Hendrix felt at home with Texas Tech
The Red Raiders picked up a late Christmas present on Thursday night in the form of Dallas (Texas) Bishop Dunne safety Payton Hendrix. The DFW native decided that he wanted to commit to Tech over Notre Dame and Arkansas, saying that he and his parents just felt at home in Lubbock.
"I just felt comfortable there, and my parents were comfortable. I feel like they've got a vision, it's not too far from home, and I've got a possibility of playing early, so it's really all I could ask for."
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Hendrix also loves the vision of Kliff Kingsbury and his young coaching staff, and he believes that big things are on the horizon.
"They did pretty good in their first year with the new coaching staff, have a pretty good recruiting class, and I just feel like Texas Tech is going to have a great opportunity to win championships and things like that."
Another big factor was the opportunity to play early. Tech's safety poole is a bit undermanned at the moment, and the young DB believes he can factor in early.
"Their safety depth is not too deep, and I was talking to Coach Haverty, and it looks like I have a great opportunity to walk in and play early. It's just a good fit for me and things like that."
Being able to play in his home state was also a big deal for Hendrix.
"Just being born and raised in Texas, I just felt more comfortable going to Tech."
When the safety called up the Tech coaching staff to commit earlier today, he said they were elated over the news.
"They were just really, really excited. I talked to a lot of the coaches, and they just told me how happy they were to have me as a part of the family and things like that."
The two coaches in charge of recruiting Hendrix, safeties coach Trey Haverty and corners coach Kevin Curtis, were also a big part of him picking the Red Raiders.
"They were recruiting me hard, they showed me a lot of love, and they kept it really straight up and very honest with me. I just really liked it."
Now that he knows where he's going to school, Hendrix can't wait to don the red and black come next fall.
"I'm really excited. This is my future now, so I'm ready to get up there and perform for my school."
He also has a short message for all Tech fans out there:
"Just look out for us in the near future, playing for championships out in Lubbock."
Hendrix committed to Tech over offers from Notre Dame, Arkansas, Baylor, Kansas State, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, Washington, Iowa, Arizona State, and Wake Forest among others.