With college football’s 2022 season in the rear-view mirror, recruiting is again the focus in Lubbock as the Red Raiders prepare for the first campaign under Joey McGuire.
The noted Lone Star State legend hit the ground running in recruiting in the fall and has carried over the momentum toward the recruiting class of 2023 in putting together one of the best classes in the country to date.
Under McGuire, the Red Raider recruiting momentum is hitting full force, and as a result, the program is in the mix for some of the top names around the state of Texas and beyond. Stick with Red Raider Review for all of the latest updates in recruiting below:
January 19: Tilmon returns to Texas
In-state linebacker standout Terrell Tilmon has committed to transfer to Texas Tech. The 6-5, 221-pound Oregon transfer from Mansfield Timberview (TX) High School committed to the Ducks in 2020.
Tilmon will reunite with former Ducks DC Tim DeRuyter, who now serves in the same position with the Red Raiders.
Tilmon played in one game last season for the Ducks after moving from linebacker to tight end and registered five tackles as a true freshman in 2021.
Tilmon has three years of eligibility remaining and will face his old school as a Red Raider on Sept. 9.
January 12: Cardenas commits to Tech
Elite class of 2024 RB Johann Cardenas has committed to Texas Tech. The St. Thomas (TX) High School product picked the Red Raiders over Colorado, SMU, and UTSA.
Cardenas announced his commitment via his Twitter account on Thursday night, saying, “I’m so unbelievably blessed to have the opportunity to play the game I love at the next level for this amazing program! Class of 2024 let’s keep it going! #WreckEm.”
January 12: Two players hit the portal
Per Matt Zenitz of On3, Texas Tech DL Syncere Massey and WR Trey Cleveland have entered the transfer portal. Massey, a 6-5, 330-pounder from Cedar Hill (TX) High School came from coach McGuire’s Longhorns and was a member of the 2022 class.
Cleveland, a 6-4, 190-pounder from Arlington (TX) High School appeared in 24 games for the Red Raiders and registered 41 catches for 566 yards and two scores.
January 9: Linton returns home to Lubbock
The Red Raiders have received a commitment from Syracuse defensive line transfer Steve Linton, as he indicated on his Twitter feed on Monday.
Linton signed with Syracuse as part of the Orange’s 2019 recruiting class out of Dublin High in Georgia. He picked Syracuse over offers from Arizona State, Baylor, Louisville, Missouri, and several others. He immediately established himself as one of the more athletic players on the defensive side of the ball and spent time at both outside linebacker and defensive end during his time with the Orange.
After spending four seasons in Central New York, including redshirting in 2019 and getting an extra year of eligibility due to COVID-19, Linton has two years of eligibility remaining.
December 20: Ledet headed to Lubbock
Texas Tech lands defensive line transfer Quincy Ledet. The Red Raiders added a veteran presence to the defensive line in Louisiana-Monroe transfer Ladet, who officially announced his commitment on his Twitter feed Monday night.
The 6-2, 294-pound defensive tackle has two seasons of eligibility remaining and registered 87 tackles (six for loss), four sacks, and a forced fumble in three seasons at ULM. A native of Orange, TX, Ledet was a three-star recruit coming out of West Orange-Stark High School in 2020.
December 19 UPDATE:
The Red Raiders picked up their second big commitment of the evening on Monday, with CE King edge rusher Dylan Spencer flipping from the Texas Longhorns.
Spencer had originally chosen the Longhorns over Arizona State, Baylor, LSU, Texas A&M, and USC. He also had offers from Houston and SMU.
Spencer has been a big mover so far during his high school career, spending his freshman season playing at West Orange Stark (Texas), before moving to Katy (Texas) for his sophomore season.
And at CE King, he was one of the top defensive linemen in the state of Texas.
December 19 UPDATE:
The Red Raiders picked up a huge commitment for the class of 2023 in John Curtis Christian (New Orleans. LA) linebacker Justin Horne.
