Texas Tech fans have optimism in the school's football program again despite just a 7-6 showing in 2023. The reason...recruiting. And today, the latest round of high school and JUCO talent from across the nation will officially begin to join their new programs.
There isn't expected to be any real drama or hand wringing over last-second flips this year. Red Raider fans won't be closely watching signing ceremonies from a high school gym hoping that a key recruit pulls a Texas Tech hat out of a bag and puts it on his head. Those situations, which were commonplace a decade ago and which made signing day one of the most fun offseason mile markers to look forward to have become almost extinct in the modern age of recruiting.
For some reason, the advent of an early signing window in December has made the process less dramatic. Sure, somewhere today, some recruit is going to pull a stunt and shock a fan base but for the most part, the players committed since this spring or summer are going to stick with their word and sign with the school they have been tied to for months.
For Texas Tech, that's a good thing. That's because Joey McGuire and his program don't have to sit on pins and needles while hoping for a turn of good fortune from the decision-making mind of a high school senior to salvage a solid recruiting haul.
Rather, this coaching staff has done so much great work on the recruiting trail that it is in a place to simply wait for things to go as planned. When that happens, Texas Tech will have arguably its best recruiting class of the recruit-ranking era.
As of the time that this article was written, Tech's class sat at No. 23 in the 247Sports.com national rankings. What's more, the class sits atop the Big 12 rankings.
It's a far cry from how Tech was recruiting before Joey McGuire's arrival. From 2013-20, Tech's recruiting classes ranked just around 55th in the country.
Since McGuire's arrival, that average ranking has risen to 35th in the country. That's a number that is likely to rise even higher given the way that McGuire is proving capable of luring talent to the South Plains.
Despite the lack of drama on this signing day and despite the fact that this class has essentially been in place since September, this is still an exciting day for the Red Raiders. So let's go inside the class and look at five additions who are likely to be game-changers for the Texas Tech football program.