A 3-star safety
Life in the Big 12 requires teams to have plenty of capable defensive backs at the ready. That’s why it is concerning that the current 2021 recruiting class does not have a single defensive back committed thus far.
One recruit who could change that is Lyrik Rawls, a 3-star safety from Marshall, Texas. The 6-foot-1, 180-pounder released a top 5 this summer of Tech, Oklahoma State, Houston, Kansas, and TCU. He also has offers from Arizona, Indiana, Mississippi State, Missouri, and Ole Miss among others.
Rated the no. 41 safety in the nation and the no. 83 player in Texas, this is the type of talent Tech needs to start adding to the defensive backfield. And given that Tech has a pair of seniors, Eric Monroe and Thomas Leggett, starting at safety this year, adding more high-end talent to the position group is going to be a key this offseason.
Though both could return next year given that the NCAA has granted all fall athletes an extra year of eligibility this year, soon, Tech is going to need new blood at safety and that’s a position that recent recruiting classes have not addressed all that well.
Last year, Tech did add Kobee Minor and Jonathan Davis but neither were rated as highly as Rawls. In fact, each was outside the top 150 players in Texas.
Tech also brought on board JUCO signee Cam Watts who has seen the field sparingly this year. Though he’s seen action in six of this year’s eight games, he’s made only three tackles.
But while the most recent recruiting class did at least provide some warm bodies at safety, we can’t say the same of the 2019 class. That was a group devoid of any signees at safety though Dadrion Taylor-Demerson, who signed to be a corner, has played some safety in his two years on campus.
The point is that Rawls would be a huge addition at a position that Tech has struggled to restock in recent years. It is believed that he will sign in the early window and that’s why Red Raider fans need to track his recruitment over the upcoming weeks.