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Texas Tech football: 5 West Texas recruits Red Raiders need to land

By Matthew Conner

SHAFTER, TEXAS - FEBRUARY 14: The Texas flag flies at half mast on Sunday at the Cibolo Creek Ranch, the day after the death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, February 14, 2016 in Shafter, Texas. (Photo by Matthew Busch/Getty Images)
SHAFTER, TEXAS - FEBRUARY 14: The Texas flag flies at half mast on Sunday at the Cibolo Creek Ranch, the day after the death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, February 14, 2016 in Shafter, Texas. (Photo by Matthew Busch/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /

DE Philip Blidi of Portales, N.M.

It is heresy to suggest that Eastern New Mexico is the same as West Texas.  I get that.  Don’t throw your computer out of the window.

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But considering that Portales N.M. is a mere 41 miles from the Texas border and 107 miles from Lubbock, we will consider 3-star DE Philip Blidi a local prospect.  The 6-foot-3, 245-pounder is most definitely a player Tech needs to add, regardless of where he is from.

The No. 37 2020 strong-side defensive end in the nation and the No. 2 player in New Mexico, Blidi’s only Power 5 offer is from Tech.  He also has offers from New Mexico, N.M. State, SMU, Tulsa, and UTEP.

In the last two years, he has a combined 170 tackles and 15 sacks.  That is the type of disruptive force that Keith Patterson needs to add to his defense.

In 2020, the only proven defensive end on the roster, Eli Howard, will exhaust his eligibility making it essential that Tech add more talent at the position in the 2020 class so that some young players are ready to contribute in Howard’s absence.  To that end, Tech added two quality prospects in this year’s class in 4-star DE Gilbert Ibeneme and 3-star DE Tony Bradford Jr., both of whom are expected to play this fall as true freshmen.

Bust just because he is tucked away in Portales, N.M., that doesn’t mean he isn’t on the radar of other power-5 programs.  That includes Texas, to which he took a visit this spring.

Next. Ranking Texas Tech's defensive position groups. dark

Still, college football recruiting is far more influenced by geography than basketball or baseball and that could give Tech the edge.  Though Blidi is not technically a West Texas player, he is one that the Red Raiders need to prioritize.

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