Texas Tech football stays hot on recruiting trail, picks up third OL commit

Nothing in college football is more difficult than projecting how high school offensive linemen will develop. That's because determining how young prospects with that type of size will handle adding extra weight while trying to become more agile at the same time is far from an exact science.

Therefore, trying to throw numbers at the offensive line position is important. That's what Texas Tech has started to do in the 2025 recruiting class by picking up three verbal commitments from high school offensive linemen in the past week.

That latest is Elias Gillen from Rapid City, South Dakota. The 6-foot-5, 295-pound prospect announced his intention to join the Red Raiders Monday afternoon on social media.

Rated by 247Sports.com as a 3-star prospect, Gillen is the No. 2 player in the state of South Dakota and the No. 111 interior offensive lineman in his class.

In addition to Texas Tech, Gillen has offers from Akron, Eastern Michigan, South Dakota State, and North Dakota. He was in Lubbock this past weekend for an official visit and now he's ready to become a Red Raider.

Gillen is the 16th Texas Tech commit in the class of 2025. Currently, the Red Raiders' recruiting haul ranks 30th nationally.

Annually replenishing the offensive line ranks is critical for Joey McGuire and his program. For example, the starting 2024 offensive line could feature as many as four players with only one year of eligibility remaining. What's more, five offensive linemen in the program are seniors this season.

Under McGuire, trying to rebuild the Red Raiders offensive line ranks through the high school talent pool while also plugging holes with transfers. In the last three recruiting classes, Tech has added 17 O-linemen to the program (including transfers). That's a sign that the Red Raiders have been struggling to field quality offensive lines since McGuire's arrival.

Hopefully that will soon begin to change because Tech isn't going to ever be an elite team until the offensive line play improves. And if the Red Raiders can find success with these young offensive line prospects, it would do wonders for what McGuire is building on the South Plains.