By our count, new defensive line coach Kevin Patrick is on the board with his first offer made since joining the Red Raiders less than a month ago.

Denton (Texas) Ryan defensive end Earnest Brown added an offer from Patrick and Texas Tech in late January.

"Coach Patrick and I started talking about a month ago," Brown said. "He stopped by the school and met with my coaches, then we connected a few days later and he offered me. He told me that I'm one of the defensive lineman he really wants at Texas Tech because he's not just looking for great players but also great people off of the field.

"Coach also told me that when he first watched my film he was amazed. He really likes my first step and my quickness off the line. They are trying to get their defense together and need more defensive lineman to bring the depth and presence back to the Texas Tech defense."

Brown has only followed college football for a few years and does not know very much about the Red Raiders, but recently connected with one of the program's 2017 commitments about the new offer.

"I don't really know that much about Texas Tech," Brown said. "I did speak with Jack (Anderson), one of their commitments, and he's a five-star player. We talked about the school, the program, and some of the reasons he committed to Texas Tech."

The 6-foot-5, 230-pound prospect already holds 15 offers from programs across the country and is planning a busy visit schedule this spring.

"I'm going to visit SMU this week, Texas on Feb. 28th, Northwestern on March 5th, Baylor on March 18th, Duke on April 2nd, and I'm still working on setting up a date to visit Texas State. I already took visits to SMU, Oklahoma, and Houston over this past season."

With new offers coming in every week and several visits setup this off-season, Brown feels that a decision should come before his senior season begins this fall.

"I haven't really given it much thought, but I could really decide and commit whenever I feel like it," Brown said. "I'm most likely going to make my decision before my senior year starts though."

Currently unrated, Brown finished with 54 tackles, 21 tackles for loss, and nine sacks - earning District 5-6A All-District First Team Defense and Defensive Newcomer of the Year honors this season.