Texas Tech football: Gifts we wish we could give Matt Wells

NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 07: Santa Claus speaks on stage at Z100's Jingle Ball 2018 at Madison Square Garden on December 7, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images for iHeartMedia)
NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 07: Santa Claus speaks on stage at Z100's Jingle Ball 2018 at Madison Square Garden on December 7, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images for iHeartMedia)
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LUBBOCK, TX – NOVEMBER 12: Texas Tech cheerleaders perform at Jones AT
LUBBOCK, TX – NOVEMBER 12: Texas Tech cheerleaders perform at Jones AT

A top-45 recruiting class

New coaches in today’s environment face a challenge that is new to the game; the early signing period.  Recruits are not allowed to sign their national letters of intent in December meaning that coaches at new schools have only a few weeks to work on salvaging their recruiting classes.

In the days following Kingsbury’s departure, Tech lost six 2019 verbal commitments including its top-rated prospect, 4-star DE Stephen Parker from Dallas.  Subsequently, a class that was ranked in the 40’s nationally by most services plummeted into the 60’s.

But wells has had some wins on that front in recent weeks.  He got 3-star QB Maverick McIvor to recommit and landed 3-star JUCO tight end Travis Koontz who had previously visited TCU.

It would be quite impressive for Wells to be able to sign a top-45 class this year and that is not out of the question.  The class currently sits at No 61 in the nation according to 247Sports.com but that is due to the fact that it is not full.

Recruiting rankings are not based on the average ranking of each prospect but rather on the total number of players signed.  So with as many as ten spots still open, Tech could see its ranking make a significant jump by February’s signing day.

If Wells can land Parker and some other impact recruits, this class will look much different.  Whereas most Big 12 teams have already signed the vast majority of their prospects, Tech still has room to improve and a strong finish to the 2019 class could give Wells a better than average class in this transition year.