RECRUITING ADVANTAGE

By Ben Golan and Brandon Soliz

Roy Philpott was handling ESPN’s play-by-play announcing of Texas Tech’s TaxAct Texas Bowl win over Mississippi with a bit more than ten minutes left in the game when he said:

“We mentioned the six-year contract extension for Joey McGuire … it was announced about three hours before kickoff. The $200 million football facility upgrade in Lubbock … ” said Philpott, trailing off before his broadcast partner Andre Ware jumped with the Red Raiders on the way to a 42-25 victory.

“We mentioned the six-year contract extension for Joey McGuire … it was announced about three hours before kickoff. The $200 million football facility upgrade in Lubbock … ” said Philpott, trailing off before his broadcast partner Andre Ware jumped with the Red Raiders on the way to a 42-25 victory.

“That helps in recruiting in terms of upgrading the facilities. You know your coach is going to be around for a long time and then you go out and do this in a bowl game. You think that doesn’t help the foundation of every program, which is recruiting,” said Ware, the Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Tech faced in the Southwest Conference when he led the Houston Cougars more than 30 years ago.

Now he was in Houston’s NRG Stadium talking up the Red Raiders.

Two weeks before Tech’s victory to finish 8-5 in McGuire’s first season, the coach spent a few minutes after practice to discuss the excitement over the $200 million project – the intertwined Womble Football Center and South End Zone –which will be ready for the 2024 season.

He echoed Ware’s future comments.

“It’s huge for us in recruiting,” he said, telling potential Red Raiders, “You can get a great education, you can study anything you want, you’re going to play big-time football and you’re going to do it in the best facility in the country.”

When recruits and their families are shown drawings of the project, “they’re blown away,” McGuire said.

The football staff also sells the financial support the facility’s already received.

“When you’re putting in that kind of money behind what you’re doing, when you’re able to go to these in-home visits and show them where we’re at – a lot of parents understand how real it is in supporting their son,” he said.

Texas Tech has raised more than $85 million raised for the project and that thrills McGuire.

“For a guy who’s never at a loss for words, I don’t know if I can put into words how big this has been for Texas Tech,” he said.

“When this project is done, we will have the best facilities in the country,” said the coach, which will benefit the players, program and fans.

“Jones AT&T Stadium is already a tough place to play – you can see that from our record this year,” said McGuire. His Red Raiders went 6-1 at home this year, which included the first time beating Texas and Oklahoma in the same season – both overtime thrillers.

It was the first time Tech was 6-1 at home since the 2009 season – that was also the last season the Red Raiders had a winning conference record.

“Our fans helped that tremendously,” McGuire said, adding the south end zone renovation should amp up the home field advantage.

“When you’re in the stadium, it’s going to be much louder because it’s going to be more enclosed. The speaker system is getting an up - grade. You’ll have two more Jumbotrons,” he said about the experience for fans.

“It’s just going to be amazing,” McGuire added.

The iconic Double T scoreboard was removed shortly after Tech’s last home game and demolition of the south end zone structure has begun to make way for its dramatic rebirth, cloaked in the university’s distinctive Spanish Renaissance architecture and a new Double T scoreboard.

Current Tech players who will be able to use the new Womble facility are also excited, as are the staff that will work with them in their new home.

“The players are excited … the Womble facility will be so player centered, from the players’ lounge to their recovery to the locker room,” he said.

“The training staff’s excited … a lot of upgrades for recovery, rehab. The strength staff’s excited because of the size of the weight room and the things they’re going to be doing. It’s going to be hooked on to the indoor (Sports Performance Center) so you’re going to be able to go from the weight room right into the indoor,” he said.

McGuire can’t thank donors enough and makes calls to say thanks.

“I just tell them how much we appreciate what they’re doing. It’s going to make an impact. Not only for this football team, you’re impacting the total Athletic Department and impacting Texas Tech University. So I can’t thank them enough for what they’re doing,” he said.

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The year 2022 ended with a Texas Tech party in Houston at the TaxAct Texas Bowl, where our Red Raiders beat favored Mississippi 42-25. It was great to see so many Red Raiders in Houston!

• Coach Joey McGuire’s Red Raiders finished the season 8-5, had a winning Big 12 Conference record for the first time since 2009 and we beat Texas and Oklahoma for the first time in one season.

• Men’s basketball made the Sweet Sixteen in Coach Mark Adams’ first season.

• Men’s golf finished in the top eight in the country.

• Women’s track and field finished seventh and the men’s team ninth at the NCAA Championships.

• Texas Tech had the most Academic Big 12 selections – 41 – in the conference.

• Our student athletes notched at least a 3.0 grade point average for the 15th consecutive term after the spring.

Thank you for everything you do to make all of these things possible!

Your support of the Red Raider Club provides more than 400 student athletes with scholarships and academic support, nutrition, medical and mental health, facilities, professional development opportunities and more.

Our coaches and student athletes make it happen, but all of you provide the support to fuel those successes.

If you have Red Raider friends who are not members of the Red Raider Club, please encourage them to join us and contribute to our

Annual Fund – the lifeblood of Texas Tech Athletics that provides so much of that support I mentioned above.

Heading into 2023, Texas Tech Athletics will continue an upward trajectory as we continue to be – as Director of Athletics Kirby Hocutt says – in the national conversation.

Football recruiting is strong, Coach McGuire signed a six-year extension and work has started on the final project in our Campaign for Fearless Champions – the Womble Football Center/South End Zone renovation that will be ready for the 2024 season.