Horne took a visit to Tech last weekend and announced his commitment on Monday via his Twitter feed. Horne finished his senior season with 144 tackles (17 for loss), six sacks, and three passes defended.
December 17 UPDATE:
One of the most coveted young quarterback recruits in the country is back on the market.
According to various reports Saturday morning, Dylan Raiola backed off of his verbal commitment to Ryan Day and the Ohio State Buckeyes. Before that point, the Chandler (AZ) High School star racked up more than two-dozen scholarship offers, including from Texas Tech.
The news came after considerable turnover in college football this fall, including in-state Arizona State hiring Kenny Dillingham as head coach and Nebraska bringing in Matt Rhule from the NFL. Raiola has considerable family ties to the Cornhusker program, where his father Dominic was an All-American center.
As a junior in 2022, Raiola posted a 22:5 touchdown to interception ratio.
November 27 UPDATE:
Class of 2024 OL Holton Hendrix has committed to Texas Tech. The 6-4, 250-pounder out of Lubbock-Cooper High School was also being heavily recruited by Baylor, Houston, and Kansas, but has chosen to stay home in Lubbock and play for the Red Raiders.
November 21 UPDATE:
Class of 2023 Athlete Miles Thompson has committed to the Red Raiders. The 6-0, 170-pound Cedar Rapids, Iowa native was previously committed to Northern Illinois until September when he re-opened his commitment and received an offer from Tech.
Thompson is considered one of the fastest players in the country and played both running back and cornerback at Washington High School in Cedar Rapids.
August 18 9 a.m. UPDATE:
Elite 2024 athlete Ju’Juan Johnson from Lafayette Christian Academy has announced his initial 16 schools under consideration and Texas Tech is included.
The 5-10, 175 cornerback has yet to visit Lubbock but he has visited Nebraska in June and LSU in April.
Along with Tech, Louisiana Tech, Alabama, Tennessee, Oregon, Miami, Texas, Texas A&M, Ole Miss, UTSA, Michigan State, Georgia, Vanderbilt, Mississippi State, and Nebraska are all included in Johnson’s initial 16 schools.
August 5, 7 a.m. UPDATE:
The Red Raiders scored one of their biggest commitments of the Joey McGuire era when Mansfield (TX) Timberview elite defensive back Jordan Sanford announced his intent to play at Texas Tech.
Sanford cited his belief in new coach Joey McGuire as his main reason for choosing Lubbock as his new football home.
“Probably just the relationships that I built there and I just think it’s really family-oriented,” Sanford told Rivals.com. ”Hearing about Coach McGuire and the opportunities after football, for sure.”
July 20, 5 p.m. UPDATE:
Texas Tech landed a commitment from 2024 Hawley (Texas) athlete Chandlin Myers on Saturday night, as announced on social media.
Myers, a 6-foot-3, 160-pound prospect, is currently the second member of the Red Raiders’ 2024 recruiting class alongside Madisonville (Texas) athlete Lorenzo Johnson.
July 5, 4 p.m. UPDATE:
Talented WR/ATH Anthony White has announced his final five schools in consideration for commitment, and the Red Raiders are included.
The 6’0, 180-pound athlete from Abernathy High School (Abernathy, TX) has also announced Utah State, Texas, Vanderbilt, and Mississippi State as his other four finalists.
July 4, 1 p.m. UPDATE:
Class of 2023 wideout Kelby Valsin has committed to Texas Tech. The 6-2, 175-pound dual-sport Bowie High School (Arlington, Texas) product had offers from more than 30 schools including Boston College, Colorado, Minnesota, Pitt, SMU, TCU, Vanderbilt, and Washington.
JULY 1, 9:00 p.m. UPDATE:
Premier offensive tackle target for the class of 2023, Nick Fattig, has committed to Texas Tech.
The 6-4, 275-pounder from Clear Springs High School (League City, TX) chose Tech over other offers from schools like Air Force, Navy, Army, Princeton, Yale, Columbia, North Texas, Pennsylvania, and Tulane.
