The Texas Tech Red Raiders have pulled off yet another five-star commitment – once again ushering in a new era in college football
Benedictine Military School (Ga.) EDGE LaDamion Guyton announced his commitment to the Texas Tech Red Raiders Thursday. It’s the second five-star for Joey McGuire and Co., after shocking everyone earlier this summer – landing five-star offensive tackle Felix Ojo.So how did we get here? Obviously the new era of NIL played a big role. Texas […]
Benedictine Military School (Ga.) EDGE LaDamion Guyton announced his commitment to the Texas Tech Red Raiders Thursday. It’s the second five-star for Joey McGuire and Co., after shocking everyone earlier this summer – landing five-star offensive tackle Felix Ojo.
So how did we get here? Obviously the new era of NIL played a big role. Texas Tech’s backing from a very influential booster has allowed McGuire and his staff to wade in these proverbial deep waters with blue bloods like Texas, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Georgia, and others.
But the relationships built with the Red Raiders staff can’t go unnoticed. Not to mention the program is starting to trend upwards under McGuire. After a 7-6 2023, the Red Raiders finished 8-5 last season and have now won 23 games in three seasons. This is another reason why Guyton – the No. 1 overall prospect – saw an opportunity. He went in-depth with 247Sports’ Tom Loy about just that.
“I’m going to Texas Tech. I feel they are headed in a good direction. It’s something I want to be a part of. They have good coaches. They have good consistency. The coaches have shown love and they are consistent. They have a plan for their players to get better every day. I’m going to be successful there.”
In fact, LaDamion Guyton told Tom Loy he knew exactly when he wanted to commit to Texas Tech.
“When I went up there on the visits. First of all, I didn’t really think I was going to like it. It was put in my head by someone close to my circle and close to my manager that I should take the visit and it might be something I would be interested in. I took the visit, didn’t expect much from it, but bein there for a couple of days, I really felt like I could be there. I felt no pressure. I just thought about football up there. I was clear-minded.”
The 6-foot-3, 225 pound prospect reminds 247Sports’ Hudson Standish of Vic Beasley.
“Twitchy two-point edge rusher with the snap anticipation, change of direction, and initial quickness to disrupt plays before they get started. Highly productive freshman and sophomore seasons, totaling a combined 16.5 sacks, 33 TFLs, and 134 tackles working alongside c/o 2025 five-star Elijah Griffin,” Standish said. “Estimated to hover around 6-foot-3, 225 pounds with satisfactory arm length. Fluid mover with the bend to quickly run the arc and hand-to-hand combat prowess to knock bigger tackles off balance.”
Texas Tech general manager James Blanchard put the rest of the college football world on notice earlier this week.
He warned, y’all. Now he has two five-stars at TTU and the program is buzzing like it was back in 2008 when Graham Harrell and Michael Crabtree were there – blowing up scoreboards. Now, the Red Raiders staffer is making a difference on the recruiting trail by building rapport with his honesty.
“He’s a real stand-up guy. He doesn’t sugarcoat anything. He gets to the point. I can relate to that. I can trust him and what he does for us. He’ll help me in the best way he can. He isn’t looking to take advantage of anyone. He’s there to make sure the players thrive, and that helped with me.”
