Recruiting on the South Plains | WR Devin Lauderdale Signs with Texas Tech

PLAYER: Devin Lauderdale

POSITION: Wide Receiver
HEIGHT: 5’11"
WEIGHT: 170
FORTY: 4.3
JUCO: Navarro College (Corsicana, TX)
VIDEO: Clip 1
RECRUITING SERVICES: Rivals| Scout | ESPN 78 | 24/7 Sports 87
CUMULATIVE RANKING: 0.8594
VTM PROFILE DATE: December 28, 2013

OFFERS | Just Texas Tech, although the 24/7 profile says that Lauderdale also had an offer from Oklahoma.

STATS | Per the NJCAA site, Lauderdale had 33 catches for 669 yards and 6 touchdowns. That works out to over 20 yards a catch and Lauderdale averaged over 55 yards receiving a game.

THE PLAYER SPEAKS | We’ve been here before. Lauderdale was one of the better commits last year, when he committed under then head coach Tommy Tuberville. Lauderdale then de-committed and said he wanted to look around a bit, which I completely understand. Most of these kids commit to a program and a head coach, not just one or the other. It’s those personal relationships that matter. In any event, Lauderdale ended up re-committing under HC Kliff Kingsbury and like all things in life, Lauderdale didn’t qualify and ended up playing this past year at Navarro College. As an aside, Navarro College is where CB coach Kevin Curtis coached prior to moving on to Louisiana Tech. I’m thinking this was not a coincidence.

Lauderdale ended up getting his academics in order and after just one year at Navarro College, he’s back with the Red Raiders. Lauderdale played high school ball at Bellaire, in Houston, and his Bellaire team wasn’t really all that good and didn’t have the best receiving stats. Despite the lack of numbers, Lauderdale was offered by a ton of major program, including Alabama, Arizona, Auburn, Baylor, California, Colorado, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Oklahoma St., Oklahoma, TCU, Texas A&M, UCLA and West Virginia. At this time last year, many felt that Lauderdale was the best player in the 2013 class.

SCOUTING REPORT | Speed. Speed. Speed. Lauderdale has plenty of it, he always has and it’s evident on film from Navarro College. It was most likely his other receiving skills that needed work, because, as mentioned above, Lauderdale was part of a high school program that didn’t pass the ball all that much. The year that Lauderdale spent at Navarro probably did him a world of good as he was able to receive plenty of reps and actually made an impact as a true freshman.

Lauderdale lined up outside for all of his JUCO film, so it will be interesting to see if he plays inside or outside. I suppose it also depends on whether or not he’s closer to 5’9" or 5’11". Texas Tech, I think, has to get some real speed to the outside. Plus, if Lauderdale was placed at Navarro (this happens on the college level, players will go to a JUCO with the thought that they will return to the college where they originally committed) then maybe the Texas Tech coaches wanted Lauderdale to get reps at the outside receiver spot because that would be his eventual position at Texas Tech.

So what is Texas Tech getting in Lauderdale? Most certainly a more polished receiver than he was last year and having to spend a year at a JUCO will most likely make Lauderdale appreciate the amenities at Texas Tech. I’d also add that for Lauderdale to get his stuff in order in just a year also speaks to his character a bit.

Devin, welcome to Texas Tech (again!) and Git Your Guns Up!

The 2014 Class | Here we go.