Carlos Strickland to Texas Tech: Red Raiders Land 4-Star WR Prospect

Carlos Strickland, one of the top pass-catchers in the country, has made Red Raiders fans very happy, but he has also broken a lot of hearts in the process by announcing that he will attend Texas Tech.

247Sports' Ryan Bartow reported the news:

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Wide receiver Carlos Strickland (Dallas/Skyline) just verbally committed to Texas Tech according to Skyline assistant coach Eric Mims.

"WreckEm," Strickland said.

Strickland chose the Red Raiders over Cal, TCU and UCLA.

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Playing at Dallas' Skyline High School, which also produced another elite 2015 recruit in linebacker Anthony Wheeler, Strickland has developed nicely during his time in high school. He caught just 10 passes in 2012 and jumped up to 33 catches for 719 yards and 10 touchdowns last season. 

Combine the improved performance with a 6'5", 194-pound frame with room to grow, and suddenly Strickland looks like one of the more underrated gems as a 4-star wide receiver. He ranks as the No. 15 wideout and No. 138 overall recruit in the 2015 class, per 247Sports' composite ratings.

It's no wonder, then, that Strickland was getting hounded, in a good way, by LSU to join the Tigers for 2015, according to a report from Shea Dixon of 247Sports, as well as offers from major programs like Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State and Oklahoma State, among others.

The Dallas Morning News provided some analysis on Strickland and highlighted some of his biggest strengths as a prospect:

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Carlos Strickland is the all-purpose big play receiver. His 21.8 yards per catch last year had him among the area's best and while he only had 33 catches, 10 were for touchdowns. He has a nose for the end zone and can be an instant game changer when he's on the field.

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When you have that kind of raw ability start to actualize on the football field while playing in a talent hotbed like Texas, it's no wonder so many high-profile schools were all over Strickland during the recruiting process. 

Making Strickland even more enticing is the way he will continue to evolve. No one expects a high school star to stop growing and filling out, but we haven't seen what the Texas native is capable of doing between the lines because he has so much physical projection left. 

Football has turned into a sport of quarterbacks and quick scores, so for teams to keep up with the frenetic pace, finding wide receivers who can stretch the field is imperative. Strickland is proving capable of doing that already with more room to get better. 

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