2022 Signing Day Superlatives

The early signing period has come and gone, and today RedRaiderSports.com's Ben Golan and Matt Clare take a look at some class superlatives.

Texas Tech signed 16 high school prospects on Wednesday, and currently sits with the 39th best class in the country per the Rivals.com team recruiting rankings.

Ben: Joseph Adedire, DE

The four-star pass rusher was a former TCU commit who flipped due to his relationship with Texas Tech defensive line coach Zarnell Fitch.

Adedire can play multiple positions, but will likely rush off the edge. Texas Tech has needed pass rushers and they got a pretty good one in the 6-foot-2, 245 pound Adedire.

Matt: Maurion Horn, ATH

The four-star athlete committed to the Red Raiders this past summer and stayed committed through the coaching change. Horn is the highest rated commitment in the 2022 class and is expected to play defensive back, specifically corner back at the next level.

Ben: Tyler King, WR

King is the fastest player in the class and I see him coming in and playing right away. Tech is losing two slot receivers off the 2021 roster, and so the opportunity is there. Offensive coordinator Zach Kittley has used his inside receivers wonderfully the last couple seasons, and there's no reason that shouldn't continue. I also expect King to make an impact on special teams.

Matt: Bryson Donnell, RB

The 5-foot-11, 198-pound running back shared a backfield his entire career with another prolific back, Alabama signee Jamarion Miller, and will not shy away from competition or sharing reps at the position.

Donnell is already built for Power Five football and could see snaps early in the season.

Ben: Landon Hullaby, DB

Hullaby was a great signing day commitment for Texas Tech. He held 27 offers, 23 of those from P5 programs, and could have gone anywhere in the country. The former Oregon commit had a previous relationship with Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire and decided to stay in state.

I think this is another case of opportunity. With the loss of Eric Monroe and potentially Muddy Waters (he could return), Tech needs safety help. I can see Hullaby making an early impact there.

Matt: Trevon McAlpine, DT

The 6-foot-3, 290-pound defensive tackle was a surprise commitment on signing day for the Red Raiders, and new DL Coach Zarnell Fitch was the main reason. A longtime TCU commitment, McAlpine seemingly flew under the radar of SEC programs this entire cycle and the timing worked out for him to sign with Texas Tech.

He is my impact defensive player, because not only is he very talented, but McAlpine is an early graduate and will have a full semester to get ready to contribute next season.

Ben: LINEBACKERS

I think the trio of Ben Roberts, Ty Kana and Tavares Elston Jr. really complement each other and all bring different traits and abilities to the field.

Roberts can really run and has great size which will help him cover tight ends. He's also shown good pass rush ability from the second level.

Kana is an athletic, instinctive linebacker who will always be in the right place and finish tackles.

Elston Jr. is the splash player, looking to blow up opposing quarterbacks, running backs and receivers. When he hits you, you go backwards.

Matt: DEFENSIVE LINE

Your Red Raiders signed four (4) defensive lineman this week, a group of prospects who held a total of 30+ Power Five offers.

Trevon McAlpine, Joseph Adedire, Harvey Dyson and Syncere Massey could end up being one of the best Defensive Line classes signed by the Texas Tech program in years.

This group includes two (2) early graduates, McAlpine and Adedire, so you could begin to see the production and impact right away next season.

Ben: Trevon McAlpine, DT

McAlpine, another former TCU commit, ended up choosing Texas Tech over Oklahoma State and West Virginia, which makes it an even bigger win for the Red Raiders. Quality defensive tackles are gold, and McAlpine's stock could not be higher coming off the Alabama/Mississippi All-Star game where he dominated.

Toss in the fact that he's an early enrollee, and this was huge for the coaches to get his signature.

Matt: Landon Hullaby, S

The coaching carousel made a lot of recruiting wins possible, including the Red Raiders landing a TX Top 100 safety and former longtime Oregon commit Landon Hullaby.

The 6-foot, 185-pound safety pops on tape, showing excellent speed to the football and the size to move around the defense in coverage or down into the box in blitz packages.

His familiarity with new Defensive Coordinator Tim DeRuyter and Secondaries Coach Marcel Yates certainly helped, and could move Hullaby up the depth chart next season because he is another early graduate who will enroll at Texas Tech next month.

Ben: I'll go with Choctaw (OK) offensive tackle Cade McConnell, who ended up choosing Minnesota.

Coming off his official visit, things looked really good for McConnell and Tech. He would end up also taking visits to Vanderbilt and Minnesota, and chose the Golden Gophers before signing day.

McConnell is a very good tackle prospect, and those guys don't grow on trees. This one hurts.

Matt: This is one of the easier questions to answer in this piece, because it has to be Amarillo Tascosa ATH Major Everhart. The night before signing day, Everhart and his family were telling media that he would sign with the Red Raiders, siting the new coaching staff's renewed interest and how much he was 'wanted' at Texas Tech.

Everyone knows the story by now, but Everhart woke up on signing day and changed his mind, sticking with his longtime commitment to TCU.

It happens, but with the amount of effort put into recruiting the Everharts - from the previous coaching staff and the new coaching staff - this has to be labeled the biggest 'miss' in the 2022 cycle.

Ben: Sheridan Wilson, OL

Wilson is an Under Armour All-American, can play anywhere on the line, and comes from a great program at Argyle. He's tough, physical and plays with an edge. Oh, and he also has great bloodlines with a dad who played at Auburn and a brother who is currently starting for Oklahoma State.

Wilson is ranked as a 5.5 3-star recruit, but I believe he should be a lot higher than that.

Matt: Hut Graham, ATH

The three-star athlete is set to play defensive back for the Red Raiders, but he plays both sides of the ball for Gunter and is the quarterback for a wildly successful program. When watching him play against Eastland and Behren Morton last year, Graham was the best athlete on the field and made a ton of plays on the way to a state championship.

I believe he will use the experience as a quarterback to read the offense as a Big 12 defensive back, and that he will outplay the 5.5 three-star rating when all is said and done.

Ben: Syncere Massey, DT

At 6-foot-5, 280+ pounds, there is no other answer I could have given here. Massey was an Arizona State commit who flipped not even a full day after Joey McGuire got the Texas Tech job.

Massey is one of three Cedar Hill prospects who signed with Tech, and will be able to play any of the three positions in a 3-down front.

Matt: Joseph Adedire, DE

When interviewing his head coach, it sounds like the four-star prospect is closer to 260-pounds going into the college level. He carries the weight very well and should be able to added another 20-plus pounds of muscle once he gets settled into the regime of a college program.

Adedire's nickname is the "Nigerian Nightmare" and he could easily be the first off the bus in the future for the Red Raiders.

Ben: Hut Graham, DB

Graham was the first commit of the class and never wavered, even after the coaching change.

Graham plays both quarterback and in the secondary for his high school team, but will start out at safety in Lubbock. Graham is a very athletic prospect with a reported 4.48 40 yard dash, a 4.18 shuttle and a 38 inch vertical among others.

The hat and jacket combo he wore on signing day solidified his title of Mr. Red Raider. Straight fire.

Matt: Jalon Peoples, DB

Since Hut was the first commitment in the 2022 class, that is a great pick, but I'm going with Cedar Hill defensive back Jalon Peoples.

He was the first commitment once Joey McGuire was hired as the Texas Tech head coach and played a role in recruiting several prospects over the month were McGuire and his staff raced to complete this 2022 class.

Peoples was very vocal on social media, selling Texas Tech and making his voice heard with a handful prospects who eventually did not choose the Red Raiders.