A transfer portal offensive tackle that Texas Tech will likely pursue

It is no secret that the Texas Tech football program will be in the market for offensive linemen now that the transfer portal window has opened. After all, that was arguably the weakest position group on the roster in 2024 and if the Red Raiders are ever going to be Big 12 contenders, they must get better along the line of scrimmage.

Monday, a starting offensive lineman from a quality group-of-5 program entered the portal and he has close connections to the Red Raiders making him a likely target for head coach Joey McGuire and his staff.

Alex Harkey, a redshirt junior offensive lineman from Texas State announced over the weekend that he is entering the portal and immediately, people began speculating that the Red Raiders could have interest. That's because Harkey's offensive coordinator with the Bobcats, Mack Leftwich, is now the new Texas Tech offensive coordinator taking over for Zach Kittley who left last week to become the head coach at Florida Atlantic.

Harkey is a 6-foot-6, 325-pound native of Austin, Texas. This year, his second at Texas State, he was the starting right tackle for a Bobcats team that went 7-5 overall and is set to play North Texas in the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl in Dallas on January 3rd.

While the thought of adding Harkey might not set Texas Tech fans on fire given that he's not a starter from a power conference school, he does have a decent pedigree. A former high school tight end who began his career at the JUCO level, he spent time at Colorado in 2022 where he saw action in four games as a redshirt freshman.

In 2023, he also appeared in four games at right guard for Texas State. This season, he became a starter and performed well for the Bobcats earning third-team All-Sun Belt Conference accolades.

Now, the question must be asked whether Harkey would be an upgrade over the tackles the Red Raiders relied on this season. After all, he doesn't have much success at the power conference level and Tech has already spent the last two years relying on transfers from mid-major programs like Middle Tennessee, Toldeo, Memphis, and Western Kentucky to play starting roles only to find that the results were less than desirable.

Still, Tech will need to add multiple offensive linemen in the portal this offseason. The program is set to lose senior starters Caleb Rogers, Sterling Porcher, and Davion Carter while junior Ty Buchanan (who started multiple games at tackle as well) has entered the transfer portal.

Therefore, bringing in a player like Harkey could make sense, even if he is just a depth piece at a position group where injuries are an annual certainty. So don't be shocked if Harkey and the Red Raiders come to an agreement to bring this transfer offensive lineman to Lubbock.