11/11/2018 football Edit

Laake is commit No. 19 for TTU

Austin Bowie DT Cooper Laake is commitment No. 19 for the Tech coaches in the 2019 class

Matt Clare • RedRaiderSports

Recruiting Analyst

I write about recruiting and tell stories, been in the game for five years. Thanks for reading, please @ me with any questions because this is all intended to be interactive.

The Texas Tech coaches have landed their third commitment of the weekend, as Austin Bowie defensive tackle Cooper Laake announced his commitment to the Red Raiders earlier this morning.

The 6-foot-2, 270-pound tackle earned an offer from Texas Tech this past May and built a solid relationship with the coaching staff.

"The coaches from Texas Tech have been very transparent and very nice," Laake said. "Since my injury, they have been very active in trying to make sure that I"m doing okay, more so than other schools. It just feels like a home to me. Not only will the people there love you for being a part of the football program, but the entire school loves the football program.

"My relationship with Coach (Terrance) Jamison and the Texas Tech coaching staff cemented my decision to commit to Texas Tech."

Laake held a handful of other offers, but recently decided that Texas Tech was the place he wanted to be.

"I have been wanting to commit for a few weeks now," Laake said. "I just wanted to take my visit and make sure, but the time was right and it feels good to be committed. Tech is close to home, not too far away, they have a great football program and Lubbock is a pretty cool city.

"Plus, their business program at Tech is really good and I can get a top tier education."

The three-star defensive tackle considers himself done with recruiting and shared more on the decision.

"Yes, I'm committed to Texas Tech," Laake said. "Being a Red Raider is the only thing on my mind right now. I don't really know any of the other commitments or targets right now, so I'm not sure who the coaches are trying to recruit. But I would be open to trying, would want to help however I can."

Laake did recently suffer a season ending injury and the coaches are taking his commitment as a blue shirt.

This basically means that Laake will join the program this summer, continue recovering from his injury, enroll in classes and practice with the team when available. He will not be able to play for a year, but this only means he will essentially red shirt like most freshman who sit a season and then hit the field a year later.

Currently rated a 5.6 three-star prospect, Laake chose the Red Raiders over offers from Oregon, Purdue, Houston, Rice and others.