LaFrance is commit No. 19 for the Red Raiders
St. Augustine running back Garland LaFrance announced his commitment to the Red Raiders this afternoon, making him the No. 19 overall commitment in the Texas Tech 2018 recruiting class.
The 5-foot-10, 170-pound back visited the South Plains this past weekend and was overly impressed with the experience.
"I was in Lubbock visiting Texas Tech last weekend," LaFrance said. "I had already been liking Texas Tech, but the visit just really caught my eye. It was more than I expected it to be, plus Coach (Jabbar) Juluke already felt like family.
"I found out where Texas Tech was and didn't really know what to expect. It was definitely more than I expected though, from the student housing to the stadium and the new locker room. The facilities were great, and we actually toured the new locker room and that is where we took pictures in the jerseys, helmets and gear.
"The whole town and especially the campus were all impressive. It was really more than I expected, the player's are really close to campus and we can just walk over to classes or the football facilities."
LaFrance also credits his relationship with Texas Tech running backs coach Jabbar Juluke as a reason he announced to the Red Raiders.
"I knew Coach Juluke from his time as a coach in New Orleans and the state of Louisiana, various camps and events," LaFrance said. "He is not worried about my weight or my size, and he knows what I can do with the ball. He talked about using me on sweeps and even in the slot to help the pass game.
"I will do it all really, I'm just going to make it happen. This season, I will be doing that more at St. Augustine. I even met with the head coach, Kliff Kingsbury, during my visit and he was excited about how they could use me in their offense at Tech. He was saying they cannot wait to get me up there."
The all-purpose back knows the Red Raiders just added another running back earlier in the week, and LaFrance is actually friends with him.
"Oh yeah, I know Devin (Brumfield)," LaFrance said. "He lives like 15 minutes away from me, so we knew one another and we are both going to be threats on the field at Texas Tech. Coach Juluke told us that Devin is the power back, and he can do it all. I'm a speed back, capable of playing out of the running back position or the slot, so the coaches can use me and get the ball into my hands in different ways.
"We watched some film of the offense during my visit and they throw the ball a lot. That offense really fits me, because I would not really fit into a predominantly running offense, so the Tech offense suits me."
LaFrance also spoke with another Texas Tech commitment from the 2018 class during the visit and before announcing his decision to join the class.
"Mekhi (Garner) is another guy I met and stayed in touch with," LaFrance said. "He was just talking with me about Texas Tech and answered a lot of my questions. I actually met a lot of guys because most of the 2018 commitments were coming in town, but we are all in a big group text now."
A former Tulane commitment, the standout prospect actually reopened his recruitment after receiving the offer from Texas Tech.
"Now that I'm committed to Tech, I'm just focused on the season," LaFrance said. "I'm 100-percent committed to Tech and I don't think that I will be taking any visits to other schools. The coaches talked with me about an official visit, and I'm not sure of the weekend, but the whole class is going to take an official visit sometime later in the season."
Currently rated a 5.5 three-star prospect, LaFrance is the No. 44 overall prospect on the Rivals.com Louisiana Post-Spring Top 60 for the 2018 class. He finished with 536 yards and five touchdowns this past season.