Texas Tech Football Offers Big-Time Arkansas DE
The Texas Tech football staff has extended a scholarship offer to Little Rock, Arkansas defensive end Zach Williams, one of the hottest prospects in the south.
The Texas Tech football coaching staff is looking outside the Lone Star State to try to address what has been one of the program’s most nagging weaknesses. After struggling for years to find a consistent pass rush, the Red Raiders are trying to bring in one of the top players in Arkansas to help remedy that problem.
Wednesday, Zach Williams, a three-star defensive end from Little Rock, Arkansas received an offer from the Red Raiders, adding another team to his impressive list of suitors. In addition to Texas Tech, Williams has offers from Arkansas, Texas, Alabama, Baylor, California, Florida, Georgia, TCU, Tennessee and Purdue among others.
Excited to announce that I have received a scholarship offer from Texas Tech University! @CoachJamison @RedRaider_FB pic.twitter.com/kM8mqI2yG7
— Zach Williams (@ZachWilliams56) May 9, 2018
Currently, it appears that the Razorbacks are in the lead for the 6-foot-4, 225-pounder whose father played linebacker in Fayetteville in the 1980’s. Last weekend, Williams took his official visit to Arkansas but as more programs show interest, he is keeping his options open.
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The No. 6 overall player in Arkansas and No. 41 defensive end in the nation, Williams registered 65 tackles (28 for loss) eleven sacks and three fumble recoveries as a junior in 2017. Therefore, it is easy to see why Texas Tech would covet such a force on the defensive line.
Getting to the passer has been a persistent weakness of the Texas Tech defense for far too long. Last season, Tech was led by Eli Howard with 5.5 sacks on the season but put up only 18 as a team, far too few for a team trying to stop pass-happy offenses in the Big 12.
The previous season, Tech had four fewer sacks and had no player register more than Kris Williams’ 4.5. In fact, only one player in the Kingsbury era, Pete Robertson (12 sacks in 2014) has recorded over 5.5 sacks in a season. What’s more, Robertson and Brandone Shapre (15 sacks in 2009) are the only Texas Tech players since 2009 to register double-digit sack seasons.
Therefore, Texas Tech is searching far and wide for pass rushers to add to the 2019 class. But pulling Williams out of Arkansas will be tough.
To convince a legacy to leave his home state and shun his state’s flagship school is always difficult for even the top programs. Considering the uncertainty surrounding Kingsbury’s future in Lubbock, it is hard to imagine Tech being able to persuade one of the top recruits in SEC country to leave for the Big 12, which has suffered a major hit in reputation in recent years. Still, it is great to see the Red Raiders attempting to do whatever they can to finally fix the program’s anemic pass rush.