Last week I took a look at some 2017 recruits and this week I come back to reality. Amarillo native Ivory Jackson committed to the Red Raiders last week and plays a much needed position, defensive line. Jackson is the 4th defensive commit out of Tech's 14 committed recruits. The Red Raiders also started their camps this week, first in the Dallas area then moved south to Houston. After Wednesday's camp Tech offered a few recruits and I will take a look at two of them who are on the defensive side of the ball.
Ivory Jackson | 6'3", 275 lbs | Defensive Tackle
Amarillo High School (Amarillo, TX)
24/7: 83 | Rivals: 2-Star | Scout: NR
The Red Raiders didn't have to go far to find another defensive talent, just a little bit north. Ivory Jackson committed to the Red Raiders last week and held offers from SMU and Kansas State. One leg up that Tech has on other programs is that they are able to recruit west Texas and find hidden gems that maybe not everyone knows about. Jackson is strong, he can fight through blocks and hit the ball carrier in the back field. He plays with a bull-rush mentality and fights off the blocker. I'm sure once he gets on campus the coaches will be able to work on his quickness and finesse moves, but either way it is nice to see more defensive recruits come our way and especially on the defensive line.
Ka'Darian Smith | 6'0", 170 lbs | Cornerback
Spring High School (Spring, TX)
24/7: 82 | Rivals: 2-Star | Scout: NR
Ka'Darian Smith participated in Texas Tech's satellite camp at his high school in Spring, Texas on Wednesday. Spring was the location for the north Houston camp for the Red Raiders summer camps. Going into the camp Smith already had a handful of offers and now adds Tech to his list. As of now, Tech and Iowa State are his two big-school offers which bodes well for the Red Raiders. Smith has nice awareness and reaction. He can go up and make a play on the ball or come down hill and lay a lick on the receiver. One thing I would like to see though is a little bit more of physicality. In the film that I've seen, when he's lined up on the line he doesn't jam the WR, but that may just be the scheme they're in. It seems as though he plays mostly in a zone defense. Smith would make a great addition to the Red Raider secondary and could force some turnovers which is Gibbs' specialty.
Bravvion Roy | 6'2", 310 lbs | Defensive Tackle
Spring High School (Spring, TX)
24/7: 87 | Rivals: 3-Star | Scout: 4-Star
Bravvion Roy was another recruit who attended Texas Tech's Spring camp which also happens to be Roy's high school. Tech might be a little late getting to Roy though. Roy holds multiple offers from some big name schools, LSU, Baylor and Texas A&M are just a few to name. One advantage though that Tech may have with both Smith and Roy is that 2015 defensive end commit Lonzell Gilmore is also from Spring high school. Maybe he'll be able to do some inside recruiting for the Red Raiders. Roy is a big ol' boy but he is pretty quick. He's no JJ Watt by any means but he can hit the blocker with a swim move and get in the backfield in a hurry. When he's not showing off his agility he can drive the blocker back, throw him to the side, then make a play. I really like Roy's skill set and hopefully we aren't too late to the party to gain some interest from him.
Texas Tech's 2016 class is now at 14 commits with Ivory Jackson and T.J. Vasher committing last week. I would expect this class to be somewhere in the 25 commit range and we are sitting pretty to hit that number. It's nice to see us getting some defensive recruits committing to us as well. I'm sure over the next few weeks Tech will be handing out some more offers during their satellite camps. If anyone commits we will make sure we break it to you as soon as we find out.
2016 Football Commits
Da'Leon Ward: Running Back, Skyline High School (Dallas, TX)
Donte Coleman: Tight End, West Mequite High School (Mesquite, TX)
Emoree Giddens: Offensive Line, Coronado High School (Lubbock, TX)
Gio Pancotti: Offensive Line, Episcopal High School (Bellaire, TX)
Neiman Armstrong: Cornerback, DeSoto High School (DeSoto, TX)
Antoine Cox-Wesley: Wide Receiver, Steele High School (Cibolo, TX)
Jett Duffey: Dual-Threat Quarterback, Lake Ridge High School (Mansfield, TX)
Bryson Denley: Athlete (RB, WR), Steele High School (Cibolo, TX)
DeQuan Bowman: Wide Receiver, Hutchinson CC (Hutchinson, KS)
Derrick Willies: Wide Receiver, Trinity Valley CC (Athens, TX)
Mychealon Thomas: Defensive Tackle, Butler CC (El Dorado, KS)
Brayden Stringer: Linebacker, Cypress Ranch High School (Cypress, TX)
Ivory Jackson: Defensive Tackle, Amarillo High School (Amarillo, TX)
T.J. Vasher: Wide Receiver, Rider High School (Wichita Falls, TX)