Amendola becomes latest Red Raider commitment

Mike Leach and the Texas Tech Red Raiders have little trouble when it comes to recruiting offensive weapons. Most kids would lick their chops at the thought of playing in Leach’s wide open, high octane attack, especially at wide receiver.

Danny Amendola saw his chance to join the fun and he jumped on it.

“I went up there for camp and I pretty much liked everything I saw. After talking with my family I decided to go ahead and commit so I called coach (Dana) Holgerson and committed,” The Woodlands star said.

The 5-11, 178-pound standout also camped at Michigan but he said the opportunity to haul in passes in Tech’s offense was too good to pass up.

“I like their style of offense,” he said. “You don’t necessarily have to be the biggest guy to be successful in their offense. I think it will open up an opportunity for me to play.”

Several other schools – including Baylor, Arkansas and Texas Tech – were looking at the multi-talented prospect, with most schools recruiting him to play either receiver or defensive back. As a junior, Amendola was a star on both offense and special teams, catching 60 passes for 985 yards and eight scores on offense and earning first-team all district honors as a punt returner. He’s hoping to improve on those numbers as a senior.

“I think we’ll open our offense up a little this year and run some three- and four-receiver sets. We’ve got a lot of good players and some veterans coming back,” Amendola said.

So what makes the ultra-productive prep such a hot prospect? Call it a combination of his mental and physical skills.

“I just have a knack for getting open and I’ll catch the ball when it comes to me,” Amendola said. “I think I run better routes than most people too. I know how to set a guy up. Our coaches have taught us well as far as turning a DBs hips around. All of our receivers are good route runners.”

The Woodlands head coach Weldon Willig agrees.

“Danny has no fear. He’s a coaches’ son and loves to play the game. He has all the instincts that you can’t teach, which enables him to catch balls that are amazing," Willig said. "He can play defensive back or split end in college – he just helps you win."