Texas Tech football: Early 2021 recruiting targets to watch

S Lyrik Rawls

Another safety that would look great in scarlet and black would be Lyrik Rawls.  The 3-star Marshall, Texas product was on campus for junior day last month and he’s also a big athletic DB to watch as the recruiting cycle plays out.

His list of offers includes Arkansas, Houston, Kansas, Mississippi State, Missouri, Oklahoma State, and SMU among others.  He’s the No. 44 safety in the country and the No. 93 recruit in Texas.

At 6-foot-1, 180-pounds, he’s a lanky rangy player.  That size is something that Tech could desperately use in the Big 12 where 6-foot-4 or taller receivers seem to grow on trees.

Keep an eye on Oklahoma State in this recruiting battle.  Rawls has plans to visit Stillwater for the OSU spring game in April.

https://twitter.com/RawlsLyrik/status/1221274805917429760?s=20

One factor that makes Rawls such an intriguing player is that he also plays receiver in high school.  It’s not that he would play both ways at Tech but his experience as a pass-catcher would theoretically help him be a ball hawk when playing the ball in the air.

Year after year, the Red Raider defensive backs have struggled when trying to make plays on contested balls so a player with Rawls’ size and background might be a welcome solution to that problem.

On paper, Tech was one of the better teams in the nation in terms of picking off passes in 2019.  With 14 total INTs, Tech ranked 17th nationally and third in the Big 12.  But when you factor in that Coleman had eight of those picks, you can understand how important it will be for this program to find its next star safety in short order.

Over the last decade, Tech has had some excellent safeties such as Coleman, Jah’Shawn Johnson, Cody Davis, and Keenon Ward.  Perhaps Lyric Rawls will be the next to join that club.