Possible Red Raiders: A Weekly Recruiting Update - 10/6/2014

Kylan Johnson - Athlete (Skyline HS, Dallas, TX)

Height	Weight
6'3"	200 lbs

Ratings: 87 by 247 / 75 by ESPN / 5.6 by Rivals / 2-star by Scout

Interest: Texas Tech (Warm), Kansas State (Warm), UCLA (Warm), Arkansas (Warm)

Texas Tech offered Kylan Jones just last Friday, someone Tech has been looking at for a while now. The Red Raiders have been recruiting Skyline players like Carlos Strickland and Zach Abercrumbia, but we haven't really heard about Kylan Johnson. He is currently the quarterback for Skyline HS, and an impressive one too. Kingsbury and Morris took at look at Johnson last weekend (along with his Skyline teammates) and must have been impressed with the way he played. He's not really being recruited as a QB at the next level, but  many schools are recruiting Johnson as a DB. As far as I'm concerned, Texas Tech is also recruiting Johnson as a Safety, which would make him the first DB commit for the 2015 class. However, I wouldn't be surprised if Texas Tech was recruiting him as a WR, due to the fact they've been looking at tall WRs and don't have one committed yet. Plus how appealing would it be to Strickland and Johnson to be WRs on the same offense in college. Kylan is scheduling official visits right now, but there's no info about where he is scheduling them. He has interest in visiting K-State and Arkansas, but I'm not sure where else he is considering right now. Maybe he is considering a visit to the West Virginia game because Strickland is going, or maybe he would like to attend a bigger game like Texas or Oklahoma. It's all speculation right now, Let's now take a look at what Kylan Johnson can do on the field. There isn't any film of Johnson playing defense, but we can see some tangibles that would translate well on the defensive side. The first thing I saw was how quick his feet were when running the football. He hits his holes well and navigates his way into the endzone. This would work well when playing safety when reacting to the QB. If the QB is looking at multiple receivers, Kylan can adjust quickly in zone or keep up with his man when he changes directions. I also like Johnson's quick reactions. He makes decisions quickly under pressure and does so effectively. He also moves around in the pocket and shows good mobility. Kylan Johnson is someone Tech could definitely use.

Darrell Stewart - Athlete (Nimitz HS, Houston, TX)

Height	Weight
6'2"	195 lbs

Ratings: 87 by 247 / 78 by ESPN / 5.6 by Rivals / 3-star by Scout

Interest: Boise State (Committed), Michigan State (Warmer), Texas Tech (Warm), Iowa State (Warm)

Texas Tech offered Darrell Stewart a while ago, but there really hasn't been a lot of info on him. He committed to Boise State last summer but still have been active in the recruiting game. According to this Scout article, he took a visit to Iowa State for the North Dakota State game early in the year and then visited Boise State a couple weekends ago. He also plans to take a visit to LSU or Michigan State later on. The story was written in early September, so I'm not sure if he considering a Tech visit or not. Like Kylan Johnson, he played QB at his high school but won't play so in college. Boise State is currently recruiting him to be a WR, while most schools are recruiting him as a safety. I'm not sure which position Tech wants him at, but either position would work great. Kevin Curtis is currently Stewart's recruiter and James Polk (Tech Olinemen) is a cousin of Stewart, so we do have a chance with him. He values his relationship with the Boise State coaches, so if Tech forms a strong relationship with Stewart, good thing could happen. Luckily for us, Curtis is known for his good relationships with recruits. Now let's take a look at Darrell Stewart's film. Unlike Johnson, we actually have some footage of Stewart playing both WR and Safety. What I like about Stewart on the offensive side is his great hands and elusiveness. He made some amazing grabs down the sideline and finds ways to avoid getting tackled. He runs a 4.55, but uses slight movement to find holes in the defense instead of juking or spinning. On defense, Stewart hits hard and finds a way to get the football. His tackles with all his force and try to locate the ball and pry it loose. If Kevin Curtis stays consistent with Stewart, Tech has a chance to flip him.

