Recent run of commits keeps Texas Tech top 10 for 2023
Texas Tech entered the busy month of June with most of the 2023 class verbally committed and just a handful of spots left.
After a busy two week stretch in late June/early July that led to five (5) new commitments, Texas Tech sits at 23 commits for the class which is currently ranked No. 8 in the nation per the Rivals.com team recruiting rankings.
Today we recap the new additions and what they bring to the field.
Chose Texas Tech over: Charlotte, Wake Forest (interest), South Carolina (interest), North Carolina (interest), Syracuse (interest)
Stats: 66 tackles, 34 assists, two sacks
Accolades: Honorable mention 2021 SCFCA All State Team (5A), South Carolina 5A state champion 110 meter hurdles
Athletic traits: 13.56 110 meter hurdles, 23'1" long jump, 10.92 100 meters, 22.05 200 meters
Quick evaluation: Dingle Jr. is the type of hyper-athletic and under-recruited athlete that these coaches found at their previous stop and turned into a productive player. Good size for a linebacker at 6-foot-2, 215 pounds. Positionally versatile, lines up at every linebacker spot and also at safety. Quick to the ball with great closing speed. Sure-handed tackler. Dingle Jr.'s father was an NFL Draft pick, so he was around the game growing up.
Quotable: "I got to talk to coach Blanch (James Blanchard), coach Brian (Nance), and like I said, they're just themselves. I can see the way they feed off of each other, I can see the way the players feed off of each other, and it's just like a genuine thing. Let alone the facilities are good, but it wasn't even like 'look at the weight room, look at the indoor facilities', it was just watching them and the players connect and talk to each other. I see the way they interact with each other. They actually have a good bond, they're actually a family and when you have love and passion for one another that's exactly what I want to be a part of when I go to college. That's really what sold me, those coaches.
Every Power 5 school is gonna have the facilities but very few have what Texas Tech has. That's why they have the No. 2 recruiting class and that's why Texas Tech is on the way up for sure. With a coaching staff like that there's no reason why they shouldn't be winning the Big 12 and even more."
Chose Texas Tech over: Grambling State, Indiana, Mississippi State, New Mexico State, others
Stats: 9 catches, 262 yards, five touchdowns
Accolades: District 1-5A 2nd Team All District Wide Receiver, Louisiana 5A state champion 400 meters
Athletic traits: 10.59 100 meters, 47.18 400 meters, 6.94 60 meters
Quick evaluation: Stevenson is another track star who the Texas Tech staff hopes their athletic traits will pay off. Primarily plays on the offensive side of the ball in HS where he was an All-District selection. Being recruited to Texas Tech to play cornerback. Will also run track in college. Good size and length for a cornerback prospect.
Quotable: "During the visit I got to see how Lubbock has a big atmosphere and it wasn't just like a small town. The coaches made it feel like home. It was more than just football, they care about us off the field and how they can help us get to the next level while getting a good education.
(I committed because) it felt like home, like I said. They made it feel more home than like an auction house. They were taking care of us."
Chose Texas Tech over: Kansas State, Louisiana, Sam Houston State, Washington State, others
Stats: 61 tackles, 15 tackles-for-loss, three sacks
Accolades: District 11-AAA defensive lineman of the year
Athletic traits: Shot put 44'10", Discus 112'9.5", 5.1 40 yard dash, 28 inch vertical, 4.6 shuttle, 9 foot broad jump
Quick evaluation: Rigsby checks in at 6-foot-3, 287 pounds with 34 inch arms and an 82 inch wingspan. For reference, Demarvin Leal, a third round pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2022 NFL Draft, checked in at the NFL Combine at just over 6-foot-3, 283 pounds with 33 1/4 inch arms and an 80 3/8 inch wingspan. So he definitely has the measurables to make the next level.
Film shows a disruptive playmaker in both the run and pass game. Hard hitter for a defensive lineman. Physical, aggressive player. Blocked a punt and a couple kicks. Could play anywhere on the line in a 34 defense.
Quotable: "With coach (James) Blanchard he's believed in me from the beginning, he was one of the first people to ever hit me up. Even before my first offer, he was one of the very first. It was like kinda crazy seeing Texas Tech be the first ever to text me.
He's been with me the whole process with Tech. He's believed in me, he says I'm like the most underrated ever."
Chose Texas Tech over: Louisiana, UNT, Tulane, UTSA, Yale, others
Stats: N/A
Accolades: District 24-6A Academic All-District, 1st Team All-County, 1st Team All-District, 2nd Team All-State, 2022 National Olympic Weightlifting Champion
Athletic traits: Shot put 48'5", Discus 143'7", 4.81 40 yard dash, 33.3 inch vertical
Quick evaluation: Fattig is a prospect who is just scratching the surface of his potential. A late bloomer in the recruiting game, Fattig really took off this spring with over a dozen offers, yet Texas Tech was (and is) his only Power 5.
A physical offensive lineman who regularly knocks his opponents backwards in the run game. Quick feet allow him to seal the edge and get to the next level. Strong player who stymies pass rushers once he gets his hands on them. Plays both tackle and both guard positions. Multiple Ivy League offers.
Quotable: "I was talking to coach Blanchard and he asked me to put the phone on speaker so my dad and my step-mom could hear what was going on. He gave us a bit of small talk and then he laid it out right on the table and said I got the offer.
He described the whole situation and how bizarre it was because it was the same day they found out who I was. I literally jumped up in excitement because I was praying for a Power 5 offer. Texas Tech was definitely up there and I hit my head on the ceiling. All of us were crying tears of joy, trying to keep it in to make sure it's not obvious we were crying. I was happy as hell."
Chose Texas Tech over: Boston College, Minnesota, Stanford, TCU, Utah, Washington, others
Stats: 49 catches, 831 yards, eight touchdowns
Accolades: District 8-6A First Team All-District wide receiver, 1st Team all district in basketball
Athletic traits: 11.74 100 meter, 24.64 200 meter, 5'6" high jump
Quick evaluation: Valsin was a basketball player who last year decided to play football, too. Fantastic at high-pointing the ball and 'boxing out' defenders. Shows good shiftiness for a bigger body in the open field. Hard to tackle. Threat to take it to the house any time he touches the football. Older brother Jimmy Valsin is a wide receiver at Oregon State.
Quotable: "I love coach (Emmett) Jones. I think we have a great connection. I can ask him anything I want to ask him. He gets me and I get him, which is good."