:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70228944/1234745099.0.jpg)
Texas Tech has had a crazy up-and-down few months in the football program. On October 25th, they fired Matt Wells, and on November 8th, they hired Joey McGuire. They retained Sonny Cumbie as the offensive coordinator, who then left to become the head coach at Louisiana Tech. Needless to say, it has been a hectic six weeks.
The one constant since McGuire has taken over has been recruiting. He has been HOT on the recruiting trail and it hasn’t slowed down very much, now its white hot after this news:
Sources: Top-ranked 2021 quarterback Quinn Ewers has informed Ohio State that he’s entering the transfer portal. Texas, Texas A&M and Texas Tech are among the considerations for his next stop. https://t.co/SLZdtGIyNp
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) December 3, 2021
I have heard through multiple sources, that Tech is very much in play for Ewers, and with the recruiting being done by McGuire right now, Tech might actually have a shot here.
But who is Quinn Ewers?
Ewers was the top rated quarterback in the 2021 recruiting class, and the number one overall recruit in the country. He left Southlake Carroll early to go to Ohio State after a request to use his name, image, and likeness in high school was rejected by the UIL. Now, after one season on the bench in Columbus, he has entered the transfer portal, looking to come back closer to home it would appear.
Here is where I get lost. After doing some research and hearing multiple rumors as well, I’m being told that one of the ways Tech could grab a huge advantage in the pursuit would be to hire his former head coach at Southlake Carroll, Riley Dodge, as the QB coach at Texas Tech.
I am fully invested in the success of the Texas Tech Football Program, and I am sure a commit from Ewers would likely change the scope of Tech recruiting for years to come, but I don’t think I like the fact that a recruit could impact coaching decisions. Yes, he was the top recruit in the nation last year. Yes, Riley Dodge might be ready to make the jump to college as a position coach. But is Riley Dodge the answer? Is it worth hiring the wrong person to get a top recruit?
We all know Coach McGuire has strong ties to Texas High School football, and he would undoubtedly have an idea if Dodge is the right fit for Lubbock. I’m not worried about McGuire for one second.
Call me old school, but I don’t like recruits being able to influence long term coaching decisions for a program. Let us not forget that we have three quarterbacks already in our program that are more than capable of leading our offense. Do we really NEED Ewers to succeed? You be the judge.