Tech set to sign top-25 recruiting class

College football's first national signing period for the 2023 cycle starts Wednesday. Texas Tech will go into it having finished with a flourish.

On Monday, Houston King defensive end Dylan Spencer, a state top-100 prospect, switched his oral commitment to Texas Tech from Texas. The 6-foot-5, 243-pound edge player had been committed to the Longhorns since mid-March, but took an official visit in Lubbock over the weekend.

Houston King finished 9-5 this season, reaching the state quarterfinals in Class 6A Division II before losing to Katy. Spencer, in 13 games, was credited with 75 tackles, including 20 tackles for loss and nine sacks. He also had 33 quarterback hurries and caused two fumbles.

The 247Sports recruiting service ranks him as the No. 58 prospect in the state this year.

According to Rivals recruiting service and 247Sports, Spencer also attracted scholarship offers from Arizona State, Baylor, Houston, LSU, Southern California, SMU, Texas A&M, TCU and Washington State.

Spencer was one of three players who announced publicly for Tech on Monday after visiting campus over the weekend. The Red Raiders pried linebacker Justin Horne away from a three-month pledge to Louisiana-Lafayette and, working the NCAA transfer portal, fished defensive tackle Quincy Ledet, a two-year starter at Louisiana-Monroe with two seasons of eligibility remaining.

Horne (6-1, 200) was credited with 144 tackles, 17 tackles for loss and six sacks this season at John Curtis Christian, a 12-2 state champion from the New Orleans suburb of River Ridge, Louisiana. Horne is a Class 5A state champion in the 110-meter hurdles, as well as a black belt and instructor in martial arts, so he's often referred to as "Sensei".

Ledet (6-2, 294) spent the past three seasons at Louisiana-Monroe, the same school from which the Red Raiders took transfer defensive lineman Myles Cole last off-season. Ledet started nine games for the Warhawks in 2021 and 10 games in 2022. He was credited with 28 tackles and a sack last year and with 37 tackles, five tackles behind the line and three sacks this year.

Ledet will be a senior in 2023 with an option to return on the Covid-bonus year in 2024.

Ledet played high-school ball at West Orange-Stark, starting for three years on teams that went 32-8.

The Tech recruiting class is ranked No. 20 in the nation by Rivals and No. 22 by 247Sports. That's the Red Raiders' best showing since their 2011 class — one with eight players who went on to multi-year pro football careers — was slotted No. 20 and No. 19 by the same two services.

A dozen of Tech's current pledges are ranked as a state top-100 prospect by one or both services.

"We feel great about our class," Tech coach Joey McGuire said. "We feel great about guys that are coming in."

The Red Raiders have commitments from 26 high-school players, 16 or 17 of whom are projected to play on defense, depending upon what side coaches decide to use two-way standout Anquan Willis from Wichita Falls Rider. That's a lot of help for Tim DeRuyter.

"We're really excited about those guys," the Tech defensive coordinator said. "You look at the length of the guys and the speed of the guys we have coming in, and we're upgrading everywhere.

"That's what you ought to do. I remember when I was a player (at Air Force). My coaches used to tell me, 'We're looking to get your replacement, to be better than you.' And all come highly recommend and are great kids."

The cast of defensive prospects pledged to Tech includes six defensive linemen, five or six linebackers and five defensive backs. DeRuyter's grateful to McGuire for that scholarship allocation.

"Ultimately, it's coach's decision," DeRuyter said. "I like the fact that he does look at defense, and it's not just looking for one side of the ball. But we are really excited about the big guys up front we're bringing in. ... We've got some guys that can rush the passer. We've got linebackers that can run. We've got secondary guys that can really run, so all those things are going to help us continue our growth as a defense."

Five Tech pledges are from the South Plains or the Panhandle: Offensive lineman Kaden Carr from Lubbock-Cooper; linebackers Isaiah Crawford from Post, John Curry from Coronado and Marcus-Ramon Edwards from Trinity Christian; and safety Jmaury Davis from Clarendon.

Curley to leave football

Tech linebacker Patrick Curley announced on Tuesday that he will leave the program after the Texas Bowl and start a job in February in the oil and gas industry. He'll move to Midland.

Curley, completing his fifth season in the program, had the option to return in 2023 on the Covid-bonus year. He's been a key player on multiple special teams, playing in 37 games the past four years and being credited with 11 tackles.

Curley earned an undergraduate degree in December 2021 in mechanical engineering, and he graduated last weekend with a master of business administration.

Of the 23 Tech seniors with the Covid-year option, six are staying for the 2023 season, seven are leaving and 10 have yet to announce a decision publicly.

Texas Tech commitments

The following high-school seniors have made non-binding oral commitments to Texas Tech for the Red Raiders' 2023 class. The national signing periods for high-school recruits are Wednesday through Friday and Feb. 1 through April 1. An "r" denotes a Texas state top-100 recruit by Rivals, a "t" denotes a Texas state top-100 prospect by 247Sports and a "u" denotes a player receiving that ranking from both.

Jake Strong, 6-2, 200, QB, Justin Northwest; Demarion "D.J." Crest, 6-3, 185, WR, El Paso Parkland; u-Kelby Valsin, 6-2, 175, WR, Arlington Bowie; u-Tyrone West, 6-2, 185, WR, Humble; Chris Palfreeman, 5-10, 160, IR, Fort Worth All Saints Episcopal; Kaden Carr, 6-5, 300, OT, Lubbock-Cooper; u-Nick Fattig, 6-5, 280, OT, League City Clear Springs; r-Dylan Shaw, 6-4, 290, OT, Corpus Christi Flour Bluff; t-Daniel Sill, 6-5, 260, OT, College Station; t-Dylan Spencer, 6-5, 243, DE, Houston King; Amier Washington, 6-4, 260, DE, Orange Little Cypress-Mauriceville; Tre'Darius Brown, 6-3, 300, DT, Natchitoches (La.) Central; Jayden Cofield, 6-3, 325, DT, Manor; t-Ansel Nedore, 6-3, 255, DT, Round Rock; Braylon Rigsby, 6-3, 280, DT, Woodville; u-Isaiah Crawford, 6-4, 210, OLB, Post; John Curry, 6-3, 187, ILB, Coronado; Miquel Dingle, 6-2, 205, WLB, Duncan (S.C.) Byrnes; Justin Horne, 6-1, 200, LB, River Ridge (La.) John Curtis Christian; u-Anquan Willis, 6-1, 220, OLB-RB, Wichita Falls Rider; Marcus Ramon-Edwards, 6-4, 205, S-OLB, Trinity Christian; r-Jmaury Davis, 6-0, 180, S, Clarendon; t-Brenden Jordan, 6-0, 185, S, Mansfield; Chapman Lewis, 6-1, 170, S, Burleson Centennial; u-Jordan Sanford, 5-11, 185, CB-S, Mansfield Timberview; Marquez "Macho" Stevenson, 6-2, 170, CB, Shreveport (La.) Captain Shreve.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech finishing strong, set to sign top-25 recruiting class