Texas Tech football offers two top 2020 defensive prospects

Monday, the Texas Tech football program offered two highly-regarded 2020 defensive prospects in Alec Bryant and Xavion Alford.

Though the 2019 recruiting class is a top priority given that National Signing Day is just weeks away, the 2020 recruiting cycle is already underway.  And Texas Tech has begun trying to build next year’s class by offering two highly-regarded defensive prospects.

Monday, Alec Bryant, a 4-star defensive end and Xavion Alford, a 3-star safety, both from Pearland, Texas, reported that they had picked up offers from the Red Raiders. And not coincidentally, both could help fill positions where the Red Raiders desperately need to add talent.

Bryant, a 6-foot-3, 230-pound defensive end from Pearland, Texas is rated as the No. 22 player in Texas and the No. 9 weak side defensive end in the nation by 247Sports.com.  He holds offers from Arizona, Houston, Indiana, LSU, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oregon State, TCU and Vanderbilt among others.

This season, he registered 55 tackles (18 for loss) and eight sacks.  It may be worth noting that his brother, Alfred Bryant is currently a defensive end for the Hoosiers.

Finding dominant pass rushers has long been an issue for the Red Raiders.  Tech’s 28 sacks this year were its most sine 2009 but were good for only seventh in the Big 12.

The Red Raiders have added some nice talent at defensive end in recent years hoping to improve the pass rush.  In 2017, Tech added Nelson Mbanasor and in the 2019 class, 4-star prospect Gilbert Ibeneme has already signed his letter of intent.

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Next month, Tech also plans to add 3-star Tony Bradford Jr. who has been a long-time Red Raider commit.  The biggest prize left in this class remains 4-star defensive end Steven Parker from Dallas who was once a Texas Tech commit but reopened his recruitment in the wake of November’s coaching change.

As for Alford, the 6-foot-1, 184-pound native of Pearland is listed as the No. 62 player in Texas and No. 26 safety in the class by 247Sports.com. He currently has offers from Arizona, Boston College, Colorado, Houston, Indiana, Iowa State, Kansas, LSU, Oklahoma State, Purdue, TCU, Utah and Virginia Tech.

This season, he amassed 61 tackles and was credited with 20 pass break-ups while also returning an interception for a touchdown.  And he could fill a critical need at a position where Texas Tech has suddenly become rather thin.

After losing three safeties from the 2018 team, including starters Jah’Shawn Johnson and Vaughnte Dorsey, Tech currently has no safeties in the 2019 recruiting class.  What’s more, given how close we are to signing day, it is safe to assume that a player of Alford’s pedigree is not going to be available for the Red Raiders this year.

Tech struggled against the pass last year ranking second-to-last in the country by allowing over 288 yards per game though the air.  But one area where Tech was better than average was in registering interceptions.  The Red Raiders picked off 12 passes, tied for No. 40 in the nation.

Next year’s signing class will be the first real barometer of the new coaching staff’s ability to recruit to Lubbock.  If Matt Wells and his assistants can begin to get players of this caliber to join the program, they will be taking a huge step towards making Texas Tech football relevant once again.