Texas Tech football makes top-10 for 2019 4-star OT

Isaiah Hookfin, a 2019 4-star offensive tackle has released his top-10 schools and Texas Tech has made the cut.

As the December signing period for high school football prospects nears, one of the most talented uncommitted prospects in Texas has released his top-10 schools.  Isaiah Hookfin, a 4-star offensive tackle from Sugar Land, Texas made his announcement via Twitter Friday and Texas Tech made the cut.

Along with the Red Raiders, the 6-foot-5, 270-pounder lists Southern Mississippi, Illinois, Mississippi State, Texas, Minnesota, Duke, Arizona State, Baylor and Auburn as the schools he is still considering.

247Sports.com lists Hookfin as the No. 35 tackle in the nation and the No. 52 overall player in Texas.  What makes this prospect intriguing is the fact that he has been a late-bloomer, which is rare for a 4-star player.

Since the implementation of the December signing period last year, the recruiting cycle has been sped up significantly with most prospects now committing during the spring or summer months.  But Hookfin has received nine scholarship offers int he past four months, including the one he received from Texas Tech in August.

Thus far, he has taken official visits to only Illinois and Arizona State suggesting the he may not be close to making his decision and will likely wait until the traditional February signing period to ink his letter of intent.  And this is a recruit that could most certainly help bolster a position group that has underperformed for the Red Raiders this season.

Tech’s offensive line has been disappoining this year, especially in the second half of the season.  After beginning the season with over 90 career starts between the five starters, Tech has been unable to run the football in the last four weeks failing to surpass 31 yards on the ground against both Iowa State and Kansas State.

The good news is that Tech will lose only one starter after this year, senior center Paul Stawarz. (senior Jacob Hines also started two games at guard before a knee injury ended his season two weeks ago).  But as we have seen this year, experience does not necessarily guarantee excellence.

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There should be plenty of competition along the line next year though.  Dawson Deaton, a sophomore from Frisco, Texas is expected to replace Stawarz at center and 6-foot-3, 330-pound Demarcus Marshall, who will be a redshirt freshman next year, could challenge for a starting spot at guard.

In recent years, Texas Tech has made the offensive line a top priority on the recruiting trail.  Kliff Kignsbury has added at least four offensive linemen in each of the last four classes including seven in 2015.

But currently, there is only one o-line prospect verbally committed for 2019.  Though he is a huge prospect..literally.

7-foot, 345-pound Trevor Roberson, a 3-star prospect from Wellington, Texas (in the panhandle) verbally committed to the Red Raiders in June.  Still, Tech needs to add some pieces along the line and it would not be surprising to see some JUCO prospects added in the upcoming weeks.

Tech will enter 2019 with both tackles, Travis Bruffy and Terrence Steele, set to exhaust their collegiate eligibility.  That is why landing a player like Isaiah Hookfin would be so critical for the Red Raiders.