2015 5-Star QB Jarrett Stidham Decommits from Texas Tech

The Texas Tech Red Raiders have lost the crown jewel of their 2015 recruiting class.

Five-star quarterback Jarrett Stidham announced on Twitter that he has decommitted from the school:

According to 247Sports' composite rankings, Stidham is the third-best dual-threat quarterback and 26th-best player overall in the country. By securing Stidham's commitment, Red Raiders head coach Kliff Kingsbury sent a message to the rest of the Big 12 that Tech was a team in the ascendancy.

Now, Kingsbury and the rest of his staff are thrown for a loop.

Aaron Dickens of RedRaiderSports.com notes the timing of the decision couldn't be much worse, with Kingsbury soon unable to meet with Stidham to try and lure him back to Lubbock, Texas:

All signs pointed to Stidham becoming a Red Raider in 2015, especially after signing a financial-aid agreement with the school in August, per Max Olson of ESPN.com:

David Ubben of Fox Sports Southwest believes this is an almost unprecedented situation:

Daniel Paulling of 247Sports reported that Stidham could be concerned about playing time upon his potential arrival at Texas Tech:

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A source close to the situation says Stidham's decommitment revolves around whether he'd redshirt his freshman year or play immediately. ... Red Raiders head coach Kliff Kingsbury said the quarterback competition in spring workouts would be “wide open” between Stidham, who was set to enroll at Tech in January, Patrick Mahomes, Davis Webb, walk-on Vincent Testaverde and Nic Shimonek.

Kingsbury and offensive coordinator Eric Morris made an in-home visit with Stidham on Sunday.

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Freshman Mahomes threw for 598 yards and six touchdowns in a 48-46 loss to Baylor on Nov. 29. According to ESPN.com's Jake Trotter, Stidham was at the game:

Trotter then added credence to the notion that Baylor could now be in play for Stidham:

With a recruiting dead period rapidly approaching, time is running out for coaches to make their case in front of the prep star until the calendar turns over to 2015.

Once the window opens again, though, you can bet that the race to secure Stidham's commitment will be furious.