Recruiting update: Prospects respond to the news of Kingsbury returning

How do you keep a recruiting class together and potentially snag a few recruits who were committed to other programs who have recently fired their head coach? One way is to go into the home of the football program with the deepest pockets and longest history of winning in your region and pull out a win. This game not only possibly saved Kingsbury’s job but also allows Tech to continue to build at a time when many programs around college football are in full rebuild mode. Another great thing is that with 18 returning starters most of the recruits will not be expected to come in right away and produce. No matter how high the upside of a freshman may appear, it is extremely rare for a true freshman to come in and produce at a starter level right away. Let’s take a quick look at the two commitments that came in the day following the defeat of Texas.

Erik Ezukanma

Erik is the most sought-after receiver commit in this recruiting class. He is a 6-3 180 pound, 4-star receiver out of Ft. Worth. His offers included Arkansas, Houston, Missouri, Ole Miss, TCU, Texas A&M, and Wisconsin. Two noticeable things when you watch his highlights is catching the ball in traffic and make people miss. Even with a big frame, he is not a player who lumbers on the field and his change of direction is excellent. He has a lot of similar skills to TJ Vasher, the Raiders breakout redshirt freshman receiver. However, he seems more shifty than a Vasher and he is a more than willing blocker. One of the highlights shows him drive a cornerback 20 yards and flatten him into the ground. I don’t care if that corner is 125 pounds, that is impressive. With Dillon Cantrell and Derek Willies graduating I could see Ezukanma having a role in the two-deep outsider receiver position as soon as next season.

Myller Royals

He is a 6-5 3-star receiver out of Abilene. He held offers from Houston, Kansas, Nevada, Tulsa, and UTEP. There is definitely a prototype that this coaching staff is looking for in their outside receivers and that is tall and long. Royals definitely fits into those two categories. He does not appear to be the same type of dynamic athlete that Ezukanma is but he consistently high points the ball well on deep routes. From the highlights, it seems his entire offense in High School was throwing a fade to him if his team got inside the 20 yardline. His body type and abilities remind me of Antoine Wesley. Being able to add some weight and strength will be essential for him to be able to physically handle corners in the Big 12. He will be graduating in December and plans to be on the Tech campus in January in time for the offseason workouts and spring ball. I would not be surprised if he is given a red-shirt for this upcoming season to give him time to put on weight.