OL Dylan Shaw commits to Texas Tech: "This was the place I need to be"
Head coach Joey McGuire and the Texas Tech staff added to the No. 1 class in the country on Saturday afternoon when Flour Bluff offensive lineman Dylan Shaw pulled the trigger for the Red Raiders while in town for the spring game.
Shaw chose the Red Raiders over offers from UTSA and Sam Houston State, along with interest from Baylor, Vanderbilt, UConn, Oklahoma State, Colorado State and Utah State.
For Shaw, it was the opportunity at Texas Tech that he could not pass up.
"When I went on my junior day visit back in January I really loved everything the coaches were saying, the way coach (Joey) McGuire presented the program and how he cares about the kids. I just didn't want to make any hasty decisions, so I came back for the spring game today.
I got in the room with coach McGuire, me and a couple of the other recruits and he sold me. After that and after watching the game I was like 'this is the place I need to be'. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity and I didn't wanna miss out on that. I wanted to be part of something great.
After the first visit for junior day the coaches showed us so much, I wouldn't say I saw anything new today. They kept everything the same, they kept it real, they didn't change anything about what they were saying and I like that about them. They're genuine and so I decided to commit."
Shaw says coach McGuire and the staff were pretty excited when he gave them his commitment.
"Oh my gosh, coach (McGuire) was screaming. It was crazy. It was definitely an exciting moment and he was pumped that I decided to commit here."
Shaw has also built a strong relationship with his future offensive line coach, Stephen Hamby.
"Me and coach (Stephen) Hamby have a great relationship. I talk to him every other week or every week I get on the phone with him. It goes back and forth, we check up on each other pretty much. We have a good relationship, it's not just football. He'll check up on my personal life, what I'm doing. He's definitely a great guy and I'm excited to have him as my coach soon."
Shaw becomes the third offensive lineman of the 2023 class, joining Canadian's Kaden Carr and A&M Consolidated's Daniel Sill, and he has already started forming bonds with his future teammates.
"It's good, I've talked to them a couple times before. I saw one of them at a camp before, I talked to them at Tech a little bit. We definitely got a good relationship going on and I'm looking forward to make it better."
As far as recruiting others, Shaw says he doesn't have anyone specific in mind but that he would like to bring a high school teammate or two over.
"Not that I know of. Of course it'd be nice to have some of my teammates that I play with right now but I don't know. It's nice to play with the people you play with in high school."
Flour Bluff high school just started spring ball and so that will be Shaw's focus over the next several weeks.
"We started spring football at my high school. We started it last Thursday and that's all I got. Nothing but working, getting better and building up my skills as an offensive lineman."
Look for Shaw to take his official visit to Tech in late June, which is already shaping up to be quite the month for the scarlet and black.
Shaw says now that he's announced, he's 110% committed to Texas Tech even if other programs come calling.
"I'm 110% committed to Texas Tech."
Shaw says he's looking forward to being a Red Raider, winning championships and hopefully make it to the NFL one day.
"Tech fans should expect an offensive lineman who is gonna put the team first and not take anything for granted. An offensive lineman who is gonna work hard and be a damn good lineman.
Everyone wants to win a championship and I want to leave Tech with a ring or two. I also wanna make it big, I wanna make it to the Combine and make it to the big leagues as an offensive lineman. It's been a goal of mine ever since I was a kid and I think the way Tech presented themselves I can definitely do that there."