Elite H.S. offensive lineman reportedly to visit Texas Tech football program

The Texas Tech football team, like every program in America, is always on the lookout for new and elite talent along the offensive line. One such prospect who is reportedly set to visit Lubbock is Broderick Shull.

A 6-foot-5, 275-pound member of the class of 2025, the Bixby, Oklahoma native is one of the top offensive linemen in the nation. Rated by the 247Sports composite rankings as a four-star prospect, Shull is the No. 20 offensive tackle in the nation and No. 6 player in Oklahoma.

In addition to Texas Tech, Shull also has offers from the likes of Auburn, Texas A&M, Nebraska, Kansas State, Missouri, and others. Now, he may have trimmed his list and Texas Tech seems to have made the cut.

On social media, On3 Recruits is reporting that Shull will visit four programs in the coming weeks. That includes Nebraska on May 10, Auburn on May 31, Texas Tech on June 14, and Texas A&M on June 21.

Needless to say, adding an offensive lineman of this caliber would be huge for Texas Tech. That's because the program continues to try to build an in-house offensive line pipeline.

During the Kliff Kingsbury and Matt Wells eras of the program, offensive line recruiting suffered at Texas Tech. That's why that position group has been the weakest spot on the roster during the two seasons that Joey McGuire has been on the job.

As a result, McGuire has essentially had to rebuild the offensive line room from scratch while still managing to cobble together a unit that can play on Saturdays.

In McGuire's first recruiting class, the class of 2022, the Red Raiders brought in five transfer offensive linemen to try to build a representative unit for that season. That included eventual starters Monroe Mills and Cole Spencer.

In McGuire's second class, 2023, he signed only one transfer, Rusty Staats from Western Kentucky. Still, the 2023 offensive line was comprised of just one player, Caleb Rogers, who signed with Texas Tech out of high school.

That trend is going to continue this season as Tech has inked three more transfer offensive linemen and one JUCO prospect to play up front. Thus, it is likely that again in 2024, the majority of Tech's O-line snaps will go to players who didn't start their careers in Lubbock.

That's not necessarily bad news. If the transfers can play well, then they will be welcome additions. What's more, their presence could give young homegrown offensive linemen a chance to mature into eventual contributors.

McGuire has made strides when it comes to fortifying his offensive line room with high school talent. The program is high on players such as 2024 signees Jacob Ponton and Ellis Davis, the latter of whom is a 4-star signee and the highest-ranked player in the 2024 Texas Tech high school recruiting class not named Micah Hudson.

What's more, there is optimism that 2023 signees Nick Fattig and Kaden Carr could be ready to contribute as early as next fall. That would be a welcome change for the program to have some talent that has been fully developed in-house arise at one of the game's most important position groups.

The issue that is developing young offensive linemen into Big 12 caliber players takes time. That's why it is imperative that Tech continues to restock the pond each year with top-notch recruits and Shull would fit that bill.

However, the competition for his services will be brutal. Both 247Sports and On 3 Sports give the current edge to Auburn but anything could change after his round of in-person visits. So keep an eye on Shull and his recruitment because he could be the next elite offensive lineman to join Joey McGuire's program.