Football is back this weekend, as the Red Raiders kick off against Montana State at 3pm this Saturday.

Looking for somewhere to watch the game in Lubbock? Need a few cold ones and lunch before headed over to the stadium? Need a place to celebrate after the game this weekend?

Our friends at Gator's Bayou have everything you need - a ton of TVs, full bar, a great menu and a patio.

What are your expectations for Lonzell Gilmore this season?

How many JUCOs and transfers will be recruited and signed to fill the remaining 10 “2020 25 counter” spots?

Great question on Gilmore, it seems like he makes a lot of progress during the off-season, but the injury bug continues to get in the way. When at full health, Gilmore provides great depth at the defensive end position at a minimum. He has grown quite a bit in his time on campus as a satellite camp find, adding over 40-pounds to his frame, and could have a standout senior season.

Coach Wells and his staff were active on the JUCO market while at Utah State, and the coaches have already added a handful of JUCO prospects during their time at Texas Tech. Seeing 2-3 prospects added on the offensive line or defensive line from the JUCO level would not surprise me, but I ultimately think this depends on how the scholarship numbers shake out later this season or even into early 2020 before the last signing day.

The JUCO market usually becomes more transparent later in the year, not really much happening as most college coaches continue to evaluate prospects into the season - which started last week for most JUCO programs across the country.

Any funny stories on the recruiting trail?

DT recruits for 2020 class?

Funny stories, I guess that is all in the eye of the beholder, but me driving to East Texas for a JUCO game to see one player - roughly a 3-4 hour drive - and having that one player decline an interview...again, at a JUCO game in East Texas...is probably funny for most of you, but the 'we are laughing at you, Matt' type of funny.

One time I introduced myself to Deion Sanders at a camp, used the line of "hello Mr. Sanders, didn't want to bother you...yadda yadda" as an intro and let's just say it didn't work guys. Prime Time responded with "well, if you don't want to bother me, then don't bother me" so that was funny too.

For the defensive tackle targets in the 2020 class, there are really only a handful of targets at the moment.

Richmond Foster standout Chidozie Nwankwo told me that an official visit for December is what the Tech coaches have talked with him about.

That being said, the dead period ends with the kickoff of the season this weekend. The coaching staff will be permitted to visit high schools, attend practices and games starting next week.

Defensive tackle is most likely the position we see the most new offers for the 2020 recruiting class over the next month.

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Do you have any idea on when Behren Morton will decide?

We spoke with Morton late last month, after his most recent unofficial visit to campus, and he mentioned a timeline of next March. He kept reiterating a desire to see the Texas Tech offense in action this season.

The interesting thing is that while other programs, both in-state and out of state, are involved - I believe that Texas Tech leads for Morton at the moment.

A good showing from the Tech offense combined with another 1-2 unofficial visits from Morton and that March timeline could get expedited whenever the standout quarterback feels comfortable with his decision.

Consider this, several programs around the conference and the state already have a 2021 quarterback commitment. This list includes Texas, Oklahoma, Texas A&M and TCU. So the market around the conference and the state is transparent, and the Texas Tech coaches have let Morton know he is the program's only target for the 2021 class at quarterback.

And now we wait...

Saw Jabar Triplett is committing in October. What do you think Techs chances are?

We spoke with Triplett Jr. recently, and he has more more official visit to Arizona in a few weeks. It seems this is a battle between Texas Tech and Oklahoma State, and the Cowboys were "in" on the three-star defender before the Red Raiders, but it seems like a 50/50 to me right now.

He had great things to say about the coaching staff in the interview, and our team will speak with Triplett Jr. again before his announcement in October.

What's the latest on Jaylan Ford and Derrick Lewis?

Fitting that we were just discussing the latest with Triplett Jr., because along with Ford and Lewis, these three (3) prospects makeup the "top" targets at linebacker for the 2020 recruiting class.

Ford officially visited in late June with the large group of official visitors and had great things to say about the visit. He mentioned wanting to take a few more official visits early in the season, then he might make a decision later next month.

Oklahoma State seems to be keeping tabs on Ford, but outside of the Cowboys, the main competition for his commitment seems to be Washington State or Utah for the time being.

Lewis II unofficially visited in late June during the same weekend as all of the official visitors. The three-star target will officially visit the weekend of October 5th, so things are trending in the right direction.

He had great things to say about the visit, and mentioned a potential visit to Oklahoma State sometime before the season. Not sure if that ever happened, but the main competition for Lewis II would be Nebraska, Oklahoma State and SMU.

If you could point to one thing Matt Wells & staff are doing right in recruiting so far, which was different from previous staff, what would it be?

From a recruiting standpoint, it really all starts at the top and Matt Wells leads by example. Every recruit we speak with is hearing from him, whether that is a text or phone call, Coach Wells is involved when it comes to recruiting various targets in the 2020 and 2021 classes.

Not here to say the previous head coach or coaching staff were not engaged, only making the comparison at head coach and that would be the main difference.

Best recruiting story (no names needed).

Who winds up the highest rated recruit to sign this year in basketball and football with Tech?

For me, some of the best recruiting stories aren't the most entertaining or "juicy" stories, but rather the stories of perseverance where a mostly underrated kid finally gets that Power Five offer they were seeking.

Names like Adrian Frye whose other offers included Grambling State, Lousiana-Monroe, McNeese State and Texas Southern. Now he is an all-conference selection and one of the leaders inside of the program.

Another example would be offensive lineman Bailey Smith, who had some interest from programs but only one offer later in the process from Texas Tech. And yes, Smith might not have the all-conference accolades or playing time to speak of currently, but he has pushed for time at center and played sparingly in a backup role.

So maybe not the answer you were seeking, but these are my favorite kind of recruiting stories.

Not quite the desired answer, current wide receiver commitment Ja'Lynn Polk is the highest rated 2020 commitment and could end up being the highest rated recruit the program signs in this class.

After a review of remaining targets, and barring any changes or re-rankings, Polk is your crown jewel of the recruiting rankings/stars for the moment.

After consulting the big basketball brains here at RedRaiderSports, another Duncanville standout - Micah Peavy - is poised to be the highest rated recruit signed by Beard and the Red Raiders in the 2020 class.

The team also wanted me to mention that five-star forward Jonathan Kuminga could possibly reclassify into the 2020 class.

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