This facility will undoubtedly be one of the best college football facilities in the country. Our goal is to raise $100 million toward the $200 million price tag. We’ve raised $85 million to date. Thank you to everyone who’s supported this project that will build on what Coach McGuire and the football program have started. We need all of you!

Also in 2023, the Big 12 Conference will welcome four new members – Cincinnati, Houston, University of Central Florida and BYU. We’ll renew a conference rivalry with the Houston Cougars going back to our Southwest Conference years and start new rivalries with programs that will give all of us new places to visit to support our Red Raiders.

Happy New Year from all of us at the Red Raider Club!

Tyler Shough threw for 242 yards and a touchdown and ran for two more scores as Texas Tech took advantage of three early turnovers to build a big lead and hold on for a 4225 win over Ole Miss in the Texas Bowl.

BY AL PICKETT

McGuire Signs Consensus Top 25 Class

When Joey McGuire was hired back in 2021, he and his coaching staff had about 6 weeks to put together a recruiting class before the beginning of the Early Signing Period. McGuire, Director of Player Personnel James Blanchard and the rest of the staff did an excellent job, adding several highly-regarded prospects such as Joseph Adedire, Jalon Peoples, Ty Kana and Trevon McAlpine.

Given a full year, the Texas Tech coaches took the Red Raiders to a place they haven’t been in a while, the top 25 of the recruiting class rankings. Led by consensus four-star prospect Jordan Sanford, Texas Tech signed its highest-ranked class since 2011.

All four major recruiting services ranked the Red Raiders inside the top 25. Texas Tech was ranked No. 23 by Rivals, No. 22 by ESPN, No. 25th by On3 and No. 23 by 247Sports.

“This is one of the highest-ranked classes we’ve had at Texas Tech,” McGuire said. “This program will be built with guys up front, and we really met a lot of the needs on our roster like on the offensive and defensive lines today. We also wanted to bring in speed, and we did so with what I consider the fastest class in the country. It’s legit speed and really good football players at that speed. As we develop them, they’ll play even faster with what they can do. We’re excited to get this class on campus.”

Tech’s signees are not only ranked highly by the recruiting services, they also graded out extremely well athletically.

Of the top 20 fastest recruits coming into the Big 12 in the 100-meter dash, Texas Tech had five of them: Jordan Sanford (10.55), Macho Stevenson (10.59), TJ West (10.74), JMaury Davis (10.74) and Miquel Dingle Jr (10.92).

Texas Tech also had six of the top 20 fastest recruits coming into the Big 12 in the 200-meter dash.

According to Tracking Football, Texas Tech had more ‘speed tag’ prospects than any other program in the country. A prospect earns a ‘speed tag’ when he is faster than 75 percent of college football players via verified track times.

Tech Adds Two Impact Defenders Before Signing Day

The final weekend before the Early Signing Period was the last time college football coaches could bring in recruits on visits. Texas Tech looked to the defense side of the ball and it paid off with commitments from John Curtis (La.) linebacker Justin Horne and C.E. King (Texas) pass rusher Dylan Spencer. Both were committed elsewhere going into the weekend - Spencer to Texas and Horne to Louisiana-Lafayette - but both decided to be Red Raiders after their official visits.

As a senior Horne put up 144 tackles, 17 tackles-for-loss and 6 sacks, helping lead John Curtis to a Division I Select Louisiana State Championship. He says it was his relationship with James Blanchard that was the key factor in his decision.

“Back in the summer I had to get my official visit canceled because somebody committed already, so I had a non-committable offer. So once somebody got their offer removed or they decommitted, it was one or the other I’m not sure, once that happened it was a different position and coach McGuire immediately told coach Blanchard that that spot is open.

“Since like August/September, coach Blanchard’s been texting my phone, calling my phone every single day trying to get me down there, trying to get me interested in Tech and trying to make sure that they had me locked in and stuff. He never gave up on me, he refused to give up.”

Spencer is universally ranked among the top 100 prospects in Texas, after putting up 75 tackles, 20 tackles-for-loss and 9 sacks in 2022. He chose Texas Tech over Texas, Arizona State, Baylor, Houston, LSU, SMU, Texas A&M and USC.

On signing day McGuire noted that Spencer is expected to play the field outside linebacker spot manned by likely future first-round pick Tyree Wilson this past season.

Transfer Portal Giveth and Taketh Away

The transfer portal has overall been very good for Texas Tech. Red Raider players like Tyler Shough, Baylor Cupp, Marquis Waters and Malik Dunlap have come to Lubbock from programs all over the country.

This year was more of the same. Texas Tech added four key transfers to the roster, all who are expected to play major roles in 2023.

Western Kentucky center Rusty Staats will play his last year of college football as a Red Raider. Staats, of course, was coached by Texas Tech offensive coordinator Zach Kittley and offensive line coach Stephen Hamby at WKU in 2021.

“Rusty is one of the top centers in the country who really understands this offense well,” McGuire said. “We really like the depth we’ve added in our offensive line in the last two days. We can’t wait to get Rusty on campus here in a few weeks.”

Austin Peay wide receiver Drae McCray committed to Texas Tech after being an All-American at the FCS level. McCray is another relationship addition, as Texas Tech tight ends coach Josh Cochran and offensive analyst Kirk Bryant were at Austin Peay for McCray’s freshman season.

BY AL PICKETT