JUNE 27, 12:30 p.m. UPDATE:
Talented 2023 WR Macho Stevenson has announced his commitment to Texas Tech. The 6-0, 170-pound two-sport athlete will play football and run track for the Red Raiders.
Stevenson, from Captain Shreve (LA) High School, had also received offers from Indiana, Mississippi State, New Mexico State, and Sam Houston.
JUNE 23, 12 p.m. UPDATE:
Arch Manning has committed to the Texas Longhorns.
“There’s a LeBron-like feeling about Arch Manning. LBJ’s high school games got national television exposure in the early 2000s,” Sports Illustrated’s, Chris Mannix tweeted following one of Manning’s 2021 games. “Betting ESPN will give Manning — a sophomore — a lot of run on its networks, too. He looks like a special QB.”
More than that, however, the impact on the Longhorns, will almost instantly turn that program into the nation’s premier destination for top-level recruits.
With the nephew of Super Bowl winners Peyton and Eli, comes star power, publicity, and excitement; an excitement that has not been seen around the 40 acres since the signing of Chris Simms in 1999. – LonghornsCountry.com
JUNE 21, 1:15 p.m. UPDATE:
Red Raiders 2023 OT commit Kaden Carr will have an official visit to Lubbock this weekend, June 24-26.
The 6-6, 310-pounder from Amarillo (TX) High School committed to Texas Tech back in November and will visit campus this weekend.
JUNE 18, 9:30 a.m. UPDATE:
A top Red Raider target is on campus for an official visit just before a planned verbal commitment.
Daemian Wimberly, the Austin (Texas) Vandegrift defensive lineman who has planned a June 20 commitment for weeks, has made it to Lubbock ahead of said decision.
The in-state star has long been a target for Joey McGuire’s program, and he was recently on campus in April. This weekend’s official visit plans were announced in May, before he went public with the commitment date.
Wimberly took an official visit to the program believed to be Tech’s biggest competition, SMU, just last weekend. TCU and Louisiana offered during the month of June, too.
Texas Tech currently holds the most verbal commitments among Power Five programs in the class of 2023, standing at 20.
JUNE 14, 8:44 a.m. UPDATE:
Texas Tech has offered class of 2024 interior offensive lineman Daniel Akinkunmi from NFL Academy.
The 6-4, 317-pounder has also received offers from Arkansas, Minnesota, North Texas, Washington State, Baylor, Penn State, Temple, and UTSA.
JUNE 6, 5:45 p.m. UPDATE:
After a flurry of verbal commitments across the college football landscape over the weekend, Texas Tech is still the biggest FBS recruiting class in the country.
Cincinnati added eight recruits while Pitt added six, not to mention junior college and transfer portal additions across the board amid a busy official visit season.
The Bearcats now have the third-biggest class, to date, at 16 pledges. Northwestern, which added one new commitment on Monday, has 17. The Red Raiders pace the nation with 20, including 19 from the state of Texas.
While volume is only one element of the college football recruiting rankings process, it will be interesting to see how long Joey McGuire’s staff maintains the biggest group nationally.
JUNE 5, 10 a.m. UPDATE:
Texas Tech offers 2024 Northeast Oklahoma Association of Homeschools edge rusher Danny Okoye, his third D1 offer. The 6-5, 230-pound DE/TE/RB is being recruited as an edge rusher primarily at the next level.
Okoye told 247Sports: “My primary position is at defensive end where I specialize at edge rushing,” Okoye said. “I played a little bit of left tackle last year just because I’m big and we had no one else who could play the position. I also run and catch the ball, but mainly DE.
“Coach Blanchard was the coach who offered me,” Okoye said. “I didn’t really get a chance to talk to him but I woke up in the morning to a DM from my head coach saying I had just been offered by Texas Tech.
“I had to read the message a few times to fully let it sink in, to be honest. Then I called the coach but it went to voicemail so I left a message. And then my coach texted me I could go ahead and make the post so I did. I was in a lot of shock to have gotten a Power 5 offer so soon. It still doesn’t feel real.”
