Wednesday, college football players across the nation were able to enter their names in the transfer portal as the spring window opened up. With the Texas Tech football program nearing the end of 2025 spring practices, there was an expectation that some Red Raiders would seek other opportunities, and that is exactly what happened.
The first player to announce his entry into the portal was redshirt freshman offensive lineman Dylan Shaw. Considering how hard the program has worked to build a pipeline of home-grown o-linemen during head coach Joey McGuire's three years in charge, that was a disappointing development.
A 6-foot-4, 300-pound native of Corpus Christi, Texas, Shaw was a member of the 2023 recruiting class. After redshirting as a true freshman, he appeared in three games in 2024 as a backup guard.
Officially in #AGTG pic.twitter.com/3eV6CAY1zB
— Dylan Shaw🌵 (@thedylanshaw) April 16, 2025
Though Shaw's impending departure won't devastate the Red Raiders, it is a blow to the program's efforts to replenish the depth at one of the most critical positions on the roster.
Shaw arrived as a highly regarded signee. According to 247Sports, he was the No. 59 interior offensive lineman in America and the No. 105 player in Texas in the class of 2023.
However, entering his third season in Lubbock, he had yet to break into the conversation for a starting job. Of course, that was in large part due to the massive influx of offensive line talent the program to the roster via the portal this offseason.
Since the end of the 2024 campaign, Texas Tech has added three coveted offensive line recruits. What's more, the program is set to return potential starters at guard, Vinny Sciury and Davion Carter.
On top of that, in the class of 2025, six high school offensive linemen joined the Red Raiders. Of that group, three play along the interior of the line where Shaw also plays. Thus, the competition for playing time had grown rather stiff.
Still, it would have been nice to see a player with Shaw's pedigree develop into a contributor for McGuire and his coaching staff. It appears that won't happen, though, as Shaw is in the portal and looking for a new place to call home.