiting for professional graphics or videos. to be created. for use when they make their decisions public on social media.
So we still don’t know all the players who have committed to the Texas Tech football program. However, we do have indications that a treasure trove of program-changing talent is heading to Hub City.
It’s hard to keep track of the exact number of commits McGuire and company mysteriously tweeted about this weekend. However, there appear to be at least six players who have committed to Tech in recent days. Fortunately, we know of three specific players who have recently announced their intention to become Red Raiders.
We start with J’koby Williams, a dynamic running back from Beckville, TX, a small town of less than 1,000 people in the east end of Texas, near Carthage. A 3-star running back with offers from Baylor, TCU, Michigan, Texas, and Houston (among others), the 5-foot-9, 180-pound is the #89 player at Texas according to 247Sports.com.
Then Tech got an even more highly regarded offensive weapon in Bryan, Texas wide receiver Tyson Turner. The 6-foot-1, 190-pound is a 4-star prospect according to 247Sports composite rankings. Listed as the #53 player in Texas for the class of 2024, he has an unusually modest roster of offers, but he has one from Utah along with programs like Boston College, Louisiana Tech, North Texas and UTSA.
At the end of the day, Tech landed a player who could be a project, but whose size gives us reason to think he has tremendous potential. Not yet ranked by 247Sports and Rivals, Charles Anderson Jr. The 6-foot, 240-pound man from Pearland, Texas has a frame that might remind some of recent Texas Tech defensive end Tyree Wilson, who was just named No. 0.7 overall pick in this spring’s NFL Draft.
Anderson’s offer list includes the likes of Nebraska, Oklahoma State, Kansas, Kansas State, Houston and Northwestern. Certainly, your stash and your recruiting rating will increase in the wake of your commitment to the Red Raiders.
Tech’s 2024 class currently sits at the top of the Big 12 rankings (in which 247Sports still includes Texas and OU) and is #19 nationally. With four 4-star prospects in the fold, the Red Raiders are tied for the most 4-star recruits in the class to this point, with no 5-star player yet to commit to a Big 12 school. 5 star was in Lubbock this weekend for an official visit.
With offers from the likes of Alabama, Texas, Georgia and Ohio State (just to name a few), Lake Belton wide receiver Micah Hudson is the No. 8 player in the country, according to 247Sports. Players of this caliber rarely give the Red Raiders a second thought, but it’s now clear to most industry insiders that the race for their services comes down to the Red Raiders and the Longhorns. What’s more, there are hints that he may be ready to shock the recruiting world.
While 247Sports doesn’t have Crystal Ball predictions for Hudson, all four recruiters who made a Futurecast prediction for Rivals.com have Hudson landing with the Red Raiders. That includes Texas Longhorns insider Geoffrey Ketchum (a strong drag for the Horns), who changed his UT to Tech forecast this weekend.
Regardless of what Hudson ultimately decides, technology is making waves on the recruiting trail like nothing I’ve seen in the more than two decades I’ve been following the program and people around the sport are taking notice, including the best football player in the world.
Quoting from a Tweet by Texas Tech offensive coordinator Zach Kittley, a Tweet that featured a GIF of the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback himself, Patrick Mahomes wrote “They are freaking out today. #WreckEM” indicating that the face of the NFL also notices what is happening on the recruiting trail with his former program.
As the new workweek begins, Texas Tech football fans are eagerly awaiting more announcements from the players who have decided, over the past two weekends, to call West Texas home. It’s an exciting time to be a Red Raider, as McGuire is performing feats on the recruiting trail that we’ve been told for decades were impossible. But McGuire is completely game-changing in Lubbock and everyone in scarlet and black is waiting to find out what other program-changing prospects he has brought to the family.