JUNE 4, 9 a.m. UPDATE:
The Red Raiders have offered class of 2025 running back Riley Wormley. The 5-10, 170-pounder hails from Colleyville Heritage High School (Colleyville, Texas) and, in addition to Tech, has received offers from Arkansas, Charlotte, Miami (OH), SMU, and UTSA.
JUNE 3, 10:04 a.m. UPDATE:
Defensive lineman Vidal Scott joins the Red Raiders football program after transferring from Arkansas State. Scott has 16 starts in 23 games and 42 tackles in two seasons with the Red Wolves.
Scott will use his final year of eligibility in Lubbock giving coach Joey McGuire and the defensive staff some additional depth along the defensive line. He’s expected to be in Lubbock in the next week to begin summer workouts with the rest of the team.
MAY 25, 10:40 a.m. UPDATE:
Texas Tech is one of 12 schools to offer elite Copperas Cove, Texas class of 2024 offensive tackle Mike Uini. The 6-7, 290-pounder has also received offers from Baylor, Houston, LSU, SMU, Texas A&M, TCU, Arizona, Colorado, North Texas, Tulsa, and UTSA.
MAY 22, 11:30 A.M. UPDATE:
Texas Tech will soon host one of the top 2024 defensive prospects in the country.
In a busy summer swing, IMG Academy defensive lineman David Stone is visiting several programs in the Big 12 footprint.
When pressed for Clarity, Stone told Sports Illustrated‘s John Garcia, Jr., Stone said he would hit the Texas schools on the same part of the swing, though the exact date has yet to be determined. He will begin the tour at Oklahoma, so it could happen in early June or soon thereafter.
Tech offered Stone a scholarship in January, among the first programs to jump into the Oklahoma native’s recruitment.
MAY 20, 3:30 P.M. UPDATE:
One of Texas Tech’s top transfer targets has come off the board.
Jermayne Tauinaola Lole, the Arizona State defensive lineman who was supposed to take an official visit to Lubbock the weekend of May 27, announced a verbal commitment to Louisville on Friday.
It came one week after Lole was on campus with the ACC program, effectively canceling the trips to UF, Tech, and Oregon. There was also chatter he could wind up back at Arizona State, but for now, the experienced Pac-12 player will play ball in the ACC.
MAY 17, 2:17 P.M. UPDATE:
Texas Tech has offered 2024 cornerback recruit, Bernard Causey, from John F. Kennedy High School. The 6-0, 160-pounder is a native of New Orleans, Louisiana, and has also received offers from UL-Monroe and UTSA.
MAY 17, 9:51 A.M. UPDATE:
The University of Alabama has offered current Texas Tech commit Calvin Simpson Hunt. The Waxahachie, Texas native committed to Tech back in November and is one of the more highly regarded cornerback commits at 6-0, 175-pounds.
Simpson Hunt announced the offer on social media:
Commits are, of course, allowed to change their minds up until signing day, but Simpson Hunt has given no indication that he’s going to move his commitment.
MAY 12, 9:00 am UPDATE:
While McGuire and company are known for hitting the high school recruiting trail hard, the NCAA transfer portal has become a strong supplement for new coaching staff and long-tenured college coaches alike.
Texas Tech is playing in the mix more and more into the New Year, and an All-Pac-12 performer is now on the radar. Defensive lineman Jermayne Tauinaola Lole, who has 28 career starts under his belt at Arizona State, entered the portal just before the May 1 deadline and he’s planning multiple official visits.
Tech is set to receive one, on May 27, before a final decision is to be made. Announcing the plans on social media, Lole will also see Louisville, Florida, and Oregon on an official basis.
During his last full season of action in 2020, Lole earned the highest grade among defensive interior players in the Pac-12 with a score of 85.9 – 3.3 points more than any other conference player and good for 13th among all FBS interior linemen, according to Pro Football Focus.
Lole is originally from California, prepping at Long Beach (Calif.) Poly, one of the most well-known high school football programs in the country.
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