Texas Tech Football Recruiting: Raiders Score Big on National Signing Day 2011

The Texas Tech Red Raiders' 2011 National Signing Day went as well as forecasted yesterday, with Texas Tech’s actual recruiting haul being ranked No. 18 by Scouts.com and No. 19 nationally by Rivals.com.

Though Tech lost key recruits that included James Castleman (3-star DT from Amarillo who, once solidly to Tech, switched his commitment to Oklahoma State just last week), Marcus Roberson (a 4-star DB from Florida who, though committed, said he was only 50/50 for Tech and wound up at Florida) and Freddie Warner (3-star DB from Dallas who opted out for North Texas), the Raiders gained considerable ground with six recruits that were “on the fence” or surprises. 

The biggest gains came in two of the areas were the Red Raiders needed the most help: the defensive line and linebacking corps.

First came Cooper Washington (a 3-star, 6’4”, 225-pound DE from Muleshoe, Texas) who had committed to Oklahoma in April but switched to Tech in a surprise move yesterday (purportedly to stay closer to home).

Two other huge scores for the beleaguered defensive line were Leon Mackey (a 4-star, 6’5”, 260-pound DT from Hinds JC in Raymond, Miss.) and Donte Phillips (a 3-star, 6’2”, 255-pound DL from Homestead HS in Mequon, Wisc.). Mackey, possibly the biggest addition yesterday, was rated No. 7 nationally by Rivals.com among its Junior College Top 50.

Help at linebacker comes via the last minute signing of both Desimon Green (a 3-star, 6’5”, 230-pound LB from Clariton HS in Clariton, Penn.) and Branden Jackson (a 4-star, 6’4”, 220-pound LB from McKeesport HS in McKeesport, Penn.).

The help at defense, according to second-year head coach Tommy Tuberville, ironically may have come due to Tech’s poor performance defensively in 2010 (which earned the team the dubious ranking of No. 93 in scoring nationally). In other words, the new recruits may have been attracted to the fact that they might see playing time at Tech well before they would have at other programs.

All in all, Texas Tech signed 21 new Red Raiders, which (when you add in the six commitments who enrolled in January) brings the grand total of the class of 2011 to 27.

Even with the surprise signings at defense, the Red Raiders' recruiting haul was still very offensively rich, especially at running back, where Tech signed three running backs rated as 3- or 4-star recruits by Rivals.com and Scout.com (Kenny Williams from Pflugerville, Texas; DeAndre Washington from Missouri City, Texas; and Bradley Marquez from Odessa, Texas).

The Class of 2011 is definitely cause for celebration and should realistically allow the Red Raider Nation to look ahead to great things for Tech football in the years ahead. As this group of talented athletes adjusts to college ball, they may collectively bring the hope of championships to the South Plains especially in 2013 and beyond.

However, as the Texas Longhorns proved in 2010, athletic prowess and recruiting ranks aren’t all you need to build a successful, championship caliber season; the Red Raiders will still have to execute on the field and meld as a team to finally bring football glory to an anxious Texas Tech fan base.