His future's so bright: Tech's Tyree Wilson expected to go high in NFL draft

Tyree Wilson had the measurables and the production to leave the Texas Tech football program after the 2021 season and become an NFL draft pick. The consensus opinion, however, was that Wilson could enhance his value as a pro prospect by another season in college.

Now the Red Raiders' defensive end stands to benefit greatly from taking that advice.

NFL draft analysts have pegged Wilson as a first-round choice — quite possibly, a high first-round choice — when the draft unfolds over the next three days in Kansas City. The first round gets under way at 7 p.m. Thursday, the second and third rounds at 6 p.m. Friday and the fourth through seventh rounds at 11 a.m. Saturday. ABC, ESPN and the NFL Network will air coverage.

Of all the hopefuls, Wilson's wait figures to be among the shortest. On Wednesday, in odds released by betonline.ag, Wilson was the favorite to be the first defensive player taken and had the shortest odds to be the No. 2 overall selection.

"I'm excited and blessed to be in the position I am," he said recently.

The 6-foot-6, 275-pound edge player was credited with 61 tackles, including 14 tackles for loss and seven sacks this past season, even though he suffered a season-ending foot fracture in the 10th game. That was after a 2021 season in which he was credited with 38 tackles, including 13 1/2 tackles for loss and seven sacks.

In between, he put his faith in Joey McGuire, the Red Raiders' first-year head coach, and Tim DeRuyter, the new defensive coordinator.

"I definitely could have gone to the league," Wilson said, "but me and coach McGuire both knew there was another level I could take and it was the best decision for me to come back, and it's paid off. Being able to be a player under him and help develop me and take my game to another level has been good."

DeRuyter was the defensive coordinator at Texas A&M during Von Miller's last year with the Aggies, and he was the defensive coordinator at Oregon during Kayvon Thibodeaux's last year with the Ducks. Miller went second overall in the 2011 NFL draft, and Thibodeaux went fifth overall during the 2022 NFL draft.

Now DeRuyter has a chance to call another top-tier pick his.

"I'm not a very good coach, but I'm smart enough to go where the good players are. Makes me look a lot better," DeRuyter said with a grin. More seriously, he said, "Tyree certainly was a guy with all the measurables, but he worked himself into being a first-round, top-10 type of pick.

"I thought C.J. (Ah You) did a tremendous job in drilling him every day and getting him to the skill set to maximize the God-given ability that he has, and then he got on him to play as hard as he does. ... By the third game, people were shocked at how a big man like him ran as hard as he did and made plays."

Wilson says the system went a long way in showcasing his ability.

"Tim DeRuyter bought a great scheme in to help me get ready for this process, all the questions, knowing all the pressures and simulated pressures and different things," he said. "It's made the process really easy.

"Just being able to talk with him every week and learn the game plan and learn different pressures and why he calls different things has helped me through the interview process with teams and to be able to know exactly when they [pro scouts] turn the film on, what's going on."

Wilson underwent surgery for the broken foot, which kept him from working out at the NFL combine and Tech's on-campus pro day. That seems not to have diminished his draft prospects.

It's been 5 1/2 months since he suffered the injury in a Red Raiders' victory against Kansas.

"It just felt like a pop, he said. "I thought I tweaked my ankle a little bit, but it ended up being a more complex injury."

In addition to family, Wilson is scheduled to be joined on draft night in Kansas City by a Texas Tech contingent including McGuire, Ah You, Antonio Huffman and James Blanchard. Ah You coaches the Tech edge players. Huffman is associate athletics director/football administration, and Blanchard is the Red Raiders' player personnel director.

Wilson says he has plenty of sources of motivation.

"First and foremost, my family," he said. "I do everything for my family. They made a lot of sacrifices for me to play the game of football.

"I play hard for my teammates. We try to change the narrative here at Texas Tech, being a defensive team. So every time I went on the field, I didn't want to let the brother next to me down."

Soon, he'll shoulder the expectations of a big city and a franchise.

As for how to handle that, he said, "Just keep doing what I did here. Keep working and soon be the face of the franchise for the team I'm going to."

Coveted Red Raiders

Here are the highest picks from Texas Tech in the history of the NFL draft, listed in order by their selection number overall.

1: Dave Parks, WR, 1964, San Francisco 49ers

7: Donny Anderson, RB, 1965, Green Bay Packers

10: Michael Crabtree, WR, 2009, San Francisco 49ers

10: Patrick Mahomes, QB, 2017, Kansas City Chiefs

11: Walt Schlinkman, FB, 1945, Green Bay Packers

16: E.J. Holub, C-LB, 1961, Dallas Cowboys

18: Elmer Tarbox, B, 1939, Cleveland Rams

21: Ted Watts, DB, 1983, Oakland Raiders

21: Gabe Rivera, DT, 1983, Pittsburgh Steelers

26: Bobby Cavazos, RB, 1954, Chicago Cardinals

26: Bill Herchman, DT, 1956, San Francisco 49ers

27: Jordyn Brooks, LB, 2020, Seattle Seahawks

33: Roland Mitchell, CB, 1987, Buffalo Bills

38: Andre Tillman, TE, 1974, Miami Dolphins

40: Pat Holmes, DL, 1962, Philadelphia Eagles

41: Byron Hanspard, RB, 1997, Atlanta Falcons

42: Herschel Ramsey, E, 1938, Philadelphia Eagles

43: Glenn Lewis, B, 1949, Green Bay Packers

48: Darcel McBath, S, 2009, Denver Broncos

49: Jace Amaro, TE, 2014, New York Jets

51: Billy Joe Tolliver, QB, 1989, San Diego Chargers

55: Roger Smith, B, 1944, Chicago Cardinals

57: Charles Reynolds, B, 1949, Los Angeles Rams

58: Montae Reagor, DT, 1999, Denver Broncos

60: Rex Williams, C, 1940, New York Giants

66: James Hadnot, RB, 1980, Kansas City Chiefs

67: Don Schmidt, B, 1956, Baltimore Colts

67: Thomas Howard, LB, 1977, Kansas City Chiefs

73: Jerrell Price, T, 1952, Los Angeles Rams

75: Denton Fox, DB, 1970, Dallas Cowboys

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: His future's so bright: Tech's Tyree Wilson expected to go high in NFL draft