Houston (TX) Westfield EDGE Demarcus Marks had two official visits set heading into the month of June. First was an in-state visit to Lubbock to see Texas Tech from June 6-8. Next up was another trip to see Big 12 foe Utah in Salt Lake City the following weekend.

Following his time in Lubbock, he decided to shut things down and become a Red Raider.

He ended up choosing Texas Tech over his 11 other offers.

"I feel like overall, Texas Tech had so much more to offer than lot of schools did. They provided me with an opportunity. Development at a high level. The coaches there, they not only build bonds with you, but actually go in depth in how they can develop you. Point out your weaknesses, point out where you can improve on and where they see you in the future. They definitely are there for support. Also academic wise, they have exactly what I want to major in and then it's a good program, too. I talked to one of the academic advisors about the major, and he was telling me how good of a program it was."

Marks' relationship with the Texas Tech staff, particularly outside linebackers coach C.J. Ah You played a big factor in his decision. Ah You's experience of playing in the NFL also made an impact on Marks.

"Coach Ah You, I talk to him the most. He was the main one I was with during the visit. He took me to explore the campus, a little bit of the area. It was fun with him because he cracks jokes every now and then. He's just a very open kind of person, so it was cool.

(Ah You's NFL experience) makes me feel like I'm going to truly get developed at a level where nobody else can."

Marks says some of the highlights of his weekend were spending time at Joey McGuire's house for a pool party as well as getting to meet some of the current Red Raiders and beginning to develop those bonds with his future teammates.

"To start off with, when I got there it was welcoming. A lot of coaches there. I met up with coach Cole (Maxwell) at the airport. He drove me to the hotel, we went to the school after that, and it was like a little introduction. Everybody was settling down after that. That's when the introduction to the actual visit started. We went around getting information from different people. And then after all that happened, we all ate, and then the athletes went to do the photo shoot. That was day one.

Day two, we went out for breakfast, and after that we went to a pool party at coach McGuire's house. We was chilling around. After that, we went out to the steak house to eat. But besides the planned events my host Eddie (Smith), he was taking me places, I was getting know some of the players on the team, like Skyler (Gill-Howard), A.J. (Holmes Jr), all of them. It was really just a family type feeling. So we went to a couple of places, and then we came back home.

Then today we went out for breakfast, ate, and that was about it."

Marks enjoyed being around head coach Joey McGuire as well. He knew McGuire had a lot of energy and those expectations were matched and then some.

"Man, huge house. When he first introduced himself to us, he was talking about his energy and how he was as a person, and best believe that's how he was even outside of the campus. We went there, it's all smiles and jokes. Very, very welcoming. And you know, it was a vibe. We were there playing around, it was games going around, basketball being played. You know, people in the pool, music, coaches and students, all just talking."

Another bonus of committing to Texas Tech is the relatively short distance from home and the opportunity for his family to see him play in the future.

"Yes sir, because it's more convenient for my family. Most of my family are in Houston, where I live, so it's more convenient for them to just be able to almost immediately get to Texas Tech so they can come to some of my games and not go too far away."

Marks has a few connections to Texas Tech which aided in his decision, including one new Red Raider who transferred in this off-season.

"One of the players, A.J. (Holmes Jr), he went to Westfield and he comes back every now and then to visit. We chop it up like anytime he comes around."

Marks' message to Red Raider is simple. Look for the 6-foot-4 pass rusher to do big things in the future.

"Man, I'm glad to have the opportunity to be great. Wreck 'Em."

As a junior Marks recorded 27 tackles, 8 tackles-for-loss, 4 sacks, 8 hurries, 1 forced fumble and 1 fumble recovery per his MaxPreps profile.

At the Under Armour Next Camp in April, he checked in with a 81.5 inch wingspan, a 4.67 40 yard dash, a 26.8 inch vertical and a 9-5.1 broad jump among other measurables.

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