Here are some more updates:

Football 2015:

• Tyron Johnson, will be visiting Texas Tech this weekend against West Virginia. He was originally going to visit for the Arkansas game but had to reschedule. This will be his only official visit.
• Jarrett Stidham, 98 rated QB commit, will unofficially visit Texas Tech again this weekend according to Daniel Paulling. This helps Tech a lot because Tyron Johnson, AD Miller, and Carlos Strickland (all WRs) are visiting this weekend.
• Breiden Fehoko, 97 rated DT commit, announced via Twitter that he will be taking his official visit to Texas Tech this weekend. His regular season has concluded (his team will have a first round bye), which makes him available to travel this weekend.
• Vaimoe Sekona, 86 rated DT, will be taking an official visit to Texas Tech for the Texas game according to Scott Schrader of 247sports. He also is looking to take official visits to Oklahoma State and Oregon State. USC, who was once near the top, is no longer in contention.
• Semisi Uluave, 91 rated OT, will be visiting Texas Tech sometime in November, either for the UT or OU game. According to Rivals, he will also be bringing another recruit with him.
• Carlos Strickland, 90 rated WR, named Texas Tech in his Top 4 with TCU on Top. Strickland will visiting Texas Tech this weekend for the WVU game.
• Jalen Bates, 89 rated DE, will be committing somewhere tomorrow. His Top 3 a couple weeks ago were Mississippi State, Arizona State and ULL. He was supposed to visit MSU this weekend but didn't attend (he will attend this weekend). Should be noted his Twitter picture is still him at Texas Tech
• Christian Taylor, 85 rated S, will be visiting Texas Tech this weekend. He seems to be interested in Louisville and Texas Tech the most.

Basketball 2015:

• Jordan Jackson, 84 rated PG, will be visiting Texas Tech this weekend. According to Jarret Johnson, Jordan's main interest in Tech is the fact they play in the Big XII and he can make an impact right away.

Football 2016+:

• Jack Anderson, 90 rated 2017 C, will be visiting Texas Tech this weekend. Tech was his first offer and continues to be highly interested in Tech.

Basketball 2016+:

• Jakolby Long, 88 rated 2016 SG, was looked at by Texas Tech recently. He is also being looked at by SMU, Ole Miss, Houston, Tulsa and Oklahoma.

Baseball:

The 2015 class got another commitment this week. Matt Bernstein is a 5'11" 180 lb Catcher/3B/SS from Marcus HS in Flower Mound, TX. As a junior, Matt was 2nd team All-District Catcher, along with helping his team become the 6th best team in the state. He throws and bats right handed. I couldn't find any info or video on Matt, but I'm sure he's impressive like the rest of this class thus far.

At a later date, I'll review the class thus far to have a close look at who Tech will be getting. Until then, here is an article from Matt Clare about Tech's class this far.

How did the 2014 commits do?

Patrick Mahomes	5-7	54 yards	7.7 avg
	2 rushes	1 yard	9 yrd rush, 8 yrd sack
Justin Stockton	1 rush	2 yards
	3 returns	39 yards
Ian Sadler	3 catches	21 yards
Devin Lauderdale	1 catch	19 yards
Cameron Batson	1 catch	3 yards

Keland McElrath	2 tackles	2 Solo	0 assist
Nigel Bethel II	5 tackles	4 Solo	1 TFL
Tevin Madison	5 tackles	1 FF	1 Break-up

How did the 2015 commits do?

Stats for D'Vonta Hinton weren't available at the time. Below is Johnathan Giles stats from last game and Breiden Fehoko's stats for the regular season

Johnathan Giles	15-24	247 yards	2 TDs
	9 rushes	74 yards	1 TD
Breiden Fehoko (7 games)	38 tackles (19 solo, 19 assist, 9 TFL)	9 sacks (26 YFL)	65 QB hurries