Texas Tech Recruiting Roundup, 8/13

Texas Tech now has 25 commitments for its 2016 recruiting class. Of those commits 8 are defensive linemen. It's great to see the coaching staff addressing a need that has been a weakness for a number of years. The Red Raiders now have the most commits out of any school in the nation. I know we might not have the well-known names but we have guys the coaching staff likes and obviously the players like what Texas Tech has to offer since we already have 25 commits before the season even starts.

Tech's two newest commits are from Skyline (Dallas, TX) which is also where RB commit Da'Leon Ward is from. Both DT Joe Wallace and DE Clarence Henderson visited Lubbock last weekend and committed shortly after. I covered Henderson here a few weeks ago and I will take a look at Wallace this week.

Joe Wallace | 6'0", 330 lbs | Defensive Tackle

Skyline High School (Dallas, TX)

24/7: 80 | Rivals: 2-Star | Scout: 3-Star

Joe Wallace held offers from Iowa State, Maryland, SMU and Washington but ultimately went with the Red Raiders. Wallace is the definition of an old school defensive tackle. His 6'0" 330 pound frame is perfect for filling gaps across the line and forcing running backs to go another route. Don't let his frame fool you though, Wallace is quick for his size. When watching his film you would not think he was 330 pounds because he moves a lot quicker than that. His Hudl highlights have him listed with 4.96 speed which isn't blazing fast but it's pretty dang good for someone of his size. I am really liking what I see in Wallace and can't wait to see him as a Red Raider.

So now that Texas Tech has 25 commits, what's next? Growing up playing NCAA football I was always under the impression that a team could only sign 25 players each recruiting class, but below are some notes I was able to find about the number of players a program can sign. The notes below are straight from the trusty ol' Wikipedia.

NCAA Bylaw 15.5.6.1 limits FBS football programs to a total number of scholarships to 85 "counters" annually including 25 scholarships for "initial counters." Counters (NCAA Bylaw 15.02.3) are individuals who are receiving institutional financial aid that is countable against the aid limitations in a sport, initial counters (NCAA Bylaw 15.02.3.1) are individuals who are receiving countable financial aid in a sport for the first time. Bylaw 13.9.2.3 limits schools to signing 28 NLI from initial signing day through May 31.

Oversigning can occur in two ways. First, if a school signs a number of NLI that may bring their total number of counters above the NCAA limit of 85. Second would be to sign more than 25 NLI during the period between National Signing Day and May 31.

So basically from the way I read it, each year a program has 85 "counters" including 25 "initial counters". A counter is someone who receives financial aid from the school, so pretty much someone who's on scholarship. Since we didn't have a full 25-man class last year we should have more available scholarships for this class. From the above language I am under the impression that you can't sign more than 28 players from signing day to May 31st. So I believe if after May 31st we've signed 28 guys but still have some counters open we would be able to add on some guys late into the 2016 class. If this doesn't sound correct, then please let us here at VTM know so we can get it right.

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)

DaMarcus Fields: Cornerback, Taylor High School (Taylor, TX)

Johnathan Picone: Linebacker, Mandeville High School (Mandeville, LA)

Houston Miller: Defensive End, Keller High School (Keller, TX)

Noah Jones: Defensive End, Southmoore High School (Moore, OK)

Jordyn Brooks: Linebacker, Stratford High School (Houston, TX)

Nick McCann: Defensive Tackle, Arkansas High School (Texarkana, AR)

Austin Deshay: Defensive End, Hendrickson High School (Pflugerville, TX)

Travis Bruffy: Offensive Tackle, Ridge Point High School (Missouri City, TX)

Zach Adams: Offensive Tackle, Riverbend High School (Fredericksburg, VA)

Clarence Henderson: Defensive End, Skyline High School (Dallas, TX)

Joe Wallace: Defensive Tackle, Skyline High School (Dallas, TX)