Texas Tech is searching the entire country as it tries to build its offensive line of the future. Now, a Colorado product is set to visit Lubbock this summer.
Tripp Skewes, a 3-star offensive tackle from the Denver area, has set up five summer visits, and one of those will be used to check out what the Red Raiders have to offer. According to an X post by 247Sports, Skewes will travel to the South Plains for a June 6 visit.
He'll also be visiting North Carolina and new head coach Bill Belichick on May 30, Vanderbilt on June 13, Colorado on June 16, and Kansas State on June 20. In other words, there is a strong possibility that Skewes winds up playing in the Big 12, even if he doesn't become a Red Raider.
The 6-foot-7, 300-pounder is rated a 3-star recruit by 247Sports. He is listed as the No. 94 tackle in the country and No. 12 player in Colorado.
In addition to the five schools he's visiting this summer, Skewes also has offers from Arizona, Oklahoma State, Purdue, Syracuse, Utah, and Washington State, among others.
In recent recruiting classes, Texas Tech has been active outside of the Lone Star State when trying to land offensive linemen from the high school ranks. For instance, in the class of 2025, Tech added linemen from South Dakota, Nebraska, and Michigan. What's more, in other recent classes, Tech has brought in offensive linemen from California and Louisiana.
That trend is continuing in 2026. Including Skewes, Tech has extended offers to 14 offensive linemen from other states. That group includes players from Indiana, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Nevada, California, and even Virginia.
Of course, trying to build a competent offensive line is always a tough task for a program like Texas Tech, which doesn't swim in blue-chip waters on the recruiting trail. Therefore, every stone must be overturned as the Red Raiders try to load up their offensive line war chest.
Offensive linemen are some of the most likely players in football to fade into obscurity once they hit campus. That's likely because it is incredibly difficult to project which high school 300-pound prospect will mature well enough physically in his 20s to be ready to play against elite defensive linemen.
As a result, offensive line recruiting is a numbers game. Teams must bring in four or five high school prospects per class just to ensure that there are enough players to not only fill out their o-line room but that there is a decent chance that at least a couple of recruits from each class will become contributors.
In recent years, Tech has struggled in that regard, forcing the Red Raiders to hit the transfer portal to plug holes along the o-line. However, McGuire has prioritized that position group and made better strides with his high school recruiting efforts than either of the two coaches who led the program before his arrival. Hopefully, more players like Skewes will decide to call Lubbock home in the upcoming years, even if they didn't grow up in the greatest state in the country.