Fresh off one of their best seasons ever, the Texas Tech Red Raiders re-loaded with authority Wednesday as they completed a solid recruiting effort by getting 25 players signed on national signing day.
Needing vital help in the offensive line, the secondary, the defensive line and at wide receiver, the Raiders were able to fill those needs with some top-notched players. Rivals.com rated the Raiders' recruiting class as the 34th-best in the nation.
"I am excited about this group and getting them in here,'' Tech coach Mike Leach said. "Our coaching staff deserves the credit for staying wth these guys and remaining committed to them through the process.
"We were able to address some areas of need with some of the top high school and junior college talent.''
In filling the spots vacated by the departure of All-American wide receiver Michael Crabtree and fellow wide receiver Eric Morris, the Raiders signed four wide outs _ Wichita Falls Rider speedster Eric Ward, Aaron Fisher (Keller Fossil Ridge), Derrick Mays (Killeen Shoemaker) and E.J. Celestie of Lake Chalres (LA) Barbe _ to help fill in the gaps.
Tech also was able to sign four much-needed offensive linemen, including Kyle Clark (Denton Guyer), Matt Goetz (Cibolo Steele), Joel Gray (Lewisville Hebron) and LaAdrian Waddle (Columbus, TX).
The Raiders lost safeties Darcel McBath and Danieol Charbonnet via graduation, but picked up Daniel Cobb (Killeen Ellison) and Will Ford (Abilene Cooper) on Wednesday.
In shoring up the defensive line, Tech signed, among others, Pearlie Graves of Tulsa (OK) East Central High School and Myles Wade of Arizona Western Community College.
Leach is hoping his new recruiting class will help the Raiders improve on last year's 11-2 record.
"Each year we keep improving with the classes we bring in,'' Leach said. "Some specific needs include the defensive line and secondary, two areas I feel we did an outstanding job in landing some tremendous talent.
"We also picked up some of the best offensive linemen in the state of Texas, staying committed to bringing in some of the best talent in the state.''
In all, the Raiders signed 15 defensive players and 10 offensive players.
_ Dwain Price
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