Family, family, family… that was the sentiment that echoed the loudest when Joey McGuire talked about his first ever recruiting class and the all-around efforts that went into constructing it over the past month.

McGuire praised the work of his new coaching staff on the recruiting trail and in the film room, led by James Blanchard and Cody Bellaire.

“Whenever I get here in the morning, they’re already watching video,” McGuire noted. “When I leave at night, they’re still watching video. That is what they do, and they take great pride in evaluating. We watch film and we evaluate players. That’s what we do”

The work didn’t stop there; even the wives of the new coaches on staff would put a pause on packing and moving to catch flights out to Lubbock to help host on recruiting weekends.

McGuire also commended the efforts of the previous coaching staff and noted that their obvious love for Texas Tech helped hold everything together during the transition phase and added just how much that says about them.

Red Raider Nation should give themselves a pat on the back tonight. The impact a fanbase can have on recruits shouldn’t be overlooked or undersold and McGuire expressed just that.

“This fanbase has been incredible,” McGurie said. “One of the guys sent out a tweet that he committed, and he was going ‘oh my gosh, Patrick Mahomes just liked my tweet.’ You’ve got guys like that who love their university. Josh Abbott loves his university. When you’ve got that kind of fanbase, and our fans are awesome, so when I send something out or a kid says he has an offer, Texas Tech is behind us. They get excited about playing for a team that has that kind of support.”

The total team effort from everyone involved helped Texas Tech land the 39th ranked recruiting class in the country according to Rivals. Despite having the highest rated class since 2012, the Red Raiders still have room to grow and improve over the next two months, with National Signing Day still to come on February 22nd. McGuire noted that he would like to sign one additional offensive lineman to the class.

“We might have a couple more,” McGuire said. “I could see us signing at least two more in February if not before. Even maybe today.”

McGuire's countless ties to Texas high school football also played a huge role in putting together a signing class that consisted of 16 freshman and three mid-year transfers. Defense was a big focus for this class, with 11 of the signees playing on the defensive side of the football. Adding size in the trenches was another focal point with this new coaching staff and they were successful in doing so by receiving National Letters of Intent from four defensive linemen and three offensive linemen.

It was size they wanted for the defensive front and size they delivered. Joseph Adedire will be a January enrollee and at 6-foot-3, 250 pounds, he projects as a defensive end/outside linebacker in defensive coordinator Tim DeRuyter’s scheme. Harvey Dyson at 6-foot-3, 250 pounds, is a versatile defensive lineman who has the ability to play inside or outside. Syncere Massey has NFL measurables in high school, and at 6-foot-5, 290 pounds with 82-inch arms, he’s exactly what this coaching staff was in search of. Trevon McAlpine was one of the surprise commits of the day, and at 6-foot-3, 280 pounds, he can play the nose position but is versatile enough to play either the one or three technique.

The offensive line was looking to add some beef up front and insert Kaden Weatherby. The 6-foot-6, 295-pound lineman projects as an offensive tackle and will be an early mid-year enrollee. Sheridan Wilson is another big man addition for the offensive line at 6-foot-5, 275 pounds. He projects as a tackle but possesses the versatility to slide inside. Seth Martin is another versatile lineman that can play all five positions on the offensive line. At 6-foot-3, 290 pounds, his size and length project him as a better fit at the guard or center position.

McGuire subscribes to the principle that in order to build a winning team you have to play a dominant brand of football up front and on both lines of scrimmage. Time will ultimately tell, but it feels like Texas Tech football made strides today towards reversing course and putting together a winning program with these 19 new additions.

"This class will be the cornerstone of our future success here at Texas Tech," McGuire said. "We can't wait to get the kids to campus to start working on building a championship program that our fans and supporters can be proud of."