OT Tyler Johnson talks Texas Tech commitment
At this point, September feels like a long time ago, but the Red Raiders landed a big commitment from Natchitoches Central (Louisiana) offensive tackle Tyler Johnson.
The 6-foot-7, 302-pound prospect held 15 total offers and chose the Red Raiders over other finalists Baylor and Missouri.
Johnson scheduled and rescheduled his commitment announcement a few times in a recruitment that had a few twists and turns. At one point, it did not seem like Texas Tech was in the mix, but Johnson's official visit to Lubbock stuck with him throughout the process.
"I would say the biggest reason I chose Texas Tech was my official visit. The coaches, the location and the living situation were all great. The coaches made me feel comfortable and some of the players that I met as well.
"Caleb Rogers was my host and we were able to go hang out with some of the players. There were no coaches around, so I was able to see them in their natural element and how they were acting. It just seemed like a really good vibe and that was great to see from the players."
Johnson had a chance to unofficially visit Lubbock earlier in the year, and the combination of these two (2) visits made the three-star standout feel comfortable announcing to the Red Raiders.
"We were able to see some things during my unofficial visit earlier this year, but during the official visit we took a detailed tour of the campus and I was able to see the Business building, learn more about the college. I'm going to major in Business and I still haven't decided, but I would like to focus on finance or real estate, possibly both."
Johnson built a solid relationship with the Texas Tech coaching staff and shared more about how the coaches see him fitting at the college level.
"The two coaches that I talk with the most are Coach (Stephen) Hamby and Coach (Lou) Bunning. It is like family with them. I could tell they like to really keep things short and simple, like if I have a question about develop or what I need to do to get better. We just talk it out and they are very direct with me.
"We haven't talked about it in particular, but I don't really have an interior frame, so one of the tackle positions. The coaches want us to all get onto campus and start competing, then they will let us know from there."
During his official visit, Johnson had the opportunity to meet with Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire.
"Yes, we met during my official visit. You rarely see the head coach when visiting a program, maybe only for the big recruits or whatever, but Coach McGuire was sitting at the table eating with us and bouncing around to talk with every recruit, every family. You could tell that he is a real people person."
The Louisiana native has also been getting to know the other Texas Tech 2023 commitments over the past few months since committing.
"The other commits and I talk just about every day, every other day. We have a group chat and a Snapchat group. We are really close, especially our Offensive Line group and Jake Strong.
"We have not talked about roomates, but I'm graduating in the spring and some of the guys are graduating early, so I know that will get sorted out."
Johnson's teammate at Natchitoches Central - DT Tre'Darius Brown - also helped keep the three-star tackle's mind on the Red Raiders throughout the process.
"We are both very competitive, so he was joking with me one day. He wanted me to go to Texas Tech, but he told me to choose Baylor so we could have one on one matchups. He was joking around because he knows me well, but yes we grew up around one another and I'm excited to continue playing together at the college level."
Currently rated a 5.7 three-star prospect, Johnson is scheduled to sign on December 21st and was invited to play in the Blue-Grey All-American Bowl on December 19th in Dallas.