Possible Red Raiders: A Weekly Recruiting Update - 6/17/14

Evan Curl - Offensive Tackle (Flower Mound HS, Flower Mound, TX)

Ratings: NR by 247 / NR by ESPN / 5.3 by Rivals

Interest: North Texas (Cool), Texas State (Cool), Southern Miss (Cool), Texas Tech *(Cool)

We first learned of Evan Curl when he unofficially visited Texas Tech a week before the Spring Game. We had (and still do have) two offensive linemen committed to the class already in Lio Lafaele and Trace Ellison, and were looking for another lineman or two for the 2015 class. Curl plays at Flower Mound High School in DFW 5A, which is one of the best places to along with 5A in Houston. He's currently only has offers from smaller FBS schools like North Texas, Texas State and Toledo, but is also getting interest from Texas Tech and Kansas State. Curl is the only recruit from Flower Mound HS that Tech is recruiting, but the Red Raiders are going after another OT from Flower Mound in Marcus HS OT Keaton Sutherland (who just committed to A&M yesterday). Now let's take a look at what Evan Curl can do on film. What I like about Evan is his big frame he has for an offensive tackle. Unlike some tackles that are skinnier, Curl is bigger, making it harder for defensive ends to get around him. Evan is also good at driving his assignment back and getting the defender out of the field of play. He had a few pancake blocks, along with a couple times where he pushed the opposition to the ground. I'm not sure if Texas Tech will ever offer Evan Curl, but maybe we will see a rise in his recruitment and eventually an offer go Curl's way. My guess is that Tech is either waiting on other OTs before offering or will offer Curl a preferred walk-on spot.

Christian Taylor - Safety (Jersey Village, Houston, TX)

Ratings: 85 by 247 / NR by ESPN / 5.4 by Rivals

Interest: Louisville (Warmer), Texas Tech (Warm), UCF (Warm), Fresno State (Warm)

Christian Taylor hasn't been on the Red Raiders radar for that long. Just a few weeks ago, Texas Tech offered the safety from Houston when Wally and Haverty were down recruiting in the Houston Area. Christian has quite the offer list, as it includes the list above, along with schools like Minnesota, Nevada and Boise State. About a month ago, Taylor named Louisville his leader, but that was before the Red Raiders offered him. Texas Tech has yet to have commitment in the secondary this season, and probably won't get a lot of commits because of the fact Tech had 8 commitments in the secondary for the 2014 class. Look out for players like Kris Boyd, Holton Hill and Brandon Scott, who are a few talented DBs that Texas Tech is going after. Now let's take a look at Christian Taylor's film. What I like the most about Taylor is that he's good at disguising in coverage and following the QBs eyes. He knows where he needs to be to make a play on the ball, weather it's to break up a pass or intercept the ball. Taylor can also tackle well, wrapping up and finishing on tackles. He stretches out to catch the ball carrier, then is able to hold on and bring him to the ground. Something else that caught my eye is that he had some special teams plays in his highlights. It always helps when players can play special teams well. I'm not sure how close to Taylor is to committing somewhere or how serious Texas Tech is, but Taylor is definitely someone to keep an eye on.

Here are some more updates:

Football 2015:

• Zach Abercrumbia, 85 rated DT, has committed to Rice. Zach said at one point that TCU was in the lead with Texas Tech just behind, but apparently something stuck out about Rice that caused him to commit. Best of luck to him there.
• Joshua Jones, 85 rated OT, visited a Texas Tech camp in Houston and attending the 3-day Texas Tech camp. Jones also has a lot of attention from A&M, TCU and OKST.
• Kenneth McGruder, 86 rated S, received an offer from the Red Raiders while at a Texas Tech camp this past week. McGruder committed to OKST a day before Tech offered the scholarship. Sadler, Bethel and Stidham have reached out to Boyd on twitter before.
• Ryan Newsome, 90 rated ATH, will name a Top 5 this Saturday. I'm not sure if Texas Tech will make the list or not, so that's something to look out for. I'm pretty sure at least Oregon and Notre Dame make it though.
• Kris Boyd, 93 rated DB, visited Texas Tech this weekend. He said he had a great time on twitter. Nigel Bethel tweeted out that they would be future teammates, but deleted the tweet shortly after.
• Chris Warren, 92 rated ATH, will release his Top 5 at the end of the summer. Tech made Chris's Top 3 a while back, but we hadn't heard much about him since. He attended a Texas Tech camp last week.
• PJ Locke, 88 rated S, has named a Top 10 and Texas Tech did not make the list. Interest in Locke seemed to fade, as we haven't heard much about him.
• Conner Dyer, 90 rated OT, is on the road today, visiting Tennessee and Ole Miss. Just trying to get a feel of whats out there, like when Stidham visited a bunch of colleges before committing to Texas Tech
• Rasheem Green, 97 rated DT, also released a Top 10, but Texas Tech did not make it. I wasn't expecting Texas Tech to make it because he is a 5-star recruit on the West Coast that seemed more interested in other schools.
• Landis Durham, 87 rated OLB, committed to Texas A&M this past week. Landis was a Red Raider target for the last couple months.
• Dominique Hearne, 88 rated OG, committed to Oklahoma this past week. He was listed as a Texas Tech target on recruiting sites, but there wasn't really any info on him at all.
• Jalen Bates, 89 rated DE, has named 3 schools his favorites, and Texas Tech looks to be on along with Mississippi State and Michigan. The story is behind a paywall, but his profile on 247sports shows Michigan, Miss St and Tech as the schools on top. Kevin Curtis is his recruiter.