After the struggles of the position group this season, the Texas Tech football program is expected to be active in recruiting offensive linemen in the transfer portal. Now, one target who was a starter for an SEC team this fall is already set to visit Lubbock just days after the portal opened for the winter window.
It is being reported by Pete Nakos of On3Sports that Makylan Pounders, who played for Mississippi State this fall, will be at Texas Tech for a visit on Thursday of this week. Nakos also reports that Pounders will take other visits to SEC programs in the upcoming days.
The 6-foot-5, 310-pounder is a Mississippi native. He has one season of college eligibility remaining.
Coming out of high school as a 3-star signee, he began his career with three years at Memphis. Then, he transferred to Mississippi State for the 2024 season.
Mississippi State offensive tackle Makylan Pounders will visit Texas Tech on Thursday, his agents @noah_reisenfeld + @AeneasHawkins tell @On3sports.
— Pete Nakos (@PeteNakos_) December 10, 2024
Will have a pair of SEC visits after. https://t.co/VxSGJEUisH https://t.co/h4HkKOgw75
In total, Pounders has made 18 starts in 30 career games played. That includes six starts in ten appearances this season for the Bulldogs who struggled to a 2-10 overall record.
The vast majority of Pounders' playing time was at left tackle in 2024. That's a position of need for the Red Raiders as they head into the offseason.
This year, left tackle was a bit of a revolving door for Tech due to injuries and less than stellar play at that critical spot. Players such as Middle Tennessee transfer Sterling Porcher, Dalton Merryman, and Ty Buchanan all tried their hand at protecting QB Behren Morton's blindside but none performed as well as the Red Raiders needed them to.
What's more, Porcher is out of eligibility after Texas Tech's bowl game and Buchanan is in the transfer portal. So with no ready-to-play option on the roster, the Red Raiders are fishing in the tackle market this offseason.
It is great to see the program target a player with power-conference experience after relying heavily on transfers from Group of 5 conferences during McGuire's tenure. The program desperately needs to improve its offensive line talent and that's going to require a heavy financial investment given that quality offensive linemen are some of the most coveted players in the sport.
The Red Raiders seem to be prepared to make that investment, though, and that is why Pounders won't be the only lineman head coach Joey McGuire and his coaching staff target. In fact, the program will likely add multiple starters to that position group via the portal. So keep your head on a swivel and pay attention to the linemen that Tech is linked to because it is shopping season and Tech knows what its top need is.