Things were silent for months. Now, head coach Kliff Kingsbury and the Red Raiders have landed eight new commitments over the past week.
Three-star defensive back Markel Reed is the newest addition to the Texas Tech 2019 list as of Monday afternoon.
Reed said he decided on Texas Tech because of the environment the coaches and players provided.
“It was the atmosphere in the end,” he said. “The bonds I had with the coaches and the players – it just made me feel at home.
“When I went on my official visit it was Douglas Coleman and Thomas (Leggett) then it was coach (Clay) Jennings and (Brett) Dewhurst who just stayed in contact with me throughout this whole process and just never gave up on me.”
Reed said it wasn’t just his future coaches that didn’t give up on him through the process.
“I really want to thank my friends and family. They kept encouraging me throughout this. I just got off the phone with my mom and she congratulated me and said she was proud. They all really like Tech. I think it’s the best move for me.”
When asked about the steady increase of production by the Texas Tech defense, Reed said it honestly wasn’t a huge factor in his choice.
“It’s not even just all about how the defense plays on the field or the team,” Reed said. “It’s about the atmosphere. I really just want to come in and make change. It was how I felt. It made me feel at home. That’s something that I wanted to find while I looked at different schools. Of course we want to be successful but for me it was a combination of me growing and being successful on the field, too.”
Reed had offers from Arkansas, Baylor, Boise State, Cornell, Kansas State, Purdue, Rice, SMU, UTSA and Vanderbilt.
He took his official visit to Lubbock during the second weekend of June and visited Arkansas in March and Purdue last weekend.
“I actually made this decision early this morning,” Reed said. “It was just Purdue that made it tough on my last official visit. In the end though I chose Tech and I feel that it Is the right decision for me. I’m committed to being a Red Raider.
“Moving forward I just want to get better, get bigger, faster, stronger. But, I think I’m looking forward to growing with my responsibilities. I think that’s going to happen with who I have around me at Tech.”
As mentioned, Reed is joining seven others who announced within the past week. Those being Bryce Robinson, LaVontae Shenault, Simon Gonzalez, Trevor Roberson, Ty Matthews, Trey Cleveland and Keeyon Stewart. They make it 10 commits total for Texas Tech with Steven Parker and Cameron Cantrell.
“I just look forward to playing football with them, being teammates. I actually texted a few of them earlier today letting them know. We’re just now meeting each other so we’re excited about the future.”
Reed is currently rated as a 5.5 three-star prospect. He finished with 27 tackles last season including one interception.
