Texas Tech lands a big JUCO TE commit
Texas Tech head coach Matt Wells and his coaching staff took over in late November and immediately began to address needs on the recruiting trail.
Their first offer was extended to Ventura Community College (Calif.) tight end Travis Koontz.
In recruiting, relationships are everything and the new Texas Tech staff had a unique connection to Koontz through his offensive coordinator at Ventura C.C.
"I have been talking with the coaches from Tech for about 2-3 weeks now," Koontz said. "My offensive coordinator at Ventura, Jeff Fischer, was a graduate assistant for coach Wells at Utah State and that was the initial connection with the Tech staff. I talked with the tight ends coach, Luke Wells, and they offered shortly after our first conversation.
"We have been talking ever since, and he came out to see me a couple of times. The first time we really just talked about football, he showed me the scheme and talked to me about how they use the tight end in their offense. The second time he visited, coach Wells really just wanted to spend time getting to know me and we just talked in general."
Koontz scheduled the official visit to Lubbock and arrived on the South Plains this Friday afternoon.
"I officially visited TCU on Wednesday and Thursday, then flew out to Lubbock on Friday," Koontz said. "My flight was delayed, but it was okay because I ended up being on the same flight as the Tech defensive backs coach Julius Brown. That was cool, because even though we had to wait, I had the chance to talk with him and get to know him.
"Once I got into town, I met up with coach Wells took me on a tour of the facilities and the campus. From there, he took me through a position meeting and showed me game film on how they would use me. They are in 11 personnel all the time, so coach Wells stressed how I could come in and make an immediate impact. He really sold me on just how much they needed me and how I can play right away."
The JUCO standout also had a chance to sit down and meet with Wells during the visit.
"I had a meeting with the head coach, Matt Wells," Koontz said. "I feel like he's a a really good guy and I really feel like he is going to turn things around at Texas Tech. He is very family oriented and I like his direction for the program moving forward.
"After meeting with him, I just saw the opportunity at Texas Tech and it was really hard to pass up. Not many schools use the tight end like this staff does, and they just had an All-American tight end at Utah State this past season who is going into the NFL Draft."
Koontz was hosted on his official visit this weekend by Tyler Carr, who played an H-back role for the Texas Tech offense in 2018.
"Yes, my host was Tyler Carr," Koontz said. "He showed me around and introduced me to some of the guys on the team. Last night, he introduced me to some of his friends and showed me around Lubbock a little bit.
"It was nice, the campus is very nice and the facilities were the real deal, all top notch. I just liked everything about the visit."
The 6-foot-5, 255-pound tight end prospect committed to the Red Raiders over offers from TCU, Pittsburgh, Michigan State, LSU, Maryland and several others.
Koontz is originally from Youngstown, Ohio and held seven offers as a senior in the 2017 class, but did not qualify out of high school and headed to Ventura College. He will sign with the Red Raiders this Wednesday, graduate in May and arrive in Lubbock this summer with three years of eligibility to play two years.