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And let the dominoes fall. Madison Akamnonu has committed to the Texas Tech Red Raiders via Twitter just a little while ago, becoming the 4th blue chip recruit in the 2015 class. He originally was going to decide August 24th, but decided to move up his commitment date to today and pick the Red Raiders. Here is my review of Akamnonu back in March:
Madison Akamnonu - Offensive Tackle (Bowie HS, Arlington, TX)
Height Weight 40 time Shuttle Vertical Power Throw SPARQ 6'5" 275 lbs 5.20 4.59 26.8" 32' 71.46 Ratings: 93 by 247 / 81 by ESPN / 5.5 by Rivals
Interest: Texas Tech (Warm), Kansas State (Warm), North Texas (Warm), Colorado State (Warm)
Madison Akamnonu just recently appeared on Texas Tech's radar as of late. Before he visited and was offered by Tech, he was offered by Texas State, North Texas, Colorado State and Kansas State. Two of Madison's teammates, Niko Small and Greg Peace, have already visited Tech and enjoyed the atmosphere, so maybe they convinced Madison to head out to Lubbock. He eventually visited Lubbock last Wednesday while he was on Spring Break, and grabbed an offer from Lee Hayes on the way home from Texas Tech. Tech is looking to grab a few more offensive linemen for this class, and Akamnonu could end up being one of them. Let's take a look at what Madison can do on the field. The thing I like the most about Madison is the fact he keeps his man in front of him. He keeps the opposition from going around and breaking off his block, keeping them out of the play. He strength looks to be pass blocking, but Madison can also do run blocking, with the ability to drive linemen away from the play entirely. He doesn't have a whole lot of pancakes, but he's able to keep to linemen he's guarding a non-factor, even blocking two players at once on one play. Tech has now looked at three players from Arlington Bowie, something to keep an eye on in the future.
Madison Akamnonu visited Texas Tech back in March and received an offer from Coach Hays on the way back. Since that date, everytime he released a Top 3 list, Tech has made the cut. He told SBNation back in March it was TTU, K-State and Mizzou, then around a month ago said it was between Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Texas. It's always good when you can beat out two top programs in your conference. In a conversation with OUInsider, he mentioned that family, young staff and fan base is what he liked the most about Texas Tech. Tech now has four offensive linemen for the 2015 class with 9 commits overall, jumping Baylor for the 41st ranked class according to 247sports.
Madison Akamnonu is a tall offensive tackle that will be able to play OT for Red Raiders. He isn't huge for a linemen, which probably means that he has a lot of muscle on him. He knows how to get out in front and keep in man in front of him and away from the action. He can pancake them to the ground when he needs to or keep them in front of him. There were times even when he was able to guard two defenders at once. Akamnonu looks like he can do both pass and run block and should be able to succeed at the next level. Much like Dyer, he should have a chance to be able to compete right away. With all the muscle he has, Akamnonu has potential through the roof, and hopefully he'll live up to that.
While Rivals only has Akamnonu as a low 3-star recruits, both ESPN and 247sports have him as a 4-star and in their Top 300 players. After grabbing the highest rated linemen in the Texas Tech history last week, Tech picks up an even higher ranked one here. The Red Raiders could also add to the offensive linemen depth on Monday when Joshua Jones will choose between TTU, TCU and OKST. Tech definitely has the QB and O-line it needs to be successful at the next level. Now hopefully the coaching staff can get some defensive recruits to start committing. Texas Tech class is quickly becoming an impressive class and is turning a few heads. It's not ridiculous to say that TTU could end up with a Top 25 class when it's all said and done.