Ellison felt at home in Lubbock

Texas Tech received its fourth 2015 commitment on Monday when Frisco (Texas) Centennial offensive linemen Trace Ellison pledged to the coaches in person during an unofficial visit to the South Plains.

"I had a really good visit the first time that I visited Tech," Ellison said. "The coaches, the facilities, the campus, everything there felt like home.

"That was my first ever college visit though and I wasn't sure if that had something to do with the way I felt. I took a few visits and took a visit to Texas last weekend to go through the whole unofficial visit process.

"I took another visit to Tech this Monday. I wanted to see a practice and spend time around the team, see the tempo of the offense, especially with the way I was feeling about Tech. We had planned the visit in advance this time, I think it was shortly after my first visit.

"Basically, I had the whole feeling again, it just felt like home to me. I knew that it wasn't just the first time experience anymore because I didn't feel like that when visiting the other campuses.

"That really helped me make my decision, but I had actually decided a few days before the visit that I wanted to commit to Tech," Ellison said. "The practice ended on Monday around 5:30 - 6:00 p.m., we met with coach Kingsbury, coach Morris and coach Hays.

"They asked me what my thoughts were on the practice and we were just all hanging out in coach Kingsbury's office. Towards the end, I told them that I really liked the practice and that I could see myself playing for Texas Tech. Then, I told them that I wanted to commit.

"I knew some of the coaches were hoping that I would commit. Coach Haverty and coach Jinks were probably standing outside of the door trying to listen and wait for it. Coach Morris was really happy, he was sitting in a rolling chair and sent it flying backwards when I told him. He came over and gave me a big hug, congratulated me."

Ellison said the Red Raiders made it clear throughout the process that they really wanted him in the Scarlet and Black.

"I felt like Texas Tech was the school that wanted me the most," Ellison said. "Each coach wrote me individual letters, they were constantly coming in the mail almost every day. That made me feel good, feel wanted and I liked that.

"The thing about Lubbock, it's kind of a small town, but the whole city and even cities around Lubbock are basically full of die hard Red Raider fans. Everyone knows you and everyone knows you as a Red Raider football player around town."

Tech's latest commitment enjoyed watching his future teammates practice on Monday.

"I was watching them get after it," Ellison said. "They were going hard in practice and I liked that because you practice how you play. If you practice slow, then you will end up playing slow.

"The coaches played music in the background at practice and that was really cool. It was getting me a little amped up, I wanted to grab some shoulder pads and get out there. I heard the players get to request songs and have some say into what songs are played too."

Ellison has a somewhat unique tie to Texas Tech as his mother used to work for university chancellor Kent Hance.

"Yes, my mom worked with him at a law firm way back in the day," Ellison said. "She went to a meeting this past week at the Galleria in Dallas and he was the guest speaker for the meeting. Long story short, she got ahold of him afterwards and they caught up.

"My mom told chancellor Hance about our visit and we were able to meet with him during the visit on Monday. We went to his office and he was recruiting me to Tech, telling me all about the school."

Ellison talked about his commitment and what it means to him moving forward.

"It feels good to be committed to one school," Ellison said. That was really a big thing, before committing, I would always compare one college to another. The constant communication with coaches on a daily basis, the calls and texts, it never really stops.

"I'm going to stick with my commitment because my word is my word. I will go to Texas Tech and I'm hoping we have an amazing four to five years while I'm there."

Last time we spoke with Ellison, his brother had earned a band scholarship offer from the Goin' Band from Raiderland.

"Yes, he might attend Tech too," Ellison said. "I think he will, but he's still looking at all of this options. It would be pretty cool to have my brother there, but we'll see."