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Texas Tech recruiting: Early signing day is fast approaching

What you need to know about the early signing period for football athletes.

NCAA Football: Utah State at Boise State Brian Losness-USA TODAY Sports

With new Head Coach Matt Wells and most of his staff signed to Texas Tech for the future, we can now look forward to the early signing period where the Class of 2019 can chose to sign their National Letters of Intent (NLI) to play for Texas Tech. This also allows those athletes that can graduate high school and enroll early to the university to do so.

This helped young guys like Alan Bowman get an extra semester in the weight room and on a college practice field to get used to the new speed of the game. Last season was the first time that the NCAA allowed football athletes to have an early signing period and it really helped all aspects of the recruiting process.

When is the early signing period?

The early signing period for football begins on Wednesday, December 19th. It will last for three days and then end on Friday, December 21st.

Should I pay attention?

Yes, if you follow the direction of this program and want to see what kind of players Matt Wells brings to this program, pay close attention to who signs in December. Last season, we weren’t sure what this new early signing period would bring, but it was really productive for both the fans and the program itself to know in December what their recruiting class would look like. Here’s some more ways it helps:

  • Helps coaches consolidate resources and choose which unsigned recruits to focus on
  • Gives coaches a realistic number of how many more scholarships they can offer
  • Coaches can get a better number on how many recruits will join in the spring

What to expect from our recruits

That is a complicated question. As some or most of you know, the program has had a few recruits decommit from the program in the past week after the hiring of Matt Wells. That is expected and I still believe some or even most of those recruits will end up at Texas Tech after they talk to Coach Wells. I do believe there will be a drop-off of recruits that sign at the early signing period after this coaching change, but that is to expected with any coaching change.

Current Texas Tech Commits (15)

Class of 2019 Commitments

Position Name HT WT Rivals ESPN Commitment Date
Position Name HT WT Rivals ESPN Commitment Date
DE Gilbert Ibeneme 6'3 240 3-Star 3-Star 7/31/2018
WR La'Vontae Shenault 6'1 185 3-Star 3-Star 6/13/2018
ILB Bryce Robinson 6'0 232 3-Star 3-Star 6/11/2018
OT Trevor Roberson 6'11 355 3-Star 3-Star 6/16/2018
WR Cameron Cantrell 6'0 185 3-Star 3-Star 8/14/2017
S Brandon Joseph 6'1 180 3-Star 3-Star 7/9/2018
DE Tony Bradford 6'0 239 3-Star 3-Star 6/22/2018
ATH Velton Gardner 5'9 175 3-Star 3-Star 11/10/2018
DT Cooper Laake 6'3 270 3-Star 3-Star 11/11/2018
TE Simon Gonzalez 6'3 210 3-Star 3-Star 6/15/2018
OLB Tyrique Matthews 5'10 200 3-Star 3-Star 6/17/2018
WR Trey Cleveland 6'3 180 3-Star 3-Star 6/17/2018
K Alan Orona 5'10 170 2-Star 3-Star 6/29/2018
K Jordan Sandy 6'3 210 3-Star 3-Star 8/13/2018
ATH Chux Nwabuko 5'6 160 3-Star N/A 10/9/2018