The Texas Tech coaching staff received quite the surprise on Thursday afternoon when they picked up their first commitment for their 2019 recruiting class. South Oak Cliff defensive end prospect Steven Parker pulled the trigger and committed to the Red Raiders just one day after receiving his first Division 1 offer from Tech.

Parker spent the majority of his time on Junior Varsity last year as a sophomore but did play in two Varsity games, recording five tackles. However, from Tech’s standpoint, when you know, you know. And after watching the 6-foot-4, 220-pound sophomore go through practice this week, it was obvious Parker needed an offer from the Red Raiders.

“The former South Oak Cliff head coach, coach Emmett Jones is up there at Texas Tech right now,” said South Oak Cliff head coach Jason Todd. “He came to practice this week and Steven had a hell of a practice. He was flying around, making a lot of plays, and bringing a lot of energy to the practice field. He took the info back to coach Jamison and to coach Gibbs and they talked about it and the next day they decided to pull the trigger and make the offer.”

Without knowing too much about Parker, a rather green prospect from a Varsity-level experience standpoint, what should Tech fans be looking forward to from the 2019 recruit?

“Right now Steven is about 6-foot-3 and 225 pounds," Todd said. "His speed is probably the speed of a safety. He is probably a legit 4.5 kid at that size because he can run. We project him as an outside linebacker in a 3-4 situation. If he was in a 4-man front, he would be a weakside defensive end, pass rushing type. He really excels rushing the quarterback and getting up the field. He is tough enough for us at the high school level to even play defensive tackle at times in some packages similar to how the New York Giants play four defensive ends at times.

"We feel like we can put him anywhere on the defensive line and he will be successful at the high school level, which will help him translate his game to college. By the time he gets to college, he is going to be probably 6-foot-4 and 250-260 pounds. If he keeps that same explosion and the ability to run on the next level, he is a kid who should make a lot of noise at the college level.”

With the 2018 class still about 9 months away from signing, it is tough to look ahead to the 2019 recruiting cycle. In a recruiting world where recruits change their minds a few times a year, how solid can a soon-to-be-junior be in his commitment? For Parker, his head coach believes he is very solid.

“Steven grew up in the Lubbock area and then recently moved to the Dallas area. He grew up always having admiration for Texas Tech. He kind of feels like it’s going home for him once he gets done with his two more years at South Oak Cliff. I think Steven will be a hell of a player and his best football is ahead of him. He is still raw in a lot of areas, but he brings a lot of effort and speed and is a real physical kid. He brings a lot of tenacity to the team and we expect big things from him this season.”

“The first thing we always tell our athletes is to talk it over with their parents first. The decision really lies between the parents and the kid. Second, we do give our opinion as coaches. We have recruiting coordinators that relate to them and talk to the students about the pros and cons of making certain decisions. Then we talked with Steven, and he felt like it was something he was really interested in doing, not just because Tech was his first offer. It was more because he is from Lubbock, and he plans on going home back to Lubbock for college. He always grew up watching Texas Tech football.”

Coach Todd is also very excited to send a guy like Parker to Texas Tech due to his previous connections to the school. Todd is very aware of Tech’s defensive situation but if Tech lands enough guys with the right mindset, the culture can change quickly. Todd has already been cultivating a mindset into Parker and thinks he can do big things to change the defense at Tech.

“I coached a couple players that are up at Tech right now. I coached Mych Thomas, I also coached Joe Wallace and Da’Leon Ward. I actually coached Jamile Johnson, too, when it was my first year at South Oak Cliff. What I challenged those guys and even my challenge to Steven is that I told them to go make a statement for the defense. Any school that throws the ball that much, I challenged those guys to make a statement on defense. I want them to go change the mindset. The mindset isn’t to try and hold someone under 50 or keep them under 40. Go make plays. Don’t make the offense have to score that many points because the defense is going to go out there and produce and shut some people down.

"That’s the type of mindset that I tried to instill in those kids up there now and it’s what I’m working into Steven. We are going out there and not giving up anything. We are going to take away whatever the other team wants to do. It starts with a mindset. The more they get that mindset, even from the guys I have coached, the more it will transfer over to the field and the scoreboard and into the win/loss column.”

Over the past two weeks, coach Todd said that about 20-25 schools have stopped by South Oak Cliff to ask about Parker. These schools range anywhere from North Texas and Houston to Arizona, Arizona State, Texas A&M, and Texas. Quite simply, Parker is only scratching the surface of what his overall recruitment can really be. However, Todd (and even Parker) are very confident about the commitment to the Red Raiders.

“After talking to Steven and the main thing he stressed was Lubbock being home. It was the place he grew up and he grew up watching Texas Tech. I kind of respected his decision even more after he told me all of that. I can understand how it feels growing up somewhere and watching them closely and then finally get the chance to do something they have always dreamed about. He is a pretty silent kid, and I think he is going to be very committed to his commitment. I don’t think that will stop other schools from coming around and looking at him and offering him. From the look I saw in his eye and the look I saw when he came into my office and said he wanted to go to Texas Tech, I think it will take a whole lot to change his mind.”

Despite the seemingly way too early commit, Parker wants Red Raider fans to know that Texas Tech is always where he wanted to be.

“I grew up in Lubbock and all my middle school years,” Parker said, “I wanted to go to Texas Tech and now that I had the opportunity, I just took it. Before I even got to middle school, I wanted to go to Texas Tech. It was an easy decision.”

On Thursday morning, just one day after receiving the offer, Parker called coach Jones and coach Jamison to tell them about the decision.

“They were very happy and they were very excited. I talked my mom a lot about my decision and she said whatever I choose, she was behind me. Today, I talked with coach Jones and coach Jamison. They were very proud to hear that I wanted to be a Red Raider.”

Parker clarified that he is being recruited as a defensive end already and the coaches are looking forward to his progress. Parker wants to “go home” back to Lubbock and is ready to don the scarlet and black. He understands the defensive woes but that didn’t keep him from wanting to be a Red Raider. In fact, fixing the defense is one of the few things he is looking forward to.

“I want to change the defensive mindset. That is one of the biggest things I am excited for. I’m never going to give up until the job is done.”