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Recruiting on the South Plains | 2014 JUCO DT Rika Levi Commits to Texas Tech

Texas Tech received a huge commitment from the College of San Mateo defensive tackle Rika Levi.

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

PLAYER: Rika Levi

POSITION: Defensive Tackle
HEIGHT: 6'2"
WEIGHT: 350
FORTY: Who cares
JUCO: College of San Mateo (San Mateo, CA)
VIDEO: Clip 1
RECRUITING SERVICES: Rivals 5.5 | Scout | ESPN 75 | 24/7 Sports 91
CUMULATIVE RANKING: 0.8416
VTM PROFILE DATE: January 16, 2014

OFFERS | Kentucky, Missouri, Texas Tech and Washington

STATS | Levi had 25 tackles, including 6.5 tackles for loss, 3 sacks and 2 forced fumbles.

THE PLAYER SPEAKS | Nothing yet.

SCOUTING REPORT | Wooot! I'm really excited about this commit. Texas Tech needs more defensive tackles, especially nose tackles that can take up space and this fills a significant need for the Red Raiders. I do want everyone to appreciate my jokes on Levi's 40 time. I'm here all week.

Levi is a fire hydrant if you will. I can't recall off the top of my head the last time that Texas Tech had a 2-gap lineman the size of Levi combined with the type of athleticism that he displays at 350 pounds. As you'll note on his scouting profiles, he ranges anywhere between a two-star and a four-star. Levi is relentless on his film and although I joke about his 40-time and the fact that I don't care, he doesn't give up on plays and that's important to me. I guess it just depends how important a guy that just has 25 tackles.

But those 25 tackles don't tell all of the story and I'm being a bit funny with that comment. Levi is the 23rd best JUCO player according to 24/7 Sports. Levi was also named as the 2013 All-California Community College Defensive Player of the Year (PDF). Levi's value isn't going to be in how many tackles he makes because what will be important is how many offensive linemen he occupies and if he can occupy two linemen on each play, that's going to create significant issues for opposing offensive lines.

Again, I'm giddy about this, and I'm not joking. Of all of the players that Texas Tech needs, this is the one that I think Texas Tech needs the most.

Rika, welcome to Texas Tech and Git Your Guns Up!

The 2014 Class |

Player Position Ht/Wt School VTM Profile
Patrick Mahomes QB 6-3/198 Whitehouse (Whitehouse, TX) April 24, 2013
Justin Stockton RB 5-9/175 Steele (Cibolo, TX) January 21, 2013
Demarcus Felton RB 5-7/179 Dekaney (Spring, TX) April 18, 2013
Jakari Dillard WR 6-4/185 Princeton (Princeton, TX) August 13, 2012
Cameron Batson IR 5-9/165 Milwood (Oklahoma City, OK) April 23, 2013
Ian Sadler WR 5-11/192 Argyle (Argyle, TX) April 25, 2013
Byron Daniels WR 6-0/170 Madison (San Antonio, TX) May 8, 2013
Devin Lauderdale WR 5-11/170 Navarro College (Corsicana, TX) December 28, 2013
Deionte Noel OL 6-3/300 Steele (Cibolo, TX) April 17, 2013
Mildren Montgomery OL 6-4/245 Douglass (Oklahoma City, OK) June 4, 2013
Justin Murphy OL 6-8/275 Belton (Belton, TX) June 10, 2013
Robert Castaneda OL 6-5/315 Round Rock (Round Rock, TX) June 10, 2013
Dontae Levingston OL 6-5/285 Santa Monica C.C. (Santa Monica, CA) December 22, 2013
L.J. Collier DE 6-3/235 Munday (Munday, TX) February 10, 2013
Keland McElrath DT 6-5/290 Coahoma C.C. (Clarksdale, MS) September 25, 2013
Marcus Smith DT 6-3/305 Highland C.C. (Highland, KS) December 15, 2013
Rika Levi DT 6-2/350 College of San Mateo (San Mateo, CA) January 16, 2014
Dakota Allen LB 6-2/225 Summer Creek (Humble, TX) August 17, 2013
Tevin Madison CB 5-10/160 Fayette County (Fayette, AL) April 26, 2013
Derrick Dixon S 5-9/187 Skyline (Dallas, TX) June 19, 2013
Joseph Clark DB 5-9/180 Chapel Hill (Tyler, TX) July 28, 2013
Jah’Shawn Johnson DB 5-10/172 Ennis (Ennis, TX) August 13, 2013
Connor Wilson S 6-2/205 Argyle (Argyle, TX) September 18, 2013
Jamarcus Howard CB 5-11/190 Coffeyville C.C. (Coffeyville, KS) November 4, 2013
Josh Keys DB 6-2/190 Miss. Gulf Coast C.C. (Perkinston, MS) December 15, 2013
Payton Hendrix S 6-3/190 Bishop Dunne (Dallas, TX) December 27, 2013
Nigel Bethel CB 5-9/170 Booker T. Washington (Miami, FL) January 9, 2014