When the Red Raiders hosted the majority of their 2016 signing class back on January 22nd, a few 2017 commits and prospects joined in on the weekend as unofficial visitors. That included Frisco (Texas) offensive lineman Dawson Deaton.

The OL made the trip out to Lubbock with teammate, fellow offensive lineman, and Rivals100 Tech commit Jack Anderson, and the duo had a blast in the Hub City over the weekend.

The two day trip out to the LBK wasn't Deaton's first time getting a closer look at Texas Tech, however. He's already been out several times, including in the fall, so he already knew the ins and outs of what to expect.

However, it was the first time his mother was able to make the trip out with him, and Deaton noted that she enjoyed getting a closer look at things both athletically and academically.

The soon-to-be senior lineman also enjoyed being able to hang out with many players in the 2016 class, learning more about what attracted them to Texas Tech in the first place.

With the spring semester in full swing, prospects like Deaton will soon start taking more unofficial visits to various schools while spring football is underway. For the DFW native, he hopes to make it back out to Tech again, but he also wants to get a first hand look at programs such as Texas, Oklahoma, and TCU.

Deaton named a top four of Texas Tech, Houston, Mississippi State, and Kansas in late January. As of now, that foursome remains atop his leaderboard. Things could change in the future, though.

Once he gets a good lay of the land and has taken a few more visits, Deaton is hoping to make a decision sometime by late May before the summer gets underway.

On his unofficial visit to Tech:

"It went really good! It was fun hanging out with some of the current players and 2016 commits an getting to meet with the coaches some more."

On what stuck out:

"That was my third time visiting, so nothing stuck out to me as much. But, it did stick out how much my mom enjoyed seeing all the facilities and learning more about the academics."

On talking to 2016 signees and current players at Tech:

"It was cool getting to hear all the different reasons they are committed to Tech, just learning some more about the program from them."

On his plans for the spring:

"I'm going to try to get around and visit some schools and get a good feel for them and will probably decide where I'm going to want to commit before summer," he said. "My main schools I want to get to are Texas Tech again, Texas, OU, and TCU, and then I will try to visit some others if they start to show interest."

Lee Hays already has two commits on the O-line for the 2017 class in Anderson and Castaneda. That means he only has one or two spots left, and Deaton is clearly in the front running to claim one of them this spring. The Red Raiders have to feel good about where they sit, especially with friend and teammate Anderson committed and seeing as Deaton has already visited numerous times.