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Texas Tech football: Early 2021 recruiting targets to watch

By Matthew Conner

LUBBOCK, TEXAS - OCTOBER 19: Jones AT&T Stadium is pictured before the college football game between the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the Iowa State Cyclones on October 19, 2019 at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images)
LUBBOCK, TEXAS - OCTOBER 19: Jones AT&T Stadium is pictured before the college football game between the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the Iowa State Cyclones on October 19, 2019 at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images) /
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The Masked Rider (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images)
The Masked Rider (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images) /

DE Byron Turner

Speaking of positions of need, Texas Tech has been looking for its next dominant defensive end for as long Captain Ahab searched for that great white whale.  Hopefully, the Red Raiders’ search is more fruitful but thus far, it’s yielded little in the way of all-conference caliber results.

Now, that search is taking the coaches back to Louisana, a state where this program has invested significant time and resources over the years with minimal success to show for the effort.  But that’s not stopping Wells from pursuing Byron Turner.

A 6-foot-3, 234-pound DE from New Orleans, Turner picked up an offer from Tech on February 13.  Rated the No. 25 strong-side defensive end in the country and No. 12 overall player in Louisana, he holds offers from the likes of Colorado, Florida, Kansas, Louisville, Mississippi State, Texas A&M, Tennessee, and West Virginia among others.

As you can see by that offer list, this is going to be an uphill battle for Tech but it is one worth pursuing because this is the type of pass rusher that can start to transform the Red Raider defense into a respectable unit.  It’s also important to understand how few high school defensive ends this program has landed in recent years.

https://twitter.com/ByronTurnerJr/status/1202053636026773504?s=20

In 2020, Tech added LB Moore from Amarillo and Philip Blidi from Portales, N.M., the latter of whom is a serious grade risk.  In 2019, there were three defensive ends in the class but one, Quinton Williams, has already left the program.

The only DE to sign with Tech in 2018 was John Scott, who may never play again for Tech after being shot in the stomach last year at an apartment complex pool party in Lubbock.  Whether or not he is able to return from that life-threatening injury is anyone’s guess but he can’t be counted on in the immediate.

There hasn’t been a Red Raider with more than five sacks in a season since Pete Robertson racked up 13 in 2014. If Tech is going to start being competitive on the defensive side of the ball, battles with players of this caliber are going to have to start going the way of the good guys more often.

Of course, pass rushers are one of the most coveted commodities in the sports world and Tech is going to have a tough time landing Turner.  But that doesn’t seem to be stopping Wells from throwing his hat into a very crowded ring.

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