Lovejoy ATH Jaxson Lavender says Texas Tech "felt like home"
The Red Raiders have hosted hundreds of campers since the recruiting dead period ended on June 1st. One of the handful to earn a scholarship offer from the staff after camping was Lovejoy athlete Jaxson Lavender.
What you need to know...
... Lavender camped with Texas Tech on June 4th and announced his offer from the Red Raiders the following day
... Lavender now holds seven (7) total offers, including Kansas, SMU, TCU and others
... As a sophomore Lavender put up the following numbers:
- 45 catches for 463 yards and two touchdowns receiving
- 21 carries for 250 yards and two touchdowns rushing
- 735 kick return yards and two kick return touchdowns
- 54 passing yards and one passing touchdown
- 12 tackles
... For his efforts he was named the District 7-5A DII Special Teams MVP and 1st team All-State returner
Camping at Texas Tech: "I came in at 5-foot-9 and a half, 156 pounds I believe. Texas Tech invited me up because they said I was a potential offer, they were really excited about me but they wanted to see me in person before they offered. So I kind of had a feeling of that going up there.
When I got there they treated me really well. The coaches were awesome, really loving and caring. I have a really good relationship with coach (Sonny) Cumbie and both coach Luke Wells and Matt Wells. I've known them for a while so it was a really good experience. The assistant wide receiver coaches and the GA's all were really welcoming. It felt like home, really."
Fit at the next level: "Coach Matt Wells he specifically said slot receiver and possibly return some kicks, some punts."
Tech's history with slots receivers: "It definitely makes Tech a more intriguing option for me. When we met with coach Matt Wells he actually just got off the phone with Wes Welker, and he told him that he just offered the next Wes Welker. I thought that was really cool so I put that picture of him on my offer Tweet, a little Easter egg type thing."
Other schools standing out: "So SMU, I will be visiting SMU on Thursday and then sometime around the 27th too. TCU has also talked to me about coming up. West Virginia, Baylor and possibly Tulsa, also.
The Tech coaches mentioned they want me to come back up for a few games this season and even sometime again during the summer, whenever I feel like it."
Being a legacy recruit: Lavender's dad is Jayson Lavender, former Texas Tech wide receiver in the mid-90's. He is currently the offensive coordinator and assistant head coach at Lovejoy high school. Jaxson says he grew up in a Red Raider household and that it's always been about the red and black.
"So my house is like red and black everything, especially now that we're in Lovejoy which is also red and black. We have a bunch of Tech memorabilia and it's Tech everywhere really. I went to the Texas Tech game against Oklahoma three or four years ago. But yeah, big Red Raider household. Guns Up!"
Staying busy during the offseason: "I'm gonna be working with my team a lot during offseason workouts. Me and my team are gonna try to qualify for state in 7-on-7. We'll have some team workouts and we'll really just do a lot of team activities. Just trying to win the state championship at Lovejoy."