Texas Tech football: Red Raiders get commitment from UT transfer

While he’s mostly known as a high school recruiting guru, new Texas Tech football head coach Joey McGuire is not above using the transfer portal to improve his program.  Wednesday, it was reported by multiple sources, including Sam Kahn Jr. of The Athletic that the Red Raiders have picked up a commitment from former Texas Longhorns safety  Tyler Owens, who entered the transfer portal earlier this season.

Coming out of high school, the Plano product was a 4-star signee in the class of 2019.  At that time, he was rated the No. 18 player in Texas and the No. 9 safety in the nation.  But the former 4-star recruit never made the type of impact in Austin that many expected him to.

Registering a mere 13 tackles in three seasons with UT, the 6-foot-2, 200-pound defensive back has not reached his full potential as a collegiate.  Perhaps a fresh start in Lubbock is exactly what he needs.

Tech certainly will be looking to replenish its defensive backfield this year, especially at safety.  One of this year’s starting safeties, Eric Monroe, is guaranteed to leave the program as he is in his final season of eligibility and the other starting safety, Marquis Waters, may not return given that he’s also a super senior.  However, Waters could potentially earn a medical redshirt for the 2021 season because he saw action in just four games this year before suffering a season-ending injury.

However, in Waters’ place, junior Dadrion Taylor-Demerson has grown into a nice player.  Playing in ten games thus far, he’s racked up 50 tackles and three interceptions.

Should Waters and Taylor-Demerson return next year, it could allow Owens to play in the slot as a nickel corner.  That is something that he should be able to do given his elite speed.  In fact, his overall physical ability has never been in question.

"When he signed with the Longhorns, 247Sports’ Gabe Brooks had a glowing scouting report on Owens: “Big-framed safety prospect who possesses outstanding athleticism that has been proven in a track environment. Terrific size with frame potential that could translate to safety or even outside linebacker, depending on development. Posted multiple sub-11.00-second 100-meter times, plus a 45-foot, 5-inch triple jump. High-ceiling prospect given outstanding combination of physical tools.“Closes fast on the ball and arrives with a purpose. Elite top-end speed relative to projected position. Showed noticeable improvement on tape from junior to senior season. Raw from a technical standpoint and still honing defensive back-specific craft. Has improved tackling consistency but can continue to clean up technique. Occasionally hunts unnecessarily for the big hit. Will need to improve lateral fluidity and hip-flipping ability to cover receivers at the next level. Size and elite athleticism translate to multiple back-seven spots at the high-major level. Potential to project to NFL draft’s early rounds.”"

But thus far, Owens has been just a reserve during his time as a collegiate.  However, we need to look no further than the career of Monroe to see why that might not matter.

When he transferred to Tech from LSU prior to the 2020 season, Monroe had just one start and 21 total tackles to his name in four years with the Tigers.  But since then, he’s started 21 games and made 126 tackles as a Red Raider.  Here’s hoping that Owens follows a similar path on the South Plains.