Texas Tech picked up a key commitment on Monday afternoon when Garden City C.C. tight end Alex Lines announced his decision to be a Red Raider.
Lines chose Texas Tech over offers from Akron, New Mexico State, Eastern Michigan, New Mexico, Louisiana Monroe and UMass. Lines took an official visit to Texas Tech over the weekend and didn't take long to make his decision public.
Following the 2023 season Texas Tech is set to lose senior tight end Henry Teeter, and potentially senior tight end Baylor Cupp, too. Cupp has another year to play if he wants it, but he was among several players who walked during Senior Day vs UCF.
For Lines, this means an opportunity to see the field early, which definitely helped in his decision.
"I think it's a great fit both on and off the field. I really loved being in Texas, and the people there are great."
Lines was initially offered by tight ends coach Josh Cochran back in early November, and the 6-foot-5, 255 pound prospect was able to spend more time around his future position coach on the visit.
"My relationship (with Cochran) has been great, we keep in touch often. Being around him and meeting him in person, he’s definitely a coach I would want to play for."
A native of Gilbert, Arizona, Lines started his career at UNLV for the 2020 season before transferring and spending the 2021 and 2022 seasons at future Big 12 conference member Arizona.
The Red Raiders are scheduled to play in Tucson in the 2024 season, which Lines admits will be cool going against his former team.
While at Arizona, Lines started 15 games, playing 651 snaps in 2021 and 137 snaps in 2022 before leaving the program after 4 games. Playing in only four games in 2022 allowed Lines to keep an extra year of eligibility, and he will arrive at Texas Tech with two years of eligibility remaining.
Lines said having all of that experience will make his transition to Texas Tech easier, as he's played in several different offenses throughout his career.
Look for Lines to contribute to the team as both a pass catcher and a physical blocker, but at the end of the day he just wants to help Joey McGuire's program win games however he can.
"I would describe my game as versatile. I can take care of business in the trenches and also split out and make plays in the air.
My goal for the next two seasons as a Red Raider are to help the team in anyway possible to win as many games as possible."
This season at Garden City C.C., Lines put up 31 catches for 309 yards and 2 touchdowns.
He will arrive at Texas Tech in the coming weeks as a mid-year enrollee in time for the spring semester.
