2027 Denton (TX) Guyer defensive lineman Khyren Haywood is one of the best recruits in his class, currently ranked as the No. 182 overall player in the cycle and the 28th best prospect in Texas.

The Red Raiders offered Haywood almost a year ago in May 2024, but until this weekend the talented lineman hadn't had an opportunity to make it out to West Texas. Texas Tech assistant coach Garret McGuire, who was previously recruiting Haywood to Nebraska, invited the 6-foot-2, 275 pound sophomore to visit for Texas Tech's spring game and Haywood was able to make it in town over the weekend.

A national recruit with offers from every Power 4 conference, Haywood enjoyed his time in Lubbock, connecting with the coaches and seeing Texas Tech's new look defensive line up front and close.

RedRaiderSports spoke with Haywood to talk about his experience this weekend and learn what he's looking for in a program.

What you need to know...

... Haygood holds 22 offers to date, including from programs such as Arizona State, Arkansas, Baylor, Kansas State, LSU, Ole Miss, Oregon, SMU, TCU, Texas, Texas A&M, USC and others.

... In 2024 Haygood recorded 67 tackles, 22 tackles-for-loss, 5 sacks and 2 forced fumbles per his MaxPreps profile

... Haygood was selected to the District 5-6A 1st Team All District Defense following his sophomore season

... The last Denton Guyer Wildcat to sign with Texas Tech was offensive lineman Kyle Clark as part of the 2009 class

Connection with Texas Tech staff: "I would say it's decently good. The coach that contacted me to tell me he wants me to come up and come see Texas Tech, because obviously I haven't been there before, was coach McGuire. Not the head coach, but his son. I've been knowing him since he was at Nebraska. So that's kind of how we stayed in touch throughout his transition over to Texas Tech. And then coach (Zarnell) Fitch, obviously he's a coach that you want to be coached by. Like when you get into that atmosphere and like the way that he just coaches, he's so ferocious, like he has the tenacity that he brings to the table with his players and also with himself, the way he handles himself, the way he coaches. You know, that's something that I really like to see. So those are the two main coaches I'd say that I've kept in touch with."