Texas Tech football: Red Raiders land 3-star OT Jack Tucker

Monday, the Texas Tech football program picked up a commitment from 3-star offensive tackle Jack Tucker from Argyle.

Texas Tech football head coach Matt Wells is on a roll.  After landing a pair of tight end recruits to his 2021 class last week, the second-year man in charge added yet another piece to the current recruiting haul on Monday.

Jack Tucker, a 3-star offensive tackle from Argyle, Texas became the fifth member of the current Texas Tech class when he announced on Twitter his intention to join the Red Raiders.  Interestingly, all five of Tech’s commits play on the offensive side of the football.

The 6-foot-6, 270-pound Tucker is rated by 247Sports as the No. 76 offensive tackle in the nation and the No. 106 player in Texas.  He holds an impressive set of offers including ones from Baylor, Auburn, Arkansas, Ole Miss, Cal, Illinois, USC, Washington State, Purdue, and Houston among others.

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"Gabe Brooks of 247Sports has the following scouting report on Tucker’s profile page: “Possesses great height and frame potential for a tackle prospect. Plays with consistent effort and looks for more work when available. Gets to second level fairly well in the run game. Locks on as drive-blocker and finishes blocks when able. Displays encouraging body control. Two-sport athlete who throws the shot put. Possibly could give position flexibility at guard with added strength. Owns a high ceiling as a pass protector. Shows adequate bend in pass pro with natural kick slide. However, sometimes more of a leaner than a bender and gets too far out over his feet, especially in the run game. Must add explosiveness and punch power. More catcher than puncher to this point. Foot quickness can improve to maximize left tackle potential. Power Five-caliber offensive tackle prospect who could become reliable starter.”"

The offensive line has to be a huge priority for Wells and Co. in the 2021 recruiting cycle.  Landing at least four quality OL targets is a must but bringing five into the fold would be preferential.

In recent classes, Tech has not been able to load up at that position, which is one of the most important in the game.  In that last two classes, Tech has added just seven OL while seeing the departures of long-time starters, Paul Stawarz, Terence Steele, Travis Bruffy, and Madison Akamnonu.  What’s more, the Red Raiders are expected to see junior right guard Jack Anderson head to the NFL next offseason.

On top of that, five members of the current roster are juniors or seniors including starting center Dawson Deaton (a junior), and top candidates to start at tackle this season, senior Zach Adams and juniors Casey Verhulst and Will Farrar.

Taking things a step further, the last time the Red Raiders signed a full OL class was in 2018.  But of the five linemen added that year, only Weston Wright has been able to work his way into the two-deep as he is expected to start at left guard this season after filling in rather well when Anderson was forced to miss the final eight games of last season with an upper-body injury.

Thus, being able to win recruiting battles such as this one for the services of Jack Tucker is essential for Wells.  Soon, the stalwarts of the offensive line in Lubbock are going to move on and there is little in the way of certainty when it comes to who will step into their shoes.  Hopefully, the newest Red Raider commit will be one of the players that becomes another multi-year starter.